Video: Boeing 747 Cabin Interiors from the 1970s

Ready for some aviation nostalgia? This video showcases the interiors of Boeing 747 aircraft from the 1970s, "when flying was meant to be a memorable experience, when inflight service mattered, and when the Boeing 747 was the coolest plane to fly in..."

Airlines represented in the video: Air Canada, Air France, American Airlines, Braniff, Continental Airlines, Iberia, Japan Airlines, KLM, National Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Pan Am, SAS, TWA, and United Airlines.



If the video does not display or play properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.

Tip of the hat to YouTube user LakeNipissing for posting the video.

RELATED: Boeing 747 marks 40 years of flight.

Boeing 747 marks 40 years of flight

Almost missed this one: Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the very first flight of the Boeing 747. The world's first 'jumbo jet' first took to the skies on February 9, 1969, at Paine Field, near Everett, Washington.

Writing about the historic event in his blog, Randy Tinseth, Boeing's current marketing vice president for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said:

February 9, 1969 was cold, cloudy, and windy. In other words, a typical winter’s day in this neck of the woods. But it was also a day that changed everything.

A little before lunchtime on that date, the first 747 took flight. This 747-100, dubbed the “City of Everett” would spend the next 75 minutes flying over the Puget Sound region.

Randy's Journal has more photos of the first Boeing 747, as well as the crew for the aircraft's first flight: Pilot Jack Waddell, Co-Pilot Brien Wygle and Flight Engineer Jess Wallick.

These days, the “City of Everett” is on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

Here are some more stories about the first flight of the Boeing 747 forty years ago:

• Boeing 747 turns 40 today - Seattle Times
• The day Boeing brought the world to everyone's door - Times Online, UK
• Four decades of a flying giant - BBC News

[Photo Source]

A Little Northwest Airlines Nostalgia

The anticipated merger between Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines became a fact late last week. Integration of the two carriers into the 'new Delta' will be a complex process, but it is already underway. Eventually all of Northwest's crews will wear Delta uniforms, and Northwest aircraft will sport Delta livery, signaling the end of one era, and the beginning of the next.

Best wishes to everyone at both airlines during the transition period and beyond. Here is a video tribute that provides a nostalgic look at Northwest Airlines and its aircraft.



If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.

Tip of the hat to kicker943 for posting the video to YouTube for all of us to enjoy.

Vintage TWA Commercial: Those were the days!

These days it's getting more and more difficult to remember what flying used to be like -- for passengers and crew alike. Have a look at this vintage TWA commercial and you'll see what I mean.



(If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.)

For more old airline commercials, have a look at this feature on the Travel & Leisure website.

A Tribute to Aloha Airlines

Late last evening, March 31, 2008, Aloha Flight AQ261 arrived in Honolulu from Maui. It was Aloha Airlines' final scheduled passenger flight. Aloha had publicly announced the shut down of its passenger operations just two days ago on March 30, 2008.

Here's a video tribute to a great airline, produced by Aloha employees - the Aloha ʻOhana.



(If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.)

You might also want to have a look at the AQ ʻOhana's wonderful collection of photos of Aloha employees and their families on PBase.

As a Hawaii resident and long-time customer of Aloha Airlines, I'd like to say to all of the Aloha ʻOhana:

"Mahalo nui loa, me ko`u aloha. A hui hou."

---

Related: Some earlier Aircrew Buzz articles that featured Aloha Airlines:

• Aloha Airlines No. 1 F/A retires after 50 years - November, 2007
• Aloha Airlines B737 becomes a flying work of art -  May, 2007.
• Aloha ʻOe: Aloha Airlines Shuts Down Passenger Operations - March, 2008

Video: History of Cathay Pacific Cabin Crew Uniforms

I've noticed that whenever I post anything in this blog about flight attendant uniforms or flight attendant history, I get a lot of positive feedback from readers. This interesting video addresses both topics, since it reviews the uniforms of Cathay Pacific cabin crew over the past 60 years. I hope you enjoy it.



If the video does not display or play properly above, click here to watch Cathay Pacific Cabin Crew/Flight Attendant Uniforms on YouTube.

Tip of the hat to YouTube user crazyroom06 for posting the video on YouTube.

Remembering the British Airways Concorde

During a recent event at the U.K.'s Imperial War Museum Duxford, several former British Airways Concorde 101 crew members shared their memories of working aboard that historic aircraft. The museum is the new home of the now retired Concorde 101. The aircraft will be housed permanently in a new £25 million AirSpace Exhibition hangar.

Maggie Sinclair, who had worked aboard the Concorde as cabin crew, was among those who shared their recollections. Here is an excerpt from an interview with Ms. Sinclair, published in the Cambridge Evening News:

"It was a very different, a very nice service and very personal," she said. "You had 100 passengers, but you had to give as much attention to them as you could. If they wanted something you got it straight away.

