[custom_adv] The story of commercial air travel begins before the 1920s, in 1914, when the world's first scheduled passenger service set off between Tampa and St Petersburg, piloted by Tony Jannus. Though commercial aviation did not take off quickly, through the 1920s more and more airlines and aviation companies tried to build on this milestone with varying degrees of success. [custom_adv] Life onboard a 1920s aircraft was very different from that of the modern day. Flights were a lavish affair reserved only for the richest members of society. Passengers had their every need attended to and were waited on with fine food and drink. However, the ride itself wouldn't have been so comfortable. Planes travelled at a much lower altitude, so passengers were subjected to lots of noise, turbulence and long journey times. [custom_adv] In-flight entertainment systems looked rather different too. Today aeroplane entertainment is a solitary, hi-tech affair but, in the early days of flight, passengers would typically gather around a single screen if they wanted to catch a movie. One of the earliest films to be shown up high was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World in 1925 with Imperial Airways. [custom_adv] In-flight entertainment technology continued to improve too. This snap, taken in 1931, shows passengers listening to a live radio broadcast of the annual London boat race between Oxford and Cambridge universities. [custom_adv] Another commercial aviation milestone was reached in 1935, when Qantas operated its first international passenger flight. The service travelled from Brisbane to Singapore, where it was picked up by British-owned Imperial Airways. [custom_adv] Commercial air travel boomed through the 1950s and, for the first time in history, more US passengers were travelling by air than train. The 1950s also ushered in the "jet age". The de Havilland DH 106 Comet became the world's first commercial jet airliner, debuting in 1952 with the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). Here, crowds are seen waving the aircraft off as it leaves London for Johannesburg, South Africa. [custom_adv] The de Havilland DH 106 Comet jet airliner was much faster than earlier piston aircraft, slicing hours off journey times and making the world smaller still. The model could hold 36 passengers and, here, one traveller on the inaugural flight enjoys ample legroom and a slap-up meal with wine. However patrons' confidence in the aircraft model plummeted in the coming years as it suffered a series of crashes. [custom_adv] Without the hi-tech entertainment systems of the modern day, passengers were forced to find other ways to occupy themselves on a long flight. Flying was still a real novelty, so air stewards would often hand out postcards for passengers to document their on-board experience. Travellers would spend their flight scribbling details about their time in the air, from the fine food to the free-flowing booze. [custom_adv] The golden age of travel reigned on through the 1960s and, partly since there wasn't much else to do, dinner was a grand affair. Menus often included multiple courses, bread baskets and dishes such as steak or even lobster. In this 1967 snap, passengers are being served food onboard a Lufthansa flight. Now check out the most decadent airline menus throughout history. [custom_adv] Swish onboard lounges were still commonplace for first-class guests too and most travellers would socialise with their fellow passengers over drinks. This lounge was onboard SAS's Boeing 747-B (nicknamed the "Huge Viking") in the 1970s.
