Take a look back at the delicious history of airline food, from the humble beginnings of in-flight meals, to the gourmet dinners that graced the skies in vintage advertisements.
airplanes
Check out the history of Delta Airlines — from a 1920s crop dusting operation to a global aviation leader through vintage articles, ads and photos.
Fasten your seatbelts and recline your seats as we transport you to the golden age of air travel! Join us as we navigate through the fascinating history of vintage first class flights in photos.
First flying in the 1960s, the famous Boeing 747 airplane was not only bigger and more powerful than any other plane, but was a major technological marvel. See the jets inside and out, and how they looked during construction!
Lithographed vintage travel posters like those shown here are now sometimes sold at auction for tens of thousands of dollars, but they began as ads for a burgeoning industry.
Before it billed itself as the ‘World’s Most Experienced Airline,’ Pan Am started off a little more humbly – but already making the bold moves that would make the airline so legendary it became synonymous with international travel in the 20th century.
DB Cooper, a courteous middle-aged man disappeared, apparently by parachute, with a $200,000 ransom Wednesday night while a jetliner he hijacked was en route from Seattle to Reno.
Trans World Airlines, better known as TWA, was one of the major US airlines, moving millions of people to destinations around the globe. Find out the history of TWA, and see this collection of vintage ads to see how exciting flying used to be.
In the 1960s, Douglas was one of the biggest airplane manufacturers in America. Their DC-9, which first flew in 1965, was built to service both large and small airports, setting it apart from other planes of the era.
Check out some of the vintage Cessna propeller planes you could buy back in the fifties, sixties and seventies. They were popular for business use, but were also owned by celebrities and hobbyists.
Here are some of the vintage Beechcraft propeller airplanes some people were buying back in the sixties and seventies. As these ads reflect, these small planes were most commonly used by corporate executives,
The woman on the iconic ‘We can do it!’ posters from the 1940s encouraged women to join the WWII workforce – and they did. Here, see 46 real-life Rosie the Riveters who built bombers and transport planes.
This little airplane safety card pamphlet was given to passengers on board Pan Am’s double-decker Strato clipper propeller plane (Boeing 377, aka Stratocruiser) in case of an emergency.
Find out about the famous B-17 Flying Fortress planes from WWII – how they were invented, built, tested and used – and what happened to them after the war was finally over.
First entering service with Eastern Air Lines in 1959, the Lockheed L-188 Electra was a leap forward in airline technology when it appeared. But the planes had a fatal flaw.
The Allies weren’t just trying to create the very best WWII fighter planes that they could – they were also constantly evaluating what the Nazis were using. Here’s a look.
In the late 1930s, aviator Amelia Earhart mysteriously vanished on her flights around the globe. See original newspaper reports at the time of her disappearance and a look back at the mystery 25 years later.
American Airlines was one of the first companies to offer passenger flights in the US. The industry’s biggest success came after WWII. Here’s a look at the history of the airline’s first decades!
While demonstrating a prototype of the Boeing 707 passenger jet, the pilot decided to show just how remarkable the plane was… and flew it upside down. Twice.
The Wright Brothers, Wilbur and Orville, were the dynamic duo who took humanity’s dream of flight from mere fantasy to tangible reality. It took only 12 seconds and covered 120 feet, but the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight made the moon as reachable as sailing ships once made America. Here’s how they made history.
Two planes collidced over Arizona in 1956, resulting in the deaths of all 128 people aboard. The Grand Canyon airplane crash was the worst air disaster until that time, and changed the history of airline safety.
United Airlines flights in the ’50s offered a whole different kind of experience compared to now. Here, see what the travel industry hoped to provide to passengers!
The mystery of Pan Am Flight 7, flying between San Francisco to Honolulu, crashed mysteriously midway between the two cities. The cause has yet to be determined.
Model kits: Build guided missile ships… jet planes (1956) with Revell Authentic Kits from Woolworth’s U.S.S. BOSTON, first Guided Missile Cruiser, built 1955. Revell model
Look at the people driving these Chrysler cars for 1956. Their faces tell they know they couldn’t have made a better choice!
Range: Anywhere on Earth — and your Air Force has it! The Consolidated B-36 can carry a 10,000 pound atomic bomb to a target 5,000 miles away, drop it, then return to base.
Airplane! uses disaster movie conventions as platforms to interject humor at every turn. Like a streamlined club act, it’s all over before the welcome gets worn. Stars Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Julie Hagerty, Robert Hayes. Also: See the Airplane movie trailer!
The development of aeronautics in America as a big business proposition dates from May 21, 1927, when Col. Charles A Lindbergh completed his transatlantic flight to Paris.
On a clear, unseasonably hot morning on September 25, 1978, residents of San Diego’s North Park neighborhood were getting their days underway — not realizing they
Professor Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, has witnessed the trial flights of the machine devised by Professor Samuel P Langley, formerly of Pittsburg. Mr Bell makes the following statement…
How Charles Lindbergh rose from working on a farm to become a worldwide hero for his flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
In the fifties, flying on a passenger airplane was a big deal. You would receive farewell cards, dress up to travel, and once you were
