Birthplace of Pan American World Airways airline company in Key West, Florida — Courtesy: Shutterstock — Michael Gordon
The Sunshine State, Florida is a great spot to party over spring break or just kick back in the sun. However, the state also boasts an unexpected history of firsts in flying.
In the annals of aviation history, Florida is most famous for being the site of Cape Canaveral, the launchpad for the US space program, which included the legendary Apollo lunar missions.
However, in 1914, Florida was the site of the first commercial airline flight in history. Additionally, Pan American, one of the most well-known airline companies in the world, was founded in the wild city of Key West in the 1920s.
It has been 110 years since the first commercial aircraft flight this year. In front of 3,000 enthusiastic spectators and the mayor, a flying boat took flight from St. Petersburg, Florida, on January 1, 1914. After traveling for roughly 24 miles, it reached Tampa without incident in 23 minutes. One paid passenger and the pilot were on the inaugural trip.
The St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line (SPT) was founded by diesel engine dealer Percival Elliot Fansler, pilot Anthony (Tony) Jannus, and aircraft constructor Thomas Benoist. Fansler was enthusiastic about the potential of aviation.
SPT tickets cost $5, or roughly $150 in modern currency. The Airboat Line Benoist Type XIV flying boat, called Lark of Duluth, was used during the inaugural flight.
The Florida Aviation Historical Society constructed a full-scale flying replica of the Lark of Duluth in 1984 to commemorate the flight’s 70th anniversary. Currently on exhibit in St. Petersburg, Florida, is the aircraft at the St. Petersburg Museum of History. “The real pioneers of flight were Thomas Benoist, Percival Fansler, and Tony Jannus,” according to Rui Farias, Executive Director of the St. Petersburg Museum of History. “Who knows how long we would have stayed in trains and avoided flying if they hadn’t had vision?”
The Central Yacht Basin, where pilot Tony Jannus and passenger A.C. Pheil took off for Tampa and immortality, is, in fact, just a short distance from the museum.
The trip was covered under a three-month contract that the city financed. Two Benoist flying boats, Lark of Duluth and Florida, ran the service. The two airplanes flew over 11,000 miles and transported 1,205 people (one at a time!) during the course of the following three months.
The airline’s operation came to an end when the city subsidy stopped since it was no longer profitable—a persistent issue for commercial airlines. “I think we have proven that the airplane can be used successfully as a regular means of transportation and commercial carrier,” Benoist said, adding that they had not made much money.
Passengers were transported between various American cities by the Lark of Duluth. It was written off after suffering damage from a hard landing in a San Diego accident.
Tony Jannus kept up his career as a pilot. He was slain in 1916 while showing the Russian soldiers another flying boat. Benoist, then 43, perished in a streetcar accident in 1917. Nevertheless, as he stated, “People will cross oceans on airliners like they do on steamships today” someday.
The Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, honors even longer flight times. There, on May 5, 1961, a Redstone rocket launched Alan Shepard’s Mercury spacecraft Freedom 7 into space, marking the beginning of American manned spaceflight. Gemini, Apollo, and over 135 Space Shuttle missions came after Mercury.
Kennedy Space Center operates as an operational space port and museum. In March 2024 alone, there were four launches, the most of which were from SpaceX. The Center’s Launches and Events page allows you to schedule events and even make hotel reservations.
It seems unlikely that one of the greatest airlines in history began operations in Hemingway’s Key West, another seaside town in Florida.
Two U.S. Army Airforce officials were disturbed by foreign competition for U.S. commercial mail and passenger routes following World War I.
It inspired them to assist in founding Pan Am Airways, which operates regular passenger and airmail flights between Key West and Havana, Cuba. The new airline was founded in 1927 as a result of a conversation that took place at a Key West restaurant. Later on in World War II, the officers Carl Spaatz and Henry “Hap” Arnold would play significant roles.
Actually, the eatery sold tickets for Pan Am flights. Pan American Airlines mostly operated Fokker Trimotors from Key West to Cuba between 1927 and 1930. Almost a century later, the restaurant is still open and is now called First Flight.
Pan Am had significant growth since its heyday in Key West. Prior to World War II, the airline’s magnificent flying boats, dubbed the Pan Am Clippers, traversed the globe. Many of the company’s innovations, such as the widespread usage of jet aircraft, jumbo jets, and computerized reservation systems, were credited with shaping the international airline business.
301 Whitehead St. is where First Flight Island Restaurant & Brewery is located in the center of Key West. It’s entertaining to hang around at the restaurant. Towering trees on its main level shimmer with lights at night and form a live canopy in the main garden. First Flight also has the southernmost brewery in the United States, located at Key West, which is the farthest southern tip of the Key and only 90 miles from Cuba.
They serve their beer outside or inside the Crash Bar, which has a life-size replica of a Sikorsky seaplane that dives through the roof. An aluminum wing serves as the Crash Bar’s drinking surface. Pan Am artifacts from the “Pan Am Clipper” flying boat era, including baggage carts, emblems, pictures, and posters, may be found throughout the rest of the restaurant. The wall prominently features the recognizable Pan Am emblem, sometimes known as “the blue meatball.”
It’s easy to picture the two Army officers who formed Pan Am planning operations and hustling tickets from their “office” when you belly up to the bar or sit at a seat in the outdoor garden.
Before it folded on December 4, 1991, Pan Am was one of the biggest and most well-known foreign airlines in the United States. It had operated since 1927. It was renowned for its impeccable planning, gracefully and stylishly traversing continents and seas.
Pan Am has regretfully taken off, yet the restaurant manages to exist.
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Mike has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and public relations. He once owned his own agency and has worked with some of the largest brands in the world.
