Airline industry pioneer William A. "Pat" Patterson demonstrated initiative and a keen work ethic at an early age, a combination of character traits that took him from the Waipahu plantation where he was born to the top job with United Airlines.
Patterson was born in 1899, the son of an O'ahu Sugar Co. overseer. His mother was widowed when Patterson was 14 and left him at the Honolulu Military Academy when she moved to San Francisco. The teenager didn't like the school and left, hitching a ride on a ship bound for San Francisco in exchange for working as a cabin boy during the passage.
Patterson, who spent 37 years with United, worked his way to president of the airline in 1934 and helped it become the world's largest commercial carrier. He would also serve as chairman of the board and consultant.
On May 1, 1947, he initiated Mainland flights to Hawai'i — a 10-hour trip for $135 on a DC-6 prop plane — and he helped launch the service with his first return trip to the Islands in 34 years. It was a direct challenge to Pan American World Airways' monopoly on the route and broadened Hawai'i's tourist potential when it was most needed in the slow years after World War II.
Patterson is credited with creating the profession of flight attendant when he hired eight nurses in 1930. He also is credited for numerous safety innovations, hot-meal service in place of box lunches, and a guaranteed monthly salary for pilots.
Patterson died in 1980. He was 80.
