The Golden Age Of Flying

The Golden Age of Flying It is easy for a modern day flyer to look back at photos of people flying in the 50’s and 60’s and to wish that flying were the same today. Unlike pictures of people flying today, which illustrate casually dressed, grumpy passengers, packed into a stark-white cabin, pictures from 60 years ago illustrate formally dressed, smiling passengers, eating steak and lobster off of fine china. The presumably superior flying experience throughout the 50’s and 60’s is commonly referred to as the “Golden Age of Flying.” The reality though is that flying during the golden age wasn’t as “golden” as pictures portray it, and therefore, contrary to popular belief, flying today is actually better than it used to be.
Although
Clearly, the food options were more of what one would expect at a five star restaurant and not on a plane. Although luxurious, many people fail to consider the cost of a flight during the golden age. According to Guillaume de Syon, an aviation history expert, the average person in the 50’s would’ve spent 5% of his yearly salary just for a chance to fly. A secretary during this time period would have spent a months salary just to go on a very short flight (Brownlee). Therefore, flying during the golden age was reserved to a very small number of Americans. Similarly, although everyone is smiling in pictures from the period, entertainment was lacking. Most airlines simply handed out postcards and newspapers. Therefore, many passengers passed time by writing to their relatives and friends about their flying experiences. Once the postcard was full and the newspaper was read, there wasn’t much else to do. Air France was one airline that tried to improve their inflight entertainment by posting paintings around the cabin, but this practice didn’t last long, which is not surprisingwhich isn’t surprising because staring at the same painting for five hours isn’t entertaining for the average passenger. Because of the lack of
Although the majority of flyers would agree that the experience isn’t luxurious, they fail to consider what is beyond the curtain divider in first class. Today’s first class cabin reminds people that the luxuries of the past have not completely disappeared. For instance, if someone were to fly first class on Emirates Airbus A380, he or she would “enjoy superb food and drink” similar to those served in the in the past. Today’s first class cabin layout also retained the large amount of leg room and spacious cabin design. Unlike flying in the past, today’s first class cabin layout is more luxurious because passengers can receive a “private compartment with a sliding door, a lie-flat seat with mattress, a vanity, (and) a personal minibar (Sharkey).” Although the first class cabin today is similar to that in the past, the major difference in luxury today lies in the economy section. Whereas, in the past, economy passengers received a meal, today, economy passengers are lucky if they get a small bag of peanuts or pretzels. Of course, on international flights economy passengers still are served a meal, but unlike in the past, the meal consists of pasta served in an aluminum tin, instead of steak and lobster delicately arranged on fine china. Also, nobody should complain about the service in economy today if the price is taken into consideration. According to Syon, “varying on the route,