The early 1950s is an exciting time in the airline business, and - more specifically - the airliner business.

Airliner manufacturers are developing new planes that fly faster, farther, and with more passengers and cargo, but from England a new airliner sound is being heard - the high, shrill scream of jet engines.

Most airlines are reluctant to embrace the new jet technology, both because it’s unlike the proven airliners they’re currently flying, but also because they’ve spent enormous sums of money buying those older planes, and are years away from paying them off.

But U.S. aircraft companies are gaining experience with jet engine technology through military programs, and are seeking ways to apply that learning to a new generation of airliners powered by jets.

Let's look at how one of those companies - Boeing of Seattle - makes the decision to move into a technologically advanced jet airliner family, and the role that a dramatic aerobatics maneuver in a very public setting has on that work.

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Beginning in the 1930s, many airlines maintain large networks of City Ticket Offices to conduct business with their customers in high-traffic shopping, office and hotel neighborhoods, far removed from their own airport operations.

These in-town facilities become known as a City Ticket Office (or by the airline staff acronym “CTO”), to differentiate them from the Airport Ticket Office (or ATO) in each area.

Join me for this look at the rise of the once common airline City Ticket Office as a high visibility, splashy promotion of the airline, reflecting the carrier’s style and personality, while also becoming an important link to many of the airline’s most important customers.

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Tens of thousands of airline flights operate daily around the world, but every now and then one stands out because it helps make history, even though it was just another flight, on just another day.

From 1976 until 2003, the supersonic Concorde airliner was frequently in the news, either for the noise it created, or the often famous people it carried.

Join me for a look at how a normally scheduled British Airways flight in July of 1985, operated by Concorde, played a crucial role in one of the largest rock concerts ever organized.

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The idea that some things are segregated by gender is not uncommon for many of us as we encounter washrooms, gym locker rooms, private schools and clubs, or religious facilities with restricted access based on gender.

But starting in the 1950s, one United States airline introduces “Men Only” flights on one of its most popular business travel routes.

Join me for a look at the exclusion of female passengers from the airline's Executive Club service, the rationale behind that exclusion, and how it all turned out.

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If you’ve visited central Florida for a Disney vacation, you may have wished there was an easier, faster, way to get from the Orlando International Airport to Walt Disney World.

Before that resort opens in October of 1971, planning for Walt Disney World includes a large jet airport within the resort’s grounds, to make it easy for visitors to start and end their visit.

Join me for a look at how air travel influenced the plans for the development of Walt Disney World, and a special period of time when it was possible to buy an airline ticket that would land you within the resort itself!

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Some air travelers are more than VIPs - they’re the VERY VIPs, the heads of state or monarchs whose travel comes with unusual requirements for privacy, secrecy, and security that just can’t typically be met by a scheduled airline service.

Join me for an exploration of how air travel by heads of state began, has been intertwined with airline flying for a century, and will keep evolving past the 2020s.

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Lavatory. Water closet. Washroom. Toilet. WC. Commode... or there's many more!

Whatever name you choose, an airliner’s onboard personal comfort facilities are seen by a lot of travelers as an essential resource to have on their flight.

Join me for this exploration of the history of airliner toilet facilities, and their evolution from the most basic equipment to meet flyer’s bodily needs, to the sophisticated hygiene systems installed in new airliners today.

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There’s a long history behind the “mile high club” lore, dating back to the 1780s. Stories of romantic interludes while at altitude hit the news pretty regularly over the years, but usually because of police involvement, and legal charges being filed.

With this episode of the Airline Time Machine podcast, I’ll look at how people “getting romantic” in the air came about, the challenges that are created for airline crews and other passengers, and notable incidents that likely resulted from “love aloft.”

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