My first commercial flights were in the 1970s, but in economy class and within Australia, not overseas. Our economy class then was not a great deal different to today's version. The luxury shown may have been normal in first, but definitely not for the bulk of passengers in the rear of the aircraft! Thank you for the video! Loved the visuals!
Much of what is shown in this video is First Class, usually cabin mock-up's and often greatly exaggerated and unrealistic representations of onboard First Class service from publicity and advertising material. Prior to circa 1960 people flew on very noisy piston engine aircraft which vibrated, were badly pressurised (sometimes not pressurised at all) causing ear ache (hence the boiled sweets), flew at lower altitudes through rather than over bad weather, were slow and had engines which had a habit of catching fire during the flight. Little wonder airlines did their best to make the experience as comfortable as possible. However, all of the black and white images from that era are of First Class travel. The Lockheed Constellation of the 1950's was 2 class, First and Economy/Coach and I believe that on US domestic routes TWA Coach passengers were required to purchase a 'meal BOX' at check-in. Also in the early days on this aircraft type there were no pull down tables. Passengers were given a full size pillow to put on their laps on which they balanced their meal tray. Concerning the modern era post early 60's, economy class flying in the mid-late 60's and 70's was not a luxury experience. Certainly it was better than today in many respects but care must be taken not to overrate it. It was certainly more civilised and passengers were treated with more consideration and respect. Perhaps a good comparison would be that flying in the 1970's was more like going out for a meal in a nice (but not gourmet or top class) restaurant whereas today it could be compared to a visit to McDonalds. The idea that economy class seats were wider is only partially true. Take a look for example at the image of the interior of a SAA Boeing 707 in the 1960's shown at 0.45. This is the economy Y class cabin on a long haul intercontinental flight. Where are those massive wide seats that people in comments often claim existed? That 3 X 3 Y class seating is the same width as today, albeit better padded with a bit more legroom, 34 inch seat pitch at the most. The width of a Boeing 737-100 in the 1960's or a 707 was the same width as the latest 737 today. This holds true across all narrow body aircraft. The image of a 707 with 5 abreast seating at 4.37 is a manufacturer's mock-up and was not the standard delivery configuration to airlines. All 2 X 2 seating shown in the video is First Class. Concerning wide body aircraft, the launch configurations of such aircraft usually had 1 seat less per-row, for example the 747 launch configuration in Y class was 9 abreast 2 X 4 X 3 as opposed to 10 abreast 3 X 4 X 3 from circa 1980. This resulted in a very slightly wider seat on such wide body aircraft. The 'Gourmet dining' described was and still is found in long haul First Class. Economy class dining was not to that standard. A good restaurant quality meal on a tray yes, a luxurious gourmet meal no. These videos also give the false impression that every First Class meal consisted of Caviar, Lobster Tails and Filet Mignon. The image at 1.17 showing a grossly exaggerated First Class starter service from an impossibly wide trolley is fake, taken in a cabin mock-up and should in no way be regarded as an accurate representation. Concerning onboard lounges, the 747 upstairs lounges were First Class only. The comment that on some flights economy passengers could also enjoy the communal space is untrue. Also the idea that travelling First Class was like attending some sort of cocktail party in the sky is a myth. The image at 3.23 is the First Class lounge on the upper deck of a Qantas Boeing 747, the Captain Cook lounge, and is an airline publicity image. The majority of First Class passengers were not the partying young couples of airline publicity images; they were suited businessmen for the most part plus wealthy elderly widows and other similar very conservative types who conducted themselves accordingly. The downstairs 747 lounge at 3.07 is fake. This was a mock-up constructed by Boeing to try to sell this idea to airlines. No airline installed it. The image at 3.23 of this lounge in the second cabin of a 747 is also fake. The First Class seating on 1970's international long haul aircraft would not have resembled what is offered in First Class on long haul flights today. It would have been very similar to present day US domestic F class seating on a narrow body aircraft, 2 X 2 with a seat pitch of maximum 42 inches. When the lounges were abolished circa 1980 the First Class seating on long haul flights was changed to 2 X 2 with a 62 inch pitch, the first generation sleeperette seat. Personally I would prefer this increased seat comfort to a little used upstairs lounge. I have never ever heard of those private cabins and suites with sofas and personal