Flying in the 60s: Part 2

[trof]

Well, here we are again.
Back by popular demand.
;-)

Seriously, I'm overwhelmed by the response to my first post.
THANK YOU.

First class
(I realize the vast majority here have never flown in first and aren't likely to.
You have to either be very wealthy or have a ton of frequent flyer miles and the luck to have an empty seat in first and get moved up.)

In my day airline employees (non-revenue passengers, or 'non-revs') got free passes in coach and could pay a $10 surcharge for first class. Non-rev men had to wear coat and tie and ladies dressed 'appropriately'. Back then flights weren't always chockablock full, so those passes meant something. Not so now. It's very difficult to get a seat. You always fly ONLY after all revenue passengers are accommodated. And forget about first class. Too many frequent flyers.
:-(

Back in the day a first class flight of long enough duration was comparable to being in a fine dining restaurant with wings. We ate off of bone china and drank from crystal glasses. Of course the airline logo was on each piece. TWA's was rendered in red and gold.
Eating and serving utensils were either silver plate or stainless, also with logo engraved.
And the linen napkins had a little buttonhole stitched into one corner. Neat.
On transcontinental and international flights, champagne and caviar were common.
Spirits and wine were always top shelf.
Yes, there was a wine list.
Oh, and a menu too, with a wide choice of entrees.

Food?
ALL lunch and dinner flights started with drinks and exquisite hors d'ouvres.
For entrees, I particularly remember the fantastic Chateaubriand and lobster.
And the chicken Cordon Bleu.
Caesar salads tossed at your seat.
And the cabin attendant would come through with that huge pepper mill.
Truly mouthwatering desserts.
Coffee and brandy after.
And a smoke, but no pipes or cigars allowed.
:-)

Upon boarding, every first class passenger found a pillow and blanket at their seat, plus an 'amenity kit'. This leather pouch usually contained a sleep mask, slipper socks, notepad and pen, earphones, comb, travel toothbrush and tiny tube of Colgate. In later times maybe a small calculator. Sometimes a shoe shine kit.

There was also a magazine rack with all the latest publications and copies of the local newspaper.

TWA's Babysitting Service
(I know you'll think I'm making this up, but I'm not.)
OK, we never did this, but some of my fellow employees did.
Want a day and evening 'off' without the kids?
Dress 'em up in their best bib and tucker and drive them to the airport that morning.
Say you live in Chicago.
Get them first class passes to San Francisco with a return flight a couple of hours after arrival there. TWA will make sure they're shepherded between flights.
They're fed, entertained, watched over (and they LOVE it!) until you pick them up that night.
If you're a Scrooge, just stick them in coach for free.
:eyes:

A Night Out/Day Off
Before our daughter arrived, Miz t. and I would do about the same as outlined above.
Board a morning flight and enjoy breakfast/brunch on the way out. Even a movie, once in-flight entertainment came along. Spend a couple of hours browsing the terminal shops in SFO, maybe pick up a loaf or two of that great sourdough bread, and take a dinner flight back home.
Cheap date.

Honey? Want to go to Paris for dinner?
Or London, or Rome?
Grab your overnight bag!
Many European layovers were 24 hours or longer. You'd usually get to your hotel (always 4 star) in the morning and get a 4-5 hour nap. That left plenty of time to spend an afternoon sightseeing and an evening in a nice restaurant. I'd get Miz t. a pass and she'd enjoy the flight over while I was at work in the cockpit. Of course the company paid for the hotel room and it didn't matter if there were one or two occupants.
Sometimes all three of the cockpit crew would bring wives and enjoy an evening out together.
Cheap mini-vacation.
Pilots are notoriously cheap.
I don't know why.
God knows we were paid well back then.
:shrug:

That's enough for now.
Maybe I'll comment on other employee benefits later.
Peace.
:hi:

[liberal N proud]

1. I flew Non-Rev all the time in the late 60's early 70's

My brother worked for the airline and was always getting me passes to where ever the airline flew and when-ever.

I was bumped to 1st class many times, it was great traveling back then.

[Bunny]

2. I am really enjoying your reminiscences, trof.

Please feel free to start as many OPs as you like on this - it doesn't get old. :hi:

[trof]

5. HEY BUNNY!

How you been?
And thanks.
:hi:

[kiva]

7. Yes, please

I'm enjoying your memories.

[HappyMe]

3. Thanks, dude.

Had to throw my Frank Sinatra cd in while I read your post.


:D



Everybody!..........

Come fly with me..

[trof]

4. Ring-a-ding-ding, baby!

:-)

[leveymg]

6. Commercial air travel sure ain't like a "Pan Am" episode, today.

Is it? More like the troop transport in Avatar.

[n2doc]

10. add shackles and you get this:

[Old Codger]

8. 1967

Or so was going back to Minn. for a couple weeks and wanted to do some shooting with my brother I had just purchased a new rifle I wanted to take along, it had a scope on it so I asked if it could be given special handling in baggage, they told me not to put it in baggage just keep it in case and put in overhead. No one ever looked to see if it was loaded or not on either flight there or return.

[trof]

20. I had a 9" filet knife in my carry-on years back.

It was a wicked looking weapon.
That was back when you could bypass security with an airline ID.
I was jump-seating (free) for a snorkeling trip to the keys.
After I said 'Hi' to the cockpit crew I said "Take a look at what I just got on with."
whoa

[Yavin4]

9. You Should Write A Book or at Least A Magazine Article

Maybe even find a documentary filmmaker and do a film about your experiences.

[trof]

11. Grand Canyon tours...Manhattan tours...

In that time the price of jet fuel was relatively low, so consumption was that big deal.
We'd get clearance from ATC to drop down to 6000-7000 feet and slow down quite a bit coming up on the Grand Canyon. It became so common that's you'd just say "Center, TWA 319 requests canyon tour."
"Roger 319. Cleared to maintain 6000 to 10000 feet and airspeed at your discretion."
We'd do gentle banks back and forth so pax (airline-speak for 'passengers') could get a good look.

Same when we came into New York.
If possible, approach would take us around the island at low altitude and we'd point out various landmarks to the folks.
Until 2001, the world trade center buildings always stood out.

One guy I flew with was a real comedian.
After the city installed sodium vapor lights (I think) they looked yellow, or amber, from the air.
As we passed over the city you'd hear "Good evening ladies and gentlemen. If you'll look below you'll see New York City in all it's splendor. The amber lights indicate high crime areas."
:rofl:

[xchrom]

12. i'm loving this -- thanks. nt

[OffWithTheirHeads]

13. I remember flying in the 50's (sort of) Mohawk Airlines. I was a little kiid

The only things I really remember (I was like 5 or 6) was that the seats were big enough for me (I think they are designed to fit little kids cause they sure suck now) and ladies commenly wore white gloves up past their elbows and hats with little veil things on them and flying was a really special event. Oh yeah, they would always give the kids little pin on wings.

[trof]

21. I remember Mohawk.

Had a friend who flew for them.
I think they were absorbed by Republic and then USAIR.

[n2doc]

14. Vintage ads

Most from before the 60's but still interesting:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/backissues/2011/09/vintage-airline-ads.html






more at link

[smokey nj]

15. Only time I ever flew first class was from Newark to Boston.

My boyfriend (who worked for Continental) and I flew up to spend the weekend with my sister. He booked us coach seats, but we got upgraded. The flight was pretty empty which is probably why we got the upgrade. It makes me sad that my first and probably only first class experience was a 45 minute flight. :(

[Liberal In Texas]

16. Got an upgrade once to Business Class on a British Air 777.

From London to Dallas. Business on BA is enormously better than any first class US domestic flight I'd ever been upgraded to. (I realize the post is about the good old days, but all the first class stuff reminded me of this.)

It was hard to get any sleep because the male attendant (who reminded me of the actor Patrick Stewart) kept bringing around tea or crumpets in addition to the regular breakfast service. If that wasn't enough you could get out of your seat (which was no trouble as there is lots of room) and wander forward to the little buffet they had set up off the galley. Any kind of drinks, although as I recall we didn't have anything until near the end of the flight as it was morning when we left London.

