My first flight was in 1960 at 3 from NY to Tokyo on a NW DC-6. Needless to say, I don't remember much. The DC-6 was a four engine prop and we lost three of the engines on the leg from Anchorage to Tokyo (my mother told me). We had to emergency land in Hokkaido and a plane was sent from Tokyo to bring us the rest of the way.

I started flying after college in 1978 and what made that different was regulation. There were no FF programs and the fares were regulated. So if a meeting ran over, you really didn't care, you'd just go to the airport and take the next flight (no matter the airline) to where you wanted to go. They'd take your ticket and settle it with the ticketing airline.

The BOS-LGA-DCA shuttles on EA were a bus. You didn't need a ticket to board, the FA's would go down the aisle in flight and take your credit cards and validate a ticket with a credit card imprinter.

I'd travel with an OAG and a stack of AA Airchecks (blank tickets) and I could just walk up to a gate, fill in the airline, flight number and class and just walk on a plane.

It was a civilized world.