It was developed as a luxury version of the Travel Air 5000 marketed principally as an executive aircraft, although its size proved popular with regional airlines, which purchased most of the roughly 150 machines built.

In keeping with its intended luxury market, the fully enclosed cabin was insulated and soundproofed, and included wind-down windows.

[1] Frame number 6B-2012 was delivered to Harry Ogg of Newton, Iowa, on August 20, 1929, who used it as a mobile office and technology demonstrator for his Automatic Washing Machine Company, which eventually morphed into Maytag Corporation.

In 1945, they were transferred to the first Paraguayan Airline, Líneas Aéreas de Transporte Nacional (LATN) and received the civil registrations ZP-SEC and ZP-SED.

A Travel Air 6000 or Curtiss-Wright 6-B performed stunts in the 1939 Laurel & Hardy movie "The Flying Deuces".