Have Budget Airlines killed the Glamour of Flying?

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By Rik Ravado


A Brief History of Cheap Air Travel

From the 1950s onwards flying became increasingly glamorous. Being a pilot or an air hostess was really cool. Everyone wanted to fly but few could afford it. A job where you travelled around the globe was therefore incredibly desirable.

Popular belief had it that cabin crew spent most of the flight smiling amiably at the passengers and occasionally providing a nice drink or a tray of delicious food. Because few people flew the staff/passenger ratios were relatively low.




Shirley Flight - Air Hostess

The legend of the Air hostess was encapsulated in a series of novels published in the UK in the 1960s by Judith Dale and Trudi Arlen. Each is set in a different part of the world enabling Shirley to experience all sorts of innocent adventures.

The Air Hostess had become figure of fantasy. For women she was a role model. It was the secret dream of every schoolgirl to run away from home and travel the world. For men the hostess represented a dream woman, glamourous, jet-setting yet ready to serve.


The Girl in the Jet Engine

Airlines were all about glamour and new technology. The hostess provided the glamour and jet engines were a modern innovation for passenger planes so publicity shots often combined the two.

Hence the cliche iconic shot of the hostess inside a jet engine. Interesting that you don't see publicity shots of hostesses hanging on to the propellors of earlier planes.


James Bond 007 Girls
James Bond 007 Girls

007 Style

Airlines began to move from a traditional cosy image to something more cutting edge. Hostesses changed from smart suits into clothing more reminisent of a Bond Movie. Flying became more edgy and exciting.

"Shaken not stirred, Mr Bond?"

In the Swinging Sixties the whole thing became more extreme. Airlines embraced pop culture and dressed the 'trolley dollys' in miniskirts and trendy hats more at home in Carnaby Street than an aircraft.

But the airlines still loved the iconic 'hostess in an engine' pictures. The only difference was the hostess was hip.

Iconic 'Hostess in a Jet'

Swinging 60s Hostess in a Jet Engine
Swinging 60s Hostess in a Jet Engine

"Just a small one, I'm working ..."
"Just a small one, I'm working ..."

This is Tammy. The original Trolley Dolly?

Tammy was, If not 'trolleyed' certainly very happy during and after every flight. In these innocent days before litigation and health and safety legislation, Tammy often helped the groundcrew refuel and appeared to unload most of the baggage single handed.

A shame she wasn't around when Terminal 5 was opened at Heathrow!


"Swinging 60s Southwest Airline Hostesses Ready to Party"
"Swinging 60s Southwest Airline Hostesses Ready to Party"

Tarnished and Tarty. Pimp my Plane?

The trendy, swinging image continued through the 1960s but by the end of the decade the iconic 'swinging hostess' had became tarnished and tarty. The girls became less efficient and service-oriented so the airlines responded by putting more and more of them onto their planes.

Here we see a typical mid-priced airline where over half the people on board are cabin crew and the passengers can't get any rest during the flight because of the din of the partying hostesses.


So what can I do for you today, Sir?
So what can I do for you today, Sir?

Southwest Airlines - Fly Me?

This seedy, degrading image of women in the air climaxes in pictures which are more reminisent of a massage parlour than the interior of an aircraft.

Jane, pictured here, learnt her skills in pole dancing dives and lap dancing clubs and is quick to solicit cash from her eager punters before delivering the goods.

Interesting that Southwest Airlines have more recently been in the news because they have asked female passengers to cover up because they were revealing too much flesh. How times have changed!


"Shouldn't you be looking the other way?"
"Shouldn't you be looking the other way?"

Cut Price Pilots

As the glamour and uprightness of the hostesses declined so too those at the controls began to look less trustworthy.

These guys have pimps written all over them. Would you buy a used car from either of them?

Come to think of it, would you trust them to get you to Honolulu yet alone Bangkok in one piece?


More Hostesses in Jets

Meanwhile the more repectable airlines were still herding their girls into jet engines in a pathetic attempt to salvage their image and bring back the glamour of flight.

These pictures were taken so often that it was not unusual for the girls to have to climb into an engine after an 18 hour flight, with the thing still turning, just to generate still more cheap publicity.

Standards continued to fall and, by the early 1970s, the airlines suffered from a dramatic fall in the number of passengers and a significant reduction in staff discipline and behaviour.

One of the Better Airlines in Steep Decline

"The Business passengers have retreated into Economy" "Great, lets break open the champagne..."
"The Business passengers have retreated into Economy" "Great, lets break open the champagne..."

