Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
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 →
December 23, 1940 United Air Lines (later retitled United Airlines) launched what is generally regarded as the first all-cargo air service in the United States. The maiden flight for this service began when one of the company’s planes left New York City at 11:50 p.m. This aircraft, which carried approximately 2,500 pounds (1,134 kilograms) of... Continue Reading →
December 4, 1991 On the same day that Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) officially came to an end and halted its longtime operations, that airline’s final flight took place. Captain Mark Pyle piloted the airplane Clipper Goodwill, a Pan Am Boeing 727-221ADV, for Flight 436 between the cities of Bridgetown, Barbados, and Miami, Florida. ... Continue Reading →
July 14, 1922 Less than two years after being established, the pioneering Aeromarine Airways launched passenger flight services between Detroit and Cleveland in the Great Lakes region. Several local prominent citizens and public officials formally initiated this service by boarding flights at Detroit on the Aeromarine Airways hydroplanes Santa Maria and Wolverine. The Santa Maria... Continue Reading →
April 6, 1957 Shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis officially launched Olympic Airways in Greece. The genesis of this enterprise can be traced to three airlines that been established in Greece by 1947: Technical and Aeronautical Exploitations Company (TAE); Hellenic Airlines; and Aeroporiki Metfori Elados (AME). In 1951, the poor financial performances of these airlines led the... Continue Reading →
December 12, 1933 Indian National Airways Ltd began operations. This airline had been established seven months earlier in Delhi, India, by British industrialist R.E. Grant Govan as part of his business Govan Bros Ltd. (At the time, the Indian subcontinent was still under British rule.) Indian National Airways was only the second commercial airline to... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 