attendants mentioned at around 11.00 and can't imagine what that image at 11.12 is supposed to represent. It was certainly not taken aboard a commercial flight. Perhaps somebody's private jet? The image at 11.21 is definitely a private jet not a commercial flight. The video mentions a fully made bed and then shows the image of 2 passengers in reclining 1990's or early 2000's sleeper seats. Then things get worse. It is claimed passengers could book a whole cabin with plush carpets, curtains and wood panelling while showing some sort of fake lounge on the lower deck of a 747 at 11.36. This section of the video must not be taken at face value and I will go as far as to say that it's claims are absolute nonsense. BA and PanAm did not become famous for offering these cabins as they never existed. The video them mentions 'pre-boarding cocktail hours'. It appears that he is discussing the First Class lounges which existed then as they exist today although in those days the lounges didn't offer food, only drinks and some snacks. There were certainly no such lounges for economy passengers. Those economy class lounges with pianos were US domestic specific and existed only on wide body aircraft for a very short period of time in the early 1970's due to significant overcapacity on US domestic flights following the change from narrow body to wide body aircraft. Thew were found only on 747 operated (usually transcontinental) flights, not on narrow body aircraft such as the 707, DC8, 727, 737 or DC9! They did not exist on international flights to/from the US or anywhere outside the US. Therefore such lounges were not experienced by the vast majority of air travellers in the world. I am not from the US. I am from the UK. My experience of Y class service in the 1970's differs. My comments hold true in Europe and elsewhere in the world. Alcoholic drinks were charged for in Y class in the 60's and 70's. When IFE was available there was an IATA mandated headset rental charge of $2.50. Complimentary cigarettes were only for First Class and usually limited to long haul international flights. Drinks in Y class were served in plastic glasses. There was no table linen in Y class. Cutlery was normally metal but not always so. Most but not all airlines had printed menus on longer flights. Choice of main course was rare. Even Cathay Pacific in 1978 didn't offer a choice of main course on their flagship non-stop Hong Kong - Sydney 707 operated flight. Hot towels and amenity kits were rare in Y class; airlines such as Cathay Pacific offered them but British Airways/BOAC and even the great Pan Am that Americans rave about didn't. Meals were freshly cooked restaurant quality but not gourmet. Prawn (shrimp to Americans) cocktail was a popular common starter although Pan Am only offered a salad. A hot main course. Steak was expensive therefore rare; chicken was more likely. A desert, cheese and crackers, roll and butter. Pillow and blanket on your seat on long haul flights. First Class service was of course excellent although those really elaborate meals were found only on long haul international flights. Champagne offered before take off. Drinks and canapes. Table linen, china and real glasses. A selection of starters selected from the trolley, SOMETIMES including caviar. Soup from a tureen. Salad. Main course selected from the trolley plated at your seat. Cheese. Fruit. Desert. Liquors. Complimentary cigarettes in packs of 5. Hot towels. Amenity kits. Writing paper. Newspapers. Magazines. Letters posted for you by the crew. Usually a small free gift to take home. On shorter intra-European flights though the service was much reduced. (First Class class was offered on intra-European flights in the 1970's. It started to be phased out and replaced by Business Class from 1981). Depending on the flight length it could be a tray meal or a reduced course by course service such as plated starter, main course served from the trolley, cheese and desert. Still the table linen, china and real glasses but no canapes, amenity kits or hot towels and definitely no caviar. I wouldn't say that passengers so much dressed up to fly but that they didn't dress DOWN to fly. People cared about how they looked in public. I wore a suit to work in the office and to go out to dinner in a restaurant so it would be normal to wear one to fly although other smart casual clothing would have been equally acceptable. Also at the end of their journey most people would be checking-in to a hotel. They would not want to turn up at the hotel looking like a vagrant. There is also a different side to air travel in the 1970's. Here in the UK we had various low-cost holiday charter airlines which operated flights to holiday destinations on behalf of package tour operators offered levels of service very different to what you may expect from that era. Reduced 30 inch seat pitch, 33lb (15kg) baggage allowance and onboard horrors such as the infamous 'seat back' catering concept. One such airline even squeezed an extra seat into a single aisle narrow body aircraft offering a 4 X 3 configuration instead of the usual 3 X 3.
