Take flight through air travel's golden years -

Let’s take a journey back to the golden age of aviation, when flying was a luxurious experience, and passengers were treated like royalty. In those days, taking to the skies was a rare and glamorous adventure, complete with exceptional service and unforgettable moments.

Click on, take your seat, and soar through this gallery of vintage flight images.

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Boeing 80-A -

The cramped but agreeable interior of a Boeing 80-A passenger airplane, operated by Boeing Air Transport throughout the 1920s, shows passengers getting a rare treat, a cup of hot coffee in-flight.

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Instone Air Line -

A group of American students arrive in London from Paris in 1922 on board a de Havilland DH.34 airliner of Instone Air Line, an early British airline that operated from 1919 to 1924.

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Deutsche Luft Hansa -

The refined interior of a passenger aircraft operated by Deutsche Luft Hansa (DLH), around 1925. DLH was Germany's flag carrier until 1945, when all services were terminated following the defeat of Nazi Germany.

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Imperial Airways -

The plush interior of an Imperial Airways commercial passenger airline. Operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, and the Far East, the aircraft was luxurious and expensive. Passenger facilities included a drawing room with spacious armchairs to accommodate 18 first-class travelers. A large cocktail bar separated a further saloon seating 29 passengers.

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Dornier Do X1 -

The colossal Dornier Do.X-1 passenger transport flying boat needed 12 engines to lift it off the water, and carried a record 169 passengers in one flight in the summer of 1929. At the time, it was the world's largest, heaviest, and most powerful flying boat.

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Customs control -

Passengers newly arrived at Los Angeles from Mexico are checked at customs control in front of the plane after landing. This is around 1930.

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Eastern Airlines -

In the 1930s, Eastern Air Lines hired "attractive young ladies" to tend to passengers traveling between Washington and New York. Official flight attendants were still a rarity.

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Good mates -

In fact, an airplane's "mate" was quite often the first officer, who was responsible for the well-being of passengers in the late 1920s and early '30s.

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In-flight movie -

Passengers settle back in their seats to enjoy an in-flight movie, 1930s-style. Standing at the rear of the plane is a motion picture projectionist getting ready to screen the latest Hollywood release. The very first in-flight movie was screened by Aeromarine Airways in 1921. It was a promotional short called 'Howdy Chicago' that was projected on a screen while passengers flew over the city of Chicago itself.

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Imperial Airways Short L.17 Scylla -

The compact but well appointed galley on an Imperial Airways Short L.17 Scylla. The Scylla was a landplane version of the 38-passenger Kent seaplane, and brought new levels of comfort to the London-Paris route throughout the 1930s. The plane was retired in 1940.

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Ford Trimotor -

Passengers pictured in 1930 aboard the "Tin Goose," the Ford Trimotor operated by National Air Transport. In-flight service was basic and provided by the copilot, who on this occasion is serving cold sandwiches, tea, coffee, or milk out of paper cups. But the flying experience was getting better by the day, with the job of looking after passengers soon being shared by the first female flight attendants.

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Aviation's first female flight attendant -

The first female flight attendant in history, 25-year-old registered nurse Ellen Church (1904–1965) from Iowa welcomes a passenger at the door of a tri-motored Boeing 80 A of Boeing Air Transport on May 15, 1930. Each aircraft in the fleet was assigned one stewardess, who back in those days was required to be a registered nurse. As a trained nurse and pilot, Church wanted to pilot commercial aircraft, but those jobs were not open to women.

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Eastern Airlines' 'Silversleeper' -

After 1930, female flight attendants were becoming more commonplace. But there were exceptions. Here, the all-male flight crew of an Eastern Airlines' 'Silversleeper' airplane pose on the boarding stairwell of the plane, waiting to shake hands with a flight commander, around 1935. They wear their airline uniforms.

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Curtiss T-32 Condor -

Passengers boarding a Curtiss T-32 Condor biplane operated by American Airlines in the mid-1930s.

