Flying In Style: The Glamorous History Of Air Travel

Party on the Plane

As mentioned before, air travel could often get quite boring especially without all our modern electronic luxuries. In order to get through the boredom of a long flight, people would basically have a party on board. People would hang out in various lounges drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes.

They would sit on comfy leather couches, lounge in swivel chairs, and even be able to order their favorite alcoholic beverage from their favorite stewardess/waitress. In the ’70s, the Boeing 747, specifically, converted their upper deck into cocktail lounges. Can you imagine if you could get out of your seat and visit a bar while midflight today?

Food and Drink

A common complaint about flights of today are the options for food onboard. Even the phrase “airplane food” has entered the cultural lexicon to signify food that is on the poor end of the tasty scale. This wasn’t always the case; again with the lingering theme of luxury, airlines often served their best meals that would be considered fine dining.

This was apparently something they were even in competition against each other. Various airlines also offered multiple course meals with a variety of options. They also served your food on real glassware as opposed to their now plastic alternatives that are offered on flights. Oh yeah, and did we mention the drinks were free?