Slonnie Sloniger

Eyer L. "Slonnie" Sloniger (July 28, 1896 – August 15, 1969) was an American pilot, notably the first chief pilot and holder of pilot seniority no. 1 at American Airlines. He later became chief pilot and director of flight operations at Matson Airlines.

Early years Eyir Sloniger was born to Commodore and Margaret Sloniger on July 28, 1896, on a farm outside of Moorefield, Nebraska. (Commodore was a birth name, not a rank) Eyir was the middle child of nine siblings, six boys and three girls. Eyir was not given a middle name at birth, but liked the sound of "E.L." and decided to use the initial "L" as his middle name. and was sent to the University of California, Berkeley for officers training. He was then assigned to the 110th Aero Squadron at Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas for his flight training. After earning his wings, he was shipped out to the Issoudun Aerodrome in France where he flew Nieuport and SPAD pursuit planes. Sloniger was learning to fly his assigned patrol route with instructors when the war ended. Lindbergh was also a member of Sloniger's old squadron, the renamed 110th Observation Squadron now based in St Louis, Missouri.

Airline career American Airlines When American Airlines was created in 1930, it was done so by consolidating many smaller airlines. One of those airlines was Robertson where Sloniger was the senior pilot. When American created their combined pilot seniority list, Sloniger came out as pilot no. 1. This earned him the nickname of "Old number one". After the war ended, American returned to its pre-war route structure of domestic flights only. Matson eventually ceased operations and Sloniger spent time working for Transocean Air Lines and California Eastern Airways before retiring from the airline industry in 1955.

Later life and death Sloniger spent the last 25 years of his life living in the San Francisco Bay Area, first in Walnut Creek and then San Mateo. He was a member of the American Airlines retired pilots group the Grey Eagles and the Quiet Birdmen. He enjoyed gardening and growing orchids during his retirement. Sloniger died at home on August 15, 1969, at the age of 73. He was inducted into the Nebraska Aviation Hall of Fame in 2017.