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219:, there were reportedly over 3,000 spectators at a parade accompanied by an Italian band at the departure point. An auction was then conducted for the first round-trip ticket. It was won with a final bid of $ 400 by the former mayor of St. Petersburg, Abram C. Pheil. Pheil then boarded the wooden, open-air craft for the 23-minute flight that rarely exceeded an altitude of 5 feet (1.5 m) above the water of
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to create a service to connect the two cities that were as much as a day's travel apart in 1913 depending on means of travel: 2 hours by boat, 20 hours by car, 4 to 12 hours by train. By plane, the travel time was about 23 minutes. A 3-month contract was signed with the St. Petersburg board of trade
223:. Two additional Benoist air boats were added to the fleet soon after. One was used to ferry passengers and the second was used to train pilots. Ticket prices were $ 5 per one-way flight (equivalent to $ 152 in 2023). The first air-cargo was a bundle of
195:
flight on
December 17, 1913, according to which the Board of Trade agreed to guarantee meeting the expenses of the airline should it not break even. The hangars promised for the airline were not completed, and the company's green and yellow aircraft
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Commenting on the significance of the St. Petersburg–Tampa
Airboat line, Thomas Benoist, the builder of the Benoist airboats, said, "Some day people will be crossing oceans on airliners like they do on
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The airline continued to make flights until May 5, 1914, five weeks after contract termination. From start to finish, the airline covered over 7,000 miles, 172 flights, and 1,205 passengers.
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On
January 1, 1914, the SPT Airboat Line became the world's first scheduled winged airline service. That same day,
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went missing for several days leading up to the launch date as the freight train carrying it could not be located.
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319:"St. PetersburgTampa Airboat Line: World's First Scheduled Airline Using Winged Aircraft - HistoryNet"
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on its maiden flight between St. Petersburg and Tampa. Due to widespread media coverage by the
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today." The airline served as a prototype for today's global airline industry.
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Early airline which operated in
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493:. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida. p. 150.
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468:. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 2.
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521:. Largo, Florida: Aero Medical Consultants, Inc. p. 27.
403:. Largo, Florida: Aero Medical Consultants, Inc. p. 8.
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227:newspapers. Freight rates were $ 5 per 100 pounds.
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1531:List of defunct airlines of the United States
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428:. Charleston: History Press. pp. 95–96.
290:List of defunct airlines of the United States
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585:View images of the day of the maiden voyage
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158:) was the first scheduled airline using a
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560:. Charleston: History Press. p. 98.
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1526:List of airline mergers and acquisitions
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466:Airlines of the United States Since 1914
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162:. The airline provided service between
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372:"Il secolo scomodo delle linee aeree"
370:Vittorio Sabadin (January 25, 2014).
1552:History of transportation in Florida
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1477:Petroleum Helicopters International
263:First takeoff run, January 1, 1914.
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1567:Defunct companies based in Florida
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1602:1914 disestablishments in Florida
1521:List of airline holding companies
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556:Michaels, Will (2012).
489:Reilly, Thomas (1997).
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250:was used for flights.
164:St. Petersburg, Florida
85:; 110 years ago
1321:Omni Air International
1073:Amerijet International
1048:Alaska Central Express
346:"First Air Line, 1914"
209:piloted the airline's
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1083:Asia Pacific Airlines
1078:Ameristar Jet Charter
891:Grand Canyon Airlines
881:Denver Air Connection
350:www.earlyaviators.com
1447:AirMed International
1366:Superior Air Charter
1346:Presidential Airways
1316:New Pacific Airlines
986:Tropic Ocean Airways
926:Penobscot Island Air
921:New England Airlines
750:Sun Country Airlines
225:St. Petersburg Times
216:St. Petersburg Times
80:Commenced operations
1572:Aviation in Florida
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1241:Air Charter Bahamas
1143:Kalitta Charters II
160:fixed wing aircraft
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1401:Air taxi and tours
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1331:Pentastar Aviation
1173:Northern Air Cargo
1163:Mountain Air Cargo
1058:Alpine Air Express
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1006:Wright Air Service
981:Tradewind Aviation
740:Southwest Airlines
323:www.historynet.com
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705:American Airlines
567:978-1-60949-833-7
435:978-1-60949-833-7
184:Thomas W. Benoist
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143:Thomas W. Benoist
98:Ceased operations
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1208:USA Jet Airlines
1148:Lynden Air Cargo
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204:
197:
181:
155:
151:
149:
128:Headquarters
114:Destinations
18:
1452:Air Methods
1336:Phoenix Air
1296:IBC Airways
1138:Kalitta Air
1068:Ameriflight
936:Reliant Air
931:Ravn Alaska
911:Kenmore Air
839:Independent
805:Horizon Air
384:January 25,
355:December 8,
329:December 8,
248:Benoist XIV
101:May 5, 1914
1546:Categories
1486:Government
1341:PlaneSense
1153:Martinaire
1063:Amazon Air
976:Taquan Air
941:Salmon Air
886:Everts Air
861:Bering Air
785:CommuteAir
773:Affiliated
296:References
236:steamships
193:Kitty Hawk
139:Key people
106:Fleet size
1381:Wheels Up
1301:KaiserAir
1281:ExcelAire
1088:Atlas Air
795:Envoy Air
630:Companies
377:La Stampa
221:Tampa Bay
172:Tampa Bay
51:Call sign
1472:Lifestar
1213:West Air
1198:Transair
971:Surf Air
871:Cape Air
765:Regional
687:Mainline
642:Aviation
284:See also
242:Aircraft
188:airboats
1409:Gem Air
1311:NetJets
1233:Charter
1113:CSA Air
1028:ABX Air
735:JetBlue
618:Florida
592:Portals
178:History
170:across
88: (
72:Founded
1361:Skymax
564:
525:
497:
472:
432:
407:
134:, U.S.
1503:JPATS
1498:Janet
1493:Comco
1391:XOJET
1020:Cargo
168:Tampa
122:Tampa
562:ISBN
523:ISBN
495:ISBN
470:ISBN
430:ISBN
405:ISBN
386:2014
357:2017
331:2017
150:The
75:1913
46:ICAO
41:IATA
906:JSX
1548::
509:^
374:.
348:.
321:.
304:^
246:A
120:,
63:-
60:-
57:-
671:e
664:t
657:v
594::
570:.
531:.
503:.
478:.
453:.
438:.
413:.
388:.
359:.
333:.
154:(
109:2
92:)
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