Tony Jannus piloted the world's very first scheduled commercial airline flight in 1914, transporting a single paying passenger across Tampa Bay in a trip that lasted a mere twenty-three minutes.

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Tony Jannus piloted the world's very first scheduled commercial airline flight in 1914, transporting a single paying passenger across Tampa Bay in a trip that lasted a mere twenty-three minutes. The wealthy former mayor of St. Petersburg paid four hundred dollars at auction for the exclusive privilege of sitting in a cramped, open-air wooden seaplane that flew just fifteen feet above the dark, gator-infested waters of Florida. It was a revolutionary moment in global transport history that essentially proved rich people have always been willing to risk imminent violent death just to avoid a minor inconvenience like taking a slightly longer train ride. Over a century later, commercial aviation has evolved into a miserable, soul-crushing gauntlet of security lines and hidden baggage fees, yet we still romantically look back at this terrifying maiden voyage as a triumph. Honestly, flying perilously close to the surface of a murky swamp almost sounds preferable to modern airlines