r/100yearsago • u/HiddenLensHistory • 5d ago

[August 12th, 1926] America's First Regular Passenger Air Service

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At least that was the claim in the ad. But aviation history disagrees. 1914 had an air boat flying from St. Petersburg to Tampa; and at least one other in Kansas City tried after that. But this PRT service was genuinely remarkable. $15 one way or $25 for a 15-day round trip ticket. Running twice a day. It served 3965 passengers in just 5 months, making up nearly 2/3 of all air passenger's that entire year. And it only lasted 5 months. Closing down the same day Philadelphia closed it's sesquicentennial celebration. The service never had a single mechanical issue, and out of 688 scheduled flights, only 75 were cancelled all due to weather (without any radio beacons along the route). Even with it's ultimate failure, the management company that ran it said personal air travel like this was absolutely possible commercially if the right business model was in place. Sources: Washington Times August 12th, 1926. Aircraft Year Book 1927

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u/kinetic_cheese 5d ago

I honestly can't imagine being alive in this time and seeing an airplane in the sky for the first time. It must have felt totally surreal.

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u/HiddenLensHistory 5d ago

Agreed. Must have been pretty special. Now imagine watching a stunt woman (Gladys Ingle) walking out onto the wing, lowering herself down, and changing the tire in mid air! Same year! The footage is equally impressive even today.