The "Golden Age" of Air Travel

I was appointed International Sales Manager for a medical device manufacturer back in the '70's.  They handed me an "Air Travel Card," with which I could charge any flight, to anywhere, and told me the world was my territory.  And that I was to go anywhere to find business.  "Good luck," they said, as I headed off to the airport.

During the period 1975 through 1980 I average more than $6,000 a month in air travel charges.  Or about $30k a month in today's dollars.  I travelled on airplanes more than 1,000 times during that period, and racked up more than 1,000,000 miles in the air.  

That included 49 states and 38 foreign countries.  I averaged a plane a day during this entire period.  On one particular day I took 5 separate flights.  From Cinncinatti to Cleveland, on to Chicago, then to London, Ontario, Canada.  Later, after teaching an 8-hour class to a room full of PharmD candidates, on the "Theories, Principles and Practical Applications of Sorbent Dialysis Science," I flew back to Chicago.  And on to first Louisville, KY, and then, through a tornado, to Lexington.  

All in one 24-hour period.  

So take it on faith that I knew flying back then.  This was long before "hub and spoke."  Most all flights were direct and we had an "Air Travel Guide" with us which listed every flight to everywhere.  And we all booked our own travel.  Planes and rental cars and hotels.  And the air travel system we grew to know and love back then...is now history.  It's no more.  And we all now suffer that loss as a result.

Whether you know it or not.

Think of it this way; if you're under 50 you didn't experience it, so you don't know what you missed.  You just take what they dish out without knowing how awful the experience has become.

The mid-seventies were a time of exciting growth.  The Viet Nam conflict was over and all those guys came home.  And many of our fighter pilots took jobs in the cockpits of our 100-or-so airlines.  They were deregulated, meaning you could start and operate an airline without asking anybody.  You could tell a lot about where the airline flew by its name.  Such as "Northwest Orient Airlines."  It flew to the Northwest and on to the Far East.  And "Eastern Airlines."  Up and down I-95 from NYC to Miami.  And "Pacific Southwestern Airways."  Flying from LAX to SFO and back.  With hot young stews in hot pants.  Who we all coveted.    

The Gubmint wasn't involved.  So our airlines staked out their territories, decided on fares, and then flew what they wanted, to where and when they wanted.  Example:  I lived and worked in Los Angeles.  But I flew to NYCity often.  Many times a month, in fact.  And my fare was $405.00.  Every airline that flew that route offered that same fare.  Doesn't seem too outrageous, right?  But $405 back then is about $2,406 now!  

Each way.

So yes, flying was the province of the well-to-do.  And businessmen like me.  All the planes were new and the stewardesses (what they called themselves at the time) were young and pretty.  There's was a profession.  They were looked up to.  Paid crappy, but the job was exciting and fun.  And a good way to find a husband.  

Oh yeah, there were some guy stews back then, and yes, most of them were gay.

They were carving a round of beef up there in First Class.  Or a turkey or ham.  And pouring nice Napa varietals.  There was no business class, but the rest of us had trays with china.  And crystal stemware.  And a choice of steak, chicken or pasta.  With two sides, and a salad, and a roll and some butter.  Oh yeah, and your choice of drink, including champagne sometimes.  Depending on the route, many of the airlines threw in cocktails at no additional fee! 

Smoking?  Oh yes.  It started with smoking anywhere on the plane.  They were even giving away free cigarettes in first class.  Later the smokers were moved to the back half of the planes.  But the cabin was full of smoke anyway.  Sort of like reserving the shallow end of the pool to pee in.  But strangely, few if any complained.  Maybe because half the population smoked.  And also that the far-Left scolds had yet to become a "thing."  Before smokers were shamed and mistreated.  Before cigarettes went from $0.25 a pack to $10.00 now.  

And then the "Airline Deregulation Act" of 1975 was passed.  It forced the airlines to compete with each other not on quality of service, or their amenities, but on price alone.  And we now have Continental Trailways in the sky.  Or Greyhound, if you prefer.

Flying was a delight back then.  Now it's like taking the subway.  Every seat is smaller than it was, and there are more of them.  The planes take off completely full now.  They learned when you compete on price a seat in an airplane is a depreciating commodity.  Once the plane leaves the ground you can no longer sell an empty seat.

And not a day goes by without our flyers' inhumanity to other flyers being on full display.  My formal training to become a psychologist taught me that around 3% of our populace is as crazy as a bedbug.  They're drunk, or stoned, or uncontrolably high, or certifiably nuts.  They are to be avoided.  But how does one avoid the 400 pound transgender shepherd seated next to you?

With a comfort chicken on his lap.

Yes, Fellow Patriots, that was the "Golden Age" of air travel.  But no longer.  The Gubmint-forced pursuit of profit has wrecked that industry.  And you'll notice of late, many of its airplanes.  It got so bad for me that I swore off flying a decade ago.  I've decided if God wanted us to fly He'd have given us wings.  And the airlines treat us like prison inmates.   At any one time there's more than 25,000 jet airliners in the air above us.  All being hot-lapped 20 hours a day until they fall apart.  

And they're all full of mistreated captives.  Who would prefer to be anywhere else, but can't get to Aunt Margie's for Christmas without taking a plane.  But my ass isn't going to be in one of those seats ever again.  I for sure will never die in a plane crash.  I've decided if I can't get there by car, or train, or bus, or subway, I'm not going.  

And you shouldn't either.