Existing comment:
Traveling by Coach
American Airlines Air Coach Service Brochure
A "coach" was originally a horse-drawn vehicle designed for carrying more than one passenger. The word comes from the Hungarian town of Kocs (pronounced "kotch"), known as a place where well-designed coaches were built. When railroads adapted coaches for use on tracks, the term stayed in use. The airlines borrowed the term to use for coach class, the least expensive seats.
With the widespread availability of surplus Douglas C-47 transports (military versions of the DC-3) after World War II, many freight service airlines arose and prospered. Returning veterans eager to continue flying formed such airlines as Flying Tigers, Slick, Airlift, and Seaboard World.
Reacting to competition from nonscheduled airlines, Capital Airlines in 1948 introduced the first coach fares. Although approved reluctantly by the C.A.B., these lower fares immediately became popular and introduced air travel to a much broader passenger market. |