4The invention of the airplane was the dawn of a new way of traveling, its potential quickly realized as aircraft were developed to carry mail, and then passengers, over distances that would previously have taken many hours or even days. Successive aircraft in turn changed how we experience flight and how far we could go, introducing new standards of on-board service. Flying became an experience like no other; modern airliners offer unparalleled levels of comfort and economic benefits for their operators with levels of automation hitherto unimagined. This book presents the exciting airliners which can genuinely claim to have changed air travel, from the early mail planes and piston liners through the emergence of the jet age, to the sleek and ultra-modern airliners of today.