They passed out the zippered goodie kit from Moulton Brown complete with booties, a mask, ear plugs, shaving kit, hand and face creams, lip balm, manicure kit, toothpaste, and a wash cloth.

The only thing that I could see that differed from first class was in first they had those large seats that converted into beds.

We only got upgraded because my father-in-law got stuck in traffic getting us to the airport and they had apparently gave our seats away to stand-by passengers. It was a much nicer way to endure 9 hours flight time and interesting to see how the wealthy live.

[fizzgig]

19. i got bumped up to business on ba once, too

no idea how it happened, but there were no complaints from me. they greeted us with hot towels and mimosas and fed us three, maybe four times on the flight from london to denver. i'd flown plenty of times before, but never in anything other than coach.

[trof]

17. Alone in first class.

Fairly early in my career, Miz t. and I took our first trip on a 747.
The airplane was HUGE.
I'd never seen anything like it.
I marveled at the fact that this behemoth could actually get off the ground, and I was a PILOT.

We had passes from ORD to SFO.
I watched the coach passengers file past and settled in.
When the door was closed we found we were the ONLY PASSENGERS in first.
WOW!

The flight attendants knew we were non-revs, but they waited on us hand and foot.
I remember thinking how great this was.
This was really LIVING.

I was too young and too damn stupid to wonder why coach was half full and we had first class to ourselves. And what effect that might have on my job.
duh
Three months later I was laid off. That was the first time I'd heard anything about layoffs.
I was off a year and a half that time.
There would be two more at later intervals in my so-called career.
At least I could see those coming and was better prepared.
:-(

[Manifestor_of_Light]

18. I walked through a 747 in 1970.

They had just come out. I went out to IAH (Intercontinental - Houston) with my sister and BIL.
We stood in a very long line that went into the main terminal.

We went up stairs in the back door, turned left, and walked forward, and walked and walked, until we came to the front, made a left turn and went back down the stairs.
There was a recording reciting facts and figures about the plane.

That was really cool.

Oh and we call Intercontinental "Intergalactic". NOBODY calls it Bush. I think it's named after Poppy.

[trof]

22. I still call Reagan (barf) Washington National.

:-)

[LuckyLib]

37. I do as well. I will not dignify Nancy's efforts to elevate RR to sainthood by having

half of the western world named after him. It's National Airport.

[Major Nikon]

40. Same here

I just call it national. Pisses me off that they don't let small planes fly into there any more, yet you can drive a semi throughout downtown if you're so inclined.

[Fire Walk With Me]

23. Thanks for your stories! Recommending.

[trof]

24. The day my co-pilot shat his pants...Horror story

We had a layover in Narita (Tokyo).
I was flying cargo then, so there were just the three cockpit crew, no cabin attendants.
Two of us were pretty wiped, so just wanted a few drinks and dinner at a little diner across the street from our hotel and early to bed.
Joe had a favorite sushi place in the village of Narita and headed there.

The next morning he told me this story:
"I took the hotel bus into Narita. Had a nice dinner and a few Kirins at the sushi bar. Decided I could use some exercise and decided to walk back to the hotel (about 30 minutes).
About half way back I could tell I had a 'problem'. INCREDIBLE intestinal 'disturbance'.
I saw a gas station about a half mile up the highway. Thought I could make it.
Wrong.
Almost made it when I had the most incredible attack of EXPLOSIVE diarrhea I've EVER experienced.
Shit was running down my legs.
I got in the station men's room and stripped down. My pants and skivvies were garbaged. I took them off and cleaned up as best I could. My socks were unsalvageable too. When I left I threw them all into a ditch behind the station.
Luckily, I was wearing my raincoat.
When I walked into the hotel lobby I know I looked like a flasher.
Black raincoat, no pants, no socks."

Sorry, but...
:rofl:

[trof]

25. Inflight passenger problems.

I've had a few.
One guy OD'd on some injectible drug in one of the aft lavs on a 727 on our way into LGA.
(I never learned what the drug was.)

One of the coach cabin attendants called the cockpit on the interphone.
"I got a guy in an aft lav who's been in there a long time. I banged on the door and I get no response."
I went back.

