dec 25, 1914 - Increasing Profitability of Airmail

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An indirect cause that many still believe to have contributed greatly to the growth of commercial airlines was the increasing popularity and profitability of airmail, the delivery of mail by airplane. Cristopher Klein, Historian, states, "The airmail contracts attracted some of the country’s most prominent business titans and aviators". Seeing the growing apparency that aviation and airlines were becoming spurred on many previously successful businessmen and entrepreneurs into trying their own aviation business, and caused a massive influx of money and time going into aviation. Robert Linden, another prominent historian, agrees on this view, while also saying that the government airmail contracts contributed to this boom as well. Specifically, he stated that, "Conventional wisdom credits only entrepreneurs with the vision to create America’s commercial airline industry … Air mail contracts provided a critical indirect subsidy and a solid financial foundation for this nascent industry'. These two sources both identify airmail as the major growth factor behind the industry. However, thes eclaims are disputed by the National Air and Space Museum. Though it acknowledged the importance of Airmail, it also stated that, "Reform was needed for the airline system to grow", and that the system needed to change tor each its potential. Altogether, these sources do say that the Airmail system was instrumental in bringing rise to the many commercial airlines today, but also needed to change to fit these new airline systems.

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