Jet travel circa 1960...

Steve Foley said:
In 1960, air travel was for the elite, and the masses traveled by train. Now, charters are for the elite, and the masses travel by airline.
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Perhaps it is time to move back?

I would LOVE to see it go back to that level of service.
 
tdager said:
Perhaps it is time to move back?

I would LOVE to see it go back to that level of service.
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It would, if people were willing to pay out the wazoo like they used to.

There's a reason only the elite flew - they were the only ones who could afford it.
 
"The travail has been taken out of travel...."

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

We've taken care of THAT!
 
flyersfan31 said:
It would, if people were willing to pay out the wazoo like they used to.

There's a reason only the elite flew - they were the only ones who could afford it.
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Yep.

I remember my "rich" aunt Lucie flying from Quebec to visit us in NJ in the mid 60s.

We would drive to Newark Airport (where we and everyone else were dressed in "Sunday best").

She and the other passengers would deplane gracefully, down the long stairs outside on the ramp.

Everything was grown up and fancy about it all (I still have some pictures -- it was an event that warranted a camera).

IIRC, those early flights were Air Canada Connies.

She also traveled from Montreal to JFK then to Newark via Helicopter a few times.

I do remember living in the flight path of Newark in the early to-mid 70s. When a jet flew over all conversation paused a few moments because you could not hear a thing. This was real helpful during class.
 
tdager said:
I would LOVE to see it go back to that level of service.
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I guess I'm in the minority here. I see airline travel as transportation. I want it to be safe and reliable but I don't have any desire to be served hot meals on china with cloth napkins... at least not if the tickets are as expensive as they were in those days.

I flew as a child in the 60s but very few of my classmates had ever done so. It was probably only possible for me because I was the only child of older parents. Younger families with many children (which was common then) couldn't afford to fly. I think its good that air travel is now affordable by more people.
 
When I was a kid....

I grew up in the DC area and my grandparents were in Providence. We used to fly DCA-JFK (nee: Idylwild) on Eastern, then JFK-PVD on AA. All prop: IIRC, DCA-JFK was a DC-6/7 or Connie, and JFK-PVD was an Electra.

Later, we flew Allegheny's DC-9s non-stop DCA-PVD.
 
1st airline trip (second time in an airplane) was in January 1969. I don't recall anything romantic or fancy about it. An hour or more late out of GEG for MSP, landed as our connecting flight to BOS was taking off. Stayed with the plane to ORD, missed flight after flight due to being dumped to stand by. Airline finally gave us our luggage and said we were on our own (they wouldn't dare today). Missed a few more flights before we finally got one. Oh, we started out on NWA, and that started an unbroken 30 year string of them never getting me anywhere on time. Finally, 1999 they got us to Hawaii on time. Remains the only place NWA ever got me to or from on time.

Just get me there on time, without jamming my knees into my chin due to inadequate legroom. And, if the flight is long enough, food to stave off starvation would be nice. Otherwise, all it is is a high speed aluminum mailing tube. The flight might have been a highlight of a trip in years past, but all it is now is transportation. The faster the better.

At least we didn't have TSA in the "good old days". That was better.
 
Everskyward said:
I guess I'm in the minority here. I see airline travel as transportation.
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And therein lies the problem.

It has become "bus travel with wings". Perhaps, as I have heard some experts pontificate, we are still not yet at the place were air travel SHOULD be for the masses. *shrug*

I refuse to get on an airliner precisely because of what it has become. It is not worth the time/hassle/expense in most cases unless I am truly going long distance, have to for work, or going international.

Otherwise I drive myself or fly myself or simply do not go.

Yes flying commercially HAS gotten that bad. Crowded planes, fat planemates, smelly planemates, stale peanuts (if you can get them), no pillows, limited blankets.....screw all that.
 
tdager said:
And therein lies the problem.
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I don't see it as a problem unless you are an airline with a business model that has not kept up with the times. I don't have any problem considering myself part of the "masses".

tdager said:
It has become "bus travel with wings".
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I've thought of it that way since I was about 20 (in the late 1970s). I don't know if it's coincidental, but that's about the time I learned how to fly myself. I don't enjoy flying on the airlines. Frankly, if I had the time I'd rather drive. On the other hand, I'd rather spend $300 for a ticket on the "bus with wings" than $1000 to be pampered. If I can remember back that far, it wasn't like you were pampered that much anyway. You got hot meals and pillows and blankets, but I don't think it was worth the added cost.
 
You also got a 5 pack of cigarettes on your meal tray.

One of the fun things about the museum at Kansas City Downtown airport (that has the Connie) is seeing the display of artifacts from that era. The menus, linen, china, etc, etc. Clearly a different business model than today (other than international first/business class).
 
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