In 1914 Tony Jannus made history by flying the first plane with a paying commercial passenger from St. Petersburg to Tampa Bay in Florida. Tony Jannus’ plane, the Benoist XIV had only enough space in its open cockpit for one passenger to make the 18.6 mile trip across the bay . The first passenger was the former mayor of St. Petersburg, Abram Pheil. He had paid the princely sum of $400 (over $5000 in today’s currency) at auction for his ticket aboard the first flight, but there was very little luxury on offer with just a hard wooden seat next to the pilot included in the fare.
With the advance of international travel airlines are constantly looking at ways to improve the services offered on board. This has seen the development of more luxurious amenity kits, food developed by Michelin starred chefs and cabin crew that are trained to accommodate a passenger’s every whim. The luxury fixtures and fittings may have changed, but Tony Jannus paved the way and allowed people to realize that air travel was a real possibility.
Celebrating innovation in one particular luxury item – the all-important airline Amenity Kit – is the focus of the annual TravelPlus Awards, which will take place on 8 April at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Hamburg, alongside the World Catering and Onboard Services Expo. The timing couldn’t be better, as TravelPlus will be celebrating 100 years of commercial flight at its awards ceremony.
For your chance to win one of these internationally recognized awards, just submit your latest Amenity Kit that has been available onboard during 2013. The closing date for entries into the awards is 31 January. Tickets are also now available to buy to join TravelPlus at the special, commemorative Gala Awards Ceremony in Hamburg. An early bird ticket offer, available until 31 January, means that tickets are available for just £75 each. Thereafter the tickets will be priced at £94.
Runway Girl Network is proud to be a media sponsor of these awards. To see a demonstration of how carriers are truly innovating in the amenity kit space, see the following review of Cathay Pacific’s stylish premium economy amenity kit last year.