There's a little slot in the exterior of the lav door lock.
You can open it from outside with a screwdriver, pen knife, or just a ballpoint pen.
I unlocked and opened the door.

I saw a young man sitting on the toilet. The seat cover was down. He was fully dressed.
There was a surgical tubing tourniquet on one arm and a hypodermic needle next to the wash basin.
His skin was a light shade of blue.
I felt his carotid for a pulse.
None.
I peeled back an eyelid.
The pupil had no response.
The dude was dead.
I closed and relocked the door.
Told the CA the lav was closed until we landed.

We were minutes away from landing and I thought this was the best way to deal with the situation.
I called TWA dispatch and requested EMTs and police at LGA.

We landed and after all the other passengers had deplaned, EMTs and police came on and took the corpse out on a gurney.
Poor bastard.
:-(

[KoKo]

26. ...1

[Stinky The Clown]

27. While you were flying 'em, I was feeding 'em

I worked for an inflight caterer. You'd know the name. A man who shared their name used to do financial reporting on CNN. Lou.

Anyway, I worked at their headquarters in Memphis and was part of a go team whenever a flight kitchen needed help, or a new menu was being implemented for a customer or a route, that sort of thing. My tenure was in the mid 70s, just before deregulation.

The food put onto the airlines was of top quality. One of my jobs was to maintain an "approved products list" for our flight kitchens. Our specs, typical for the industry, were as high as any top restaurant of the era.

The amazing foods were the first class provisions for the foreign flag carriers and national airlines that flew out of JFK. Our carriers, like your TWA, did some nice stuff, too, but the smaller countries' planes were over the top good. Expensive wines and top shelf spirits were part of it, too. Transatlantic flights were well provisioned, but the really long haul flights carried an amazing array of food. By this time, most carriers put partially cooked food on board and the Nordskog ovens finished them, but there were still some first class galleys doing some actual cooking. Our kitchens all had very skilled culinarians, most assigned to just one or two carriers, and several carriers used our cooks in their advertising.

Nowadays . . . .

[trof]

28. TWA had their own flight kitchen at JFK for many years.

Employees could stop in for a FREE breakfast.
They were good, too.

Yep, I've had many flights catered by your company.
I remember their restaurants too.

[Taverner]

29. I remember when flying "Non-Rev" meant getting a seat

Good luck with that today...

[Hassin Bin Sober]

31. You can still do it. You just have to fly at shitty hours.

My dad was always about the "sure thing" so we always traveled the off hours even back in the day.

IIRC, the last flight I non-reved, before my dad past and the privileges went by-by, was San Francisco home to Chicago on a Sunday. I remember getting up at like 430am for a 7?am, maybe 8am flight. That was after being out till 4am. It sucked but I got business class. Forget about traveling at 2 in the afternoon on a Sunday.


Another time I almost got stuck in Montreal on a Monday night. One open seat available and two non-revs with higher classifications (D2) ahead of me, a (D3). D2s were employees traveling and D3s were relatives traveling. D1s were employees on company business, IIRC.

Anyway, I lucked out because the D2s didn't want to get split up so they passed on the seat. Which was nice cause I had been at the "Black and Blue" rave dance party all weekend and I was in no condition to function.

The worst experience we had "back in the day" was being stuck in Hawaii when Rea-gun fired the air-traffic controllers. It was a nightmare. Everyone was canceling flights EXCEPT American, which was our airline. The whole family, six of us, stuck in the Honolulu airport for a day and a half. Made it to LA but got bumped off the plane in LAX at 11pm. Talk about embarrassing - hustled off the plane like a bunch of hobos, LOL. Spent the night in the LAX airport because it wasn't worth the effort to get a hotel. Several flights later, we made it out around 2pm.

[trof]

35. Boy, is that a familiar tale!

More than once I got the last seat because the couple senior to me didn't want to split up.
Bless 'em.
:-)

[trof]

34. True dat

[Odin2005]

30. KICK

[Hassin Bin Sober]

32. "We're goin coach but always dress for first class" my pops would always say.

