The first commercial jet airliner, the de Havilland Comet, debuted in 1952, though it was retired shortly after due to mulltiple airframe losses due to structural fatigue.

The Boeing 707 entered service in 1957, and is probably most associated with the start of the jet age.

Most commercial flights were likely propeller-driven aircraft through the 1950s, but some jet travel had begun by the end of the decade.