I'm almost 80 and I can tell you, as a passenger since the late fifties, the planes, room, food, etc., were a delight 'back in the day'(I've only flown first class once so I'm speaking of coach). Flying was fun, not that far out of reach for the average person's pocketbook, there was dignity, a sense of genuine hospitality. I just flew over the pacific about five months ago (having taken about 10 years off from flying) and don't ever want to get on a plane again. Noise, no food (plastic wrapped peanuts do not constitute food), cold (no blankets) sardine accommodations..I could go on. Things have changed, some for the better (safety, time, yes) but previous experience (lots of it) over the years has almost always been delightful, this last flight was simply an endurance exercise for myself and the people around me....not one was comfortable, we all just endured. I am in excellent health, agile and capable so none of this was due to my age, I'm simply old enough to have a perspective from previous years.

Man, listen to the noise of those engines! No large bypass ratio like nowadays, no cold section and large fan at the front. Pure unfiltered, unabated power like a jet fighter. Love it!

I can still remember my first flight at age 6. I flew as an “unaccompanied minor” on a shiny American DC-6. My dad put me on the plane in Tulsa OK, and my granddad met me when it landed in Nashville, TN. Fast forward 29 years and I was the dad putting my 6 year old son on a plane in Cincinnati to be met by his grandfather in Nashville. Funny how life goes in circles.

Imagine if you could go back to this time, how grateful you would be.

Real seats with real food and real drinks, those were the days!

Romance and glamour left the airline industry in about 1973. I'd kill for that seat space today. That coach class is better than today's first class.

LOVE these old aviation/travel videos!! reminds me of better times we'll never see again, more's the pity!

Does anyone remember when airports has machines that sold insurance policies for passengers to buy? A comforting thought for people already scared to fly.

“Look now, the pilots dropped us to 2500 ft over Denver”

Sixty years later, it takes more than six hours to fly from JFK to SFO on a more densely crowded cabins with unfriendly passengers and cabin crew, and worse yet-- with no food.

Sue and bob are someone's grandpa and grandma now.

My mother worked for American for 30 years and she took my brother and I on many trips to Europe, Hawaii and other places during the early 60's. This video brings back wonderful memories of those days.

40 years ago when I was a child I flew in a Boeing 707 of American Airlines from MMMX to KSAT and the flight attendants gave me wings of AA which was customary in the flight and I still have them. what memories.

Back in the day when everyone was polite and nice. What has become of this world...

Back when air travel was an experience people looked forward to. As a kid I got a taste of the tail end of that era in the 80's - I remember having access a lounge on the second floor of a 747 cabin! but man those days are gone for the average traveller today… ahhh well.

“Sue is enjoying her lunch, while Bob is mad since he wanted a burger and fries”.

Just imagine this level of social grace with the modern safety and technology of today’s air travel. Look how every one wore their best Sunday morning clothes, every one courteous and polite. Real food and over the top service.

I remember flying from Sydney to Paris in a DC-8 in 1971, via Singapore, Bangkok, Tehran and Athens. Even though the planes were somewhat smaller than those on most commercial routes these days, the amount of room you had was so much more. I could just reach the seat in front. It was a French airline (UTA) and the food was fantastic, unlike the crap you get fed today. I miss those days.

Another world gone forever and soon to be forgotten.

the first airplane I boarded was the C-130 Hercules, and was happy to have felt sitting in the cockpit room at that time. My father is a retired flight engineer at the Indonesian Air Force

Back when service, quality, and civility still existed.

When people took pride in their appearance and flying was a pleasure.

I remember flying with my parents in the seventies as a little kid. I still remember the wonderful experience till this day.

those seats were huge compared to what we have today.

I love aviation! I remember my first flight. June 22, 1969, 5 days before my 10th birthday. We flew Delta Airlines from ORD to MIA on a Convair 880. I remember the date because I remember my dad telling me that Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz just died. And yes, we dressed up and we were served a full breakfast with real silverware. My brother and I were given "jr. pilot wings". I did have to laugh though when the girl got her jr. stewardess wings and the boy got his jr. pilot wings. Jr wings? Forget it. Now all you get is an inflight pretzel and maybe a full can of soda. I can imagine women today looking at the scene with the jr. wings and shaking their heads. Also, when I saw how far the seats reclined, all I could think about if they did that today in coach, fights would break out all throughout the cabin. But, this video brings back a lot of great memories.

I remember putting on a shirt and tie when I flew back in the 1970s. Wonderful memories !

