World cargo news. Industry celebrates 100 years of commercial aviation

The first day of the year, January 2014, marked 100 years since the birth of commercial aviation.

Coming 100 years back, on January 1914, a team of four visionaries combined efforts in the first scheduled commercial flight. Percival Fansler organized the funding for the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line which provided the first scheduled air service across Florida, USA. Thomas Benoist’s airplane conducted the first flight piloted by Tony Jannus and Abram Pheil then mayor of St. Petersburg. He paid $400 at an auction for the 23-minute flight. The industry began with only one passenger on board on January 1, 1914. Today the worldwide aviation industry provides unprecedented connectivity and positively impact people all over the world. Some industry statistics: - On average, every day more than 8 million people fly. - About 50 million tonnes of cargo is transported by air annually (about 140,000 tonnes daily). - Aviation supports over 57 million jobs and generates $2.2 trillion in economic activity