I remember flying even during the mid 80's and being able to smoke and being given free drinks- beer,wine,😮 soda, and mixers were free and tiny bottles of alcohol were $1! Then the deregulated the industry, and EVERYONE lost out. And flying in the 70:s? WOW You could practically sleep in the seats because they were so huge. Those were the days!
The idea of economy class seats being 'huge' in the 1970's is for the most part a myth. More legroom yes, more width, generally speaking, no. While it was true that the launch configurations of wide body aircraft usually had one seat less per row, for example the launch configuration of the 747 was 2 X 4 X 3 nine abreast as opposed to 3 X 4 X 3 ten abreast from about 1980 which resulted in a slightly wider seat and aisle, narrow body aircraft such as the 737 were 3 X 3 the same as today and as the width of those aircraft has not changed nor has the width of the seat. The same holds true across all narrow body aircraft types.
I am one of the Golden Girls of the extinct Golden Age of Flying. YES, what is depicted here IS true. Flying then was a beautiful experience. Pampered, privileged and spoilt for choice, we treated our paxs. like Royalty. A lot of them WERE Royals. Lords and Ladies, Nawabs and Sahabs and Memsahabs, Emirs, Presidents, Prime Ministers, Popes, Hollywood bigwigs...Creme de la Creme. Our aircrafts were called "Your Palace in the Sky". Our 747s were named after all our Maharajahs and there was a special lounge in the upper deck for the First Class paxs. to relax. Those were the days my friend!
I remember being stuck on a plane in the air during the blizzard of 1978.They closed O Hare. Drinking 🍸 may bloody Mary's and smoking 🚬 like a chimney 😆 😅😂
They treat you like criminals when you come to the airport now. Oh come on man they have very close to police officers patting you down you got to go through a metal detector and you have to take off your shoes... I worked at an airport for 2 years and I'll tell you after my boss cornered me and made me cry in the back room over talking drinks which I did not sign up for I signed up to run a gift shop not be a stalker I took the day off and quit The biggest crime however was when they took the pesto bacon sandwich god damn
I would say 50% BS - 50% truth. 36" of leg room down to 28" is about right. My knees never touched the seat in front of me in those days. Lack of any security was a big one. You could check in at the ticket counter, show your boarding pass at the gate and walk right on the plane never passing through any security. On the other hand private cabins and getting a ride to the plane are relatively new innovations for VIPs.
The seats WERE plusher. Definitely more legroom. Seats were a couple inches wider and you could recline them without pissing off the person behind you. Full meals for long flights, and scaled-down meals for shorter ones. Less regimentation during boarding and checking in. More emphasis on customer satisfaction. Snazzy stewardess outfits. And I remember adults getting free alcohol too. Don't know what you think was bull. Some of us were there and aware.
@ I was there too. Recently retired after a very long career in the airline industry and there many errors on this video and perception of things. For example, your comment regarding seat width. Just about the only correct comments are those regarding meal service.
@@arnaldocerra7218 With all due respect the perception problem is yours. Maybe you only fly in First Class. The reduction in seat size is well documented and no airline has disputed it.
@ Again, you’re incorrect. In economy class the reductions have been in seat pitch, not seat width. The standard economy narrow body layout is still 3x3 just like it has been since jets were introduced on mass scale in 1958. Airlines still use the same manufacturers for their economy seats although seats have been modernized, some with a bit less padding yet width has not been affected. Those seats have been 16.5”-17.5” wide since then and are still the same width now. I’ve recently retired from a very long career in the airline industry and I’m well aware of the real changes and what is uninformed passengers perception. Also, overall the average passenger’s derrière is what has become larger with time.
That affordability (which is a bit of a myth) came with hidden price tags. Like the things mentioned in this video. Plus, more accessibility has led to sharing the ride with a lot of people who are decidedly less inclined to make the flight enjoyable. People today have given in too often and given up too much.
