No dia um de janeiro de 1914, o norte-americano Tony Jannus foi escalado para ser o piloto numa viagem comercial entre as cidades de Tampa e São Petersburgo (duas cidades da Flórida) e este evento é considerado a primeira viagem comercial da história da aviação, quando o prefeito de São Petersburgo, Abram Phell, pagou a quantia de US$ 400,00 para ser levado a Tampa. O aparelho utilizado foi um hidroavião marca e modelo Benoist XIV, de apenas dois lugares, da companhia área St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line e de propriedade de Percival Fansler
Fonte:Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre.
Aviation: The Invisible Highway is a story about how flying has changed the world. When commercial aviation began 100 years ago, true connectivity remained an aspiration. Now, on any given day, 50,000 routes connect people and goods between any two points in the world in a matter of hours, spreading culture, bringing together family and friends, and creating value for the global economy.
“The film explores the countless ways aviation affects our lives, even when we don’t fly, renewing our appreciation for one of the most extraordinary and awe-inspiring aspects of the modern world,” says Brian Terwilliger, the man behind the movie.
Terwilliger has been fascinated with aviation since he was young. “Flying never ceases to amaze me,” he says.
His first documentary, One Six Right, focused on general aviation and the romance of flying, through the eyes of a pilot. The new film, Aviation: The Invisible Highway, has a much larger story to tell and is intended for a much broader audience—the majority of travelers that fly in the back of a commercial aircraft.
“I wanted to elevate the perception of aviation in a way that I’ve never seen done before,” says Terwilliger. “In the film’s opening sequence, the narrator challenges the viewer to ‘forget everything you know about airplanes—and prepare to see them again, for the first time!’ I think the film really will do just that for millions of people. It already has in our test screenings with the general public.”
Terwilliger notes the irony in the public perception of airlines. When it comes to traveling long distances, the airlines provide a service that has no close alternative in terms of speed, cost, efficiency, and safety. Yet for many, flying is considered a nuisance, even an inconvenience. “I think the general public has lost perspective on how extraordinary it is that we can fly so far and so fast at all,” he says.
Perception of the industry seems inversely related to its social contribution. In 1914, flying was for the rich and famous and had a limited impact on the world. And yet people were fascinated by it. Today, its social and economic contribution is enormous but the focus is on the challenges rather than the amazing big picture.
Most of the negative perceptions that the flying public may have with the airlines are related to their own personal experience and ever-increasing expectations, suggests Terwilliger. Since most technologies that are encountered on a daily basis get smaller, faster, and easier to use every few months, people have come to expect the same with other technologies, like aviation.
But the constant improvements and breakthroughs in aviation technology mostly happen behind the scenes, out of sight. The passenger experience, although changing, isn’t keeping pace with other developments in personal technology. “Ultimately, I believe that it’s a challenge to improve the reputation of the industry in any dramatic way, because it’s challenging to improve the passenger experience in a dramatic way,” says Terwilliger.
“There is, however, one powerful change that I believe is possible, one which the film is intended to serve: our perspective,” he says. “When aviation is put into context, and we step back and realize how easily we’re conquering mountains and oceans—the same ones that challenged even the boldest explorers—the details of the process somehow become less significant.
“The more people that see the film, and experience its emotional and thought-provoking narrative, the more people will reconsider the way they see the industry that gets them from A to B.
“Most of the work I’ve accomplished, the experiences I’ve collected, the people I’ve met and the places I’ve seen wouldn’t have been possible if the aviation industry didn’t exist,” he concludes. “I feel very fortunate to live in a time when we can fly.”
“It’s great to see someone from outside of the aviation industry with a clear sense of the value that aviation contributes to modern life,” says Anthony Concil, IATA’s VP for Corporate Communications. “It’s a beautiful piece of cinematography and powerful message for our industry.”
Aviation: The Invisible Highway is narrated by Harrison Ford and was filmed in 18 countries across all seven continents. It can be seen exclusively in IMAX theatres, worldwide, later this year.
