Fujiyama Trays & Oshibori Towels Recalling a time when passenger flight was an adventure and the Boeing Stratocruiser ruled the skies - Softcover

Back when Ike was president and Elvis was king, passengers traveled like royalty on the double-decked Boeing B-377 Stratocruiser, with its lower-level cocktail lounge, sleeping berths and live organ music. Anne Kerr was a stewardess for Northwest Airlines in the late 1950s, during the golden age of commercial flight. In those days cabin attendants were required to be young and single, and forced to resign when they married or reached the age of 32, whichever came first. She shares delightful tales of the days when passengers dressed up to board their aircraft. Only little boys wore shorts, and absolutely nobody wore T-shirts or flip-flops. In those days airplanes were much more comfortable. Two adults could pass in the aisle and not touch each other. And at cruising altitude the captain could be counted on to invite passengers to C'mon up to the flight deck and say hello!; with only a slim, velvet rope slung across the open door to keep them at bay. Fujiyama hors d'euvres trays, champagne, and hot, scented oshibori towels set the stage for leisurely, elaborate dinners. If the entree was prime rib, your preferred cut was sliced to order from a hot serving cart next to your seat. Live dinner music from an on-board Lowrey organ added to the ambiance. Anne shares anecdotes about some of her passengers, including famous and infamous celebrities of the times; and layover stories, also sometimes celebrity-studded; which recall the kinder, gentler decade of the '50s in many of America's major cities. Todays cabin attendants (and passengers) will chuckle over the check rides, including the time Anne got written up because of her hair style. (Don't think radical here, it was only a bustle - similar to a French twist aka Grace Kelly, her role model.) This is a poignant look back to an earlier era, before deregulation, bankruptcies and passenger screening. Air routes were doled out by the federal government. Competition between carriers focused on other issues: passenger comfort, quality of food, and exceptional service. What a concept!