The first scheduled passenger flight

The first scheduled passenger airline service took off on Jan 1, 1914. Thomas Benoist designed the "flying boat", the pilot was Tony Jannus, and Abram C. Pheil was the first paying passenger.

The 21-mile (34-kilometre) flight took 23 minutes, flying from St. Petersburg to Tampa, Fla. The plane flew no higher than 50 feet (15.2 m) over the water. Halfway, the engine misfired, and Jannus touched down in the bay, made adjustments and took off again. When the plane landed, they were swarmed by a cheering crowd of about 3,500.