The idea was aircraft like the Pan Am Clippers, luxurious airships for high-end transcontinental travel, equipped with sleeping and dining arrangements and posh appointments. Basically, it was the old Zeppelin concept in fixed-wing form.

The idea was the big sea planes would not need expensive airports, they could land at existing seaports and harbors, take advantage of existing customs and tourist facilities, and passengers could transfer to existing rail or local air transport which already had terminals at important seaports to continue their journeys. And they could compete directly with ocean liners on time and cost.

The technology was already in place and tested, and service was initiated on several routes, but the idea never caught on commercially.