Thirty years ago, Airline Business magazine was one of a handful of seemingly insignificant new arrivals in the civil aviation world. But what an incredible ride it has been since that first issue – spun out of the industry's oldest aviation weekly, Flight International – landed on doormats in November 1985.
The industry has transformed itself in so many ways.
Progressive deregulation in many markets and the global impact of the internet have in equal measure created opportunities for entrepreneurs and challenges for incumbents.
Other significant developments, like the rise of terrorism – particularly poignant following the recent tragedies in Egypt and Paris – and the opening up of new markets like China and Russia have also played their part in redefining our industry.
Long-established names such as Eastern – the cover story in the first issue of Airline Business – and Pan American have disappeared. And certain scenarios have played out in ways few could predict in 1985.
At that time, Concorde was approaching the end of its first 10 years in service. Now, supersonic travel is the preserve of the military.
The Boeing 747 was the airliner of choice for long-haul travel and the fashion for ever-larger "jumbo jets" seemed set to continue unabated. That this has not happened is creating headaches in Toulouse at the moment, as Airbus wrestles with its A380 strategy.
While modesty prevents us from overstating the important contribution Airline Business has made to the sector's development in the ensuing 30 years, few would argue about how two fellow 1985 arrivals have changed the game.
Historians among you will need no reminding of two 1985 "newbies" that sparked transformations on a scale few could have imagined back then. One began flying a 15-seat Embraer Bandeirante turboprop during the year between Waterford and Gatwick, with the intention of breaking the duopoly that British Airways and Aer Lingus held on London-Ireland flights at the time. The other took off on a mission to put Dubai on the airline map, just as the first Airline Business was going to the printers.
Few could have imagined what impact Ryanair and Emirates were going to have on aviation's world order.
And when one is reminded of the size, not to mention weight and cost, of those early mobile phones that began circulating in the 1980s, who could have imagined the impact that these devices would have on everyday life? And where will it end?
Mobile technology is transforming the passenger experience at airports. Futurists like Rohit Talwar are convinced that it won't be long before today's "wearables" transition to tomorrow's "embedded". Imagine what that will mean for airport security.
How long will it be before computerised personal assistants like Apple's Siri or Microsoft's Cortana can book your entire travel itinerary, without even the push of a button? Be assured the boffins are already working on this technology.
But in some areas, progress has been frustratingly sluggish. Where liberalisation is concerned, the "revolution" is still a work in progress. It is not providing the freedom that would allow the airline industry to behave like other global industries, such as telecoms or automotive.
This reluctance by governments to truly open up the skies threatens to ultimately prevent aviation from achieving its full potential, much to the frustration of today's incumbents. But perhaps they should be careful what they wish for.
As the last 30 years has shown, no business has the divine right to succeed and there are plenty of opportunists who would love the chance to rip up the rule book with no regard to the collateral damage it creates.
To mark our 30th anniversary, read an online version of the first edition of Airline Business, published in November 1985.
Source: Airline Business
