The bygone Golden Age of air travel is a myth.
By today’s standards, yesterday’s golden age of air travel would not be believed; the weather challenges, passenger comfort, pricing and safety issues would not be tolerated. The so called golden age was rife with barriers to convenience, utility and comfort. The advantages may only be examples of courtesy and speed. Everything else was primitive by today’s standards.
Journey times were longer, cabins were cramped and uncomfortable. Cabin temperatures were unstable. Staff worked long, difficult days, with responsibilities assigned cabin crew that sometimes included catering food locally and assisting with loading luggage and parcels on the aircraft, hence the reason women were not often on air crews until post World War 2.
While female cabin crew were introduced at Boeing Air Transport in 1930, men had been doing the rugged role since heavy work was required. Ellen Church proposed that nurses be given the job of caring and comforting passengers, providing reassurances that flying could be safe. Church’s original goal was to fly, but that role would not be allowed for decades.
Men predominated in cabin service for many years, until they were excluded (almost entirely) post war. Their return was court mandated in the early 1970s.
Women chose flying only to be terminated upon marriage. Gaining seniority was only possible by sacrificing much personal freedom. The mystic of the independent, single young flying hostess was heavily promoted by airlines.
She received many accolades over her career, and flew with passengers on the DC-3, the DC-4, DC-6, the first jet, the Convair 880, and subsequently the many MD-80s, Boeing 727 and 737s operated at Alaska.
Advertising promises were embellished .
The only reality was that passengers were better behaved and civility reigned. That was the only “golden” experience.
Today air travel is incredibly safe worldwide. Safety is monitored by government agencies and the industry itself. Few exceptions are noted. Omissions are quickly resolved.
Passenger amenities are abundant and mass travel is the only real challenge travelers are expected to navigate. Pay more and everything is enhanced. By comparison, a real deal compared to the golden age prices.
Today’s modern airliners actually anticipate turbulence and adjust flight plans to make the experience more comfortable. Occasional incidents are well documented for their rarity, and small in comparison to the volume of daily aircraft operations. Injuries rarely occur, often because passengers are not following protocol. Buckle up for safety.
Lavish dining is possible, for a price. Full flat beds welcome some passengers on long journeys, as an option, even, occasionally, as an option in economy (I.e. China Airlines and Air New Zealand sky-bed supplements).
Lounges pre departure ease the glute of terminal crowds, allowing travelers on some tickets and with some elite status to escape the anarchy of peak travel days.
Having said that, I will concede that todays staff can be strained by the sheer volumes of travelers. Passengers are casual, comfortable and celebratory. Yesterdays’ travelers were staid and well heeled, meaning well dressed and privileged. Staff today are well aware of the contrast.
Today travelers casually embark on journeys with far less paperwork, fewer visas and documents that require preparation. Paper documents are a vestige of the past, all generally digitally recorded and monitored.
The age of reading a novel and following your journey on a paper map are long past. Today your IFE (inflight entertainment) helps pass your brief journey. You are never far from contact with the world, by connecting to news and messaging. Connectivity is common and increasing. Power sources are abundant and improving. Gone are the coloring books for children, magazines and newspapers for adults, replaced by cell phones and tablets.
Safety is paramount. Operations are monitored, staff well trained and human error at a minimum, backed up by multiple redundant processes. (Yes, there are exceptions, though rare.)
Yes, today is the apex or true golden age of air travel. Welcome to my advocacy for this wonderful industry, and its’ current reality.
