NEW YORK — Millions of people step aboard airplanes each day, complaining about the lack of legroom and overhead space but almost taking for granted they can travel thousands of miles in just a few hours.
NEW YORK — Millions of people step aboard airplanes each day, complaining about the lack of legroom and overhead space but almost taking for granted they can travel thousands of miles in just a few hours.
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the first commercial flight: a 23-minute hop across Florida’s Tampa Bay. The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line was subsidized by St. Petersburg officials who wanted more winter tourists in their city. The alternative: an 11-hour train ride from Tampa.
Pilot Tony Jannus had room for just one passenger, who sat next to him in the open cockpit. Three months later — when tourism season ended — so did the subsidy. The airline had carried 1,204 passengers but would never fly again.
With the anniversary in mind, the Associated Press reached out to today’s aviation leaders to see what they predict for the future of flying.
IN FIVE YEARS:
• Richard Anderson, CEO Delta Air Lines: “Just over a decade ago, airlines seemed to be buying every 50-seat aircraft they could get their hands on. But the real utility of those small jets has come and gone and in the next five years, we’ll see their numbers in the U.S. continue to dwindle.”
• Gary Kelly, CEO Southwest Airlines: “We’ll have fewer airlines, but they will be bigger, stronger and healthier.”
• Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr., CEO Allegiant Travel Co.: “The next five years will be all about increasing automation and decreasing labor cost. The industry is already implementing mobile boarding passes, bag drops, even self-boarding. These processes will become more prevalent and significantly reduce the number of employees the customer needs to interact with.”
IN 25 YEARS:
• David Barger, CEO JetBlue Airways: “The freedom to travel between any two points in the world will be commonplace. There will be billions of travelers every year flying on new aircraft that will be environmentally friendly; in fact, they will be making zero-carbon travel maybe even a reality.”
• Mark Dunkerley, CEO Hawaiian Airlines: “Many of today’s consumers will be priced out of the air: a sad legacy to 30 years of massive progress in democratizing air travel. Failure to invest in aviation infrastructure and the insatiable appetite for regulation will not be offset by relatively modest further improvements in aircraft efficiency.”