Boeing 747.

For those bound closer to the earth, the introduction of the Boeing 747 was treated as a revolution in air travel. The Christian Science Monitor greeted its first commercial flight on 21 January 1970 with the kind of words usually reserved for things spiritual. "As the world's physical and mental problems mount," the paper intoned, "so does the need for men to recognize the universality of their brotherhood and the oneness of their basic interests." The New York Times was not far behind: "The 747 will make it possible for more and more people to discover what their neighbors are like on the other side of the world."

Air Bus.

What was the big deal? The 747 was huge by the standards of the day. It could carry as many as 490 people, while the next largest commercial plane, the Boeing 707, could accommodate only 132. The press called it an...