"Concorde was not actually first class, but a mixture. It was a prestigious plane to be on - I loved the ambience of it. I enjoyed the speed, although you didn't sense it. I was brought up in a garage so I was always keen on speed!

"People were always interesting and there were lots of wonderful passengers. Andy Warhol did not speak to us - he had his own man with him - but he wanted to see the flight deck. We had Eartha Kitt and Peter O'Toole. Quite a few who had been to LA together - Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry. Joan Collins was a regular. David Frost would always sit in one row at the back of the plane and stretch himself out.

"We had Christopher Reeve once. It was always lovely to be able to look after these people.

"I was in the crew that took the Queen once, on a State Visit to Ottawa for the 125th anniversary of the opening of parliament."

Ms. Sinclair noted that she and her colleagues on the Concorde had the same uniforms as the rest of British Airways cabin crew, but "we had to wear our hats whereas other crews didn't and we had special silver name badges."

Cabin crew had new uniforms issued to them for the Royal flight.

The Cambridge Evening News article that features the interview with Maggie Sinclair also includes interviews with three former Concorde pilots. Click here to read the entire article.

A bit of flight attendant history

The Chicago Tribune has published an article about the history of flight attendants that is worth reading. Its title, Skies often were overly friendly, may give you a clue to what it's mostly about: Sexism.

Here's a sample:

In the 1960s and '70s, flight attendants unions used the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to initiate some of the most significant shifts in the profession. For starters, union contracts of the era began replacing the term "stewardess" with its unisex substitute, "flight attendant," reflecting the fact that greater numbers of men were entering the field.

Through negotiation and litigation, the no-marriage rule, no-pregnancy requirement and age restrictions were struck down, and body-weight policies were liberalized.

In the 1960s and '70s, when airlines were competing to lure male business travelers, they sought to capitalize on the attractiveness and attentiveness of their flight attendants. National Airlines launched its sexually suggestive "Fly Me" ad campaign, and Braniff International Airways unveiled its "Air Strip" marketing ploy, which featured flight attendants peeling off layers of clothing in the aisle.

"The '80s and '90s saw the shift back to professionalism in public perception, and after 9/11, I think people recognize that the flight attendant's primary role is safety, not serving lunch," [author Johanna] Omelia says.

"I think the airlines downplayed our safety duties prior to 9/11 so people wouldn't focus on potential dangers," [AFA historian Georgia Painter] Nielsen says. "Heaven forbid that the public think flight attendants do more than serve you the best martini you ever had."

The article winds up with a timeline citing major events in the history of flight attendant profession.

Read it in the Chicago Tribune.

The age of the glamorous stewardess

If the photo at right catches your eye, you might want to have a look at The Glamour of Flight, a post in blog called Dark Roasted Blend. Blogger Avi Abrams has put together a collection of old photos of cabin crew from the days when everyone everywhere called them 'stewardesses.'

Most of the photos are familiar promotional photos from the likes of PSA and Braniff: mini-skirted and Pucci-clad women posing on or near the aircraft they worked on. A few were new to me. All are a significant part of commercial aviation history -- for better or worse!

Avi says, "There was something in the air in the early years of commercial aviation. Perhaps more excitement, perhaps more glamorous stewardesses... in any case, it's worth savoring once again."

Click here to view The Glamour of Flight.

[Photo Source]

Say good-bye to Berlin's historic Tempelhof Airport

The International Herald Tribune reports that Berlin's historic Tempelhof Airport will close to passengers next year. Earlier today, a German court threw out a bid that would have prevented the airport's closure.

Here's an excerpt from that article:

Thirteen companies that use the inner-city airport have sought to block its closure as part of plans to build a new hub on the edge of the capital.

However, the Berlin-Brandenburg administrative court rejected their complaints, arguing that acceptable alternatives were available and the companies' rights were not infringed upon.

During lengthy legal proceedings, the city government already has agreed to give the loss-making Tempelhof a one-year reprieve. It is now scheduled to shut on Oct. 31, 2008.

Too small for many modern jets, Tempelhof is only used at present for short-haul flights with small aircraft. Carriers operating from Tempelhof will now have to move to former East Berlin's Schoenefeld airport, just outside the city, or to the busy Tegel airport in the former west. According to the AP article, Tegel is slated to close as well, and Schoenefeld will be expanded into the capital's new hub, Berlin-Brandenburg International, by 2011.

Tempelhof, which opened in 1923, was famous as the hub for the historic Berlin Airlift of 1948-1949. Visit The Berlin Airlift on the Truman Presidential Museum and Library website, for background, and a lot of wonderful photos.