C . R . Smith Cyrus Rowlett Smith ( September 9 , 1899 – April 4 , 1990 ) , known throughout his life as C . R . Smith or just C . R . , was the CEO of American Airlines from 1934 to 1968 and from 1973 to 1974 . He was also the wartime deputy commander of the Air Transport Command , and United States Secretary of Commerce for a brief period under President Lyndon B . Johnson . He is regarded as one of the titans of U . S . airline history . Business career . Born in Minerva , Texas , Smith attended the University of Texas despite never having graduated from high school . Upon graduation , Smith worked as an accountant for the accounting firm of Peat Marwick Mitchell and later ran a number of businesses , including a Western apparel store and a firm that sold state records of new mothers to manufacturers of baby supplies . Smith ' s abilities were first recognized by Texas industrialist Alva Pearl Barrett , who in 1928 set up the airline Texas Air Transport ( TAT ) , which became Southern Air Transport . Smith joined SAT as a vice president in 1929 , and through a series of mergers SAT became part of American Airlines . American ' s owner , E . L . Cord , hired Smith to run the nationwide network based on his able management of Southern operation . In 1934 , he became president of American Airlines . In business , he was known for an informal , no - nonsense leadership style that stressed close relationships with both executives and employees . Convair president Jack Naish noted that " you can close a $ 100 million deal on his word alone . " He generally communicated through personally typed one - page memos . Smith was said to know every American employee by name until the end of his first term as CEO . He fostered a close relationship with Douglas Aircraft that led American to become a key adopter of the Douglas DC - 3 and DC - 6 : he was also one of the early proponents of what is now LaGuardia Airport in New York City . One of Smith ' s most famous acts was the publication of an advertisement entitled " Why Dodge This Question : Afraid To Fly ? " in 1934 . Airline safety had been a taboo subject at the time , and Smith was credited with being the first airline manager to discuss it openly with the public . With the outbreak of World War II , Smith left American to become a colonel in the United States Army Air Forces , eventually rising to the rank of major general in the Air Transport Command ; he immediately left the AAF in 1945 and returned to his airline . Due to his informal but results - oriented management style , Smith won high praise during the War . Referring to Smith and ATC commander , General Harold George , General Henry Arnold , the chief of the Air Forces , wrote that " no matter what mission I gave them , I could count on its being carried out 100 % " . It did not hurt that Smith was close friend with the first family , and Eleanor Roosevelt would habitually call on him for travel arrangements . In 1946 , Smith began to break Pan American ' s monopoly in international air travel through American Overseas Airlines , leading to American ' s expansion overseas . He also set up the Admirals Club , the first airline lounge system . In the 1950s , he helped American become the first domestic jet carrier in the US by selecting the Boeing 707 aircraft , which came out months before its rival Douglas DC - 8 . He was instrumental in the mandatory retirement age provision for airline pilots or " Age Sixty Rule " . He attempted to enforce a company policy of that at American Airlines in the 1950s , when younger pilots were getting out of the Air Force and Navy after Korea . He felt that the senior pilots were too highly paid , and replacing them with younger , lower paid ones , would be economically advantageous to the company . The older pilots working for American took him to court and won , but when Eisenhower appointed General Elwood R . Quesada as the first administrator of the FAA ( the three knew each other from World War II ) , one of Quesada ' s first actions was to declare the age sixty retirement as regulatory . Opponents held that there was never any scientific study or even data to back up such an action , but it favored Smith ' s plan . Smith left American in 1968 . He returned in 1973 following a period of corporate mismanagement and scandal , although he retired again less than a year later , stating that he was " working in a 747 era with a DC - 6 state of mind . " In 1976 , Smith was the recipient of the " Tony Jannus Award " for his distinguished contributions to commercial aviation . Political career . Smith was exceptionally well - connected politically , beginning with a Fort Worth and Texas base . Smith was close friends with many prominent Texan politicians , including Lyndon B . Johnson , Jesse Jones and Sam Rayburn . He was also on very close terms with the Roosevelt family , especially Eleanor Roosevelt and her son Elliott Roosevelt . C . R . introduced Elliott to his second wife , served as best man , and persuaded him to move to Fort Worth . In 1933 , seeing that Eleanor ( who never would speak up for herself ) was often inconvenienced on her travels , Smith decided to always fly along with her on American Airlines to ensure her comfort . His friendship with Lyndon Johnson was the principal reason for his accession to the Cabinet in 1968 . However , he often clashed with the civil service because of his aversion to bureaucracy : on his first day , he objected to having four secretaries and asked that three of them be fired . This culture shock caused him to leave his post early and enter a first retirement . C . R . Smith was briefly married ( in Dallas in December 1934 ) , but the bride gave up on " being married to an airline . " He died in Washington , D . C . , and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery . Honors . The American Airlines C . R . Smith Museum in Fort Worth , Texas , is named after him . Mr . Smith was inducted into the Junior Achievement U . S . Business Hall of Fame in 1976 .