Centenary Celebration of the World’s First Airline & the Development of the Airline Industry
When pioneer aviator Tony Jannus and one paying passenger took off from the St. Petersburg (Fla.) yacht basin on New Year’s Day 1914, they were flying into the annals of aviation history. The Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum and aviation historians acknowledge St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line as the World’s First Airline.
For the 70th anniversary of the airline in 1984, members of the Florida Aviation Historical Society (founded in Pinellas County in 1977) built a replica of the original Benoist Airboat and it was flown across Tampa Bay. That seaplane is now on display in the Flight One Gallery at the St. Petersburg Museum of History.
In 2007 FAHS formed a Flight 2014 “Round Table” group of aviation history enthusiasts, including local museum and community representatives, to plan for a Centenary Celebration of the World’s First Airline. We continue to meet monthly and share our vision with an ever-widening alliance of strategic partners. These partners and supporters will be “force multipliers” in bringing the historic milestone to the world.
A formal Flight 2014 Centenary Planning Board is being organized, together with an Honorary Advisory Board, to promote the anniversary at the local, state, and national level. As the 45-month countdown continues, plans will be made for special aviation-related events in the Tampa Bay area.
Flight 2014 organizers believe the passenger and cargo air carriers of the world – including those serving the three major airports in our area – should claim a degree of ownership and involvement in this centenary celebration of the airline industry.
We are gathering support from local government authorities for the creation of a Florida Flight 2014 Centennial Commission that will carry our message to the US Congress. This initiative mirrors a North Carolina commission formed for the 2003 Wright Brothers Centennial which resulted in the passage of a special Act of Congress.
Recent developments: The Department of State in Tallahassee recognized Tony Jannus as a Great Floridian. The American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics named St. Petersburg’s Central Yacht Basin as an Historic Aerospace Site. FAHS, Flight 2014, and the Florida Aviation Hall of Fame are supporting a petition by the Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society for commemorative First Class USPS stamps in 2014.
