Aero Linx: 100 Years of Commercial Flight
On January 1st, 1914, Abram C. Pheil, former mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida, made a decision that would change the world – to become the first ever paying passenger on a commercial flight. On that landmark day, pioneering pilot Tony Jannus flew a bi-wing airboat across the bay from St. Petersburg to Tampa, Florida - on a 23-minute journey that would mark the birth of the global airline industry. Since that historic moment 100 years ago, commercial aviation has transformed the world in ways unimaginable in 1914. It has re-united loved ones, connected cultures, expanded minds, opened up markets, saved lives, and allowed people worldwide to dream of a bigger, brighter future -