A nostalgic and celebratory look back at one hundred years of passenger flight featuring
full-color reproductions of route maps and posters from the world's most iconic airlines from
the author of bestselling cult classic Transit Maps of the World. In this gorgeously
illustrated collection of airline route maps Mark Ovenden and Maxwell Roberts look to the
skies and transport readers to another time. Hundreds of images span a century of passenger
flight from the rudimentary trajectory of routes to the most intricately detailed birds-eye
views of the land to be flown over. Advertisements for the first scheduled commercial passenger
flights featured only a few destinations with stunning views of the countryside and graphics
of biplanes. As aviation took off speed and mileage were trumpeted on bold posters featuring
busy routes. Major airlines produced highly stylized illustrations of their global presence
establishing now-classic brands. With trendy and forward-looking designs cartographers
celebrated the coming together of different cultures and made the earth look ever smaller.
Eventually fleets got bigger and routes multiplied and graphic designers have found creative
new ways to display huge amounts of information. Airline hubs bring their own cultural mark and
advertise their plentiful destination options. Innovative maps depict our busy world with webs
of overlapping routes and networks of low-cost city-to-city hopping. But though flying has
become more commonplace Ovenden and Roberts remind us that early air travel was a glamorous
affair for good reason. Airline Maps is a celebration of graphic design cartographic skills
and clever marketing and a visual feast that reminds us to enjoy the journey as much as the
destination.
