February 3, 1946 was both Pan American World Airways and Transcontinental and Western Airlines (later Trans World Airlines, or just TWA) inaugurate commercial operation of its new Lockheed Model 49 Constellation airliner. The first scheduled Pan Am flight goes from New York City to Bermuda. Jack Frye, a pilot and president of TWA, copilot Lee Flanagan, with five additional crew members and 45 passengers, depart Burbank Airport, California, just before 4:00 a.m. Pacific time and land at LaGuardia Airport, New York, just before noon Eastern time. The 2,474-mile flight takes seven hours, 27 minutes, and 48 seconds, averaging 329 miles per hour, which sets a transcontinental speed record for transport aircraft.
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