Note: I’m currently traveling and may not be able to respond to comments/emails immediately.
Sometimes, when we fly, my kids will voice their displeasure to me about a feature of the flight. And most of the time, I roll my eyes. They have no idea how flights were back when I was a kid. But, not everything has changed for the better. Here are some differences between flights today and flights back in the late 70s/80s:
The In-flight Movie Situation
On our last Iberia flight, my son complained that the movie selection was not up to snuff. There were many new and recent releases, but not a large catalog of older movies.
Well, boo hoo. I told him that when I was a kid, we were lucky if we got one movie on shared screens that came down from the ceilings. It was hard to see from some seats, and we didn’t get a choice of movies. Kids these days…they have no idea how lucky they are to have their phones downloaded with shows and games as well as the IFE screens on international flights with dozens of choices.
Smoking on Flights
It’s hard to believe that smoking on flights was legal in the U.S. until 1988, when it was banned on flights that were 2 hours or less. Eventually, smoking was banned on all international and domestic flights, but the timeline varied by country. United was the first airline to create a non-smoking section in 1971. I remember going on flights and sitting in the non-smoking section with my family, but having to walk through the smoking section to go to the bathroom. And, each seat had its own ashtray attached. I’m glad this is a thing of the past.
In-flight Meals
I recall that as a child and a younger adult, in-flight meals were very common on most flights that were more than 90 minutes or so. Even if the flight wasn’t during a meal time, it was common to receive a sizable snack that included a sandwich/chips. I remember in-flight meals disappearing after 9/11. To be honest, the meals were never great. But, picking at food was a good way to make the time go by.
In-flight Magazines
In my younger years, I used to look forward to reading the SkyMall magazine as well as the thick airline magazine (American Way on AA). I haven’t seen those in-flight magazines in quite a while. I assume Covid was the reason they disappeared. I always flipped through the SkyMall magazine to see what sort of weird things they were selling. And, I enjoyed the in-flight magazine to learn about new travel destinations and to see the route maps in the back.
What do you remember about flying when you were a kid?
Wow… the flip down movie for the whole flight… brings back some memories. And SkyMall magazine? How could I have forgotten about that? Tons of entertainment in those pages!
I do have a positive note from flying back in the day… I remember back in the early 2000s when AA added 3-5 inches of extra legroom in economy. Being 6′-4″, that meant any flight I booked at that time (which wasn’t many) was going to be on AA. Now you have to pay extra for 2-3 inches of more legroom.
@projectx I don’t remember that extra legroom on AA!
I remember the single movie being shown (I think with a cartoon at the start) on long flights. Also recall the old headphones that got issued during the flight were plastic tubes (like a stethoscope) that plugged into your armrest, and the sound came to your ears through these tubes (versus wires and 2 tiny speakers near your ear now.) Sound quality was not very good through those tubes, and this seemed to change around the time the Sony Walkman came out. Also recall the airport experiences with very little security to get on the plane. I remember there was a metal detector at the concourse entrance, but pretty much anyone could go all the way to the gate and “see you off” without having a ticket. I also recall seeing observation decks at airports where friends and family could watch your plane leave and arrive.
@BothofUs2 Yes! Security was so different. When I was in high school (or maybe middle school), I remember my youth group did a scavenger hunt in the airport and it was no big deal for us to be in there by all the gates.
I remember on flights TO Europe, you would usually only get one movie, while on the flights FROM Europe, you would get two movies and that always felt like such a treat!
Other things to mention:
-Paper tickets.
-Having to call the airline 1-800 number to review your reservations, check flight status, etc.
-Checking the status/location of your checked bag was non-existent…you just hoped it would eventually show up and if it didn’t you would file a claim and hope for the best.
-Flights that were not full. In fact, I remember it being a common practice in the 90s for airlines to cancel flights that were not full.
-The Duty Free service on long haul flights.
@Sam Oh yes, those paper tickets! And I do remember having to call Southwest Airlines to book my tickets.
The last time I remember watching a movie from the big monitor screen on center of plane was a longhaul flight was in 2008 (Air China JFK-PEK on their 747.) They offered it in 4-5 different languages (when you hook up the headset to your seat, there are different language channels you can choose from.)
Back in the 90s when I was a kid, I remember Dusty the Delta Air Lion. It was Delta’s way of being kid-friendly. They had kid meals, Pawberry punch, a quarterly magazine, etc. No idea why they got rid of Dusty as it’s something adults my age fondly remember.
@Joey Sounds like a great memory on Delta!
Ah, the flip down screens with one movie for the whole flight. I know a couple of my earliest flights had this. But this would have been as late as 2005/2006. I guess they were still a thing on some airlines?
@Ian I guess so! It’s so nice to have more movie choices now. I just watched the Hunger Games prequel movie on my last flight.