@@Ben-xe8psPlus, the thing the video doesn't mention is that, at the time smoking was banned, the air filtration systems were magnitudes better than in those hazy days of the smoke-filled cabins.
@@yootoobsuks4210 What hazy smoked filled cabins? I don't recall any hazy smoked filled cabins. In those days aircraft cabins were properly ventilated. Ventilation was only reduced after smoking was banned. I see endless comments from individuals complaining about smoking aboard aircraft in the past, how smokey the cabin was, how everything smelled of cigarette smoke, how everybody was constantly chain smoking etc etc but wonder how many of them are simply repeating the anti-smoker script rather than discussing something that they have actually experienced themselves. As they say everybody smoked, then all these individuals now complaining must have at the time been a very small minority. As an individual who smoked on aircraft for the first 20+ years of my adult life, I do not believe that all these endless anti-smoking comments reflect genuine experiences especially considering how much better the ventilation was in the past.
@@Ben-xe8ps I've never been a smoker, but I never had a problem with the air in airplane cabins of the 70s, but my mother (who was a chain-smoker at 15) did say that early airplane cabins of the 50s tended to be a bit hazy.
WRONG 1) I remember traveling international in economy in the 1970's. It was HORRIBLE. The only entertainment was a movie that was played ONCE during the entire flight. Plus some planes' configuration had FIVE seats in the center. UNBEARABLE. Economy is much better now on international flights. Most flights have a 2-3-2 or a 3-3-3 seat configuration. 2) in 1970 an economy RT ticket between New York and Rome was $400. That's over $3000 today adjusted for inflation...!!!! Today you can do the trip for under $500 in TODAY's dollars - equal to $60 in 1972. 3) most of this video is first class. First class travel has always been good. I'm guessing it's even better now with the incredible luxury of the private suites.
I don't know about that. When I flew international on United in the late 1990s the seat configuration was 3-4-3 and my knees were painfully jammed into the seat in front of me through the whole 12 hour flights. On the other hand when I few domestic back in the 1970s even in economy class the seats were big and comfortable and I had plenty of leg room. There were also good deals in the 1970s. I used to fly on Hughes Airwest. I could go to the airport the night before and buy any unsold seat for the next day for $20 cash. Some times it was waste of time and I didn't get a seat, but usually I did. Adjusted for inflation that would be like $90 today. Can you get a $90 ticket to any place today?
@@MaxZomboni When comparisons are made between the cost of flying in the 1970's and today the comparisons are often not on a like for like basis. When I can verify the claims made in comments about the cost of tickets on a stated route in a stated year I often find them to be greatly overstated. To take just one example of many, a comment was made on another video which claimed that the cost of a ticket from the US (city unspecified) to Bermuda in 1970 was $700 (I assume round-trip as not specified). I checked this out. The PanAm timetable shows a midweek round trip excursion fare from New York to Bermuda for $85 round-trip and even from as far away as Los Angeles the highest possible fare, the full unrestricted First Class fare, was only $497 round-trip. There is a misconception that as fares were fixed all passengers paid the same fare. That is not correct as fares were fixed by type and there were many fare types. One big mistake is to compare the full regular unrestricted fully refundable fare of the past (the equivalent of those fully refundable fare types of today which permit changes without penalty), as opposed to a discounted round-trip Excursion (YE) or APEX (YAP) or a tour operators inclusive tour fare which could often be cheaper than the regular one-way fare, with the cheapest possible fare today.
Now that flying is more affordable, uncomfortable flights are constantly being delayed or grounded because of certain people.
My first commercial flights were in the 1970s, but in economy class and within Australia, not overseas. Our economy class then was not a great deal different to today's version. The luxury shown may have been normal in first, but definitely not for the bulk of passengers in the rear of the aircraft! Thank you for the video! Loved the visuals!
Much of what is shown in this video is First Class, usually cabin mock-up's and often greatly exaggerated and unrealistic representations of onboard First Class service from publicity and advertising material.
