Airline Firsts That Changed the Industry

When the Wright Brothers successfully launched their airplane from the sand dunes of Kitty Hawk, N.C., on a chilly day in December, 1903, they likely never imagined the enormous global industry that would follow.

In 2010, commercial airline industry revenues topped $554 billion and are forecast to hit $598 billion in 2011, according to the International Air Transport Association. The growth over the last 108 years has been enormous, and so have the changes. Some were born of necessity, others of ingenuity, but many left an indelible mark on air travel.

Here, we take a look at some of those changes: the good, the bad and the inbetween — they're all "firsts" that changed the industry.

Posted 12 July, 2011
By Constance Parten, Senior Producer

CNBC Titans, Herb Kelleher, premieres Wednesday, July 13 at 9p ET.

A lot has changed in the realm of onboard toilets since the Ilya Muromets, designed by Igor Sikorsky in Russia, became the first plane to offer passengers onboard facilities.

Today's passengers not only don't have to cross their legs on long flights, in some cases they can take a shower and pamper themselves in first-class lavatories. At left, Andrew Parker, senior vice-present for Emirates Airlines, gives a tour from inside the shower in the first class bathroom and spa aboard an Emirates Airbus A380.

Sandwiches, fruit and chocolate were offered on London-to-Paris flights as early as 1919. But in 1928, Lufthansa became the first airline to serve food and drinks to its passengers. It was an especially grand experience on Lufthansa's Junkers G38 plane, where passengers sat inside a dining room found within the plane's thick wings.

At left, passengers on board the Lufthansa Berlin-Vienna Air Express service enjoy a meal.

Patricia Friend, president of the flight attendants' union AFA-CWA, said in a 2010 interview with NPR that strict government regulations of air fares resulted in better service over the years, including better food, because it was the only way airlines could compete. But a series of events, including deregulation in 1978, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and rising fuel costs, completely changed that.

Air traffic regulations were passed in the United States in 1926, which were followed by the development of an extensive airmail system that flourished in the 1930s.

In 1938, the Civil Aeronautics Authority was created to regulate the transportation of both mail and passengers. During that period, the DC-3 aircraft was developed to carry up to 21 passengers.

Although the Wright brothers found flying success in 1903, most people didn't perceive flying as safe. In fact, it wasn't until Charles Lindbergh (pictured left, in an undated photo) successfully completed his 1927 transatlantic flight that the commercial possibilities of air travel were recognized.

The one person who would help redefine the image of airline travel in the 1930s was Ellen Church. Church was a registered nurse from Iowa who was so captivated by flying that she began taking flying lessons.

In fact, when Church initially approached Steve Stimpson of Boeing Air Transport, which would later become United Airlines, for an airline job, it was for the position of pilot. Although Stimpson wouldn't hire Church as a pilot, he did see promise in another of Church's ideas. She suggested placing nurses onboard planes in order to combat the public's fear of flying.

At left, air hostess Daphne Kearley tends to the crew of the new luxury air service from Croydon to Paris, operated by Air Dispatch, in 1936.

The development of the Lockheed Constellation pioneered the four-engine commercial airliner. Produced between 1943 and 1958, primary users of the "Connie" were TWA, Pan American World Airways, Air France and Eastern Air Lines.

Some believed four-engines were more reliable for long distances because they provided backup should an engine fail. That subject is still debated today, however.

At left, a BOAC Constellation "Balmoral" is positioned on the tarmac of London Airport by a duty marshall after arriving from New York.

Pan American's Clipper was the first in-flight magazine produced. Who could predict it would pave the way for something like SkyMall's astounding collection of pet-related gizmos?

After a long legal fight, Southwest Airlines was incorporated in Texas and commenced customer service on June 18, 1971, with three Boeing 737 aircraft serving three Texas cities — Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio. It was the beginning of the company's long rise toward becoming the biggest carrier of domestic passengers in the United States.

The U.S. government deregulated the airline industry in 1978, and Europe followed suit in 1997, allowing airline companies to fly in markets that were once off-limits. Deregulation ignited a fierce competition among airline companies that resulted in lower airfares for passengers, but also many mergers and failures within the industry.

American Airlines introduced AAdvantage and other carriers joined the rush to reward their best customers with free flights and other perks. Today virtually every travel-related company offers a loyalty program and their points and miles are nearly a secondary currency.

Unfortunately for real fliers, the uber-elite black card ConciergeKey frequent flier status doesn't really exist except for Ryan Bingham, pictured left, the frequent flier portrayed by George Clooney in Paramount's "Up in the Air."

American Airlines introduced Value Pricing, turning the airfare game on its ear. While considered a failure in most respects, it set the stage for bitter pricing wars that would cut the inflation-adjusted price for an average ticket by more than one-third from 1993 to 2011, even including baggage fees paid today.

The terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, crippled the airline industry, forcing carriers to cut capacity deeply and lay off tens of thousands of employees. It set the stage for a series of consolidations that would leave fewer competitors but somewhat stronger airlines.

At left, planes sit at Newark Airport as the wreckage from the World Trade Center towers smokes in the background.

Smaller carriers like Spirit Airlines had long charged for checked baggage, but in 2008 American Airlines became the first large carrier to do so, and the other big names quickly followed. With fuel prices soaring, the revenue quickly became the difference between profit and loss for the major airlines.

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic base in New Mexico was relocated to Spaceport America recently, an alien-looking structure worthy of Area 51 that is rising out of the Southwest desert of New Mexico to be the first spaceport built specifically for commercial use. (Read more from CNBC's Jane Wells.)

"We hope to wrap things up around November, December of this year," said Spaceport America's Christine Anderson of the facility built with $209 million in voter-approved bonds. The spaceport has already hosted 13 vertical launches for commercial entities. "We believe we'll be able to be self-sustaining around 2013, 2014, which is about the time the bonds expire."

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