This month marks 100 years since the first ever commercial aviation flight.  On 1 January 1914 the first ever paying passenger took a flight from St. Petersburg to Tampa, Florida in a bi-wing airboat.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), over 3 billion passengers and 50 million tonnes of cargo reach their destination by air every year.  This supports over 57 million jobs and $2.2 trillion in economic activity.

Notable highlights over the past 100 years include the first commercial jet flight in 1965 (de Havilland Comet) in 1965, entry into service of the Boeing 747 in 1970, 19 hour non-stop flights in 2004 and the first commercial biofuel flights in 2011.

An interactive timeline charting developments in the industry over the years is available here: http://www.flying100years.com/about