Air Travel’s Glory Years

By Miss Cellania in Pictures, Travel on Aug 26, 2009 at 12:07 pm

Flying these days is about as pleasant as a root canal, with security hassles, delays, poor service, expensive or nonexistent food, and cramped seats.

But was it always this way? The answer, of course, is no. And so, we decided to take a look back to the glory days of flight – when the stewardesses resembled beauty pageant contestants, when pilots seemed likes heroes, and when flying still seemed to be an adventure – to remind us, of just how things once were.

Enjoy 50 photos of stewardesses from the good old days of air travel. Link -via Gorilla Mask

Tags: airlines, planes, stewardesses

Neat stuff from the NeatoShop:

Tim Giachetti
Aug 26th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Great timing.

I was just looking at this site that I found through Digg.
Gail Pink
Aug 26th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
I’d about half those shots are of models, not actual stewardesses.
Johnny Cat
Aug 26th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
I like the one of the pilots drinking in the cockpit.
Kalel
Aug 26th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
One is even in a costume from the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey”.
Splint Chesthair
Aug 26th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
I doubt they were models since they hired back when it wasn’t a big deal to reject people based on physical appearance. Plus air travel was a luxury and glamorous. People got dressed up to fly and it was treated like one big cocktail party.

I know it’s hard to imagine nowadays.
Neal
Aug 26th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Those good ‘ole days were when airlines were regulated.
Cola
Aug 26th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Yes the glory days when women were shelved at the age of thirty and men were just too important to serve you coffee.

By the by, part of the reason we call them “flight attendants” these days is because of all the men who serve us peanuts and show us the exits on modern flights. “Stewards” wasn’t as catchy, and I’m sure the skirts made it embarrassing for the dudes when they had to go down those inflatable emergency slides.
KC
Aug 26th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Web Urbanist or some other blog had a post just like this with basically the same photos not long ago.
Frau
Aug 26th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
I would love to travel in style like that again.
eni
Aug 26th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Yes, air travel used to be better, but it’s really not bad right now if you plan ahead. And yes, I have traveled both domestically and internationally in recent years.
marishka
Aug 27th, 2009 at 12:37 am
Do the pictures of people standing/sitting in the engines creep anyone else out?
Chris Johnston
Aug 27th, 2009 at 4:38 am
This is kinda weird timing.
Just yesterday I started watching “Journeyman” on Hulu, and in the second episode our hero is transported to an in-flight airliner in the 70s to help deliver a baby.
I thought, “Okay, I flew quite a bit on airliners as a kid in the 70s, and I never saw flight attendants dress like that!” They always wore nice white blouses (with that little tie) and skirts… and never a hat!

This morning I come here and see this post… and now I stand corrected!
Kevin
Aug 27th, 2009 at 6:31 am
Speaking from the view of an airline pilot, you get what you pay for people. If you want $99 New York to Las Angeles airfares its going to be a no frills affair. At least the first class passengers get it.

Get some perspective on the cost advantages to flying and you will quickly realize that even a $800 plus ticket is a great deal when dealing with travel large distances.

Gas from JFK to LAX in a car: $250
Possible car rental: $400
4-5 nights in a motel: $300
4-5 days of food: $150
Trip time cut down from 108 hours to 6: priceless
Sue Dunham
Aug 27th, 2009 at 7:40 am
Of course half the women pictured are models. They were in a photoshoot.
For those who hark back to the luxury and comfort of yesteryear, air travel was expensive. Common folk rode the bus. Fly first class and you’ll get all the room you need.
Miss Cellania
Aug 27th, 2009 at 8:43 am
Kevin, where an one find a $99 fare across country? Last time I flew, it was $250 rock bottom price 6 months in advance. Multiply that by 4 people, and it’s expensive AND unpleasant.

I went first class once in the ’70s. That was wonderful! And cheaper!
Colin
Aug 27th, 2009 at 8:59 am
Only root canals aren’t painful and that one-liner has gotten old. Unless a dentist has no idea what they’re doing and the tooth is actually still alive, you don’t FEEL a root canal. A root canal is done on a dead tooth after it’s abscessed, by dead, we mean deceased, there’s no nerves running to it, it’s a goner, there’s no pain. In fact many root canals can be done without any novocaine, the same can’t be said for common fillings or other dental procedures. Stop perpetuating this weird and incorrect saying about root canals.

Great pics though.
Ally
Aug 27th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Cocktails in the Cockpit!
namowal
Aug 27th, 2009 at 10:33 am
marishka-
I thought the posing-on-the-engine photos were creepy too.
ted
Aug 27th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
That’s a whole lotta legs.
Alex
Aug 30th, 2009 at 3:47 am
Reminds me of this post we had on Neatorama a while ago: Flying: Then and Now
Luci
Aug 31st, 2009 at 10:44 am
One of those photos looks to be of marching band majorettes rather than flight attendants. There is a football field in the background.

Keep track of the comments with

Comment RSS

Lijit Search

The latest from NeatoBambino: