Affirm, Bob, regarding United and its fleet size. I think that Eastern, right around 1968-1970, had more "revenue passenger/miles" than anyone else... PanAm had the most extensive routes in miles (but some flown only weekly).
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Funny is, UAL remained strictly domestic + HNL for decades, and AA was strictly the lower 48 and Mexico City in the same era... Delta was barely more than a "regional" carrier... then the big merges started, United ate Capital, American ate Trans Carribean, Delta ate Northeast and Western and finally the so called domestic majors became international by carving into the routes from PanAm, Eastern and Braniff... Then we saw the Frank Lorenzos and the Carl Icahns coming out of the dark...
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Oh, at times, snotty "PanAmigos" were looking down on the new entrants on the Pacific, Atlantic and South America areas... we were "superior international expert pilots" (right?) - and the dumb-estic pilots were nothing.
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I remember being at home in LA, about 1977-78, being invited to interview for Air California, and declining because I was an "international 707 captain" on an ACMI to Saudia or Pakistan then (and PanAm layoff)... all because for me, a 737 F/O position for an intrastate carrier was next to nothing. By now, all the old timers from AirCal are probably captains with AA on 767 or 777...
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But what disgusted me the most, being finally a PanAm 747 captain in 1989, was to be interviewed by Delta in early 1992 after our Chapter 7... I was offered a F/E 727 position, paying about $1,800 gross (how gross) for the first year. Back then Delta prohibited jump seating on company flights for commuting. Commuting was only cabin seat, space available. And you should have heard some of the personal questions their HR department asked me about my then girl friend (not being married)... and if I was active in church activities, etc... I remember many ex-PanAm F/As crying when they described their interviews and questions they were asked (do you practice birth control...?).
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Dont ask me why I expatriated myself... and glad to have left, sold all I had in California, with a personal Chapter 7 and a foreclosure... My pension for PanAm... you would laugh... And at least where I am, Argentina, I can continue to fly to 65 age, and with 14 years of service with them, my retirement will be double of PanAm's...
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One thing to say, today's salaries and benefits stink. US airlines had to deal with an exponential increase of fuel costs, but never cared to increase the salaries of crews and maintenance to reflect today's cost-of-living proportions. In Europe and Asia, they are behind too, but not as much as the USA. Then read these wanabees from Europe and Asia crying for a pilot job in the USA... they must have a mental deficiency, thereby probably inapt to qualify for a Class 1 medical...
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Happy contrails