Great Moments in Travel History ? November 2013
By Jesse Sokolow on 1 November 2013
Finnair, the flag carrier of Finland, was founded on November 1, 1923, by Bruno Lucander, who previously had been in charge of Finnish operations for Aeronaut, an Estonian airline. It is the country?s largest airline and the fifth oldest airline in the world that is still operating.
The Douglas DC-7 began service with American Airlines on November 4, 1953, allowing the company to offer coast-to-coast, nonstop service. The DC-7 was the last piston-engine powered transport made by Douglas.
The Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner established a new world record on November 10, 2005, for nonstop distance traveled by a commercial airplane, flying 11,664 nautical miles (18,771 kilometers) in 22 hours and 42 minutes. The flight was from Hong Kong to London.
The world?s deadliest mid-air collision occurred on November 12, 1996, over the village of Charkhi Dadri, just west of New Delhi, India. A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747-100B collided with a Kazakhstan Airlines Ilyushin II-76, killing all 349 people onboard both flights.
On November 12, 2001, American Airlines Flight 587 crashed in Queens, New York, shortly after taking off from John F. Kennedy International Airport. With all 260 people onboard, as well as five people on the ground losing their lives, it is the second deadliest aviation disaster on American soil.
On November 14, 2005, the Boeing 747-8 program was launched with an order from Cargolux, based in Luxembourg, for 10 747-8 Freighters with purchase rights for 10 additional aircraft. The aircraft is the fourth-generation Boeing 747.
The U.S. Postal Service unveiled the new 33-cent ?Jumbo Jet? postage stamp on November 15, 1999. The stamp was issued to commemorate the Boeing 747.
On November 15, 1956, a Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) Douglas DC-7C set a new distance record for commercial airliners when it flew 6,005 miles (9,664 kilometers) nonstop from Los Angeles to Stockholm, Sweden. The aircraft followed the Arctic great circle route on its flight.
Delag, which stands for Deutsche Luftschiffahrts Aktiengesellschaft (German for Airship Travel Corporation), the world?s first airline, was founded on November 16, 1909. Headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, the airline operated airships manufactured by the Zeppelin Corporation.
The first municipal airport in the U.S. opened in Tucson, Arizona, on November 20, 1919. Today, it is called Tucson International Airport.
The Boeing B-29 Pacusan Dreamboat set a world nonstop distance record of 8,198 miles (13,193 kilometers) on a flight from Guam to Washington, D.C. on November 20, 1945.
On November 20, 1974, Lufthansa Flight 540, a Boeing 747-100, crashed after departing Nairobi, Kenya, killing 59 of the 157 people onboard.
On November 20, 2009, Boeing held a ceremony to mark the beginning of construction for the second final assembly site for the 787 Dreamliner program at its Boeing Charleston facility. The first Dreamliner built there was completed and rolled out in April of 2011.
On November 21, 1783, the first free flight with human passengers was launched. Jean-Fran?ois Pil?tre de Rozier and Fran?ois Laurent le Vieux d?Arlandes drifted approximately five miles (eight kilometers) in France in a balloon powered by a wood fire. In attendance was U.S. envoy Benjamin Franklin.
The first production Boeing 727-100 rolled out on November 27, 1962. It made its first flight on February 9, 1963, and on November 3, of that year, a Boeing 727 completed a 76,000-mile (122,310-kilometer) world tour, visiting 26 countries. The aircraft is a mid-size, narrow-body three-engine jet.
On November 28, 1945, Pan American World Airways ordered 20 Boeing Stratocruisers (Model 377). The aircraft was a commercial version of the C-97 military transport.
On November 28-29, 1929, Commander Richard E. Byrd made the first flight over the South Pole in a Ford Trimotor piloted by Bernt Balchen and two American pilots. During this first expedition to Antarctica, Byrd established a base located on the Bay of Whales that he named Little America.