when travel was glamorous?

[VINMAN]

Wheres the bag with 3 stale pretzles in it??

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by URY914

I remember walking OUTSIDE to get to the plane!

First time I flew to Kauai they rolled the stairs up to the plane...

Heck if you get one of the smaller planes into PDX you still have to walk outside... often in the rain.

IMHO TSA is a massive waste of time and money. They tell us not to change our lifestyle of "they" win. Then strip us of our rights and dignity to get on a plane.

But that is another thread...

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by VINMAN

Wheres the bag with 3 stale pretzles in it??

The first ad says the steaks are "to order." I'm trying to picture how they grilled steaks on the plane.

My dad was a pilot for Eastern Airlines starting in the 50s. I can remember when we'd fly on employee passes that the whole family would be dressed up like we were going to church.

[red-beard]

First time I flew was in 1969. I do remember we had a stop somewhere between Chicago and Houston. We didn't need to change flights, so the Stewardesses took care of us. The Pilot let me sit in the cockpit. I was 4 years old. Pretty cool.

Couple of other things from the trip:

Chicago had those early black and white TV phones. We played with those while waiting for our flight.

A person with very long hair passed us and I asked my mother why the lady had a beard...

[id10t]

My local regional airport has 1 gate and you still have to walk outside to get on the plane

[Scuba Steve]

the whole family would be dressed up like we were going to church.

That doesn't happen anymore either. The whole world has gone torn up cargos and flip flops.

edit: I can think of a lot of airports I've recently walked outside to get on or off the plane. IAD, CLT, IAH and SAT are the first few that come to mind.

[AFC-911]

As much as I love to dress up in suits and formal clothes, I would NOT want to fly dressed up like that.

As far as airports where you get on and off at the tarmac, Quebec City is another one. I last flew into/out of QC in 2006.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

We are witnessing the inevitable consequence of the "low bid" society where everything is about price point and nothing else.

Race to the bottom.

Want to change it? Fly charter. You'll pay for it, but it's a completely different experience, much more akin to what airlines used to be like before they became city busses.

As brutal as flying cargo was for a living (I did this for a few years), one really great thing was no idiot passengers to deal with. Boxes don't complain, b1tch, whine or cause scenes too much. I can totally understand why a lot of flight crews get on board, turn left and shut/lock the cockpit door behind them so they don't have to deal with the mASSES who think their $100 ticket entitles them to a d1ck suck.

[Jim Richards]

Nice thread, Steve.

Here's all you need to know...

Then:



Now:

[red-beard]

I think I was around for some of the last higher end International Service. In 1988/89, flying to/from India/Pakistan, I was in First Class. The meals were wheeled around each plate was served. Roast beef was cut in front of you.

By the end of 1989, it was all gone. The flight crews were replaced with "local" crews who didn't know anything about wine (Muslim).

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

Nice thread, Steve.

Here's all you need to know...

Then:



Now:

Truth!

Today, I thank my lucky stars that there is nowhere I need to be badly enough to board an airplane.

[Moses]

Styles have changed. A little...

[RANDY P]

Originally Posted by Rodsrsr

So I'm thinking its because there were primarily two classes back then, the haves and the have nots? Or look at it this way. When the general population gets a hold of something they abuse it. Take cell phones. When they first came out only doctors had them and I always remember seeing doctors and businessmen step outside to talk on it. Now that everyone has a phone, manners are gone. In the same vein, now that everyone can fly, service has drastically gone down and the need for added security is now a reality. Very curious....Does this mean that a society is better (to some degree) with only two classes?

Damn peasants ruin everything.

rjp

[Rick Lee]

Steve, you're my age and I remember as a small child getting all dressed up to fly. It was a big deal even in the mid-70's. My mom was a stewardess for AA in the 60's, back when that was a cool job. She modeled for their magazine ads too, like that first Delta ad on the previous page. I'll ask my sister to scan a copy of one such ad she has on her wall. My mom got to meet all the big celebrities of the day, Ed Sullivan, etc. She's been everywhere. She gave it all up when my dad got drafted, ended up not having to go to Vietnam and then they decided to have me.

[VINMAN]

Originally Posted by red-beard

Couple of other things from the trip:

Chicago had those early black and white TV phones. We played with those while waiting for our flight.
...

I remember Kennedy airport had these radios, that you could put a coin in and listen to the control tower and flights.
I still have a set of Pan Am and Eastern pilots wings I got as a kid.

[Moses]

My daughter is 18. She dresses beautifully. Especially when she travels. She dresses 50's elegant. She even found an inexpensive web store that recreates classic clothing. She wore a reproduction of Audrey Hepburn's Academy Awards dress to her senior ball. There's still hope!

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by VaSteve

I'm in the houston airport recovering from patdown by TSA. I got thinking people used to talk about travel being glamorous. Way way before discount airlines and TSA fondling....what was is like?

I know many of you have logged some serious miles in the old days...please educate me!

So Steve, your post begs the question: Was it good for you?!?

Side note: as a diabetic with an insulin pump - I get the 'double violation' if they make me go through the X-ray vision machine, I get an automatic groping for no extra charge, since (duh!) the X-ray machine will show that I have something tethered to my body. (No kidding --- it's a freakin' insulin pump!)

Anyway -- for those who feel travel is no longer glamorous, I suggest you book a flight with Luftansa on Business class to Europe. I had to go to Germany on business last fall, and that was by far the best flight experience I have ever experienced! If you've seen the movie Wall-E, you may recall the 'pods' the humans were tooling around in up in space. Well, I think the folks at Luftansa borrowed that idea from Wally-E: I was in a pod that is hard to describe -- I could my my seat to many positions, the seat had a massaging function (sure beats the TSA pat-downs! ), TV / movie system, power outlet for your pc (IIRC), and there were all sorts of pockets for glasses, your shoes (they even gave you a pair of airplane socks to put over your regular socks so you don't get cooties!) menu service...etc. I could go on and on - it was THAT pleasant!

Also - for domestic flights - Jet Blue is hard to beat. More leg room, wider seats, free satellive TV, and unlimited supply of snacks and soft drinks.

-Z-man.

[scottmandue]

I fly jet blue whenever possible... although cough they fly airbuses cough

And you boyz with your "fly first class, charter a flight, try business class... I would much rather have James chauffeur me cross county in the Rolls while I sip 100 year old Cognac and smoke $20 cigars

[carreradpt]

When I first enlisted in the 70's I had to wear my class A's to travel. I was always given a seat in first class by a stewardess though I paid for coach. Stewardess would just ask me. Airplanes were never ever full. The food was good, there was legroom, the stewardesses were usually younger and quite attractive and the whole airport scene wasn't a huge PITA, as it is now. I hate flying commercial now.

I would have loved to been a part of the Pan Am Clipper ship days. Used to spend quite a bit of time in Wake Island during my career and that place (Drifters Reef) was supposed to be a hoot as a layover during its heyday just before the war and shortly afterwards. That would have been a great time to fly. Of course it took a bit longer and you could watch the waves enroute.

[Garp]

My first flying experience was aboard a 747 from Brussels to Tenerife around Easter 1977. Just a couple of days after the collision. Very vivid memory of the carcasses as we taxied along. (Not meant to be a killjoy).