Last month, J Martin Schröder, who founded Europe’s inaugural budget airline, passed away at the age of 93. Although he wasn’t widely recognized in Britain, his impact extended well past his home country of the Netherlands. The company named after him, Martinair, took on KLM, the prominent Dutch flag carrier, setting a blueprint for subsequent pioneers like Michael O'Leary from Ryanair and Stelios Haji-Ioannou from easyJet to emulate.
His Telegraph obituary Recalling Schröder’s brilliant move was realizing how swiftly he could transform his plane between passenger and cargo services just by installing or taking out the seats. He found this transformation could occur within hours. However, some travelers grumbled that they could still catch whiffs of livestock—horses, pigs, or cows—that the airplane had transported the previous evening.
Which other airlines could be considered the most influential in history? Here’s what I think:
BOAC: 1940-1974
In May 1952, The British Overseas Airways Corporation led the way into the modern jet era and eventually transformed itself into "the world's favorite airline" —British Airways. BOAC de Havilland Comets A four-engine airplane comparable in size to a Boeing 737 departed from London with 44 passengers aboard and journeyed through Nairobi to reach Johannesburg. It then proceeded eastward across Asia before arriving in Tokyo. These flights marked the beginning of regular international commercial jet routes for passengers.
Six years later, the successor to Imperial Airways chalked up another “first”. On October 4 1958, BOAC’s De Havilland Comet 4 started flying from London to New York’s Idlewild Airport, now JFK. The transatlantic jet age had begun. By the late 1950s, BOAC would claim to be the “world wide airline”, with aircraft touching down on every continent except Antarctica.
In the 1970s, when the Boeing 747 entered service, yearly passenger counts surged dramatically, leading BOAC to start making profits. Numerous people consider the BOAC jumbo with its distinctive livery to be the most aesthetically pleasing version of the aircraft.
In the past, well-traveled routes have remained quite similar to what we see nowadays—such as flights from London to New York, a route initially operated by the 747, along with journeys to Johannesburg, Tokyo, and the Kangaroo Route heading towards Sydney. This was true back in 1955. flying from London to Sydney took four days Including stops in cities like Zurich, Beirut, Karachi, Kolkata, Singapore, Jakarta, and Darwin—a stark contrast to modern times—Qantas is set to launch the inaugural direct flights from London, which will last approximately 19 hours. During the 1950s and 1960s, passengers favored dishes such as Maine lobster, Parma ham cornets, and roasted sirloin of beef, accompanied by drinks like highballs and Campari and soda.
In 1974, BOAC combined with British European Airways to create British Airways. Even now, BA employs BOAC’s call sign when communicating with air traffic control, which is "Speedbird."
Pan Am: 1927-1991
While BOAC might have claimed victory in the race to launch the first passenger jets, it was Pan American Airways – commonly known as Pan Am – that did so. add some glamor to flying The phrase "the jet set" was coined during this era. Some were drawn to the iconic blue-and-white globe logo, while others admired the airline's electric blue stewardess uniforms paired with stylish pillbox hats. There was consensus that their inaugural transatlantic flight in 1958, connecting New York—the city that never sleeps—with Paris, the city of love, epitomized the romance of the emerging jet age. How about breakfast at Maxim’s?
Pan Am entered into popular culture, appearing in successful films from the 1960s. Dr. No In 1968, as featured in the iconic sci-fi film, Sean Connery’s portrayal of James Bond lands in Kingston, Jamaica, stepping off a Pan Am 707. 2001: A Space Odyssey incorporated a futuristic Pan Am Space Clipper en route to a space station circling Earth. In 1964, when the Beatles arrived in New York for their inaugural U.S. television appearance, The Ed Sullivan Show , they didn’t disembark from a BOAC jet but instead stepped out of a Pan Am 707 called, fittingly, the Clipper Defiance.
The position of Pan Am flight attendant—or air hostess, as they were known at the time—was greatly sought after. "This was among the finest jobs available for women," according to Christel Vane, who previously worked as a Pan Am hostess. told Telegraph Travel back in 2013 There were no other options available for women unless they chose to become secretaries.
In 1970, Pan Am became the inaugural airline to fly Boeing’s 747, known as "the Queen of the Skies." The company essentially served as America's de facto national carrier; however, following the 1973 oil crisis—which caused oil prices to skyrocket fourfold—the economics turned against running their fleet of 747s efficiently. Additionally, lacking sufficient routes within the U.S., they struggled to maintain full flights. By November 1978, the network had dwindled to service at only 65 destinations. Despite this, Pan Am continued operations for roughly ten more years until filing for bankruptcy in 1991.
Despite its disappearance nearly twenty years ago, Pan Am continues to be held in such high regard that it inspired a 14-part TV series dramatizing its era, featuring Margot Robbie as an airline stewardess. The distinctive blue luggage adorned with the white globe emblem that Robbie carried still commands top dollar at auction sales.
Pacific Southwest Airlines: 1949-1988
Even though it may seem otherwise, flying has become more affordable now than ever before due to the emergence of budget airlines. Companies such as Ryanair, easyJet, and Wizz Air trace their roots back to Southwest, which is currently the largest low-cost carrier in America. Interestingly, Southwest itself originated from a California-based startup known as Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA). According to Herb Kelleher, who established Southwest, PSA played an essential role in inspiring him to found his own company. But what exactly was PSA, and how did it leave such a significant impact?
On May 6, 1949, it made its maiden flight. A rented Douglas DC-3 plane left San Diego Airport, formerly called Lindbergh Field, with 24 passengers onboard heading for Oakland Airport through Hollywood Burbank Airport. The company’s founder, Kenny Friedkin, capitalized on the situation where, being an intra-state California carrier, they were exempt from U.S. federal price controls, allowing them to reduce ticket costs.
He provided nothing extra. There wasn’t any special branding for check-ins at airports, and luggage was measured with ordinary household scales. The service included just one class of travel and utilized only one kind of airplane—an approach later adopted by every contemporary budget airline. Within its inaugural year, PSA turned profitable.
During the 1950s, Friedkin utilized Douglas DC-4 planes to broaden their reach, launching routes from San Diego to cities like San Francisco, San Jose, and Ontario. In the following decade, the company went public, providing the financial resources required for expansion with the introduction of Boeing 727s followed by Boeing 737 jets painted in their signature orange, red, and white color scheme. Known for friendly service offerings and ticket prices often just half those of competitors including TWA, PSA branded itself as "the world’s friendliest airline."
In 1978, the U.S. Airline Deregulation Act removed federal oversight of ticket prices, leading to increased competition and expansion. Recognizing this shift, PSA expanded its reach outside of California, targeting cities like Reno, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and Los Cabos in Mexico. To prepare for significant growth, PSA placed an order for specially modified Lockheed L-1011 wide-body aircraft.
In 1986, USAir, which would later be renamed US Airways, purchased the airline for $400 million. By 1988, PSA had been fully incorporated into the bigger company. However, what made their approach effective has now become standard practice globally for short-distance airlines, even though certain companies—such as British Airways—that might have learned from this should possibly reconsider their strategies.
Emirates: 1985-present
Three decades back, Emirates was an unfamiliar name for most, and locating tiny Dubai on a globe wasn’t common knowledge either. During this period, British Airways stood as the global favorite air travel option, outpacing all competitors in terms of international passenger volume. The transformation since then has been remarkable. Nowadays, The biggest international airline is Emirates. byScheduled Available Seat Kilometers (SASK) - totaling 344.7 billion in 2023-24 - and its main hub, Dubai International, is the most trafficked international airport globally handling 90 million travelers annually.
Emirates has established a hub-and-spoke system under the leadership of two British executives: Chief Executive Sir Tim Clark and Head of Dubai International Paul Griffiths. This approach has redirected the focal point of international air traffic from Europe towards the Gulf region. As a result, travelers from Europe use Dubai as a stopover for destinations like Australia, Asia, and Africa. Passengers from China also make connections in Dubai when traveling to Africa. Due to the high volume of Indian travelers connecting through Dubai instead of flying directly from cities such as Delhi or Mumbai, Emirates has earned the nickname "India’s national carrier."
Clark has also attained the uncommon distinction of making passengers' favorite airplane his own. With over 120 Airbus A380 superjumbos under his belt, he transformed these planes into Emirates’ signature feature by equipping them with luxurious amenities such as showers for first-class travelers, an expansive bar for those in business class, a top-notch premium-economy section at the plane’s forward end, and even a decent economy area. Travelers adore these enhancements. In comparison, Emirates’ closest competitors have only about twelve A380s apiece.
If all that weren’t enough, Emirates has all but single-handedly created the city state of Dubai. Many locals in Dubai joke that it is “an airline with a city attached”.
Qantas: 1922-present
The Flying Kangaroo has conquered what Vanessa Hudson, its chief executive, calls “the tyranny of distance”. It pioneered ultra-long-haul services, flying 15-hour routes from Sydney and Melbourne to Los Angeles, Dallas and Johannesburg – while also maintaining one of the best safety records in the industry. It moved on to establish the first non-stop routes from Europe to Perth, with 17-hour flights between London, Paris and Rome and Perth.
Now it is set to do something that very few aviation analysts believed could be done: begin 21-hour continuous service from London and New York to Sydney and Melbourne Starting in 2026, flight QF2 will depart from London early in the day and land in Sydney during the later part of the afternoon on the subsequent day. Conversely, QF1 will take off from Sydney in the evening and touch down in London the following morning.
At 10,978 miles, the service's reach surpasses all others. the longest flight at present – Singapore Airlines’ service between New York and Singapore, which travels 9,500 miles in just under 19 hours.
I was one of 34 passengers on a non-stop London-to-Sydney test run that Qantas flew in 2019, crossing 10 time zones and 11 countries. We headed east over northern Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan and China, and then south across the South China Sea, before making landfall near Darwin in the Northern Territory and crossing Australia. “You are now members of the Rare and Secret Order of the Double Sunrise,” announced Captain Helen Trenerry, as she flew Qantas flight 7879 into the second dawn of our record-breaking journey. “No one else has seen two sunrises in one flight and got to Sydney faster than you.”
The first paying passengers will follow a similar route in 2026 on an Airbus A350 jet built with an extra fuel tank and fewer seats than normal to reduce weight. Hudson reckons first class non-stop to Sydney will be the ultimate status symbol in air travel – “the new Concorde”. She is now working out how profane a fare she can charge. My money’s on £20,000 return.
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