The golden age of air travel: Jet back in time to when flying was glamorous
IN THE past 75 years, the experience of flying has changed in many ways.
In the olden days, flying was only available to the select elite who could afford it.
It was glamorous, new, exciting and a truly luxurious experience.
The crew wore high-end designer uniforms and first-class feasts were laid on thousands of feet in the air.
Haute cuisine menus were devised and served on china plates with silverware, miles away from the microwave meals of today.
Passengers donned their Sunday best and there was never any shortage of legroom.
Airlines went out of their way to offer not only a pleasant but five star flight.
Aircraft decor was plush with upholstered seats and patterned fabric curtains.
The dream of flying was sold to adventurers through vibrant technicolour posters, during a time when it was incredibly expensive to buy a ticket for a commercial flight.
As Air New Zealand celebrates their 75th birthday, we take a look back the golden age of air travel in pictures.
From vintage Mad Men-style adverts to candid holiday snaps and the changing fashions of air stewards through the decades, relive the romance of the then novel experience.
The photographs offer an insight as to how air travel has changed over the years, from an exclusive experience for the rich to a necessary mode of transport for millions.
Today budget airlines offer convenience over style, and the mystique of flying has disappeared.