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Boeing 247 -

Passengers boarding a Boeing 247 at Boeing Field in Seattle in the early 1930s. The 247 was a twin-engine aircraft celebrated for its advanced flight control features, which included control surface trim tabs, autopilot, and de-icing boots for the wings and tailplane. It was primarily flown between 1933 and 1955.

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Douglas DC3 -

The French transatlantic liner Normandie is flown over by a Douglas DC3 as they both depart New York City in 1938. Almost all the world's airlines flew the DC3 beginning in the late 1930s.

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American Airlines -

A baggage handler reaches into an American Airlines plane that has just arrived at East Boston Airport as another carries luggage to a plane in the background getting ready to take off. The year is 1940, and air passenger traffic numbers were increasing exponentially until the Second World War halted most commercial flights around the world.

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Boeing 377 Stratocruiser -

A Boeing 377 Stratocruiser being used by Pan American Airways for passenger transport over San Francisco in the late 1940s.

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Onboard the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser -

A mother tucks in her children in bunks aboard a Pan American Airways' Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, this in 1949.

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Onboard the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser -

In the 1950s, Boeing's overnight intercontinental service onboard the Stratocruiser was nothing short of luxurious. A total of 28 berths, upper and lower, lined the main deck of the aircraft, while room existed for an additional five passengers in a smaller upper compartment, and 14 in the lower deck lounge.

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BOAC de Havilland DH.106 Comet -

Two flight attendants, their shift over, walking away from a BOAC de Havilland DH.106 Comet. The Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner, and made its debut in 1952.

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Airport shuttle service -

Passengers arrive at London Airport for the first Comet jet airliner service. Some passengers had booked a year in advance for the privilege of flying on such a technologically advanced aircraft.

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Lockheed Constellation -

With its distinctive triple-tail and dolphin-shaped fuselage, the Lockheed Constellation was one of the most iconic passenger airliners of its era. Pictured is a Transcontinental & Western Air airlines (T&WA: TWA from 1950) Lockheed Constellation in flight in 1945.

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Lockheed Constellation -

Flight attendants being trained aboard a  Lockheed Constellation.

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In-flight service evolves -

An interior view of the first class compartment of a Boeing in the late 1950s. In the foreground are a well-dressed couple smiling and enjoying their meal, while behind them a male flight attendant in a bow tie serves another couple.

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McDonnell Douglas DC-6 -

The interior of a McDonnell Douglas DC-6 airliner shows flight attendants working with passengers to make the cabin comfortable. The Douglas DC-6 operated between 1946 and 1958.

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Vickers VC.1 Viking -

Resembling a passenger railway carriage rather than an airline cabin, this image of the interior of a British Vickers Viking shows a flight attendant in 1958 serving drinks while passengers enjoy a mid-flight lunch.

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TU-114 -

The Soviet-built TU-114 pictured in 1959. At the time the world's largest passenger airliner, the turboprop TU-11 could carry anywhere between 170 to 225 passengers and had a top speed of 850 km/h (588 mph). It could fly at an altitude of nearly 12,000 m (39,370 ft).

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Vickers Viscount 810 -

A Vickers Viscount 810 passenger airliner operated by Brazilian airline company VASP readies to land at São Paulo airport in 1960.

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Lockheed L-1011 TriStar -

Passengers sit and relax in the cabin of a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar after takeoff from Burbank, California in 1967.

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Boeing 747 -

By the late 1960s, passenger aircraft were being made larger and faster. Pictured is the spacious interior of a brand new Boeing 747. It was so large it included a stairway between decks and could carry up to 490 passengers in the most luxurious seats ever offered to fare-paying clients. The 747's first flight was February 1969.

Sources: (Cruise Line History) (Lufthansa Systems) (Transportation Heroes Center) (U.S. Centennial of Flight) 

See also: Take flight for a brief history of aviation

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