Comments on: When air travel was glam

When air travel was glam

marvin — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 14:46:11 -0800

Air France: Apparently abandoning any pretence that traveling economy in the back of an A330 is an enticing experience, they've launched this site which looks back at the days when women wore fur, men smoked pipes and air travel was glamorous. Quite a few nice little movie vignettes of life chez Air France from the '50's and '60's.

By: Fupped Duck

Fupped Duck — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 15:01:47 -0800

actually, Air France is the only airline with any vestige of decency in economy class (they call it "tempo"). Self serve sandwiches, snacks and drinks, free booze, magazines and newspapers. The seat pitch could be more generous, but then again, American Airlines now charges 1 dollar for headsets on 11 hour international flights..

By: schoolgirl report

schoolgirl report — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 15:02:13 -0800

Tres bien, merci!

By: bardic

bardic — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 15:20:05 -0800

Awesome. And a perfect illustration of why Daniel Pinkwater doesn't fly--it's not the fear, it's the fact that it's no longer a sexy form of travel.

By: afx114

afx114 — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 15:31:56 -0800

Jesus christ, where's the SOUND OFF button?!

By: Staggering Jack

Staggering Jack — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 15:47:42 -0800

Cool site - thanks for the link. I always wanted to fly on a Constellation or at least one of these but, sigh, I'm happy with what I can get.

By: rolypolyman

rolypolyman — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 15:49:59 -0800

it's no longer a sexy form of travel I remember the era when cabin crew were there for comfort & service. Then at some point in the late 70s or early 80s, presumably because of the growing stigma of service jobs, they became all fixated on safety and efficiency. What's wrong with having a waitress in the sky if I appreciate the job they do?

By: gimonca

gimonca — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 15:59:07 -0800

To quote Basil Fawlty: "Ah! For-MIDD-abble!"

By: bardic

bardic — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 16:07:22 -0800

Maybe The Replacements killed in-flight luxury?

By: elpapacito

elpapacito — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 16:07:28 -0800

Anybody knows the title of the guitar soundtrack ?

By: signal

signal — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 16:58:49 -0800

Warning: lame flash site, annoying background music.

By: junesix

junesix — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 17:06:33 -0800

It wasn't the safety and efficiency fixation. It was the 1970s deregulation that brought down the price of airline tickets. Back then there was an emphasis on comfort and service because you were paying through the nose for it.

By: Decani

Decani — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 17:08:19 -0800

Well, the first aircraft I flew on was one of these. Not a Canadian one, though. I took the hop from Lydd, Kent to Beauvais, France. 7,000 feet all the way, right through a stubborn belt of thundercloud. Bouncy bouncy....

By: keijo

keijo — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 18:22:15 -0800

Thanks for the cool link. Shame about the bad interface.

By: caddis

caddis — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 18:49:45 -0800

I have relatives who still refuse to get on a plane in anything less than a sport coat and tie.

By: rolypolyman

rolypolyman — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 18:58:59 -0800

That's kinda funny because a few weeks ago I was debating whether to wear shorts & T-shirt on the plane. For some reason I got this fixation that it would be too trashy looking (maybe because I did most of my flying in the 70s and 80s) and just wore the business attire I brought. But there were actually quite a few people going ultra-casual.

By: drstein

drstein — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 20:46:15 -0800

Staggering Jack: Northern Air Cargo still flies this old bucket between SEA and ANC. ;-)

By: Staggering Jack

Staggering Jack — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 22:22:45 -0800

Cool - Northern Air Cargo it is then for all my flights to Anchorage. I'm sure their "live animal shipping" can't be worse than some Delta flights I've been on.

By: -harlequin-

-harlequin- — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 08:55:29 -0800

Casinos are similar - once upon a time, they were dressy places, now they're not. I don't think it has anything to do with declining dress standards, but to do with it becoming a normal part of everyday life, instead of a new, rare, and exotic thing. So... what things today are new, rare, and exotic, such that people dress for them?

By: -harlequin-

-harlequin- — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 09:00:06 -0800

Hmmm, with commercial space flight just barely starting to show signs of life, would that be what people consider glamorous these days? Or is it nerdy?

By: benjh

benjh — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 10:53:01 -0800

Let's face facts... flying isn't really fun, anymore. It's not. And I'm not going to pretend that it is. What do I wear to fly? Summer: Shorts, Sandles, T-Shirt Winter: Jeans, Tennis Shoes, Hoodie Why? Because when I am going through security, I want to be able to get my shoes off, on the belt, and through the detector as fast as possible. And it would just be super if the 20 people in front of me would do the same. Have your laptop out, take your shoes off, and get through. Business Class is more like stockade class, and I'm going to dress for it. One time, I had a fly in fly out same day trip, I wore my dress clothes. I was uncomfortable, and I was sweating. Next time, I'll just change in the restroom before going to a meeting.

By: ClarissaWAM

ClarissaWAM — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 15:41:46 -0800

I'd like to disagree (and I'm aware this is purely subjective) with statements such as lame flash site and Shame about the bad interface. I usually avoid flash like the plague, but I found this a strangely enticing site and loved the use of flash. Who needs a TV when there's stuff like this? (how I wish I could show this to my mum - alas she's on ISDN...)

By: etoile

etoile — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 09:56:36 -0800

The mannequin-dressing in the uniform section was fun, but I wish there was a way to view the photos without successfully dressing the mannequin to match.