All Time Low in Airline Standards of Comfort

Meanwhile, standards continued to fall until in the 1980s when budget airlines were born. The glamour had finally gone from the airline business.

The cabin crew now relied on alcohol to see them through the flight and had to endure uniforms so totally unfashionable that even women on death row refused to wear them.

The Good Old Days of Flight


Airlines in the News

Yahoo News

Southwest Airlines Ad from 1972

We Hope You Have Enjoyed Your Journey With Us Today

Come back and fly with us again real soon!
Come back and fly with us again real soon!

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Lissie profile image

Lissie  says:
5 months ago

I think the main thing that has happened to airlines that its become a form of mass transportation - when I arrived in Perth in 1989 the cheapest way to Adelaide was the bus (3 days!) , today the bus no longer runs - the flight to Meblourne (further) can be had for A$190 on special! Qantas recently celebrated 50 years flying the Sydney -London route - the equivalent cost in 1957 was A$12,000 - more even than the new super 1st class private cabin on the new A380's ! For more air travel tips check out: http://hubpages.com/_ehs/hub/Air-Travel-Tips

Rik Ravado profile image

Rik Ravado  says:
5 months ago

Lissie you are quite right. The cost of air travel is so cheap now in Europe that we can't complain too much if standards have fallen slightly!

William F. Torpey profile image

William F. Torpey  says:
5 months ago

I pretty much gave up flying years ago when Eastern Airlines wouldn't let me board a flight from Fort Lauderdale to New York. I had bought my ticket two weeks in advance at a really good price, so it was obvious they sold my seat for several hundred dollars more than I paid. It's all about money!

Rik Ravado profile image

Rik Ravado  says:
5 months ago

I had a similar experience when flying back from New York to London so years ago. Fortunately they had room in 1st class so I was upgraded from economy!

PlasticPilot  says:
4 months ago

It is certain that budget airlines are way less serive oriented that good old days high fare companies. I did not said less sexy, just because of the ryanair calendar story (for a charity) https://www.ryanaircalendar.com/.

However if you're still ready to pay high prices for high quality you still can, either in First Class, or even with private jets like those offered by Privatair ( www.privatair.com ) ! 

MortimerWorth profile image

MortimerWorth  says:
4 months ago

I just flew across the Atlantic twice with my wife and children. I actually mentioned the more glamorous days of flight as an ironic comment from my sardine can seat. Ultimately, we are a pragmatic people and "getting there" is no longer half the fun.

Rik Ravado profile image

Rik Ravado  says:
4 months ago

PlasticPilot - thanks for the Ryanair story! I see from the site they have sold out - Glad the charity benefited but also excellent PR for Ryanair! Some passengers may be disappointed that the cabin crew are fully covered, however.

MortimerWorth - Yes at the end of the day you get what you are prepared to pay for, I guess.

oscarmecp4 profile image

oscarmecp4  says:
4 months ago

Interresting subject. I was just wondering who was the first air hostess in the world and what Year. Can anybody help there?

Thanks Rik

Rik Ravado profile image

Rik Ravado  says:
4 months ago

Oscar - this would make a great hub! - I had a quick look on Wikipedia and the first male steward was believed to be on a Zeppelin airship in 1911 (no name given). The first female was Ellen Church (25 years old) on United Airlines flight in 1930.

reversefunnelsyst profile image

reversefunnelsyst  says:
4 months ago

Hi

Great Information and amazing photos. Very unique subject to discuss because I am in a travel industry myself.

Have a great day

Tatyana Gann

ray mifsud  says:
3 months ago

great photos. love to see more of these picture-posters so lovingly used from the 50s to the 70s. great to see the way travel was portrated at those days. whata wonderfull collection they can make, well done

Ralph Deeds profile image

Ralph Deeds  says:
2 months ago

As a young child, on my first plane flight, in the early forties, I remember being served a birthday cake on a flight from New York to Lincoln, Nebraska. But I'm not nostalgic at all about the way flying used to be compared to today. Air travel became much cheaper after fares were de-regulated by Jimmy Carter, and some airlines, notably, Southwest, came to understand that their mission was to get people from point A to point B economically and on schedule without wasting time attempting to serve fancy meals and a bunch of booze on their flights. Southwest is world's better than the old line airlines like American and Northwest and others who have been slow to adjust.

Decrescendo profile image

Decrescendo  says:
2 months ago

This is an interesting place.

stephhicks68 profile image

stephhicks68  says:
5 weeks ago

Too funny and very, very interesting (especially with airlines declaring bankruptcy faster than the sinking real estate market). Great photos to boot!

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