Air Travelers' Guides
Air travel was an adventure with exotic underpinnings in the years between 1919 and 1939.
For most of these years only the very wealthy, businessmen with corporate accounts,
and those folks with urgent travel requirements made use of the commercial air carriers.
The mass of air travelers we see today did not appear until well after the Second
World War. Most folks took trains. But, for those lucky travelers who wished
to get somewhere in a speedier manner the airlines was the option of choice. But
even though the industry was rather small there were still choices to be made. Which
airline offered the best rates? Which serviced your area? When could flights
be booked? To answer these questions a whole new support network began to develop to
serve the needs of the air travelers.
Not long after air travel started in Europe publishers were quick to find a market for collecting and distributing the schedules of the various airlines. Early flight schedules were published in newspapers. By the mid-1920s however, there were so many carriers, timetables and schedules that it became apparent that some sort of monthly directory of all these schedules needed to be published. The result was a series of publications which continue to serve the same function today -- 70+ years later. The following publications were the best-known and most useful resources for air travel of the period.
Note: Click on the images for more detailed information.
Consolidated Schedules and Fares
This brochure (issued monthly) was published by the American Air Transport Association (in Chicago, IL) beginning in the late 1920s in the U.S. It provided airline timetables and schedules for a select group of the major commercial companies.
The Official Aviation Guide of the Airways
The Official Aviation Guide of the Airways (later changed to Official Guide of the Airways) was published monthly by the Official Aviation Guide Compnay, Inc. (in Chicago, Illinois) beginning in 1929. Each edition offered schedules, fares and other general information of the passenger, mail and express airlines operating in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South America and the Caribbean.
It also offered some coverage of airlines operating in Europe.
Bradshaw's International Air Guide
(cover of 1935 edition)
Bradshaw's International Air Guide was published monthly by Henry Blacklock, Ltd. (in London). Each edition featured photographs, drawings, advertisements, maps, etc. A large folding map of Britain and Trans-Continental air routes were included in a pocket in the back cover. Bradshaw, known for its railway guides, began issuing the Air Guide in 1931. In addition to the timetables of worldwide service, the volume is replete with wonderfully nostalgic advertisements for hotels in exotic locales and Airline companies including Imperial Airways, KLM, etc.
