The good 'ol days of commercial air travel

[safetychoice]

I wonder what would happen if that guy in Arab dress tried to get on a plane today.

[MrRonnieG]

Free meals? As yesterday as prop planes.

[MEATYOKERRable]

Tempt men into the air....

All you need to circumnavigate the globe is a toothbrush and a powderpuff....

and drop enough cash for a brand new Honda Civic.......

[johnster1964]

Nice view of the RMS Aquitania at 8'57" only a year or two before she was (finally) scrapped

[paperbacklou]

The guy at 6:54 sounds like Peter Lore.

This video was super fantastic.

[applesweeter]

Dear All,

I have some question about psychology:

(1) Why do we enjoy flying?

(2) Why do we love air travelling?

(3) Why do we feel that in-flight meals are so interest and special?

(4) Why do we like dinning at 42000 feets high?

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE for your creative ideas and brainstorm!!!  :)

[Victo160]

1. We enjoy flying because humans see it as a final feet to conquer. We can already swim, and go down in the sea. but flight is unnatural to us so it seems like something completely different.

2. its fast, much better then driving for 6 days when you can just take a 5 hour flight.

3. Well back in the day, They were free and people were not use to free meals. The food was highly salted and seasoned giving it a greater taste.

4. no choice. they're not going to lower the plane to eat.

[ijolite]

Sorry, but discomfort and inconvenience were routine. For example, in 1949 a feathered engine over the Mediterranean meant our return to Alexandria for a long delay. We had been watching the leaked oil spread over the wing from the back seat on the top deck of the Solent (see 4:27). The previous afternoon northbound over the roasting Nubian desert at the low altitudes of these unpressurised aircraft there was plenty of turbulence and companionable vomiting.

Clever advertising and myth!

[82abnoff]

I think that I used to do 100k a year. I will never fly our domestic carriers. Finair, Mexicana, Condor are OK with me.

[paperbacklou]

"Free meals, no tips, and the papers delivered to your chair."

[barthoedemaker]

@paperbacklou exactly!

[syntaur]

I get the feeling that this was made by the same guys who made the RAF Bomber Command movies during WW2:)

PS... You might want to stay off the early Comets...

[CaptBubble]

I have flown on a Comet. The problem was that Norman de Bruyn invented Reduxing (at Duxford) which is now used for all airliner windows. Sadly de H did not fully trust this new technology and made designer Bishop instal rivets. These caused the failures. The Comet 4 was a huge improvement, but could never fully overcome the reputation. It still beat the 707 to service though! UK HAD to promote itself "heroically" because we owed USA £Godzillions for WW2, finally paid up Dec 2006

[Bullettube]

Thanks for posting!

I've been thinking, the British airlines in the 50s were the descendants of the old East Indiamen weren't they? Their biggest customer was the British government, tying the empire together with planes instead of ships.

[Patrickisreallygreat]

Ironic how the video mentions BEA and BOAC, who would later end up merging to form British Airways.

[GRAHAMAUS]

Eh, what's ironic about that? You should probably look the word up...

[darkmorpheus31]

I could fly more, but it is stressful to even enter an airport in today's world. People treated in some ways as a new prison inmate, (I was a corrections officer) instead of a valued customer, unable to meet family in an airport terminal, consistent delays, impolite airport staff, increase in fees, decrease in personal cabin service, taking off ones shoe ( which is not sanitary ), and increasingly aggressive travelers. I miss air travel during the 80's and pre-911. It was much less hectic.

[Bullettube]

Three months ago I would have agreed 100%, but last week I flew down to Florida and was pleasantly surprised at how much better things had gotten in just 3 months. Except for the shoes,,I really hate that part! Everyone concerned was much more relaxed, and the staff at both airports seemed to have gotten their routines down pat. Let's hope it gets even better.

[aeomaster32]

Thank you very much for the many wonderful memories of a time I thought would never end. All travel was first class, and the passengers were usually of a high standard of behavior.

[InfiniteMushroom]

I remember traveling when I was a kid before Carter and Congress fed the U.S. airline industry to the predatory New York-London banking axis. The pricing and societal expectations of air travel back then made it difficult for trashy people to fly, as it should be!

[johnster1964]

Bomberguy, thank you for an excellent video !

Anybody know what is the four funnelled ship at 8 mins 54 secs?

I think it is either the Aquitania (scrapped not til 1950) or the 1921 Windsor Castle ( the onlt post WWI ship with 4 funnels)

Keep up the great work!!

[InfiniteMushroom]

The Golden Age of air travel was killed when Jimmy Carter deregulated the airlines. Airlines have tremendous overhead and operating costs and need great stability in order to provide quality service and a good work environment. The Golden Age came about from dedicated air routes and government regulations that prevented predatory financial forces from tearing the industry apart. Deregulation has caused massive debt, mergers, bankruptcies, horrible service, and a terrible work environment.

[Bullettube]

Jimmy Carter didn't deregulate the airlines, Congress did. The idea of deregulating commerce was widely accepted and welcomed in America and did much to force the airlines to modernize and become more efficient. The airlines are still heavily subsidized and have yet to become fully independent.

[InfiniteMushroom]

Stripping equity, replacing a stable economic architecture with debt-driven chaos, and replacing a career-oriented workforce for disposable and demoralized workforce, is not efficiency. The subsidization does exist but none of it goes back into the operations or the workforce. It all goes to investment schemes, CEO bonuses, and other parasitic activities. The old regulatory system could have been fixed instead of thrown out like it was.

[acme4all]

I love these gung ho, "Proud to be British" films, a little touch of nostalgia. This one shows some fantastic aircraft, especially the flying boats and the Comet. Thanks for posting.

[600SELV12]

Thanks.

That Comet banking right..what a beautiful looking plane.

[GGTravel]

For More Adventure Travel:

Gordons Guide . com

[TISAC1]

And-

IF YOU WEREN'T PROPERLY DRESSED, YOU DIDN'T GET ON!

No T shirts and jeans allowed- First Class attire were required or you were denied passage. It was after all, the bastion of the well to do- as airline travel at the time was considered to be their exclusive domain :(

[InfiniteMushroom]

As well it should be! I remember when flying was a great experience. Jimmy Carter threw American aviation under the bus when he totally deregulated the industry. Successive administrations are equally guilty by complicity in the airline industry's destruction.

[ImperialRetrovision]

@TISAC1 Yes and that was only what, 65 years ago? I can't believe things have changed.

[Proplinerman]

Fantastic stuff! Thanks for posting.

[Iranica]

Superb! I could rewind, watch and go weak in the knees. And you bet I am doing just that....

[fordroad]

Clearily words escape me, this is just a priceless

example of aircraft and airlines as they developedpost WW2. WELL DONE.

[N9155E]

this is a fantastic clip; however the UK has disappeared from the industrial roadmap so far.

[Bomberguy]

Yes, it is a shame in hindsight to see that the three "trump cards", the Comet, Brabazon and Princess were all commercial failures. The Comet was one of the most beautiful airliners ever made IMHO.

[Shazzasaloon91]

I think the Comet is the most elegant aircraft ever built. There are some great shots of the prototype in this film. Why don't they make polished metal-finish planes anymore? lol

[denberg2]

Priceless...