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The History of the Airliner
Today we sit at 35,000ft in a calm and relaxed environment watching the latest Hollywood blockbuster, sipping champagne with scant regard to the trials and tribulations that have led to this technology being available to us. But what did air travel used to be like before the giants of the sky such as the Boeing 747 'Jumbo Jet' and Airbus A380 were even concepts on a drawing board? Welcome to the history of the airliner.
The exact definition of an airliner is not easy to quantify. However, if we consider an airliner an aircraft that carried many passengers in a commercial environment then this would be the Russian Sikorsky IIya Muromet. Considering the aircraft flew as early as 1913 they were very luxurious. Passengers were enclosed in an individual saloon and trappings such as wicker chairs were supplied along with a bedroom, lounge and bathroom. Electricity was provided along with heating for the lucky traveller. If it had not been for the start of World War I the following year commercial flights with these aircraft would have become frequent.
With the end of hostilities in 1918 commercial aviation began to once again flourish and many aircraft were developed to carry paying customers to destinations all over the globe. Aircraft such as the Farman F.60 Goliath and Jabiru, the Ford Trimotor and Douglas DC-2 and DC-3 were all highly successful passenger carrying aircraft. All these machines relied on piston engines (propellors) for their power. Whilst quick, they were to be rapidly made redundant for mainstream air travel with the introduction of the jet engine.
The first jet airliners specifically built to work with jet engines were the de Havilland Comet and the Avro Jetliner, with the Comet being the only one to actually enter service and production. The Comet unfortunately suffered a series of fatal crashes that were eventually traced back to a simple design fault, this being the use of square windows instead of the universally round windows seen today. Repeated pressurisation and de-pressurisation caused small cracks at the edges of the windows that over time caused catastrophic accidents during flight. These problem tainted the Comet project and it never managed to recover from these early tragedies.
A lack of confidence in the Comet, despite a hefty re-design, saw the Americans look to their own country for an airliner. This came in the form of the Boeing 707 that made its first flight in 1958 with Pan American. The price of the ticket for the flight was the same as that you would expect to pay for a piston powered flight across the Atlantic. This demonstrated the viability and added comfort and speed of the jetliner.
The Boeing 707 proved a huge success and was ordered by many airlines throughout the world. The aircraft ushered in a new era of air travel and improved versions of the 707 allowed even longer non-stop flights on routes such as New York to London, which were an instant success with passengers.
By the mid-1960's the demand for another airliner for short range distances was evident. In 1968 the Boeing 737 went into service with German carrier Lufthansa and was an instant success. Today despite many different variants having been produced it remains Boeing's most successful airliner. The 737 was a small aircraft designed for short range distances which was in direct contrast to the next airliner to be introduced by Boeing, the iconic Boeing 747 'Jumbo Jet'.
The Boeing 747 entered service in 1970 and whilst successful, suffered as it was replaced for smaller aircraft by some airlines as passenger numbers declined in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis. Despite this the 747 remained a popular aircraft for long haul routes and still to this day operates worldwide with great success.
In 1974 the American airliner industry saw a serious competitor enter into the fold with the first Airbus A300 entering service. Despite being an aircraft with an excellent specification Airbus struggled to find their feet and it took the introduction of another aircraft, the Airbus A320, before they really emerged as a serious competitor to Boeing. The A320 was a very real option from the ultra-successful Boeing 737, and sold well to the world's airlines.
It was just two years later that a new aircraft arrived that would attempt to change air travel forever, this aircraft was the iconic Concorde. Built in an Anglo-French agreement it entered service with British Airways and Air France in 1976. Concorde was like nothing the world had ever seen. Cruising at around 1,350mph at a height of 60,000ft. it flew at the edge of space at twice the speed of sound. It was not cheap to fly like this and the aircraft soon became the play thing of the rich and famous.
The aircraft flew flawlessly until 2001 when an Air France flight crashed after take-off from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. Concern over the safety of the Concorde design and the age of the air frames saw a re-design and re-introduction to service, which saw Concorde fly until 2003 when it was unfortunately retired on a permanent basis. This was despite entrepreneur Richard Branson offering to keep the aircraft in the sky re-branded under the Virgin banner. However the history between his company and British Airways always made this an unlikely prospect.
The 1970's saw the introduction of many aircraft that continued to serve airlines through the 1980's and 1990's. Both Boeing and Airbus introduced many new airliners with increasingly impressive specifications. Currently the Boeing 777 introduced in the mid-1990's has the longest range of any civilian airliner as well as Airbus introducing many new variants such as the Airbus A340 - a competitor for the Boeing 747.
Today both Airbus and Boeing have decided on different routes for their aircraft production. Airbus have introduced the Airbus A380 which is larger and has a greater capacity than the Boeing 747. The aircraft is a complete 'double deck' design and is truly now the king of the skies. Boeing have decided on a different approach to their aircraft design by introducing the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. This aircraft is designed to be able to access smaller airports that require passengers to travel less distance to catch their flight. It is interesting to see the different approach taken by the two companies, both of whom are sure to be successful with their respective aircraft.
Who knows what the future will bring as rumours indicate that supersonic travel may one again be on the agenda as plans are afoot to produce smaller supersonic civilian airlines. Whether this will occur or not remains to be seen but the years to come are sure to be exciting in the world of civilian air transport.
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