1930s was the golden age for the flying-boat airlines in the world, notably the Pan Am Clipper transpacific and transatlantic routes, and the （British） Imperial Airways UK-Africa and UK-Australia/Far East routes. Th...1930s was the golden age for the flying-boat airlines in the world, notably the Pan Am Clipper transpacific and transatlantic routes, and the （British） Imperial Airways UK-Africa and UK-Australia/Far East routes. The major advantage of the flying boats was its endless runway （i.e., ocean or lake） and resultant possibilities for larger aircrafts than land-based airliners. Airlines such as Pan Am made large investments in the 1930s for flying boats, their special terminals by the water, and the worldwide flying-boat air route network. However, in the late 1940s to early 1950s, the flying boats suddenly disappeared due to the rapid development of land-based large airliners and long runways, according to the previous studies. The author conducted historical research on this topic, and found another reason： rapid decline in the high-income population who used to travel by flying boat scheduled flights. Also found was a recent surge of the luxury market, and steady increase in the cruise-ship passengers. Hence, there could be implications for revival of the flying boat flights as luxury cruise, rather than as scheduled flights.展开更多
文摘1930s was the golden age for the flying-boat airlines in the world, notably the Pan Am Clipper transpacific and transatlantic routes, and the （British） Imperial Airways UK-Africa and UK-Australia/Far East routes. The major advantage of the flying boats was its endless runway （i.e., ocean or lake） and resultant possibilities for larger aircrafts than land-based airliners. Airlines such as Pan Am made large investments in the 1930s for flying boats, their special terminals by the water, and the worldwide flying-boat air route network. However, in the late 1940s to early 1950s, the flying boats suddenly disappeared due to the rapid development of land-based large airliners and long runways, according to the previous studies. The author conducted historical research on this topic, and found another reason： rapid decline in the high-income population who used to travel by flying boat scheduled flights. Also found was a recent surge of the luxury market, and steady increase in the cruise-ship passengers. Hence, there could be implications for revival of the flying boat flights as luxury cruise, rather than as scheduled flights.