Prior to circa 1960 people flew on very noisy piston engine aircraft which vibrated, were badly pressurised (sometimes not pressurised at all) causing ear ache (hence the boiled sweets), flew at lower altitudes through rather than over bad weather, were slow and had engines which had a habit of catching fire during the flight. Little wonder airlines did their best to make the experience as comfortable as possible. However, all of the black and white images from that era are of First Class travel. The Lockheed Constellation of the 1950's was 2 class, First and Economy/Coach and I believe that on US domestic routes TWA Coach passengers were required to purchase a 'meal BOX' at check-in. Also in the early days on this aircraft type there were no pull down tables. Passengers were given a full size pillow to put on their laps on which they balanced their meal tray.
Concerning the modern era post early 60's, economy class flying in the mid-late 60's and 70's was not a luxury experience. Certainly it was better than today in many respects but care must be taken not to overrate it. It was certainly more civilised and passengers were treated with more consideration and respect. Perhaps a good comparison would be that flying in the 1970's was more like going out for a meal in a nice (but not gourmet or top class) restaurant whereas today it could be compared to a visit to McDonalds.
The idea that economy class seats were wider is only partially true. Take a look for example at the image of the interior of a SAA Boeing 707 in the 1960's shown at 0.45. This is the economy Y class cabin on a long haul intercontinental flight. Where are those massive wide seats that people in comments often claim existed? That 3 X 3 Y class seating is the same width as today, albeit better padded with a bit more legroom, 34 inch seat pitch at the most. The width of a Boeing 737-100 in the 1960's or a 707 was the same width as the latest 737 today. This holds true across all narrow body aircraft. The image of a 707 with 5 abreast seating at 4.37 is a manufacturer's mock-up and was not the standard delivery configuration to airlines. All 2 X 2 seating shown in the video is First Class.
Concerning wide body aircraft, the launch configurations of such aircraft usually had 1 seat less per-row, for example the 747 launch configuration in Y class was 9 abreast 2 X 4 X 3 as opposed to 10 abreast 3 X 4 X 3 from circa 1980. This resulted in a very slightly wider seat on such wide body aircraft.
The 'Gourmet dining' described was and still is found in long haul First Class. Economy class dining was not to that standard. A good restaurant quality meal on a tray yes, a luxurious gourmet meal no. These videos also give the false impression that every First Class meal consisted of Caviar, Lobster Tails and Filet Mignon. The image at 1.17 showing a grossly exaggerated First Class starter service from an impossibly wide trolley is fake, taken in a cabin mock-up and should in no way be regarded as an accurate representation.
Concerning onboard lounges, the 747 upstairs lounges were First Class only. The comment that on some flights economy passengers could also enjoy the communal space is untrue. Also the idea that travelling First Class was like attending some sort of cocktail party in the sky is a myth. The image at 3.23 is the First Class lounge on the upper deck of a Qantas Boeing 747, the Captain Cook lounge, and is an airline publicity image. The majority of First Class passengers were not the partying young couples of airline publicity images; they were suited businessmen for the most part plus wealthy elderly widows and other similar very conservative types who conducted themselves accordingly. The downstairs 747 lounge at 3.07 is fake. This was a mock-up constructed by Boeing to try to sell this idea to airlines. No airline installed it. The image at 3.23 of this lounge in the second cabin of a 747 is also fake. The First Class seating on 1970's international long haul aircraft would not have resembled what is offered in First Class on long haul flights today. It would have been very similar to present day US domestic F class seating on a narrow body aircraft, 2 X 2 with a seat pitch of maximum 42 inches. When the lounges were abolished circa 1980 the First Class seating on long haul flights was changed to 2 X 2 with a 62 inch pitch, the first generation sleeperette seat. Personally I would prefer this increased seat comfort to a little used upstairs lounge.
I have never ever heard of those private cabins and suites with sofas and personal attendants mentioned at around 11.00 and can't imagine what that image at 11.12 is supposed to represent. It was certainly not taken aboard a commercial flight. Perhaps somebody's private jet? The image at 11.21 is definitely a private jet not a commercial flight. The video mentions a fully made bed and then shows the image of 2 passengers in reclining 1990's or early 2000's sleeper seats. Then things get worse. It is claimed passengers could book a whole cabin with plush carpets, curtains and wood panelling while showing some sort of fake lounge on the lower deck of a 747 at 11.36. This section of the video must not be taken at face value and I will go as far as to say that it's claims are absolute nonsense. BA and PanAm did not become famous for offering these cabins as they never existed.