" And here comes Miss Moray with SKIPPY" Hilarious!

What impressed me the most was the size of the seats..lol

"Look children, we're flying over Denver now". Not at 28K feet you're not. That's more like 3K feet! LoL

Sue and Bob are travelling in a 1st class. Golden era of USA aviation. Nice vídeo.

.... But Sadly the Ground crew forgot to close the cargo door and unfortunately Skippy' s crate plummeted to earth from 1000ft on takeoff... God speed Skippy. .. God speed little one!

Pilots and Flight Engineers wearing hats and suits in the cockpit is Hollywood.

Life and people were so damn different back then. Crazy

When was the last time you "curled up" in your seat on an airplane? Each of the seats those kids are sitting in would be occupied by two adults today. And if I was served a meal on a modern flight like the one in this film, I'd be looking around expecting Rod Serling to be adding narration from the next row.

Except, if you look closely when the plane is taxiing at "SFO" it's is actually "LAX". You can see the theme building in the background. Oops.

what a swell video!

I remember my first flight on a commercial jetliner, I was 6 years old and we were flying from Portland, Oregon to Los Angeles on a beautifully painted Alaska Airlines 737-800. Was still a relatively new aircraft design at the time, I remember the takeoff was the weirdest thing I’d ever felt. I also remember, as soon as we lifted off, spreading my arms out in my seat like I was a plane and shouting in the cabin “we’re flying!!” I was so mesmerized by it at the time. Those were good days.

Those were the days when you had a seat before the airlines realised 2 people could fit in 1 seat and the rest is 10 seat aisles

Bob, since you’re our junior captain, how would you like to fly the plane, while our captain has a drink and takes a nap?

That was then..... When life was filled with happiness, understanding, Love and care. Nothing like COVID-19. God have Marcy

Thank u U tube once Again! History at our finger tips so we dont ever forget how it was back in the day.....BRILLIANT!!

Sigh... 2018, and I am 52 now. I think my first flight from memory was from Corpus Christi to Philadephia for my Grandmother's funeral. I was almost three in December 1968. I think we flew United Airlines. The uniform was all blue, winter-time style with a brimless matching hat. I remember the beautiful lady standing in front of me. I remember crawling on the floor of the aisle, and I was thus small enough that standing on hands and knees, I still could see straight ahead under the seats. As I crawled forward in the aisle, an elderly man on one side of the aisle and presumably his wife from the other side turned back to look at me with amused expresses on their faces. At some point, Mom picked me up. It seems we were about 10-15 seats back from the front bulkhead. Dad had the right window seat, Mom the aisle seat. Mom held me, pointing out the window with her right hand. I could see out, a sunny day, and it had snowed previously, with snow covering the ground and on the trees. We had to be at about 300-400 feet when I saw this. The plane banked side to side slightly just once as we came in for the landing. My memory is blocked out after looking out the window.

It was a great flight with one major problem: the plane landed in Los Angeles rather than San Francisco. At 9:58, the Los Angeles Airport theme building was clearly visible in the background.

Oh God, I have deep memories and a little melancholy memory of that. For children is a flash of joy and a mind-opening and opening experience as it was for me too.

I flew on a 707 as a kid in the 50's or early 60's. I remember those wonderful meals on real china with metal forks and knifes. I saw how plane travel went from the early days of enjoyable jet travel to mess we have now. I am very glad I don't have to fly for work any longer.

Fantastic! Love all these "old" films of how we use to live!

Love the way the pilots spend the entire flight with their hats on.

4:11 look at all the oil/fluids on the ground, YIKES!

Nowadays “just under six hours“ is how early you want to arrive at the airport.

Skippy had better seat than humans now

Wow. The seats were nice and wide and it was easy for a dog to travel from place to place

Fascinating vintage footage!! Looks like the kids were in first class, or maybe all the seats were that big back then. I had to look it up, this was a DC-8, something I have never flown on myself. The engines had some kind of rings at the exhaust end when they were on the ground, but you don't see those rings when they are in the air or when they land. It would be interesting to know how much a ticket on that flight cost back in 1961, and how much that would be in today's dollars. Probably a lot cheaper today, but with all the hassles, less comfort, and no food.

She should have told the "Stewardess" "But, honey, this is an emotional support dog, so step aside, sweetie" He'll be riding on my lap....

That’s just as it was when I was a child. We dressed up in our Sunday best to travel. Meals were served with real silverware, glassware, and linens. Days gone by, to be certain!

