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When plane food WAS first class: Vintage photos show passengers being served lobster, caviar and cream cakes during the golden age of flying
If you've ever been disappointed by the beige looking gloop presented to you as a meal on a long-haul flight then you may wish you were transported back half a century to the golden age of fine dining - on a plane. A surreal collection of nostalgic images of plane food taken on board Scandinavian Airlines flights in the 1950s to 1980s depict relaxed-looking guests being served caviar, lobster and whole cream cakes. As if that wasn't enough to make modern passengers salivate in… (www.dailymail.co.uk) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Food just as good (or better) is still available today, just not in steerage.
Closest I've come to experiencing anything like these photos was on Turkish Airlines two years ago. Chef on board (with the white chimney hat and bandanna around his neck) that comes to every seat to describe the meal and take your order. All kinds of spirits, wine, beer, aperitifs, before/during/after the meal, cheese plates, fresh fruits, etc. The even have a little LED flicker candle on the tray to give you the dining by candlelight feeling. VERY civilized and as close as I'll ever come to the photos from the 50's and 60's. Food was outstanding and the service Excellent.
The food shots are interesting, but check out how people were dressed. I remember days when men were expected to wear a jacket and tie on flights. Once Fred Kahn deregulated the airlines everything changed.
In the late 1960s I got smoked salmon and caviar on an Aeroflot flight, on an Ilyushin 62, no less. But then the flight attendants looked like the female Soviet Olympic wrestling team. At least I suspect they were females, they did wear skirts.
In the mid 60s I went from Ft. Sill to Dalles, where I boarded a Lockheed L-188 for KMEM, via Little Rock. I was in uniform, and the stewardess (that's what they were called at the time) led me towards the rear of the airplane, where I was seated at by a round table, on a semicircle couch like seat. She told me to stay there on our stop over so I wouldn't lose my seat, too. I don't remember how the food was, but all in all I was impressed by how civilized it was after a few months of living in a barrack!
I remember UA flight attendants slicing a roast beef fillet for pax in business class, but that ended in 2001 when knives were banned from the cabin.