transatlantic flights had occurred there that year, and at least four more flights had been scheduled for 1933. By 1933, Floyd Bennett Field accommodated more flights than Newark Airport: there were 51,828 arrivals and departures at Bennett Field in 1933, compared to 19,232 at Newark the same year. By number of flights, Bennett Field was the second-busiest airport in the U.S. that year, behind only Oakland International Airport in California. Floyd Bennett Field was never a commercial success due to its distance from the rest of New York City. Through 1934, there were no commercial passenger airlines that made regular scheduled arrivals or departures at Bennett Field. This was partly because Bennett Field was never able to secure a lucrative stream of airmail traffic, which went to Newark Airport instead. According to the 1933 annual report, Newark Airport carried 120,000 airline passengers, of mail, and of express mail, as opposed to Bennett Field's 52 airline passengers, 98 bags of mail, and of express. According to Tony Wrenn, most of the passenger aircraft and mail planes that landed at Bennett Field likely only did so because the planes could not land at Newark Airport. In 1937, American Airlines became the only commercial airline that regularly operated at Bennett Field, and for one specific flight: an air shuttle from New York to Boston. Seaplane taxi routes running from Bennett Field to East 34th Street Heliport and Lower Manhattan Heliport were established, but they failed to attract airlines. As a general aviation airfield, Floyd Bennett Field attracted the record-breaking pilots of the interwar period because of its superior modern facilities, lack of nearby obstacles, and convenient location near the Atlantic Ocean (see ). The airport hosted dozens of "firsts" and time records as well as a number of air races in its heyday, such as the Bendix Cup. Civilians were also allowed to take flying lessons at Bennett Field. Various improvements were made to the airport throughout its entire commercial existence: first as a seaplane hangar, then by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and finally by the United States Navy. However, Bennett Field's lack of commercial tenants, a byproduct of its isolation from the rest of the city, caused the city to begin developing LaGuardia Field in northern Queens. The new airfield was much closer to Manhattan. Commercial aviation activity at Bennett Field ceased in 1939, when LaGuardia Field (now Airport) was opened.