“Here is tomorrow’s air liner – a huge transport, slicked up to haul passengers anywhere in the world – at a price that you can afford.” [Prologue]
“The trip itself, from the start of the take-off run in Seattle to buzzing the control tower in Washington, D.C., had taken only six hours, three minutes and fifty seconds, and it had smashed all existing transcontinental records . . . it had served to highlight in terms of human convenience how fast and easy plane travel may be in the reasonably near future . . .
“The four-engine plane was a C-97, a big work horse of a plane, built for the Army as a troop and cargo carrier. But all it needed to convert it into a luxury air liner was an interior decorating job. A mockup of how the postwar interior will look, with cocktail lounge, indirect lighting, reclining chairs, berths, galley, a circular stairway between the two decks, and chi-chi powder rooms, has been built at the Boeing Aircraft Company plant in Seattle. According to company officials, this Cinderella version, called the Stratocruiser, may be in commercial use by next summer. . .” [Excerpts from the article]
The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was indeed put into commercial use as predicted. It was a large, long-range airliner developed from the C-97 Stratofreighter military transport, which was a derivative of the B-29 Superfortress. The Stratocruiser's first flight was on July 8, 1947, and it was introduced into service with Pan American World Airways on April 1, 1949.
The Stratocruiser was known for its luxury and comfort, featuring two passenger decks and a pressurized cabin, which was quite innovative at the time. It could carry up to 100 passengers on the main deck plus 14 in the lower deck lounge; typical seating was for 63 or 84 passengers or 28 berthed and five seated passengers. Despite its advanced design and features, the Stratocruiser faced challenges with reliability, primarily due to issues with its engines and propellers.
The aircraft's commercial service career lasted until around 1963, with Pan American World Airways being the primary user. Although it was eventually overshadowed by more efficient jet airliners like the Boeing 707, the Stratocruiser played a significant role in the post-war era of commercial aviation and fulfilled the predictions of the article to some extent.
[Sources: Bing Copilot, Wikipedia and HistoryNet.com]