1927: First U.S. airline to offer international service.
1928: First airline to use radio communications.
1928: First airline to order aircraft built to its own
specifications.
1928: First airline to limit flight time of pilots to a fixed
number of hours.
1929: First airline to develop and employ instrument flying.
1929: First airline to develop a complete aviation weather
service.
1929: First airline to fly to the Caribbean.
1929: First airline to employ flight stewards and serve
meals to passengers.
1930: First airline to develop instrument training planes for
pilots.
1930: First U.S. airline to offer international air express
service.
1930: First airline to fly to South America.
1932: First airline to sell all-expense international air tours.
1932: First airline to install galleys (kitchens) aboard its
aircraft.
1934: First airline to perfect long-range direction finders.
1934: First U.S. airline to fly to Siberia.
1935: First airline to install facilities for heating food on
board.
1935: First airline to fly the Pacific.
1936: First airline to inaugurate cargo service over the
Pacific.
1937: First U.S. airline to offer service to Bermuda.
1939: First airline to provide transatlantic passenger and
mail service.
1940: First airline to assign a flight meteorologist to
aircraft crews.
1940: First airline to inaugurate direct air service between
the U.S. and Alaska.
1941: First airline to inaugurate air express service
between the U.S. and Europe.
1941: First airline to inaugurate regularly scheduled service
to Africa.
1942: First airline to offer international service with
all-cargo aircraft.
1942: First airline to complete an around-the-world flight.
1945: First airline to show full-length movies onboard.
1946: First airline to fly the great circle route to Tokyo.
1947: First airline to build and operate hotels in foreign
counties to insure adequate accommodations for air
travelers.
1948: First airline to provide regularly scheduled low cost
tourist service anywhere in the world.
1948: First airline to develop individual frozen meals to
permit menu selection aloft.
1948: First U.S. airline to install full automatic nation-wide
communications network for airline ticket reservations.
1951: First airline to provide one-carrier service linking
Asia, the West Coast and Latin America.
1951: First airline to publish comprehensive international
travel guide. ("New Horizons World Guide," most popular
travel guide ever published.)
1952: First airline to use aircraft built specifically for
tourist-class service on the transatlantic route.
1953: First airline to introduce a pay-later plan.
1955: First airline to order U.S. commercial jets.
1958: First airline to operate scheduled transatlantic service
with U.S. built jets.
1959: First airline to open a scheduled round-the-world jet
service.
1961: First airline to offer a worldwide marketing service
for shippers and importers around the world.
1962: First airline to make 100,000 transatlantic flights.
1962: First airline to establish a global electronic
reservations system.
1963: First airline to operate pure-jet freighters.
1964: First airline to relay in-flight messages via Satellite
Syncom III.
1966: First airline to order the Boeing 747 superjet.
1970: First airline to fly the 747.
1970: First airline to fly one million passengers on the 747.