GEORGE SNYDER
CO-FOUNDER OF CHALLENGER AIRLINES

In February, 1946 George W. Snyder, Jr. took over as Challenger's President.
He had been a stockholder of its predecessor,  Summit Airlines.
He stayed as President until Feb. 1948 when Donald Duff became President.
Challenger merged with Monarch and Arizona in June, 1950 to form Frontier Airlines.
Jake Lamkins
(2/20/00)



GEORGE WILLARD SNYDER, JR.

In Utah, a state which has been closely bound up with commercial aviation since the first paying passenger took off
from the Salt Lake City Airport, the name of George Willard Snyder, Jr., looms large.
For Mr. Snyder, interested in aviation since the days he was a high school student, has been identified
with some of the most progressive activities in that field for years.
A service pilot in the Unitied States Army Air Forces in World War II, he is now President of Challenger Airlines Company,
Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and Montana aviation firm, as well as a director and official of Altair, Inc.,
regional distributor of Beechcraft planes and parts.
He is also the holder of extensive mining interests.

Mr. Snyder was born in Salt Lake City on August 31, 1917, the son of George Willard and Dorothy (Gilmer) Snyder.
The senior Mr. Snyder, a mining operator, is President of the Combined Metals Reduction Company, Inc.,
and Snyder Mines, Inc., with headquarters in the Felt Building, Salt Lake City.

The younger Mr. Snyder was educated in Salt Lake City's public schools;  his graduation from the East High School
occurred in 1934.
He has been active in the aviation industry ever since that time.
In 1935 and 1936, Mr. Snyder was in the aircraft sales business.
In 1936, also, he formed the Intermountain Aircraft Company.
Though it has been inactive since 1945, this company is still in existence, and Mr. Snyder, its president at the
beginning, continues to hold that office.

In 1939, Mr. Snyder filed applications with the Federal Government for various original airlines routes
in the Intermountain region.
It was at that time that he organized what proved to be a forerunner of today's Challenger Airlines Company.
The line then formed was called Midwest Airways.
In 1945, Mr. Snyder changed its name to Challengers Airlines, Inc., and Claude Neon of New York City
purchased the controlling interest in it.
After the close of this operation, Summit Airways, Inc., was purchased and the name subsequently
was changed to Challenger Airlines Company.

Mr. Snyder was President and General Manager of Challenger Airlines Company until March 1948,
when he resigned to devote more time to his mining activities.
This company which Mr. Snyder organized makes eight daily flights, using Douglas DC-3 Standard transports.
Its routes include, aside from Salt Lake City, the following points:
Denver, Greeley, Fort Collins, Cheyenne, Laramie, Rawlins, Cody, Riverton, Greybull, Lovell, Powell,
Billings, Worland, Lander, Kemmerer and Rock Springs.
"Fly There by Sunliner," is Challenger's slogan.
Altair, Inc., of which Mr. Snyder is assistant manager as well as a director, is a Nevada corporation with the
regional distribution franchise for Beechcraft in Idaho, Montana, and Utah.
Its headquarters also are in the Felt Building, but additional offices are at the Salt Lake City Airport
in the Administration Annex Building.
An associate of Mr. Snyder's in Altair, Inc., is C.H. Lowell, General Manager.
Mr. Snyder's other interests include mining and, for recreation, hunting and fishing.

His World War II experience began in 1942 when he entered the Air Forces as a service pilot.
Subsequently, Mr. Snyder served as a bomber pilot, instructor and experimental test pilot.
When he was discharged in 1944, he was holding the rank of first lieutenant, senior service pilot.

Mr. Snyder married Violet B. Bordonaro, who is the daughter of Joseph and Eva Jane (Abbey) Bordonaro.
The former is a retired businessman.  Mr. and Mrs. Snyder are the parents of three children:
Vonna, born September 15, 1943, Rita Jane, born April 23, 1945, and Janice Susan, born June 15, 1948.

Excerpt from UTAH: A CENTENNIAL HISTORY, Volume III, published 1949
(Photocopy from Ken Schultz 3/30/00)