I'll have the filet mignon, please

Doing some Spring Summer cleaning, and found this in a box of old things - the menu selections from a coach class American Airlines flight, circa 1978. Wonder how successful I'd be with the flight attendants trying to ask for any of these offerings nowadays...

You just have to avoid domestic flights (yeah, good luck with that). Was on an Air France flight, DC to CDG last month. Flying coach, we had a pretty good meal--a nice chicken casserole, cheese, some kind of greek tabouleh salad, pudding and breadsticks. And they passed the baguette basket three times. We also had a free glass of champagne before dinner, and then a small bottle of red with dinner (also free). Didn't have to pay for the bags we checked, either. Contrasted to the AA flight from DC to LAX, which was only 2 hours shorter, and it's shocking. Bags cost $50 each to check, and we only got free sodas for a 5 hour flight. To top it off, the domestic route cost only about a hundred less per ticket, so when you add in the bags, it was almost as much as going to Paris.

That is rather unbelievable.

But I have to wonder about the reality of how it looked and tasted.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/16/2010 01:15PM by mrbigstuff.

What, no Tab with that?

I'm getting one of these for my next flight:

[www.gadgetduck.com]

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Having flown many flights during that time period I'm pretty sure that the taste did not measure up to the description. A triumph of marketing over substance.

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

If it was Eastern Airlines for that time period Boston to St. Pete to Houston or back the food was quite good and served with a smile.

Try ordering a "Pawberry Punch" on your next Delta flight. There may just be a few cans left in the back.

Todd's 100%-juice keyboard

I still fondly remember flying unaccompanied at age 6 with my 7 year old sister on a TWA Boeing 707 in the early 1960's. We got fussed over by the stewardesses, got to visit with the pilot in flight, got gold wings, got to sit up front in 1st class, and got Cheeseburgers and Chocolate milk shakes for lunch. It was an awesome experience.

Back then you dressed up to get on the plane. The hoi polloi took the bus.

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cbelt3

Back then you dressed up to get on the plane. The hoi polloi took the bus.

That was because the hoi polloi could not afford to fly until Jimmy Carter deregulated the airline industry.

I flew on a TWA L-1011 from Albuquerque to St. Louis in the mid-late 1980s and had delicious scrambled eggs & ham, orange juice and coffee served in a china cup. As I sat drinking my coffee and looking out the window I thought how swell air travel was. Not any more!

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I took one trans-atlantic flight in the late 70's that had a carving station for first class. Unfortunately, I was a teenager and in economy.

I remember being on flights before that where I got to go into the cabin. Even got to sit in a few pilot's seats - without the pilot/co-pilot being in the seat. Got the gold plastic wings. They even handed out playing cards.

Back then, flying was civilized. Now it's just cattle class.

Although, I checked in for a flight yesterday. Business casual dress, but sharp and spoke to the lady at the counter nicely about the possibility of an aisle seat. Wound up with a great aisle seat and zone 1 boarding (lost my preferred status over a year ago). Sometimes it helps to standout from the crowd in a positive way.

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freeradical

That was because the hoi polloi could not afford to fly until Jimmy Carter deregulated the airline industry.

Yep, a lot of people seem to forget how expensive it used to be to fly.

Actually, all the flights I've ever taken on french airlines have had excellent food (and good looking cabin crews).

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

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davester
Actually, all the flights I've ever taken on french airlines have had excellent food (and good looking cabin crews).

Guessing that you didn't fly Sabena (such a bad experience, never again). Food was horrible and the airplane bottle of booze that came with it may have been jet fuel.

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IronMac

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freeradical

That was because the hoi polloi could not afford to fly until Jimmy Carter deregulated the airline industry.

Yep, a lot of people seem to forget how expensive it used to be to fly.

Charter flights were the way to go then.

My first flight was in 1967 with Braniff from NYC to Dallas and have been flying ever since. Domestic air travel has steadily gone downhill since then. It used to be that foreign carriers were much nicer than US carriers but they are also not what they once were.
Most memorable flight ever was first class on Cathay Pacific from San Francisco to Hong Kong.

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richorlin
It used to be that foreign carriers were much nicer than US carriers but they are also not what they once were.

They still are. My worst experience on a foreign carrier has been far better than my best experience on a domestic carrier.

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It is what it is.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/17/2010 04:17AM by N-OS X-tasy!.

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freeradical
That was because the hoi polloi could not afford to fly until Jimmy Carter deregulated the airline industry.

Nothing quite like celebrating being treated like hoi polloi today...

We took Air France to Spain and back in 2006 (via France). The food on the trans-Atlantic flight was pretty good, and we got coffee and cognac on the way back--the stewardess even gave me a refill (on the cognac) when I asked.

/Mr Lynn

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