The First Scheduled Airline Passenger Flight Takes Off

Setting the scene

Aviation pioneers in Florida sought a paying route across Tampa Bay faster than steamships; Percival Fansler backed pilot Tony Jannus and the Benoist Company to link St. Petersburg and Tampa for businessmen and tourists.

What happened

The St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line began on January 1, 1914, when Jannus flew a Benoist XIV flying boat with former mayor Abram Pheil as the first fare-paying passenger on a scheduled airline service.

Why it still matters

The 23-minute hop launched commercial aviation, proving tickets could subsidize maintenance and insurance; though the line folded months later, it foreshadowed Pan Am, Eastern, and the jet age that shrank Florida's coasts to a single flight.

Background

The 23-minute hop launched commercial aviation.