Aviation has a strong history in the Washington area. Following on the heels of our last aeronautical first (Concorde at Dulles), here is another first for the region and the country.
In the fall of 1958, Pan Am (i.e., the planet’s largest and coolest airline) was getting set to inaugurate their transatlantic passenger jet service. The propeller airlines had crossed the Atlantic out of National years before, when TWA’s Paris Sky Chief flew a Constellation to Paris in 1945. The four-engined Boeing 707 was to go through a christening ceremony at National Airport with the help of President Eisenhower.
The Baltimore Sun reported that the ceremony would happen on October 17th at 4 p.m. The plane would depart from National after a brief celebration and fly empty to Baltimore’s Friendship Airport (i.e., Baltimore Washington International Airport today). The airplane would not be able to take off loaded down with passengers from National due to the shorter runways.
The first American-built jet airliner was to arrive in Baltimore just after 5 p.m. The invited dignitaries — members of Congress, government officials and other important people — would be flown to Friendship via a smaller standard plane and entertained while the 707 was being readied for the journey. The passengers would all be personal guests of Juan Trippe, founder of Pan Am, on the overnight flight to Paris.
This wasn’t the first commercial passenger jet service, but it was the first truly successful service and ushered in the beginning of the jet age. It was the dawn of the golden age of passenger service.
Regular transatlantic service from the United States to Europe would being on October 26th from New York’s Idlewild International Airport (i.e., JFK today).
Here’s a film from 1958, promoting Pan Am’s jet clipper service. Watching this video is almost a little sad. Flying used to be such a treat. It was a wonderful experience. Now … not so much.
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