Tango, I agree with your statements about coach being better back then and first class being better today, however, there is one exception: Pan Am. I would take Pan Am's first class flights between SFO or LAX and JFK over all carriers currently providing premium trans-con service, even Delta's Businesselite.

True, seats did not fully recline and no laptop outlets or state of the art entertainment systems back then, but upstairs on Pan Am's 747s was a spacious first class lounge. For meals, tables were reconfigured to dining tables where four people sat across each other. Carts were rolled down the aisle and roast beef was carved to your liking - well, medium and rare. Not a meat eater, how about lobster?

Caviar and dom perignon were served. Today, I believe United is the only U.S. carrier that serves dom, but only on international flights. For desert, a real whole chocolate cake cut and served from the cart. Oh, yes, you also received a first class amenity kit. Those were the days...