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modes of transportation are reviewed in this chapter,

think about how they can be developed and integrated

to serve the tourist in the best possible manner.

THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY

On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina,

Orville and Wilbur Wright launched the aviation age
when Orville made the first controlled, sustained flight

in a motorized, heavier - than - air craft. While that

famous first flight lasted less than a minute, it changed

the transportation world forever. Air travel has changed
the way people view time and distance. As we

celebrate over one hundred years of flight, we find the

airline industry has grown from an infant to a giant.
The world ’ s airline industry now carries over 2.2 billion

passengers per year. In the United States alone,

commercial aviation generates more than $150 billion
in annual revenue and employs over 550,000 people.

While the world airline industry is huge, it is facing

many challenges. It was 2006 before the air industry
saw its first profitable year this century. The world

airline industry has survived SARS (severe acute

respiratory syndrome), the conflict in Iraq, terrorism,
and a sluggish economy, and is now cautiously

optimistic about the future. U.S. airlines have fared

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