Travel back in time to the 1950s through the 1970s, the heyday of aviation. Flying at the time was all about elegance and luxury. Imagine boarding an aircraft where every detail, including the seats and the outfits, is elegant and sophisticated. Every flight during this unique period in aviation history felt like a grand adventure.
A Grand Tour in the Sky: The Golden Era of Aviation
Travelers today have a plethora of alternatives when it comes to booking a flight, with multiple search engines accessible to help them discover the best deal. However, options were far more constrained and much more costly during the Golden Age of Air Travel. Consider the $138 price of a round-trip ticket from Chicago to Phoenix, as stated in a 1955 TWA brochure. This could appear like a fair offer at first glance. However, this non-cross-country trip would cost you roughly $1,200 in today’s currency after accounting for inflation.
Guillaume de Syon, a specialist in aviation history, clarifies the startling cost disparities of the Golden Age. “[Depending] on the route, flying was four to five times more expensive in the Golden Age,” he writes. Only the wealthiest people could afford to travel, especially abroad, because it was so expensive.
A Visual Feast: Exquisite Cuisine and Outstanding Service
Then, flying was much more casual. Talking about vintage flying, Keith Lovegrove is often reminded of how carefree it all was.”It resembled attending a cocktail party.” that seems absurd to say that now, but back then, having a shirt, tie, and jacket was standard,” Lovegrove says. You could bring anything on board, even shoebox-filled pet birds! There was far less stringent security, which allowed individuals to have more fun. “There was an incredible sense of freedom,” Lovegrove continues.
Pan Am: The Coolest King
Pan Am was one airline that truly jumped out. Working for them, according to Joan Policastro, was like flying with the stars. Policastro remembers, “My job with Pan Am was an adventure from the very day I started.” They featured cool lounges where travelers could linger out and offered fine food. It was the height of opulent travel.
Your Flight Attendant Was Required to Fulfill Several Onerous Requirements
In the heyday of air travel, flight attendants were held to exacting standards of etiquette and appearance in addition to providing flawless service. Air hostesses, as they were called, wore high heels, white gloves, and even corsets under their suits starting in the early 1950s.
Travelers had to adhere to strict guidelines about how they should look, which included restrictions on weight and hair length. Other requirements for female flight attendants included being single, gregarious, and adhering to “high moral standards.” As the 1960s wore mostly male customers, shorter skirts and even more exposing clothing became the norm. These onerous specifications are a reflection of the great importance that this generation has put on flight attendant appearance.
With nostalgia, I look back
People still grin when they recall the bygone era of flying, despite the passage of time. Reunions of former Pan Am employees are preserved through organizations like World Wings. Suzy Smith remarks, “Pan Am was a big cut above the rest.” People considered flying to be a true adventure and a way to feel like kings and queens back then.
In summary
Though the heyday of aviation may be passed, the memories endure. Flying at the time was all about luxury and enjoyment. Despite the fact that times have changed, we can still look back and recall the magic of bygone eras.
Lisa Marie Presley had a deeply emotional reason for keeping her son Benjamin’s body on dry ice after his passing.
After her son Benjamin passed away, Lisa Marie Presley kept his body on dry ice for two months for a very heartbreaking reason. Just under four years had gone since the terrible suicide death of her son Benjamin Keough, when Lisa Marie, 54, passed away in January 2023.
Lisa Marie, the sole child of Elvis Presley, departed from her twin children, Harper and Finley Lockwood, who are 16 years old, and her daughter Riley Keough, who is a star of Daisy Jones & The Six. Riley finished a book she had written, From Here to the Great Unknown, and it was published on October 8 following her death.
In her memoir, Lisa Marie discussed Benjamin’s sudden passing in 2020 and disclosed that she had held his body for two months before burying him in a casita bedroom. As she had explained to her father, Elvis Presley, “there is no law in California that requires someone to be buried immediately,” and she felt it was important to give Benjamin the time she needed to say goodbye.
Lisa Marie was just nine years old when Elvis passed away, so having his body at home and being able to visit and talk with him had been consoling. Throughout that time, she kept Benjamin’s remains at 55 degrees while debating whether to bury him in Graceland or Hawaii.
She acknowledged in the biography, “I became so accustomed to him being there, taking care of him… I was grateful that I could continue to raise him until I was ready to say goodbye, even if it was only for a short while longer.
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