Great Moments in Travel History ? January 2014
By Jesse Sokolow on 1 January 2014
The first scheduled commercial airline flight took place on January 1, 1914, when pilot Tony Jannus flew the former mayor of St. Petersburg in a Benoist XIV biplane over Tampa Bay for the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line. The flight lasted 23 minutes, cruising 50 feet (15 meters) above the waters of the bay.
Wilbur Wright met with U.S. Representative. Robert M. Nevin on January 3, 1905, in an effort to get the U.S. government interested in the use of airplanes for the military. The army later declined the proposal, even though the congressman submitted and endorsed a letter from Wright to President William Howard Taft and the secretary of war.
On January 7, 1785, the English Channel was traversed by air for the first time, when Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries flew across the Channel from Dover, England, to a forest near Calais, France, in their hydrogen filled balloon.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 made its first flight on January 10, 1990. The MD-11 is a trijet (or three-engine) widebody airliner, based on the DC-10. In addition to a stretched fuselage, it featured an all-glass, two-pilot cockpit.
Amelia Earhart became the first woman pilot to fly solo between Hawaii and the United States on January 11, 1935, when she flew her Lockheed Vega from Wheeler Field in Honolulu across the eastern Pacific to Oakland, California, in 18 hours and 15 minutes.
Christopher Columbus concluded one of the first transatlantic business trips on January 15, 1493, when he began his return trip to Spain, after crossing the Atlantic westward in 1492. :lol:
Commercial airline passengers were able to experience in-flight Internet for the first time on January 15, 2003, with the launch of the Connexion by Boeing on a Lufthansa 747-400. On August 17, 2006, Boeing announced that it would discontinue the service.
On January 15, 2009, US Airways flight 1549, an Airbus A320, made history after making the first water landing without any loss of life. The occurrence was dubbed ?Miracle on the Hudson? and brought folk hero fame and status to its pilot, Captain Chesley Burnett ?Sully? Sullenberger III.
TWA Flight 3 crashed on January 16, 1942, about 30 miles west of Las Vegas. All 22 on board perished, including actress Carole Lombard, considered to be one of the American Film Institute?s greatest stars of all time, and her mother.
On January 18, 2005, Airbus unveiled the A380 superjumbo in Toulouse, France. The A380 was, and continues to be, the largest passenger aircraft in operation and can accommodate up to 853 passengers in an all-economy configuration, although it will carry 525 passengers in a more typical three-class configuration
Howard Hughes broke his own transcontinental speed record in the H-1 Racer on January 19, 1937, flying from Los Angeles to Newark in 7 hours 28 minutes. As a business magnate, investor, aviator, aerospace engineer, filmmaker, and philanthropist, Hughes was one of the wealthiest people in the world in his time. He grew Trans World Airlines into a major carrier, and later bought the airline Air West renaming it Hughes Airwest.
On January 19, 1991, Eastern Air Lines ceased operations. The airline, which had been founded in 1926 and grew to be one of the major U.S. airlines, was unable to compete in the newly-deregulated environment following a decade of tumultuous labor relations.
The Boeing 737-600 made its inaugural flight on January 22, 1999. The aircraft can accommodate 110 passengers in a typical two-class configuration, and 132 in a typical one-class configuration.
The Boeing 747, the world?s first widebody aircraft, made its first commercial flight from New York to London for Pan American on January 21, 1970.
American Airlines was founded on January 25, 1930, as American Airways.
The Saab 340 turboprop aircraft had its first flight on January 25, 1983. As of 2009, there were 413 of the aircraft in service, with 61 operators in 30 countries.
On January 26, 1989, the first Boeing 747-400 aircraft was delivered to launch customer Northwest Airlines (the airline later merged with Delta Air Lines). The 747-400?s innovations included a two-pilot glass cockpit, which rendered the flight engineer?s position unnecessary, more fuel-efficient engines, and an all-new interior.
The National Geographic Society was founded by a group that included explorers, geographers, cartographers, teachers, and scientists on January 27, 1888. It was organized as ?a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge.?
The Civil Aeronautics Authority certified the Boeing Model 314 Clipper to be used for commercial service by Pan American Airways on January 26, 1939. The aircraft made its first trans-Atlantic flight on June 28, 1939.
On January 30, 1948, aviation pioneer Orville Wright died at the age of 76 after a second heart attack.
The BSAA Star Tiger, an Avro Tudor IV passenger aircraft, disappeared without a trace over the Atlantic Ocean on January 30, 1948. The disappearance remains unsolved to this day, and helped lead to and develop the speculation and theories of the Bermuda Triangle legend.
Boeing launched the 737-700ER, the longest range 737, with an order for two of the aircraft from All Nippon Airways on January 31, 2006.
