January 1: World’s First Scheduled Airline Began Operations, 1914

January 1: World’s First Scheduled Airline Began Operations, 1914

On January 1, 1914 — 101 years ago today — the world’s first scheduled heavier-than-air airline began operations. The airline was the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, organized by Percival E. Fansler, and the fleet of planes consisted of 2 Benoist XIV conventional biplanes (two parallel wings), called “flying boats.” Total number of passengers per flight was one, and the single passenger sat next to the pilot in an open cockpit. The first scheduled flight between the yacht basin in St. Petersburg and the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa departed just before 10:00 AM and was piloted by Tony Jannus, an early pioneer and daredevil in aviation history. The flight covered 18 miles (29 kilometers) and took under half an hour — about 11 hours less than the best alternative travel service by rail.

The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line was founded by Percival Fansler and Thomas Wesley Benoit (the designer of the biplane used for service). Their company negotiated a contract with the St. Petersburg Board of Trade, which agreed to subsidize 50% of the costs for starting the airline, to provide 2 daily flights per day. When the contract expired on March 31, 1914, the company had transported 1,204 passengers without injury and lost only 4 days to mechanical problems. A decline in business and lack of continued funding from the Board of Trade caused the end of the service.

YouTube videos:

•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGKZ_5kBWh0

•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjTPHnR-2iQ

Sources:

•https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/america-by-air/online/early_years/early_years01.cfm

•http://www.tampapix.com/jannus.htm

•http://www.fantasyofflight.com/aircraft/early-flight/1913-benoist-xiv/

•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benoist_XIV

•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_W._Benoist

•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Jannus

Image credits:

•Thomas Benoist (airplane designer, left), former St. Petersburg Mayor (center), and Tony Janus (pilot, right): Image provided by National Air and Space Museum Archives. [Top left]

•Map of the scheduled St. Petersburg to Tampa flight route: Map provided by the National Air and Space Museum. [Bottom left] •Benoit XIV airboat: This image was taken from the Florida Photographic collection, where it is image rc04751. [Right]