Originally Posted by
relangford
Not relating directly to the OP's question (which I would love to hear about, too), but why is it the "Admirals Club"? An airline isn't the Navy. Sometimes, as an old timer, I slip up and say "Ambassadors Club" after the TWA offering. I think this, or something else, would be a better name for an AIRLINE lounge system.
Naval traditions were valued (the US Army Air Corps was a bit late, and it only spun off to become the US Air Force after WWII). Naval aviators were also considered the best and had skills needed in the early days of aviation - navigation and the use of sextants, for instance. (Ask a naval aviator today - they'll insist that hasn't changed
.)
By necessity and tradition, airlines salted their terminology and sales talk with naval talk. Early long haul aircraft were usually "Flying Boat" seaplanes. Aft, forward, port and starboard*, bulkhead; the Captain, First Officer, Purser, Steward, Stewardess are all of nautical origin. Pan Am particularly, but for a time, Delta too, preferred Navy trained aviators (with old PA at least it's understandable given PA long haul aircraft were all seaplanes), as well as preferentially hiring married men. (Some airlines even asked questions about wine matching on some personnel tests, patently ridiculous, but this was before the day of "BFOQs" - Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications - became the order of the day.)
(I've visit the old PA base at Midway Island, where passengers overnighted in lodging brought piecemeal from the mainland, assembled on site and provided with solar heated hot water, etc. while the Clippers were serviced. Very impressive, for the day.)
Having an old geezer like me around sometimes has its AAdvantages, as I actually remember some of this stuff, and I had friends who flew for PA, PANAGRA, CP, AOA, etc.
) ˇHola! from Barcelona.
* Port and starboard sides date back to the Norse (Viking) custom of having the
stýri borđ at the stern of the ship for easier control, and as most men were right handed the
stýri borđ was on the right side aft. In Old English, the steering board (
stēorbord) or steering oar was the same. To prevent breakage the left side was the side the ship that was tied to the dock for loading and unloading (particularly after the term “larboard” was discarded, probably due to the confusion generated when an order was shouted in battle or storm conditions and “larboard” was too close to “starboard”). Note that with a very few exceptions (the early DC-3 and DST aircraft) aircraft still loaded from the port side, and airports are designed to serve aircraft with jetways, etc. to the port hatches.