All that space, comfortable seats, real food. Ah, yes, those were the days. We’ve come so far . . .

Frigging Priceless, Bravo, I mean Peachy Keen and Neato.

And poor Skippy gets put into a metal box then gets to enjoy the -75 degree temps in the cargo hold, good times.

The acting is marvelous.

This is UNINTENTIONALLY so FUNNY! Can you even such a thing in 2024?

Good old days... I mean it!

Eine schöne Zeit...

What a wonderful and enjoyable trip back into yesteryear.

Thanks, for the Memories ❤😊

I am old enough to have flown on Electras, Caravelles, Mercures, 707s... Beautiful machines then. Those today are just as beautiful, only there are a lot less types...

I miss the good old days of aviation ✈️🍾

giving the girl a stewardess pin and the boy a pilot pin really shows what those times were like

Look at those wide seats!!!! 😊

“And we’re sorry to tell Sue and Bob that poor Skippy didn’t survive the trip!”

Do you often ask why service has declined on airliners? Think about it next time you log onto a travel website searching for the cheapest flight.

we still have the same old ATC system

The dialogues are priceless!

You don't get food like that anymore in economy class. You're lucky to get a soda and chips.

Nice video, but the plane was taxiing in LAX. There is a clear view of the Theme Building.

Love to see your videos airboyd!

This is really lovely. Thanks very much for sharing this fantastic video.

Incredible! Looks like a great experience! Amazing how far we have gone backwards. Flying today is so terrible, and airlines treat customers like enemies.

i like videos like this~~~

Thanks for sharing Amazing 😍

“Lunch?” That’s a STEAK! Man, air travel has changed (and not for the better!) 😢

No emotional support "Peacock"?

Interesting how the script is nearly identical to the one from the 50s, with an older plane

"Susan, since you're a jr stewardess, would you like to do my job for me? " lol It looked like fun though! Flying hasn't been glamorous to me since Home Alone.

That’s some great acting! Bravo 👏🏽

Love the great DC-8.....and those seats.....wow...so wide..so ample....

Back when people dressed up in their best clothes to go on a trip by plane, were served decent meals, and were able to enjoy the experience. It wasn't all roses obviously, but there were some good things we should have carried on with when we worked to ditch the bad things.

Beautiful DC-8.

Loved the video Boyd. Thx!

This was awesome! I've only flown in jet planes and never in a propeller plane. I would love to fly in a propeller plane once.

I used to take Braniff Airlines the Big Pumpkin from HNL to DFW in the mid 1970’s . The service was great 👍 the stewardess, Yes not Flight Attendant with a bad attitude, would hang out in the back bar and serve cocktails and laughs. The Captain would announce over the PA that drinks were on him for all active duty military. We all applauded and got hammered. It was ok to do that back then. I know all the reasons that alcohol is not good for us but screw that now. I’m 65 and wish it was 1974 again. A few years ago I got pulled over and arrested for a DWI. I had no alcohol, no illegal drugs, no legal narcotics in my blood. I agreed to a blood test because I knew I was fine. The only drugs in me were prescribed drugs for prepping my system for cancer surgery. NO NARCOTICS NONE. When the blood test came back exactly as I said it would I was told by the judge the mixture of the medication must have made me sleepy because my right front tire drifted over the solid white line on the right side by the shoulder. I said yes sir there was something in the middle of the road I was avoiding so I drifted right to avoid it. He did not fine me for that ticket but decided I must go to 8 weeks of alcohol counseling 3 times per week with a possible 6 more weeks if my attitude didn’t get better. The cost for all this went over $10,000 and my attitude never got better. Fuck SOUTHOLD, NY. NEVER GO THERE

Viagem tranquila gostei

i loved the dc8 she was a great airplane

Oh look! We're flying, We're flying!

How come the pilot landing without ILS

كانت أيام جميلة حتى البشر كانوا أكثر رقي ولطف ولكن الشباب اليوم لا يشعرون بجمال ونقاء فترة الستينات والسبعينات والثمانينات

My first flight was to California on a United DC-8 in 1965. Never forgot looking out the window and hearing the pilot say “we are now over the city of Ontario and will be arriving in Los Angeles in 20 minutes.”

I wished I would had lived in the 60s.... I won't be surprised if airlines even start charging for using the bathroom.... Shame

Look at that normal stomach sized meal 😍

Good old days!

This is probably the first vintage aviation film that I've ever watched.

If this was now Skippy would be dead in the cargo hold