Episode 9 - The World's First Airline

In 1909, the Zeppelin Company made history by founding the world's first airline, DELAG.

But it was not smooth sailing; DELAG lost their first airships in a series of high-profile, humiliating disasters before they found their feet.

Expanding amid a wave of German nationalism, in which the Zeppelin became a patriotic symbol of Teutonic technological might, DELAG airships soon flew over all the major cities of Germany.

Years ahead of aeroplanes, airline passengers on DELAG's ships flew in plush cabins and served the finest food and wine by the world's first flight attendant. But the storm clouds of war were gathering over Europe…

Sources:
The Achievement of the Airship by Guy Hartcup
Giants in the Sky by Douglas Robinson
Count Zeppelin by Hugo Eckener
Eckener Unabridged by Hugo Eckener, translated by Alastair Reid
The Men of Manzell by Georg Hacker, translated by Alastair Reid
Zeppelin! by Guillaume de Syon
Airships.net