Photos that show how glamorous flying used to be

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Clutch Cargo
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Photos that show how glamorous flying used to be

Post by Clutch Cargo »

Modern-day air travel is a far cry from what it used to be.

To show how glamorous air travel used to be, we rounded up photos from the 1930s to the 1980s.


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Leg room has shrunk in economy

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1950. New York’s Idlewild Airport, now known as John F. Kennedy Airport.

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1936. Check-in counter at London’s Gatwick Airport which is still in operation today.

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1981. Two women receive help at a Continental Airlines counter at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

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1933. This bar was located at Heston Aerodrome, an airfield just west of London that was in operation from 1929 to 1947.

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1934. These passengers were boarding the Handley Page airliner Heracles for a flight from London’s Croydon Airport to Aintree to watch the Grand National. Because planes were smaller back in the day, so were boarding lines.

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1955. The air traffic control room at London’s Heathrow Airport.

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1935. Passengers on an Air France plane.

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In the ’60s, more seats were added, as well as communal tables. The baggage storage doesn’t look all that secure, though. Passengers on board a British European Airways Vickers Viscount aeroplane, the first commercial turboprop aeroplane.

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A decade later, passengers could fly on the Boeing 747 jumbo jet, which was known for its spacious cabin.

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1958. The interior of a giant Boeing 707 jet airliner, which could fit up to 165 economy class passengers. Leg room has become a luxury of the past.

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1970. This spread was served on board a Boeing 747 jumbo jet operated by British Overseas Airways Corporation. First class was quite the indulgence.

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1970. Passengers experienced quality service as well as high-end refreshments and food.

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1936. A group of passengers plays cards while having drinks in the cabin of an Imperial Airways flight.

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1952. Serving lunch on board the de Havilland Comet on a flight to South Africa. The Comet was the world’s first commercial jet airliner.

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1958. Passengers on board the Comet 4, which flew from New York to London in less than 6.5 hours. You didn’t have to fly first class to get what was known as a “sleeper seat.”

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1952. The ladies’ powder room on the first commercial jet airliner.

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1958. Pilots in the cockpit of the new De Havilland Comet 4 Airliner.

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1936. An air hostess serves crew members on board the new luxury air service from Croydon to Paris, operated by Air Dispatch. Apparently, cocktails were even allowed in the cockpit.

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1950s. Two air hostesses worked on board the Comet.

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1960. A group of air stewardesses, all from different airlines, line up in front of a full-size model of the supersonic airliner known as the Concorde.

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1971. Skirts had gotten shorter.

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1973. Flight attendants modelling new uniforms designed for Court Line Aviation.

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1984. Two United Airlines employees test out computer games that were being installed into the tray tables on one of the carrier’s jets. The computer was embedded directly into the tray table and offered video backgammon, checkers, blackjack poker, and soccer. In-flight entertainment wasn’t always available, and it wasn’t always movies and TV shows.

Full story with then and now pics: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/vint ... tos-2018-7
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Re: Photos that show how glamorous flying used to be

Post by Kampuchia Crumbs »

Note the square windows on the Havilland Comet. Which lead to fatigue cracks and loss of a few planes.....thus dooming the Comet.

More reading here on the Wikipedia page.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Comet
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John Bingham
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Re: Photos that show how glamorous flying used to be

Post by John Bingham »

Air travel used to cost a whole lot more than it does now.

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Re: Photos that show how glamorous flying used to be

Post by Brody »

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rogerrabbit
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Re: Photos that show how glamorous flying used to be

Post by rogerrabbit »

John Bingham wrote: Thu Sep 05, 2019 11:58 am Air travel used to cost a whole lot more than it does now.

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Yep, people usually forget this. Actually now days one can get even more luxury if you are willing to spend the same amount.
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Re: Photos that show how glamorous flying used to be

Post by Clutch Cargo »

Came across a few more early pics..

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On board a Pan Am Flying Clipper.

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Relaxing in a 'sleeperette' seat.

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The Stratocruiser was the height of 1950s flying luxury.

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Qantas says it was the first airline in the world to introduce Business Class air travel, doing so in 1979.

https://www.traveller.com.au/pan-am-fir ... ike-h1j8fg
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Duncan
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Re: Photos that show how glamorous flying used to be

Post by Duncan »

Nope,,, I'm pretty sure it's just that their legs were longer back then.


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1971. Skirts had gotten shorter.
Cambodia,,,, Don't fall in love with her.
Like the spoilt child she is, she will not be happy till she destroys herself from within and breaks your heart.
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Re: Photos that show how glamorous flying used to be

Post by hiway5 »

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Deefer
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Re: Photos that show how glamorous flying used to be

Post by Deefer »

Sorry, no photos but just reminiscing of flying many years ago. I have vivid memories of flying on a Trans Australian Airline 4 prop DC-6B in the early 1960's. It was indeed a different age then with large seats and with the plane even having a rear lounge/seating area where one could socialise and have a drink and a smoke. An advert being run in those days showed a DC-6B landing with an unspilt glass of water sitting on a passenger's table. Try that with today's significantly higher aircraft landing speeds and abrupt braking.

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Re: Photos that show how glamorous flying used to be

Post by chiltern »

Kampuchia Crumbs wrote: Thu Sep 05, 2019 11:16 am Note the square windows on the Havilland Comet. Which lead to fatigue cracks and loss of a few planes.....thus dooming the Comet.

More reading here on the Wikipedia page.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Comet
The Comet wasnt exactly doomed following design changes and extensive testing a number of prototypes were built and the Comet 4 entered service in 1958 and remained in commercial service until 1981. I remember flying on one of Dan Air's last Comet flights to Corfu. Several military versions (Nimrod) were constructed and remained in service until 2011
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