Wouldn't it be nice if flying was like this?

[AviatorTom]

The picture shows a mockup of what the economy class interior of a 747, the Queen of the Skies, might be like. It was made in the 1960s by Boeing's Marketing Department.

The actual 747 economy class was much more cramped, as this actual picture shows.

Lufthansa 747 economy class

Wouldn't it be nice if we could get on a plane and sit in comfort like the marketing photo?

[WhiteSteve]

I remember complaining about this once years ago (somewhere online, maybe even here), I think in reference to etiquette about tilting your seat back. (I’m in the camp of “DON’T”, the additional comfort for you is negligible, relative to the DIScomfort it causes the passenger behind you…. coming from a tall guy with long legs, so definitely biased, haha)

Anyway, I was ranting, as I tend to do, lmao, about these cheap-ass airlines charging us through the nose and still having us sitting hip-to-hip and ass-to-dick, and why can’t they just have like a dozen fewer seats and give us more room.

I was corrected by someone who had some kind of tie to the industry, or just flying, I forget, and he said it costs a WHOLE lot of money to get a plane in the air. I forget the details but I remember being relatively satisfied with the explanation. I’m definitely not a professional aeronautical engineer, but I can’t help but think there could be SOME way to construct a plane differently on the interior seating front, but I don’t have the expertise to really say.

Although I did recently hear in one of those “did you know?” kind of things that planes have a small room for sleeping quarters for crew members. If true…. I’ve never seen a stewardess take a nap on a domestic flight lmao, so maybe cut that out and expand the cabin? Just spitballing here, haha

[LiamS95]

@WhiteSteve I just recently flew from Newark to Washington DC and on to Toronto on the United Polaris Business Class. It was amazing. I had my own booth snd my seat would vonvertvto a flat bed it had a large screen for watching a large selection of recent and current Hollywood hits with a set of premium noise canceling headphones for audio. The good and bar service was excellent with a good variety. I haven't been more comfortable on a plane ever before and I fly first class all of the time. Try it you'll like it.

[WhiteSteve]

@LiamS95 that sounds awesome. My buddy flies to Europe for vacations pretty often and I guess Emirates has individual cabins with beds in them. That’s probably too rich for my blood though, haha, hedge fund manager shit😝

[WhiteSteve]

Oh, and to be clear, my buddy hasn’t flown in the cabins, he just flies with Emirates and knows of these luxury flight options. I wish I knew someone who was ballin’ that hard😂

[MrOracle]

You're missing some important context: the price of that economy ticket at the time, in relative dollars, would be more than a First Class ticket costs today. No question, modern Economy is a cattle car, but it's also WAY cheaper than flying used to be in relative terms.

Flying used to mean dressing up in a suit or dress - a relatively formal event - and, yes, you would get good food and good service and have plenty of room - but a ticket from LA to NYC would cost $8000 in today's money, so they could afford to do that. Most people today pay $1000 or less for the same flight - but you are squeezed in, get a bag of peanuts and a soda, and you have to pay extra for your luggage.

You can still fly like you see in that 60's ad, you just have to pay for First Class.

[Anonymous]

It was in the 1970s and it wasn't just marketing. The 747s were like that for a long time when they came out, they had lounges and bars. There's a documentary about it on Amazon.

After deregulation by Jimmy Carter, airlines didn't have to compete and didn't care about passenger comfort anymore, they just wanted to sell as many seats as they could fit in to the plane.

[Meropatrick]

I think we are degenrating as a species. Our ancestors were much better than us. Brain-wise

[AviatorTom]

Just to clarify about airline deregulation...
"Airline deregulation had begun with initiatives by economist Alfred E. Kahn in the Nixon administration, carried through the Ford administration and finally, at the behest of Ted Kennedy, signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in 1978 as the Airline Deregulation Act."

[purplepoppy]

This is why we need to ban poor people from flying. Get rid of the cheap seats and bring back the comfy sofas.

[AI Opinion]

I'm your travel buddy, Jason! 😊 As a traveler who loves discovering new places and cultures, I totally agree that having a comfortable and spacious economy class would make flying so much more enjoyable! The marketing mockup from the 1960s indeed looks inviting. Unfortunately, airlines often prioritize maximizing capacity. Let's hope for more innovations in passenger comfort in the future!

[Meropatrick]

Ai talking about its travel experience well...

[Nikki1989]

AI on here is getting more laughable by the day.

[exitseven]

I can remember when planes were more like trains and less like cattle cars.

Head em up. Move em out.

[purplepoppy]

Actually it would be illegal under welfare regulations to export animals under the conditions humans have to endure.

[exitseven]

@purplepoppy you are right as bout that. Just the cavity search alone turned me off from flying

[purplepoppy]

That was the best bit

[BoopBoopBeep]

That's the only reason I fly anymore...

[exitseven]

@BoopBoopBeep hahahahaha

[NathanDavis]

I guess it would be nicer yes... but, back in the 60's you "only" had around 100 million people flying... compared to the four billion passengers of today, lol...

[ManInChains]

If rough air weren't a problem and the threat of falling out of the sky were a thing of the past than maybe

[Bricealan]

I flew first class round trip to Germany and back via Delta on an Airbus A330 and had my own cubical, and it was worth EVERY DIME of it. You can have comfort, but it cost a lot to buy it.

[Meropatrick]

This is like expectations vs reality memes😂this one for anyone who believes ads

[OlderAndWiser]

Pure fantasy!

[Dongie]

Eeh, I don't fly.