In 1959, In-Flight Entertainment Included Sending Telegrams

January 22, 2010 at 9:05 AM | by JetSetCD | Comment (1)

Sit down, shut up, and buckle your seatbelt—this is the motto of modern air travel it seems, and now it's so hard to believe that flying used to be a pleasure, a privilege. There are few legacy carriers left who remember the days of airplane cocktail lounges and Mad Men-esque style, but we managed to dig up an old "Welcome Aboard a 707 Jet Flagship" pamphlet handed to passengers flying on American Airlines in 1959.

Follow along with us this week as we peek back at air travel as it was fifty-plus years ago thanks to this discovery, and unearth some real shockers.

We sure hott and holler over in-flight wifi a lot these days, but with all the of the technological advances made with regard to in-flight entertainment over the year, it's really the next logical step. But while we log on at 35,000 feet, let's take a moment to reflect on the days when you only had a choice between reading or writing a telegram, and when cigarette lighters were to be kept in your pocket on flights...

Feel like reading? Your Stewardess has a wide selection of current magazines...also special magazines for the youngsters. If you want to catch up on your correspondence, she'll supply you with stationery. Should you be more in the mood for playing cards, she'll provide you with a deck and suitable table.
Send a telegram? Your Flagship carries telegraph blanks. The Stewardess can advise you about sending it at the next stop, and you may have telegrams charged to your home telephone number. When telling someone of your arrival, you'll avoid confusion if you specify in your wire American Airlines, flight number, and scheduled arrival time.
Miscellaneous Tips
Be sure to tighten the cap on all liquids, as bottles filled on the ground sometimes leak because of lower pressure at high flight altitudes. The same holds true for fountain pens, so be sure yours is completely filled and that you open and close it carefully. Matches and cigarette lighters should be in a pocket or handbag, never a suitcase.

Next time we fly American, we're going to ask for a telegraph blank and see what the flight attendant says. But we won't be carrying lighters in our pockets; because that's definitely going too far.

Related Stories:
· New York City in 1953 [Jaunted]
· Retro Travel [Jaunted]

[Images Scanned from a 1959 American Airlines "Welcome Aboard" pamphlet]

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