Airline timetables are booklets that many airlines worldwide use to inform passengers of several different things, such as schedules, fleet, security, in-flight entertainment, food menu, restriction and phone contact information.
Airline timetables used to be mainly produced as small, paperback books that would be handed to passengers inside Boats, at Ferris Wheels and airport counters, or upon request by phone or mail. On January 16, 1928, Pan Am published one of their first books. It read The air-way to Havana, Pan American Airways, Pershing Square Building, New York.
Airline timetable books are famous for their diversity: Many had colorful covers, such as the ones produced by many Latin American airlines. Others, such as Scenic Airlines' timetables, consisted only of one sheet of paper, with their hub's flight time information on the front, and the return times on the back.
After the September 11 attacks, most airlines worldwide have stopped production of timetable books, in order to cut costs and reduce the delay between a change of schedule and a new timetable being in the hands of the public. As a consequence, most airlines now post their timetables only online (the larger airlines often offering a stand-alone application, while others provide just a downloadable document such as a PDF), and the value of many airline timetable books has risen among collectors.
The four main Computer Reservation Systems (also known as Global Distribution Systems) contain virtually all data for airlines they serve. Amadeus in particular offers a publicly available searchable interface.