putongo

+ 1

TravellinHusker

Yes. My dad's side of the family always ate their apple pie with cheddar cheese slices. I was just thinking the other day how much I would love that combo again soon! Delicious!

Supersonic Swinger

This thread makes me envious of those who experienced these flights. It makes one wonder whether people will someday look upon some of today's interiors with wistful nostalgia.

My father still has the certificate presented to him in the late 1960's by JAL to all passengers certifying that they had flown over the North Pole, with the wonderful and sadly recently departed tsurumau logo. Next time I'll get a scan and post in this thread.

fly747first

Gosh, I miss TWA!!!!!!!!!!!

hulagrrl210

Thanks for the great post! The pictures are amazing! I wasn't born until the early 80's but I spent a lot of time flying the Friendly Skies as a child to include four trips to Hawaii on United before I was a year old. By then the DC-10's had the 2-5-2 seating and the service probably didn't compare to the 1970's, but you could still expect a hot meal, and if you were a kid like me, a set of plastic wings or a deck of cards. The flights to Hawaii were always something special. There were fresh flowers everywhere and the crew was dressed up in United-issued Hawaiian shirts and flower print dresses. It wasn't until the mid-90's that the crew wore standard issue uniforms, the novelty wore off and flying to Hawaii became just like flying anywhere else.

I wasn't signed up for Mileage Plus until the age of three, but it wasn't because I'd been traveling as a lap child all those years. My mom's frequent flier number is only a few digits off from mine. It was because the programs were new and weren't all that lucrative. I don't remember ever getting any upgrades and there certainly weren't any mileage plus credit cards or special bonuses. If you flew a lot, every now and then you'd get a free ticket. So maybe the service has gotten worse but the mileage programs have become better. Each year thanks to credit cards, elite bonuses, and promotional deals I probably earn enough miles for a J ticket anywhere in the world. It's a little more glamorous than the Y tickets we used to redeem to places like Billings, MT and Riverton, WY as a kid.

I still travel to Hawaii about 4 times a year, and as I look back and think about it my overall flying experience hasn't changed that much. I think it has been at least 3 years since I've sat in coach thanks to unlimited domestic upgrades so I can still expect a hot meal and instead of plastic wings, I get a Mai Tai with a plastic tiki dude in it. The first class seats as an adult feel about the
same size as a coach seat did as a kid and a lot of the flight attendants, especially on the daytime SFO-OGG route are the same ones still working as when I was a kid. They've just become older and less friendly.

The biggest change I've noticed are the people. They're sloppy and it has absolutely nothing to do with how they dress. I'm guilty of being one of those who has worn torn jeans in first class and I've even worn shorts and flip flops on the plane before. Back when I started flying Aloha, that was standard dress and you'd actually find more people on the plane without shoes than with them- it didn't matter if we were headed to the mainland in the middle of winter. Honestly that was the classiest bunch I've ever flown with. Everyone was friendly, happy to be there, and eager to make friends, including the flight attendants. The attitude was contagious. This was as recent as 2008. My point is it's not how you look, it's how you act. I always appreciate any service another person provides me. I use the words please and thank you and I always give it my best effort to make a new friend. Since I've gone back to flying United, it apauls me to see how rude other people are, and the first class passeners are the worst! They're rude to the flight attendants and they're rude to each other.

There's no doubt about it, the best days of flying are probably gone. There are still a few good airlines with great service like Singapore and Cathay, but they are the exception, not the rule. It is however still possible to get exceptional service on airlines like United, you just have to work for it, and by work for it, I mean be nice. It is amazing what a smile, or a please and thank you will get you. "Practice Aloha" and maybe one of these days it will catch on just like it did over at Aloha Airlines.

baroqueboy

Wow, what an old thread! Fascinating reading.

