WHAT:
Flight Ticket Office
WHERE:
Brooklands Circuit, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 0SL, UK
LOCATION:
WHEN:
1911
WHO:
Brooklands Aerodrome
DETAILS:
The world’s first passenger flight ticket office was established in 1911 at the Brooklands Flying Village, on the Byfleet side of the aerodrome. Operated by the renowned London ticket agency Keith Prowse & Co., this pioneering facility marked the birth of commercial flight ticketing. Connected by telephone to Keith Prowse’s London office and other branches, the office provided a streamlined process for booking early aviation experiences.
Passengers could purchase joyrides for two guineas (£2.10), while a three-circuit flight over Brooklands or Hendon aerodrome cost four guineas. For those seeking a more adventurous experience, a cross-country flight was available for ten guineas. This ticket office enabled the first structured, publicly accessible system for booking flights, making air travel more attainable for early enthusiasts.
Although it is unlikely that the office continued its original function after 1914, it later served as a pilots’ reporting office for Brooklands Aviation Ltd. in the 1930s. By 1938, it played a role in the recruitment process for the Civil Air Guard, a volunteer organization that prepared pilots for potential wartime service.
Recognizing its historical significance, the Flight Ticket Office was granted Grade 2 Listed status in the 1970s and became a Scheduled Ancient Monument. By 1989, surrounded by the expanding Brooklands Industrial Estate, the building was carefully dismantled and reassembled at Brooklands Museum in 1990, where it remains a preserved piece of aviation history.
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