The idea of a passenger airline service—a service that would involve the regular transportation of paying customers between set destinations similar to that offered by ships, trains, and stage coaches—is probably as old as the idea of the airplane itself. The first regularly scheduled passenger service started on January 1, 1914 with a run between St. Petersburg and Tampa in Florida. The 18-mile flight took 20 minutes. However, when the tourist season ended a few months later, so did this airline route. During the short period of its existence, 1,200 people paid $5 per flight to use the service.
While the first regularly scheduled airline passenger service was in the United States, the concept was developed in Europe rather than in the U.S. Following World War I, there were lots of trained pilots and surplus military aircraft. While the United States had a well-developed, fast, and efficient railroad system serving passengers and freight, the rail system in Europe had been destroyed in the war, leaving a vacuum to be filled with air transportation.
The Germans launched the first daily airplane flights between Berlin and Weimar in 1919. This was quickly followed by the French who launched an international service which offered weekly flights between Paris and Brussels. Then the British entered the field by offering daily flights between London and Paris.
In Europe, airlines quickly became a matter of national pride and were, therefore, subsidized by their governments. In the United States, however, the emphasis was on private enterprise and subsidies for airlines were not considered (with politicians conveniently forgetting the role of government subsidies in developing the countries rail system). All of the pioneering European airlines lost money but were financially supported by their governments for reasons of national prestige. With this support, the European airlines introduced many people to air travel and were able to make innovations such as night travel, comfortable reclining seats, and hot meals aloft.
In the United States, passenger service tended to develop in conjunction with airmail service. The airlines which carried the mail—this was a service subsidized by the government—also began carrying a few passengers. In some instances, the few paying passengers found themselves sitting on mailbags during the flight and hitching rides in mail trucks to the railroad station at their destination.
One example of this early merging of airmail and passengers can be seen in the formation of the Aeromarine West Indies Airways organized by Inglis M. Uppercu. The airline had a contract to carry mail from Key West, Florida to Havana, Cuba. Since the consumption of alcohol was prohibited in the United States but not in Cuba, the airline soon found that alcohol-thirsty passengers were eager to make the 100-mail trip on the “Highball Express.”
Initially, most of the airplanes used as passenger planes were modified World War I military aircraft. Among the first American planes designed specifically to carry passengers was the Ford Tri-Motor (commonly called the Tin Goose). As explained in an earlier photo essay:
“In design the aircraft resembled the Fokker Trimoter, but the Ford plane was all-metal. Ford claimed that it was “the safest airliner around.” The fuselage and wings of the aircraft were constructed of aluminum alloy. To add strength the alloy was corrugated which increased drag and reduced the overall performance of the airplane.”
The Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington, has a number of passenger planes on display. Some of these planes are shown below.
Boeing Model 80:
The Boeing Model 80, along with the Ford and Fokker tri-motors, were the first aircraft built for passenger transport. The first Boeing Model 80 was flown in 1928. Originally the plane carried 12 passengers and this was increased to 18 with the more powerful Model 80A-1.
Shown above is a Model 80A flying over the Lake Washington Ship Canal and just west of Lake Union and the Fremont Bridge in Seattle, Washington.
The Model 80 brought comfort to air travel: it had a heated cabin, leather seats, individual reading lights, and a lavatory with hot and cold running water. The ride, however, was noisy (conversation was difficult) and often bumpy. While the cabin was heated, it was still cold in the winter.
In 1930, Ellen Church, a nurse and a student pilot, was able to convince Boeing management to add female cabin attendants to the Model 80’s crew. Previously, it has been the responsibility of the co-pilot to hand out box lunches and serve coffee. Church argued that the presence of women working on the plane would alleviate passenger fears. After a short trial, the stewardesses proved to be very popular and thus became a part of American commercial aviation.
Lockheed Model 10-E Electra:
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The Model 10 was developed by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation as a twin-engine airliner to compete with the Boeing 247 and the Douglas DC-2. Between 1934 and 1941, Lockheed made 148 Electras.
Lockheed was started by Allan and Malcolm Loughead who were building a seven-seat flying boat in the corner of an automobile repair shop. They changed the spelling of their name to the phonetically correct Lockheed so that it would not be pronounced “Loghead.”
Luggage is being stored in the nose compartment of this Northwest Airlines Electra at Boeing Field in Seattle.
DC-3:
The Douglas DC-3, first introduced in 1935, became one of the most widely used aircraft of its era. Its snub-nosed prow and swept-back wings would characterize airliners for several decades.
Concorde:
The Concorde is a supersonic airliner that first flew in 1969 and entered service in 1976. A total of 20 of these aircraft were built. The Concorde was jointly developed and produced by Aérospatial and the British Aircraft Corporation. For 27 years, the Concorde flew regular transatlantic flights, taking about half the time as other airliners. The plane was retired in 2003.
Air Force One:
Air Force One is simply a commercial airline which has been modified to meet the needs of the President of the United States. Shown above are photos of the Air Force One on display at The Museum of Flight.