Having been born in 1991, I REALLY missed out on all of the good stuff, at least domestically. I flew nearly every summer ORD-LAX in Y on AA for most of the 90s and into the early 00s. It was never that special, certainly not a luxury experience, but flying was always a treat for me. I didn't care about the service or amenities at all yet. However, I did notice those things, and remember them in great detail. I remember a huge, shocking difference in domestic mid-con Y service on AA pre- and post- 9/11. I remember more contact with FAs in the 90s, and a hot burger or turkey sandwich, with salad as an option as well. I also remember noticing from afar that the domestic F service (those old grey and brown leather seats on MD-80s and 757s) was much posher pre-9/11. I'm certain I remember printed menus in the 90s ORD-LAX and back, and real glassware for pre-departure bevs. I noticed the difference between that and my burger or sandwich in Y, but when I was so young, I did not really care and felt no jealousy.

Then, all of a sudden, around 2003, I started caring, and wished that I could fly F. This was exacerbated by the fact that the meals in Y were replaced with a disgusting snack box. Also, the "more room throughout coach" program was reversed, and most A/C on that route still did not have the nicer Y seats with the adjustable headrest. I noticed then that F had much better seats, with the old wide armchair being replaced by slimmer, but more ergonomic blue leather/cloth seats with adjustable headrests. But, I also noticed that there didn't seem to be printed menus, and the meals were served on trays. I noticed upon boarding that none of the F pax had champagne flutes. They all seemed to be drinking OJ or water from plastic cups, and while they tended to be better dressed than Y pax, some of the mystique and elegance I remembered from the 90s was gone. This did not, however, stop me from aspiring to premium cabin travel.

In 2006, I finally got to fly briefly in F SFO-LAX on AS on an op-up, and absolutely loved it, but of course the only soft product was coffee and biscoffs. Since then, I've flown ORD-DEN and back on UA in both 2-cabin and 3-cabin(!) F, and ORD-LAX and back on UA in F. It was nothing like I remember witnessing on AA in the 90s, but still great and worth every mile for the upgrade and every penny of the co-pay.

I have never been overseas before, and at age 20, I'm long overdue. Finally, next month, my parents and I are going to Europe. We found rock-bottom Z fares on UA for ORD-AMS/CDG-ORD, and have secured a mileage upgrade to F for the first leg. The $500 per person per way co-pay is absolutely ridiculous but my parents agreed to it one-way because our Z-fares were so cheap. I feel very lucky to be able to experience int'l C at my age, let alone int'l F! I'm so excited--I just hope that the international premium cabin experience allows me to capture at least a glimmer of what it was like "in the good old days" before I was even born. At the very least, I hope it will have some of the elegance of domestic mid-con F in the 90s.

wpyeh

Trans World Airlines, Pan American World Airways, Eastern ...
All for old good days.
they all gone...sad

duke2013

Too young to have experienced this, wish I could have just once though

oneworld82

Good ol' pre-deregulation days, when airlines could overpay employees and still make a profit flying with a 50% capacity...

oscietra

This is one of the best threads I've read in ages; real "jumpers for goalposts" stuff!

Thanks for posting.

ExpatExp

As this thread was bumped recently…

I was certainly required to dress in Sunday best for every flight! I still do, to a certain extent, and I appreciate it when others make a similar effort. I don't find anything uncomfortable about wearing a nice suit, especially when sitting in a cabin where PJs are provided (besides, if it really is a nice suit, it won't be uncomfortable ).

I recall an SQ flight SIN-FRA-JFK with my college (i.e. high school) classmates. The FAs noticed our uniforms and invited us to visit the cockpit in flight. I think we went four at a time, and got pictures taken with the flight crew.

This is my favorite way to eat apple pie ^

oscietra

It's such a shame no-one dresses up to fly.

One of the reasons for avoiding LCCs is the awful T-Shirt and tracksuit brigade which infests the cabins. Thankfully, some do still make an effort:

buckeyefanflyer

I flew F class last week on UA and a guy had jeans full of holes. I wear jeans but not with holes, especially flying F. Must have been a upgrade, should have a rule no upgrade if you are wearing jeans with holes, that should be a automatic downgrade.

dutch_122

Seat2A,

Thank You, i'm from 69, asked my dad over Christmas what my 1st flight was and how flying those days was.
He told me it was KLM in 1976, and completely different from nowadays.
It sure brings back memories (he's looking up what flight). My grandma used to fly out of Luxemburg to JNB with Luxair.


regards

Dutch_122

TheEmirate

This brings me back to the good old days of TWA.