On Jan. 1, 1914, the world's first scheduled passenger airline service took off, operating between St. Petersburg and Tampa, Fla. The St.

When did air travel become common?

1950s: crowds wave off the world's first jet airliner service. 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".

When was the first US commercial airline flight?

The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line began flying across Tampa Bay on January 1, 1914.