St. Petersburg-Tampa Air Boat Line is world’s first scheduled air service
Tony Jannus flies into aviation history across Tampa Bay
Among the many aviation “firsts” that Florida can claim is the honor of operating the nation’s first scheduled commercial airline passenger service. The St. Petersburg-Tampa Air Boat Line, which was inaugurated in 1914, only flew for a few months but it proved that airplanes could be used for commercial passenger travel.
Fansler-Benoist partnership
Prior to 1914, travel between St. Petersburg and Tampa was only possible via a slow steamboat ride across the bay or by a five-hour train trip. A journey around the bay by car could take even longer. In 1913, Floridian Percival Fansler approached St. Louis, MO airplane builder Thomas W. Benoist with a proposal to use his Benoist Flying Boats for a regularly scheduled St. Pete-Tampa service. Fansler was able to secure financial backing for the enterprise from a group of St. Petersburg businessmen and in December 1913, a 90-day contract was signed with Benoist to provide aircraft and crew for two daily round trips across Tampa Bay. The service was to be called the St. Petersburg-Tampa Air Boat Line.
Wet & wild success
Excitement ran high on inauguration day, January 1, 1914. Local newspapers had built up interest in the event and a parade of thousands moved from downtown St. Petersburg to the waterfront. Speeches were given. A band played. With thousands more watching breathlessly from the other side of the bay, pilot Tony Jannus, accompanied by former St. Petersburg Mayor A, C. Phiel, made the trip from St. Petersburg to Tampa and back in less than an hour. The air boat flew about five feet above the water and could only seat one passenger at a time but the Tampa Bay Times jubilantly reported the following day that, “History was Made” and, “The passage of Robert Fulton’s steamboat across the Atlantic Ocean no more momentous event than the establishment of commercial line of airboat craft here.” Thereafter, flights departed St. Petersburg daily except Sundays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.. Return flights left Tampa at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Special charter flights were also available to interested parties.
Operation is short lived but impact endures
Although the airline operated successfully for the 90-day period, it proved to be a seasonal operation. Interest was not strong enough to carry it through the off-season. It continued to operate for some weeks beyond the end of the contract (March 31, 1914) but the last flight took place on May 5th and the service was discontinued.
Award created to honor pioneer
Even before he made history in St. Petersburg as the first “airline” pilot, at age 25, Tony Jannus (1889 – 1916) had already made a name for himself in aviation circles by setting speed records and participating in air exhibitions as a test pilot for Benoist. When the St Petersburg-Tampa Air Boat Line was discontinued, Jannus left St. Petersburg to become a test pilot for the Curtiss Aeroplane Company. He piloted the prototype of the Curtiss JN-3, forerunner of the famous Curtiss JN-4, or Curtiss Jenny, which was the most widely used training aircraft by the military in World War I. During the war, in 1915, Curtiss sent Jannus to Russia to train Russian pilots. Sadly, on October 12, 1916, Jannus and two Russians were killed over the Black Sea after the aircraft they were flying suffered engine failure. Jannus was only 27 years old.
In 1964. the St. Petersburg and Tampa Chambers of Commerce created the Tony Jannus award to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic first commercial flight of the St. Petersburg-Tampa Air Boat Line. Every year the award is given to an individual who is found to have contributed to the growth and improvement of the scheduled airline industry.
See also History Net, https://www.historynet.com/st-petersburgtampa-airboat-line-worlds-first-scheduled-airline-using-winged-aircraft/
Additional biographical information on Tony Jannus: History « Tony Jannus Award – Outstanding Achievements in the Field of Scheduled Air Transportation