Ah, the good old days of flying
Ah, the good old days of air travel. They feel like they are behind us – all the glitz and glamour of the skies in the 60s and 70s is not forgotten by many. Flying was a very expensive exercise so many would cherish the experience by dressing to the nines – a far cry from today where passengers board with just thongs on.
In the 60s and 70s, flying was marvellous and so exciting.
We look back today at the golden era of flying…
1. The huge amounts of legroom
Economy seats had 5cm or more legroom than they do today – in fact economy 50 years ago looked more like business class does now!
2. Flight attendants were classy and wore amazing uniforms
Because flying was an over-the-top luxury experience, beautiful, leggy flight attendants were all a part of it. A flight attendant manual ordered that stewardesses be single, stay under 125 pounds, and maintain “high moral standards” during employment!
3. Plane food was so much better
Nowadays we get a plate full of frozen food but back in the golden age, some airlines had full meals with soup, meat, salad, veges and dessert. And even used glassware and real cutlery!
4. People would smoke on board… and there were ashtrays in the armrests
Smoking was acceptable on planes until 1987 in Australia, although some international airlines still allowed it. You may have seen an old plane with ash trays in the arm rest and signs saying “do not smoke” – it was the norm for years!
5. You drank as much as you wanted
Because there were any movies on demand, passengers were allowed to have as much alcohol as they wanted! Nowadays you might get cut off or have to pay for all those extra scotches.
6. You had to entertain yourself
As above, there wasn’t a whole lot to do on planes before the technological age. In 1985 the first personal audio player was offered to passengers, along with noise cancelling headphones in 1989. So most people just read books, talked and wrote postcards!
Here’s some other memories of the golden era of flying!
“God bless the stewardess”
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