The video them mentions 'pre-boarding cocktail hours'. It appears that he is discussing the First Class lounges which existed then as they exist today although in those days the lounges didn't offer food, only drinks and some snacks. There were certainly no such lounges for economy passengers.
Those economy class lounges with pianos were US domestic specific and existed only on wide body aircraft for a very short period of time in the early 1970's due to significant overcapacity on US domestic flights following the change from narrow body to wide body aircraft. Thew were found only on 747 operated (usually transcontinental) flights, not on narrow body aircraft such as the 707, DC8, 727, 737 or DC9! They did not exist on international flights to/from the US or anywhere outside the US. Therefore such lounges were not experienced by the vast majority of air travellers in the world.
I am not from the US. I am from the UK. My experience of Y class service in the 1970's differs. My comments hold true in Europe and elsewhere in the world. Alcoholic drinks were charged for in Y class in the 60's and 70's. When IFE was available there was an IATA mandated headset rental charge of $2.50. Complimentary cigarettes were only for First Class and usually limited to long haul international flights. Drinks in Y class were served in plastic glasses. There was no table linen in Y class. Cutlery was normally metal but not always so. Most but not all airlines had printed menus on longer flights. Choice of main course was rare. Even Cathay Pacific in 1978 didn't offer a choice of main course on their flagship non-stop Hong Kong - Sydney 707 operated flight. Hot towels and amenity kits were rare in Y class; airlines such as Cathay Pacific offered them but British Airways/BOAC and even the great Pan Am that Americans rave about didn't. Meals were freshly cooked restaurant quality but not gourmet. Prawn (shrimp to Americans) cocktail was a popular common starter although Pan Am only offered a salad. A hot main course. Steak was expensive therefore rare; chicken was more likely. A desert, cheese and crackers, roll and butter. Pillow and blanket on your seat on long haul flights.
First Class service was of course excellent although those really elaborate meals were found only on long haul international flights. Champagne offered before take off. Drinks and canapes. Table linen, china and real glasses. A selection of starters selected from the trolley, SOMETIMES including caviar. Soup from a tureen. Salad. Main course selected from the trolley plated at your seat. Cheese. Fruit. Desert. Liquors. Complimentary cigarettes in packs of 5. Hot towels. Amenity kits. Writing paper. Newspapers. Magazines. Letters posted for you by the crew. Usually a small free gift to take home. On shorter intra-European flights though the service was much reduced. (First Class class was offered on intra-European flights in the 1970's. It started to be phased out and replaced by Business Class from 1981). Depending on the flight length it could be a tray meal or a reduced course by course service such as plated starter, main course served from the trolley, cheese and desert. Still the table linen, china and real glasses but no canapes, amenity kits or hot towels and definitely no caviar.
I wouldn't say that passengers so much dressed up to fly but that they didn't dress DOWN to fly. People cared about how they looked in public. I wore a suit to work in the office and to go out to dinner in a restaurant so it would be normal to wear one to fly although other smart casual clothing would have been equally acceptable. Also at the end of their journey most people would be checking-in to a hotel. They would not want to turn up at the hotel looking like a vagrant.
There is also a different side to air travel in the 1970's. Here in the UK we had various low-cost holiday charter airlines which operated flights to holiday destinations on behalf of package tour operators offered levels of service very different to what you may expect from that era. Reduced 30 inch seat pitch, 33lb (15kg) baggage allowance and onboard horrors such as the infamous 'seat back' catering concept. One such airline even squeezed an extra seat into a single aisle narrow body aircraft offering a 4 X 3 configuration instead of the usual 3 X 3.
Unfortunately, I remember those days!
The more we remember, the more we feel the loss of what once was. Yes? I feel you.
I remember flying even during the mid 80's and being able to smoke and being given free drinks- beer,wine,😮 soda, and mixers were free and tiny bottles of alcohol were $1! Then the deregulated the industry, and EVERYONE lost out. And flying in the 70:s? WOW You could practically sleep in the seats because they were so huge. Those were the days!
The idea of economy class seats being 'huge' in the 1970's is for the most part a myth. More legroom yes, more width, generally speaking, no. While it was true that the launch configurations of wide body aircraft usually had one seat less per row, for example the launch configuration of the 747 was 2 X 4 X 3 nine abreast as opposed to 3 X 4 X 3 ten abreast from about 1980 which resulted in a slightly wider seat and aisle, narrow body aircraft such as the 737 were 3 X 3 the same as today and as the width of those aircraft has not changed nor has the width of the seat. The same holds true across all narrow body aircraft types.
I am one of the Golden Girls of the extinct Golden Age of Flying. YES, what is depicted here IS true. Flying then was a beautiful experience. Pampered, privileged and spoilt for choice, we treated our paxs. like Royalty. A lot of them WERE Royals. Lords and Ladies, Nawabs and Sahabs and Memsahabs, Emirs, Presidents, Prime Ministers, Popes, Hollywood bigwigs...Creme de la Creme. Our aircrafts were called "Your Palace in the Sky". Our 747s were named after all our Maharajahs and there was a special lounge in the upper deck for the First Class paxs. to relax. Those were the days my friend!
I remember being stuck on a plane in the air during the blizzard of 1978.They closed O Hare. Drinking 🍸 may bloody Mary's and smoking 🚬 like a chimney 😆 😅😂
Chicken or Beef? Chicken or Beef?.................. Sorry we are all out of Beef.
Chicken or beef? Ah, yes. I'll have the fish. 🤣
How did we go from gourmet meals to just a bag of pretzels?
What happened to change all that???
Pretzels? You got pretzels?
Deregulation and unstaunched Reagan-era corporations. This video says it again and again: the push for maximizing profits.
Before they were flight attendants, they were stewardesses/stewards, and before that, they were hostesses/hosts. 👍🏻
They treat you like criminals when you come to the airport now.
Oh come on man they have very close to police officers patting you down you got to go through a metal detector and you have to take off your shoes...
I worked at an airport for 2 years and I'll tell you after my boss cornered me and made me cry in the back room over talking drinks which I did not sign up for I signed up to run a gift shop not be a stalker I took the day off and quit
The biggest crime however was when they took the pesto bacon sandwich god damn
This video is full of errors and exaggerations. It’s pure bull.
I would say 50% BS - 50% truth. 36" of leg room down to 28" is about right. My knees never touched the seat in front of me in those days. Lack of any security was a big one. You could check in at the ticket counter, show your boarding pass at the gate and walk right on the plane never passing through any security. On the other hand private cabins and getting a ride to the plane are relatively new innovations for VIPs.
The seats WERE plusher. Definitely more legroom. Seats were a couple inches wider and you could recline them without pissing off the person behind you. Full meals for long flights, and scaled-down meals for shorter ones. Less regimentation during boarding and checking in. More emphasis on customer satisfaction. Snazzy stewardess outfits. And I remember adults getting free alcohol too. Don't know what you think was bull. Some of us were there and aware.
@ I was there too. Recently retired after a very long career in the airline industry and there many errors on this video and perception of things. For example, your comment regarding seat width. Just about the only correct comments are those regarding meal service.
@@arnaldocerra7218 With all due respect the perception problem is yours. Maybe you only fly in First Class. The reduction in seat size is well documented and no airline has disputed it.
@ Again, you’re incorrect. In economy class the reductions have been in seat pitch, not seat width. The standard economy narrow body layout is still 3x3 just like it has been since jets were introduced on mass scale in 1958. Airlines still use the same manufacturers for their economy seats although seats have been modernized, some with a bit less padding yet width has not been affected. Those seats have been 16.5”-17.5” wide since then and are still the same width now. I’ve recently retired from a very long career in the airline industry and I’m well aware of the real changes and what is uninformed passengers perception. Also, overall the average passenger’s derrière is what has become larger with time.