IIRC, the difference was only a tie back in the day. Men still had to wear a coat and slacks in coach. Those were AA rules for non-rev. Oh and never tell the guy sitting next to you you were flying non-rev.


Now I'm sitting here balling thinking about my dad. 34 years with AA. He passed away in 2008.

Thanks for these threads. They have been a real treat. Bringing back fond memories of trips with the family.

[cwydro]

33. I flew non-rev first class to Dublin last year several times..

I loved it.

Flew on Continental and on Delta. Decided Delta was better, but both were nice.

I flew on Pan Am as a child in the 60's and loved that too. Those were the days.

[trof]

36. Retired pilots

Here's something a pilot friend just sent me:
Subject: Wings

It fuses to the soul through adversity, fear and adrenaline and no one who has ever worn them with pride, integrity and guts can ever sleep through the `call of the wild` that wafts through bedroom windows in the deep of the night.
When a good pilot leaves the `job' and retires, many are jealous, some are pleased and yet others, who may have already retired, wonder.
We wonder if he knows what he is leaving behind, because we already know.
We know, for example, that after a lifetime of camaraderie that few experience, it will remain as a longing for those past times.
We know in the world of flying, there is a fellowship which lasts long after the flight suits are hung up in the back of the closet.
We know even if he throws them away, they will be on him with every step and breath that remains in his life.
We also know how the very bearing of the man speaks of what he was and in his heart still is.
Because we fly, we envy no man on earth.

-Author Unknown

[trof]

38. Our Thanksgiving guest: A non-rev tale

We lived in southern NH and Logan (Boston) was the closest TWA station to us, about 45 minutes away.
In the mid 80s, when our daughter was in her teens, we decided to visit her granny and grandpop on their farm near Houston for Thanksgiving.

We were traveling a few days before the rush (I thought) so I figured we'd make it.
The route was BOS-STL-HOU.
We made it to St. Louis that morning, no problem.
Then the fun started.

The flight we'd planned on canceled.
Mechanical.
So all those folks were lined up for the next STL-HOU flight.
We stood by at the gate but didn't make the cut.
Non-revs were boarded in order of seniority by date-of-hire, and this applied to all eligible family members of the employee.

I noticed a young woman who also didn't make the cut and chatted with her as we all walked over the the gate where the next HOU flight would depart.
Her dad was a mechanic at JFK (with about 5 years of seniority on me) and she was trying to visit some friends in Houston for the holiday.
Neither of us made the next flight either.
There was only one flight to Houston left, so my family decided we'd return to Boston if we didn't make that one. There was a flight leaving an hour later that looked wide open.

We asked our new friend what she'd do if she didn't get on the flight and she said she guessed she'd stay in the airport that night and try to get to New York the next day. Too late to make it back today.

She was very pleasant and she and our daughter were talking a blue streak and getting along well.
I went to look at the flight monitors one more time and my daughter came up to me.
"Dad, if she can't make the next flight can she come home with us for Thanksgiving?"
"Fine with me. Let me check with your mom."
Mom was all for it too, so we asked her.
She was very appreciative and said that sounded great.

She got the last seat on the last Houston flight.
We said goodbye at the door to the jetway and wished her well.
As we were gathering our belongings for the trek to the gate for Boston she came walking back up the jetway.
"If the offer still stands I think I'd rather go with you guys."
I was really touched.
"We'd be delighted."

She called her dad to let him know what she was doing and where she'd be.
After she hing up she said "Dad said if you're with airline people, I know you're OK."
We had a great Thanksgiving.
:-)

[oldlib]

39. I flew quite a bit in the early 60's

Mostly out of LAX.I recall one trip to Vegas on a prop plane, and we were seated at the rear, in a group of seats arranged in a circle. There were possibly 10 seats with a round table in front of us. That was great! In early 1963 I was making weekly trips to Phoenix, always in prop planes. That is until one day I walked out to the plane, and discovered that it was a JET!

[Blue_Tires]

41. I also lurk on airliners.net

and am always fascinated by the industry stories from insiders during the 60s and 70s...Would have been fun to be a part of that, I think...