On January 1, 1914, a team of four visionaries combined efforts in the first scheduled commercial airline flight, marking the launch of an industry that now flies 8 million people every day.

January 1, 2014 marked exactly 100 years since the birth of commercial aviation. What started as a pioneering beginning has turned into a global force:

• Percival Fansler organized the funding for the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line which provided the first scheduled air service across Tampa Bay, Florida.
• Thomas Benoist’s airboat conducted the first flight, piloted by Tony Jannus.
• Abram Pheil, then Mayor of St. Petersburg, paid $400 at auction for the 23-minute flight.

These pioneers could not have envisioned the transformational changes that would follow. The industry began with only one passenger on one route on January 1, 1914. Today the global aviation industry provides unprecedented connectivity and positively impacts - directly and indirectly- people in all corners of the world.

Some key statistics:

• In 2013 total passenger numbers were 3.1 billion - surpassing the 3 billion mark for the first time ever. That number is expected to grow to 3.3 billion in 2014 (equivalent to 44% of the world’s population).
• About 50 million tonnes of cargo is transported by air each year (about 140,000 tonnes daily). The annual value of these goods is some $6.4 trillion - or 35% of the value of goods traded internationally.
• Aviation supports over 57 million jobs and generates $2.2 trillion in economic activity. The industry’s direct economic contribution of around $540 billion would, if translated into the GDP ranking of countries, place the industry in 19th position.
• Global airline industry turnover is expected to be $743 billion in 2014, with an average industry net profit margin of 2.6%.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is planning a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary and is inviting everyone to take part in a conversation about what needs to happen to make the next 100 years even more momentous.

 

Photo: The first scheduled airline in the world from St. Petersburg - Tampa, Florida (Image: Courtesy State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory).