FreightWaves Classics: The commercial jet age began in 1959

A prototype of the Boeing 707 on its maiden flight on July 15, 1954. (Photo wired.com):

The first transcontinental commercial jet flight in the United States occurred on January 25, 1959, inaugurating the jet age for passenger and cargo aircraft.

At 12:01 p.m. an American Airlines Boeing 707 departed Los Angeles International Airport on its way to New York City. To mark the occasion, Bernice Brown, the wife of California Governor Edmund G.  Brown, pressed the buttons to start the airplane’s jet engines. 

The festive and historic west-east flight across the United States lasted...

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