| Part One: The Age of Visionaries and Forerunners 1783-1914 |
| 1 Aerostatic vessels: Balloons and dirigibles |
10 |
| 2 Aviation: Aircraft and seaplanes |
20 |
| Part Two: The First World War 1914–1918 |
| 1 The consequences of the war |
32 |
| 2 Perspectives of peace |
38 |
| Part Three: The Age of Pioneers and Organisers 1919 – 1939 |
| 1 Jubilation and disillusionment in the post war period |
44 |
| 2 The international legal framework is put in place |
53 |
| 3 The US Post Office creates the world’s largest air network |
60 |
| 4 The South American epic |
69 |
| 5 The imperial lines |
84 |
| 6 Airmail in Europe |
101 |
| 7 The North Atlantic, or the conquest of the “Royal Route” |
114 |
| 8 Airborne freight traffic up to the eve of 1939 |
126 |
| 9 The Soviet experience |
138 |
| Part Four: The Disruption of the Second World War 1939–1945 |
| 1 Civilian and military airmail |
144 |
| 2 Military transport aviation: Airlifts |
144 |
| Part Five: The Time of “Safe and Orderly Growth” 1945 – 1970 |
| 1 The new order for the international airways: A regulated world |
170 |
| 2 The age of airfreight |
175 |
| 3 The problem of the cargo aircraft |
189 |
| 4 Airfreight and the Cold War |
195 |
| 5 Commercial regulations governing Airfreight |
204 |
| 6 The great leap forward of the 1960s |
211 |
| 7 A tale of two decades 1950–1970: enthusiasm, deception and cruel realities |
221 |
| 6 The post, or the abandoned bride |
228 |
| Part Six: The Time of the Great Upheaval: The Decade 1970–1980 |
| 1 The end of stability and certainty: A time of crises |
241 |
| 2 The era of wide-bodied and supersonic aircraft |
248 |
| 3 The oil crises:The end of cheap energy |
256 |
| 4 The express explosion |
269 |
| 5 Ecology, consumerism and public opinion |
282 |
| 6 The omnipresent computer |
288 |
| 7 The tide of liberalisation |
292 |
| 8 Airfreight in the Soviet Union: From zenith to collapse |
296 |
| Part Seven: The Year 2000: “The Golden Age Illusion” |
| 1 Airfreight – A panoramic view |
302 |
| 2 The customers |
324 |
| 3 The airlines |
334 |
| 4 The cargo agents |
353 |
| 5 The post |
361 |
| 6 The airports |
371 |
| 7 The people |
380 |
| Part Eight: Beyond 2000: 9/11 An Act of War |
| | |
| Notes to the text |
390 |
| Bibliography |
397 |
| Index |
402 |
