Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
February 7, 1996 British Airways (BA) supersonic airliner Concorde G-BOAD took only two hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds to fly between the United States and England. “British Concorde Sets Atlantic Speed Mark,” announced a headline in the Tampa Bay Times a couple of days later. This trip continues to hold the record as the... Continue Reading →
February 2, 1954 A major milestone for Japan Air Lines took place with the nighttime departure of its Douglas DC-6B plane known as City of Tokyo from Tokyo International Airport, also known as Haneda Airport, for a pioneering flight to Oakland Airport (renamed Oakland International Airport a few years later) in California. Japan Air Lines... Continue Reading →
December 22, 1956 The first tourist flight to Antarctica took place. The plane used for this trailblazing airborne journey was a DC6B plane of Linea Aerea Nacional (LAN), which was the flag carrier of Chile at that time and is now known as LATAM Chile. United Press (since renamed United Press International) reported a few... Continue Reading →
December 5, 1919 The airline popularly known today as Avianca was established as Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transporte Aéro (the Colombian-German Air Transport Society), or SCADTA, in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia. The founders of SCADTA were -- on behalf of business interests in Colombia -- Ernesto Cortissoz (who served as its first president), Rafael Palacio, Cristóbal... Continue Reading →
November 14, 1930 The first flight of the prototype of the H.P.42 biplane airliners took place in the skies above Radlett Aerodrome, an airfield located in Hertfordshire County in southern England. This four-engine, 40-passenger plane, which was designed and manufactured by the British aviation company Handley Page, would achieve renown for several years as one... Continue Reading →
October 25, 1985 A newly built international airport in the Republic of Ireland began operations with three charter flights of Aer Lingus (the country’s flag carrier) traveling to Rome. Ireland West Airport, which is officially known as Ireland West Airport Knock, is located in County Mayo in the western part of Ireland. This airport is... Continue Reading →
June 7, 2019 The first commercial flight of a newly established airline in Nigeria took place. Ibom Air is operated by the government of Akwa Ibom State in the country’s southeastern region. With the launch of Ibom Air, Akwa Ibom became the first of Nigeria’s 36 states to have its own airline. The plane used... Continue Reading →
March 15, 1941 The first flight of Philippine Air Lines (PAL), a flag carrier for the Philippines, took place when a twin-engine, five-seater Beechcraft Model 18 NPC-54 plane departed from Nielson Field in the city of Makati for Baguio City. (Both of these cities are on the Filipino island of Luzon). This flight occurred a... Continue Reading →
September 14, 1934 The first flight of a newly organized Mexican airline took place between Mexico City and Acapulco. Aeronaves de México was founded by banker and entrepreneur Antonio Díaz Lombardo. He appreciated the tourist potential of the seaport city of Acapulco on Mexico’s Pacific coast and saw regular airborne service as one of the... Continue Reading →
July 26, 1946 The Hawaii-based Aloha Airlines made its debut. (At the time, Hawaii was a U.S. territory; it became the 50th state in 1959.) Aloha Airlines was originally established as Trans-Pacific Airlines by Rudy F. Tongg, Sr., one of Hawaii’s wealthiest and most flamboyant businessmen, as a competitor to Hawaiian Airlines. Tongg envisioned a... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 