Editing Airline (section)

====Early development====
[[File:TWA 1940.jpg|thumb|[[TWA]] [[Douglas DC-3]] in 1940. The DC-3, often regarded as one of the most influential aircraft in the history of commercial aviation, revolutionized air travel.]]

[[Tony Jannus]] conducted the United States' first scheduled commercial airline flight on January 1, 1914, for the [[St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line]].<ref name="Society">{{cite web|title=Tony Jannus, an enduring legacy of aviation|url=http://www.tonyjannusaward.com/history/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717073628/http://www.tonyjannusaward.com/history/|archive-date=17 July 2011|access-date=2 December 2010|work=Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society|publisher=tonyjannusaward.com}}</ref> The 23-minute flight traveled between [[St. Petersburg, Florida]] and [[Tampa, Florida]], passing some {{convert|50|ft|m}} above Tampa Bay in Jannus' [[Benoist XIV]] wood and muslin biplane flying boat. His passenger was a former mayor of St. Petersburg, who paid $400 for the privilege of sitting on a wooden bench in the open cockpit. The Airboat line operated for about four months, carrying more than 1,200 passengers who paid $5 each.<ref>Carey, Susan, First airline offered no frills, many thrills, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', December 31, 2013, p. B4</ref> [[Chalk's International Airlines]] began service between Miami and Bimini in the [[Bahamas]] in February 1919. Based in [[Ft. Lauderdale]], Chalk's claimed to be the oldest continuously operating airline in the United States until its closure in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.airportbusiness.com/web/online/Top-News-Headlines/CHALKS-AIRLINES-LOSES-FLIGHT-LICENSE-ITS-AIRPORT-LEASE-COULD-BE-CANCELED/1$15115 |title=Chalks Airlines Loses Flight License |publisher=airportbusiness.com |access-date=2 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927221010/http://www.airportbusiness.com/web/online/Top-News-Headlines/CHALKS-AIRLINES-LOSES-FLIGHT-LICENSE-ITS-AIRPORT-LEASE-COULD-BE-CANCELED/1$15115 |archive-date=27 September 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Following [[World War I]], the United States found itself swamped with aviators. Many decided to take their war-surplus aircraft on barnstorming campaigns, performing aerobatic maneuvers to woo crowds. In 1918, the [[United States Post Office Department]] won the financial backing of [[United States Congress|Congress]] to begin experimenting with [[air mail]] service, initially using [[Curtiss Jenny]]<ref>Amick, George. "How The Airmail Got Off The Ground." American History 33.3 (1998): 48. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 November 2011.</ref> aircraft that had been procured by the [[United States Army Air Service]]. Private operators were the first to fly the mail but due to numerous accidents the US Army was tasked with mail delivery. During the Army's involvement they proved to be too unreliable and lost their air mail duties.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historynet.com/airmail-service-it-began-with-army-air-service-pilots.htm|title=Airmail Service: It Began with Army Air Service Pilots|website=www.historynet.com|date=12 June 2006|language=en-US|access-date=14 October 2017}}</ref> By the mid-1920s, the Post Office had developed its own air mail network, based on a transcontinental backbone between [[New York City]] and [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]].<ref>Clark, Anders (22 August 2014). "[https://disciplesofflight.com/big-arrow/ Now That's a Big Arrow]". Disciples of Flight. Retrieved 16 July 2015</ref> To supplement this service, they offered twelve contracts for spur routes to independent bidders. Some of the carriers that won these routes would, through time and mergers, evolve into [[Pan Am]], [[Delta Air Lines]], [[Braniff Airways]], [[American Airlines]], [[United Airlines]] (originally a division of [[Boeing]]), [[Trans World Airlines]], [[Northwest Airlines]], and [[Eastern Air Lines]].

Service during the early 1920s was sporadic: most airlines at the time were focused on [[airmail#History|carrying bags of mail]]. In 1925, however, the [[Ford Motor Company]] bought out the [[William Bushnell Stout|Stout Aircraft Company]] and began construction of the all-metal [[Ford Trimotor]], which became the first successful American airliner. With a 12-passenger capacity, the Trimotor made passenger service potentially profitable.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibits/current/airmail-in-america/the-airplanes/the-ford-trimotor.html | title = The Ford Trimotor and Douglas M-2 Mail Planes | work = Postal Museum | access-date = 27 July 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191006013802/https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibits/current/airmail-in-america/the-airplanes/the-ford-trimotor.html | archive-date = 6 October 2019 | url-status = dead }}</ref> Air service was seen as a supplement to [[rail transport|rail]] service in the American transportation network.

At the same time, [[Juan Trippe]] began a crusade to create an air network that would link America to the world, and he achieved this goal through his airline, [[Pan Am]], with a fleet of flying boats that linked [[Los Angeles]] to [[Shanghai]] and [[Boston]] to [[London]]. Pan Am and Northwest Airways (which began flights to Canada in the 1920s) were the only U.S. airlines to go international before the 1940s.

With the introduction of the [[Boeing 247]] and [[Douglas DC-3]] in the 1930s, the U.S. airline industry was generally profitable, even during the [[Great Depression]]. This trend continued until the beginning of [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ASLAUrX3UE8C&q=boeing+247+profitable&pg=PA62|title=A Companion to International History 1900–2001|last=Martel|first=Gordon|date=15 April 2008|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9780470766293|language=en}}</ref>