May 11927

Silver Wing: luxury comes aboard

Milestone99 years ago

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16historical events

60occurrences in earlier years

1912–2025years covered

Fact of the day

Imperial Airways launches its Silver Wing service between London and Paris: an Armstrong Whitworth Argosy with two seats removed to make room for a bar and a steward who served lunch in flight. It was the first time an airline sold the journey as an experience, and the birth of the luxury class.

Also on this day · 15

1912First flight The Avro Type F, the first enclosed cockpit

Alliott Verdon Roe flies the Avro Type F at Brooklands, the first aeroplane in the world with a fully enclosed cabin for the pilot. To get in you have to lower yourself through a hatch in the roof.

1922Airline Deruluft opens the Moscow–Königsberg line

The German-Soviet airline Deruluft opens its first permanent route, from Moscow to Königsberg via Smolensk and Kaunas, the first scheduled air link between Soviet Russia and Western Europe.

1926Milestone The first night passenger flights

Deutsche Luft Hansa opens the world’s first scheduled night passenger service, between Berlin and Königsberg, with Junkers G 24s.

1952Milestone Tourist class is born

IATA agrees the new “tourist class” fares, first offered by Pan American on its “Rainbow Service” between New York and London: flying stops being only for the rich.

1953Airline Chicago and Southern merges with Delta

Chicago and Southern Air Lines, the carrier of the Mississippi valley and the Caribbean, is merged into Delta, which will fly as Delta-C&S for two years.

1957Accident An Eagle Viking at Blackbushe

An Eagle Aviation Vickers Viking tries to return to Blackbushe after an engine failure and crashes into trees: 34 of the 35 on board die.

1964First flight The BAC 221, Concorde’s wing in miniature, flies

The first Fairey Delta 2, rebuilt with the ogee wing and lengthened undercarriage of the future Concorde, flies for the first time as the BAC 221. It will show at low speed how the supersonic airliner will behave.

1975Milestone Nagasaki Airport, the first at sea, opens

Nagasaki Airport opens in Ōmura Bay, the first airport in the world built on an artificial island.

1976Record The “Clipper Liberty Bell” sets off around the world

A Pan Am 747SP leaves New York with 98 passengers to circle the globe eastbound with two stops; it will be back in 46 hours with the commercial record.

1979Milestone Continental reaches the South Pacific

Continental opens its route from Los Angeles to Australia via Honolulu, Samoa, Fiji and New Zealand.

1981Milestone AAdvantage is born

American Airlines launches AAdvantage, the frequent-flyer programme that set the mileage model every airline uses today.

1985Milestone Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport opens

Soekarno-Hatta International Airport opens at Cengkareng, replacing Kemayoran as Jakarta’s gateway.

1990First flight The MD Helicopters MD 500 flies

The MD Helicopters MD 500, an American helicopter, makes its first flight.

1995Accident Collision over Sioux Lookout

A Bearskin Airlines Metroliner and an Air Sandy Piper Navajo collide in mid-air near Sioux Lookout, Ontario: all eight people on the two aircraft die.

2004Airline Braathens disappears into SAS Braathens

Braathens, Norway’s great private airline since 1946, merges with SAS Norge and ceases to exist as a company.

This day in earlier years · 60

Occurrences recorded on May 1 in earlier years across the fleet we document; this year’s are in News. Each one opens the record of the aircraft involved.