There has recently been a site on FaceBook, where old photos and interesting information from Pan American Airlines have been posted.
It brings back memories of my short-termed life as a stewardess in the 60s...flying on jets which increased the speed of journeys and provided much more comfort than flights do these days!
Sharing with...Sepia Saturday!
Yes, we served meals on trays like this. Our crews would wear a wrap-around smock as an apron over our uniforms when serving food. I haven't seen any photos of them yet.
Some stewardesses who finished training in Miami Springs just a few years after me...their uniforms were somewhat different in the buttons, and the hats had changed...the color was bluer than showing in this old photo. And they got to wear lower heels too! 1968 (I was trained in 1963)
"PAN AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAYS's fleet of Boeing 707 jetliners, powers by Pratt & Whitney JT3C6 engines, heralded the modern jet age for commecial travel. The inaugural flight was on Oct. 26, 1958, New York-to-Paris, and Pan Am's initial fleet of jetliners totalled five. Pan Am was Boeing's largest 707 customer, having in its fleet a t otal of 136 B-707 type aircraft. While otehr nations jet transport operations were plagued by technical and labor problems, Pan Am's Boeing 707 represented the world's first regular scheduled jet service that continued uninterrupted."
I flew on DC-8's and Boeing 707's like this one. This blurb obviously is alluding to some competitor's airplane problems.
I flew to the Caribbean and South and Central America...this map leaves off many of the routes we flew our of Miami! Pan Am was an international airline, thus could not fly between any US cities. I flew another airline to Houston from St. Louis where I'd been hired. Then Pan Am flew me from Huston to Guatemala, and from there to Miami where I trained.
Patricia Duffany has a FB page The History of the Retired Flight Attendant. Thanks for these shots with the women's Pan Am uniforms!
A screen shot of a screen view...apparently.
Not me, but I loved visiting South America! I've talked about my experiences before on these blogs:
My Days of Flight 2015
Here's a link to my other blog (Open Yesterday's Pages) where I shared a photo of an earlier Pan Am plane which crashed in the Pacific Ocean and everyone survived thanks to the US Coast Guard.
Wonderful photos and memories! Take care, have a great day and a happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteHope you also have a happy weekend, and get a chance to walk somewhere that you see some critters!
DeleteGreat memories!
ReplyDeleteThere was a certain fairy tale quality to that life. But it had it's downs as well as ups!
DeleteThey seem like exciting times when there was more joy and hope than there is now.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget that this was during the Cold War. We did the best we could.
Delete... those were the days when flying was a luxury!
ReplyDeleteYes, it had that quality, similar to what cruise ships try to do now.
DeleteI wrote a comment which vanished. About early transatlantic flights I took in the noisy old turbo prop planes. We dressed up, luxury travel!
DeleteI wonder where all the vanished comments are going...with all the lost socks probably. Yes I remember my first flight was a turbo prop...but just from St. Louis to DC. I still was thrilled! And wore hat and gloves!!
DeleteClarification my first flight I’m talking about was as a high school student on a trip to DC for a week.
DeleteI knew this prompt would be right up your alley, er, aisle. :) One thing I learned from your post - I didn't know international airlines could not fly between cities in the U.S. But it makes sense, I suppose. I've met some lovely & super nice flight attendants during the limited number of times I've flown. But one of my most favorite times was not of service by a flight attendant, but by the captain. I was on a short flight in Calif. from Crescent City to Eureka (airport actually in Arcata) with my year & a half old son. When it was time to get off the flight I waited until most of the passengers had gotten off, then put my son in my backpack carrier, grabbed my small suitcase & his flowered diaper bag & headed for the front of the plane to get off. We were disembarking on stairs down to the tarmac & across to the waiting room. Just as I got to the front, ready to turn & exit, the captain, in his neat uniform, came out of the cockpit & seeing me kind of burdened down, asked if he could help. I tried to wrestle my suitcase around so he could grab that, but instead he reached for the diaper bag saying, "Here, I can just take this if that's okay?" And there he went down the stairs with me & out across the tarmac in his spiffy uniform carrying my son's flowered diaper bag. What a guy! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story so glad glad that you got a hand from the captain. It makes up for the time that I was having trouble even walking and needed a wheelchair assist and the crew was obviously wanting to go to their hotel ASAP, but nobody had brought a wheelchair. One of the flight attendants encouraged me to go on the ramp by myself. I refused and in a little while, and wheelchair was finally brought, and that flight attendant pushed me all the way to my pick up point outside the airport.
DeleteGreat post, Barbara. Back when flying was something special.
ReplyDeleteJackie M
I’m sorry I put so many pictures in this post. It’s kind of like my scrapbook.!
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