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After World War I, many people began to operate commercial airlines. But every one of these early efforts failed because of high operating costs.

While fashion accessories may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the National Air and Space Museum, this collection captures the diversity and playfulness of flight crew dress across the decades.

New airlines emerging after World War II began operating on a nonscheduled basis and offering the first discount fares, undermining the government's regulated airfare system.

In 1978, Congress passed a law allowing airlines to set their own fares and routes, an event that transformed the commercial airline industry and the passenger experience.

How have computers transformed commercial flight? From ticket reservations to aircraft design and manufacture, computers have helped airline operations become more efficient and flexible.

Air mail had helped the commercial aviation industry thrive in its early days. Contracts to deliver mail were awarded to airlines by the federal government, but small, independent airlines complained that the way contracts were distributed was unfair.

Flight attendants were some of the people at the forefront of the fight for equality in the 20th century. Meet some of these remarkable people in this article. 

In the early days of commercial air flight, airlines struggled to turn a profit and remain afloat. The United States government, hoping to foster the success of commercial airlines, met this challenge by using airplanes to move mail across the country.

One area in which commercial airlines were able to make a splash and successfully market themselves during the 1960s and 1970s was through what their flight attendants wore. To appeal to the mostly male travelers, airlines introduced miniskirts and hot pants, to the dismay of many flight attendants.

NASA is usually associated with spaceflight, but its first "A" stands for Aeronautics. Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, Dr. Richard T. Whitcomb of NASA led the development of several key technologies: area rule in the 1950s and '60s, supercritical wings in the 1970s, and winglets in the 1970s and '80s.