Yes but flying was literally a luxury in those days whereas it’s more affordable now
That affordability (which is a bit of a myth) came with hidden price tags. Like the things mentioned in this video. Plus, more accessibility has led to sharing the ride with a lot of people who are decidedly less inclined to make the flight enjoyable. People today have given in too often and given up too much.
How to make a 10 minute video last over 20 minutes by repeating the same thing over and over again. Pretty pathetic.
very expensive, everyone smoked, no thank you (I'm not a foodie, so I could care less about the food)
Yes everybody smoked so nobody complained about it.
@@Ben-xe8psPlus, the thing the video doesn't mention is that, at the time smoking was banned, the air filtration systems were magnitudes better than in those hazy days of the smoke-filled cabins.
@@yootoobsuks4210 What hazy smoked filled cabins? I don't recall any hazy smoked filled cabins. In those days aircraft cabins were properly ventilated. Ventilation was only reduced after smoking was banned. I see endless comments from individuals complaining about smoking aboard aircraft in the past, how smokey the cabin was, how everything smelled of cigarette smoke, how everybody was constantly chain smoking etc etc but wonder how many of them are simply repeating the anti-smoker script rather than discussing something that they have actually experienced themselves. As they say everybody smoked, then all these individuals now complaining must have at the time been a very small minority. As an individual who smoked on aircraft for the first 20+ years of my adult life, I do not believe that all these endless anti-smoking comments reflect genuine experiences especially considering how much better the ventilation was in the past.
@@Ben-xe8ps I've never been a smoker, but I never had a problem with the air in airplane cabins of the 70s, but my mother (who was a chain-smoker at 15) did say that early airplane cabins of the 50s tended to be a bit hazy.
@@yootoobsuks4210 50's is a bit before my time so can't comment. Took my first flight in 1967.
WRONG
1) I remember traveling international in economy in the 1970's. It was HORRIBLE. The only entertainment was a movie that was played ONCE during the entire flight. Plus some planes' configuration had FIVE seats in the center. UNBEARABLE. Economy is much better now on international flights. Most flights have a 2-3-2 or a 3-3-3 seat configuration.
2) in 1970 an economy RT ticket between New York and Rome was $400. That's over $3000 today adjusted for inflation...!!!! Today you can do the trip for under $500 in TODAY's dollars - equal to $60 in 1972.
3) most of this video is first class. First class travel has always been good. I'm guessing it's even better now with the incredible luxury of the private suites.
I don't know about that. When I flew international on United in the late 1990s the seat configuration was 3-4-3 and my knees were painfully jammed into the seat in front of me through the whole 12 hour flights. On the other hand when I few domestic back in the 1970s even in economy class the seats were big and comfortable and I had plenty of leg room. There were also good deals in the 1970s. I used to fly on Hughes Airwest. I could go to the airport the night before and buy any unsold seat for the next day for $20 cash. Some times it was waste of time and I didn't get a seat, but usually I did. Adjusted for inflation that would be like $90 today. Can you get a $90 ticket to any place today?
@@MaxZomboni When comparisons are made between the cost of flying in the 1970's and today the comparisons are often not on a like for like basis. When I can verify the claims made in comments about the cost of tickets on a stated route in a stated year I often find them to be greatly overstated. To take just one example of many, a comment was made on another video which claimed that the cost of a ticket from the US (city unspecified) to Bermuda in 1970 was $700 (I assume round-trip as not specified). I checked this out. The PanAm timetable shows a midweek round trip excursion fare from New York to Bermuda for $85 round-trip and even from as far away as Los Angeles the highest possible fare, the full unrestricted First Class fare, was only $497 round-trip.
There is a misconception that as fares were fixed all passengers paid the same fare. That is not correct as fares were fixed by type and there were many fare types. One big mistake is to compare the full regular unrestricted fully refundable fare of the past (the equivalent of those fully refundable fare types of today which permit changes without penalty), as opposed to a discounted round-trip Excursion (YE) or APEX (YAP) or a tour operators inclusive tour fare which could often be cheaper than the regular one-way fare, with the cheapest possible fare today.
Shhhh