The golden age of air travel calls to mind images of luxurious cabins, decadent in-flight meals, and stewardesses clicking down the aisles in high-heeled shoes. It was also a time when security was lax and engines roared so loudly that it was impossible to hear the person sitting next to you. It goes without saying that the commercial flights of today look a lot different than they once did. Here are 11 quirks you’ll no longer encounter when traveling by plane.
1. NO I.D.? NO PROBLEM.
In the early days of commercial aviation, airlines were much more trusting that the people boarding their flights were who they said they were. Bringing along a photo I.D. wasn’t necessary: Instead, security would give travelers a quick glance to determine if they were good to the board. Until as late as 1970, passengers were making it onto planes with nothing but a ticket to show.
2. HELLOS/GOODBYES AT THE GATE
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The days of rushing to the gate to stop your unrequited love from boarding a plane to Europe are long gone. Before airlines tightened up their security policies, friends and family were free to walk up to a gate without restriction, either to bid their loved ones farewell or greet them the moment they stepped outside. Today, hopeless romantics better hustle it to the airport before their sweetheart passes through security.
3. WALKING ACROSS THE TARMAC TO BOARD
Today, the act of actually boarding a plane after making it through security is relatively painless. Before most airports started using jet bridges to connect cabins to the indoors, however, passengers had to go outside, walk across the tarmac, and ascend a flight of moveable stairs to enter the plane. They’d have to repeat this process upon landing, so hopefully the weather was nice at their destination.
4. PLENTY OF LEGROOM
Early air travelers who chose to fly coach weren’t necessarily skimping on comfort. Seats had three to six inches more legroom than today’s economy class, but that extra comfort came at a higher price. Flights during the Golden
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Age of Aviation cost 40 percent more than what travelers pay now. Average salaries were also lower in the 1950s, so Americans could end up spending 5 percent of their yearly income just on a round-trip flight within the U.S.
5. IN-FLIGHT PIANO BARS.
Before the days when travelers carried their entire music libraries in their pockets, listening to music on the go was a challenge. In the early ‘70s, guests on at least one airline were treated to the luxury of live music during their flights. The in-flight piano lounge in the back of the cabin featured a 64-key electric organ that facilitated many mid-air sing-alongs in its time.
6. NOISY FLIGHTS
Instead of jet engines, the first commercial planes used noisy pistons to power their flights. The roar of the engine of one popular motor during takeoff measured in at 120 decibels—10 units more than the front row of a rock concert and 10 below the threshold of pain. In order to communicate with passengers onboard the plane, the crew used small megaphones to carry their voices above the airplane’s vibrations.
