It is fairly common to see frequent flyers on aviation forums reminisce about the past with their rose coloured glasses on. Apparently flying was much better back in the 1960s and 1970s and it is terrible today.
According to people’s memories, the food was better, the flight attendants were prettier and the whole experience was just that much more fantastic. Is that really the case?
Past Seating
Apparently the seating was much more spacious in economy class too – you could stretch out and really relax and enjoy your flight. I happened upon a couple of pictures from back in the day and I beg to differ.
Above are the economy class seats on a Pan Am Boeing 707 which were taken in 1979. Apart from the fact the seats are thicker, everything looks suspiciously familiar.
Leg room on an Embraer 190 – a regional jet – looks very similar to that on the 707. In fact, it looks like it may be even a little more generous.
More Seating Examples
Just to really reinforce the fact, here are some more pictures. Below are the seats on an Aer Lingus Airbus A320 and those on an Aer Arann ATR turboprop. Once again they look just as roomy as the international economy class on Pan Am.
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- I just want a seat, please!
Okay, so perhaps the Pan Am example from the past was not the best one. How about we take a look at another airline, say Dan Air London from the 1980s. The picture on the left is their Comet 4 seating.
Now that is exceptionally tight, actually worse than I have ever seen on a flight today. By comparison, the right picture is the business class seating on a BMI Airbus A320. Sure, it’s the same pitch as economy class but it’s better than that on Dan Air.
What About The Rest?
I will agree that the lower level of security in the past would have made for a nicer airport experience. Being able to walk straight onto a flight just like a train would be pretty great.
On the other hand, flying was far more expensive in the past. Nowadays anyone can fly somewhere if they want to, and this is one of the factors that will eventually bring the human race together. Experiencing other cultures really opens the mind.
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- She doesn’t look all that thrilled!
When it comes to food though, people always seem to mention the fact they received steak dinners in economy class and how great this was. While that may be true, wasn’t the running comment back in the day the fact that airline food was terrible? Airline food today is actually pretty decent.
Aircraft are also far quieter than before, both for the passengers inside and those outside. As much as I would love to fly on a late 1930s era flying boat, I daresay it would be very noisy inside and not particularly comfortable.
Overall Thoughts
As far as I am concerned, flying today is the best it has ever been. The latest aircraft such as the Airbus A350, Boeing 787 and the Airbus A320 NEO are very quiet inside, which makes for a relaxing experience.
Food on board is generally quite good, and entertainment is easily the best it has ever been. On demand movies and television is essential on a long haul flight. Cabin crew are also just as well trained as in the past. Seating is clearly on par or better than before too, despite what you might think.
While there are security issues which we all have to live with, I would argue we are actually living the golden age of flight right now. What do you think? Agree, disagree? Thanks for reading and please leave your comments or questions below.
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Pan Am Boeing 707 cabin images via everythingPanAm.com
Lady eating food on a Qantas flying boat in the 1950s via Qantas.
Economy seats are much smaller and significantly thinner today than yesterday. Just recently, AA decided to take nearly 2 inches away from 777 seats and place 10 across. Lest we forget the 30″ seat pitch they are introducing. The leg room from most planes may be similar to the Pan Am days, but seat comfort is drastically different. Even the old 777’s from AA had actual padding versus the super thin sponge in place today. Yes of course the amenities are much better today for certain. But the food? I won’t give that. Just a couple of years ago I… Read more »
Yes, some airlines are going to 10 abreast on their 777s which is a bit of a shame. It seems that the competition from the new long haul low cost carriers and the need to make more money has sent things this way. It would be great if they could seat smaller people in smaller seats and larger people in larger seats, but I can’t see that ever happening. I will make to make a point of trying an older seat in a museum or something so I can see the difference in padding. I can see that the older… Read more »
Just a few miscellaneous observations here.
I’m with Michael on the seats being more spacious.
Planes tended to be less full than today, which improved the experience.
Service tended to be better. Considerably better, on average, than any U.S. airline today.
Inept security wasn’t so stifling. You could actually see someone off at the gate.
Noisy or not, I’d cheerfully fly a Boeing 314 flying boat from San Fransisco to Asia.
Hey, I’m 100% with you on that – I’d leap at the chance to fly on a Boeing 314 flying boat, noisy or not! That would be really something! I completely understand on the less full thing. Whenever I have a row to myself or even a seat beside me free, the flight is a much much nicer experience all round. Seeing people off at the gate – it is truly a shame that is gone from most of the world. At domestic terminals in Australia, you can still do this. It doesn’t seem to be much of a show… Read more »
Trent sorry but I have to disagree at least in terms of economy class travel. Seat pitch was pretty much 34 inches or greater except for the Laker’s and People’s Express . Business and First is much better these days at least on international long haul flights but on US Domestic flights First class has a lot less legroom.
That is true, I have seen seat maps from the Qantas 707 era and the pitch is 42″ in First Class and 34″ in Economy Class. The seats are much thicker though, so they probably needed to be spaced further apart. I think overall personal space is pretty similar but of course I have not tried vintage seats to see if that is true or not. One for the to do list, I think!
Trent I did fly back then regularly starting in the late 60’s and early 70’s in my late teens. Prior to that I was a bit too young to remember. So I can tell you that even though the seats were thicker and more comfortable there also definitely was more pitch.
I wish I had been flying then, that would have been some experience. Many people would say the same about the comfort levels from the past – I’ve certainly heard it frequently enough.
Two things that make flying today even better:
Back then, airplanes had very limited range if compared to today. Those planes needed to stop quite a few times to refuel, while today many flights can be done non stop.
Second, smoking was allowed back then. Imagine the horrible smell of smoke by the end of the flight
That’s quite true… I think four or five stops (or more, back in the day!) between Australia and Europe would have got old very fast. I’ve done it with two stops on multiple tickets and I prefer less stops. Same on the smoking, that would not have been great at all either. Not least for the crew! Thanks for the comment.
I remember when you got your ticket and boarding pass, checked your bag, and went and got on the airplane. Wasn’t much more to it than that.
That sounds like bliss! Reminds me of old movies where they just walk on out to the tarmac with just a guy at a door checking the ticket. Thanks for the comment!
While the seats are thicker, what also seems to have slipped from your analysis is that thicker seats = less seats. While pitch might have reduced by an inch or two, the fact that there are so many more seats in a given cattle class cabin, doesnt help matters.
Add in the fact that the 737 and 320 families dont have very high ceilings, a certain sense of unease can creep in and colour peoples perceptions.
Great point you make there – it does make sense that there are more seats. That certainly has an impact on things like service personalisation. I guess our insatiable demand for cheaper prices has caused all of this when you think about it. I do find that spaciousness at face level is most important for me so I don’t feel hemmed in, which I guess is why some people prefer widebody aircraft. Higher ceilings and feels more spacious. Thanks for the comment!