Remembering when skies were actually friendly

Yes, the sign says this was the COACH CLASS lounge piano

I just fell in love with a recent article in the Seattle Times where they interviewed travelers who flew in the "golden age" of air travel - which basically means before the industry deregulated in 1978. Back then air travel was special. People dressed up, there was tons of space and no crowds and flight crews were attentive - and there was even a piano bar on some jets.

It's definitely not like that now...I only have memories as a child, but I loved reading these memories. have to wonder if air travel will ever be like this again? Maybe for the private jet set...but I suspect not for the rest of us.

My favorite of the memories:

Flying with Bogart on Pan Am

I flew as a purser for Pan American World Airways during the "glory years" from 1948 to 1957, first from New Orleans to Central America and then across the Pacific out of San Francisco.

On the Pacific routes, we operated the Boeing Stratocruiser, a very comfortable plane with a downstairs bar/lounge, seats that converted to berths, upper berths, large bathrooms and carried 44 passengers all first-class. The cabin crew consisted of a purser and two stewards/stewardesses. Our passengers included at least three VIPs per leg per trip — movie stars, politicians, admirals, generals, etc.

A favorite was Humphrey Bogart, who would come back to the galley and help prepare meals. On one trip with the "Caine Mutiny" cast, I was having trouble getting a group of young actors to quiet down in the lounge at 2 a.m. Bogart appeared, put his arm around my shoulder and said, "This little gal is the boss, now get the hell up to bed." And they did — fast!

My all-time favorite was U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, who made several trips with me and always invited me to sit and chat (we had time for that back then). I asked him to sign my logbook, and he wrote a long message, all in Latin.

During this period, PanAm operated two flights per week to the Orient and the South Pacific, so we always had three- or four-day layovers in such exotic locales as Honolulu, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Manila, Bangkok, Sydney, Fiji and (not so great) Wake Island.

It truly was a time when flying was fun!

— "Tappy" Schonenberg, Edmonds

Please, sir, take your ice ax on board

Early in the 1970s, I was on a backpacking trip in British Columbia. As our route traversed some glaciers, we were equipped with ice axes. On my return trip from Vancouver, B.C., to New York, I had strapped my ice ax to my backpack. As I prepared to check my backpack, the airline check-in agent expressed concern that it might puncture other luggage (even though the points of the ice ax were protected) and asked if I would carry the ice ax with me on board the plane.

— Daniel C. Lee, Normandy Park

Ah, the good old days...I shudder to think what would happen if you tried to carry an ice ax through security these days. You wouldn't get too far, that's for sure.

If you are interested in the history of air travel, or just stories of old, do click on the link below and read all the memories. They are very interesting and very much in contrast to the airline experience most of us deal with today.

Once upon a time, the skies really were friendly [Seattle Times]

[Photo via American Airline's CR Smith Museum]