Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Pan Am - "The Way We Used To Fly"

I haven't flown in nine years. However, I keep hearing from people who have that their experiences have been like the final scene in the movie 'Halloween' when Jamie Lee Curtis aka Laurie Strode is in the bedroom closet screaming, as Michael Myers is breaking through the door with a butcher knife getting ready to kill her.

In other words, flying has turned HORRIFYING!

With the increases in ticket prices, delayed (or canceled) flights, lost luggage, and overall carelessness in customer service, it's easier (and faster) to ride a bicycle to your destination.

A guy who works at a place where I sometimes eat lunch booked a flight on Frontier Airlines from Philadelphia to Miami. What a fiasco he had to contend with. The flight was not only an hour late boarding. But the plane sat on the runway for FOUR hours, only to have the pilot announce on the intercom that the flight was canceled due to weather conditions in Florida. Frontier refunded his money, however, the hotel he booked in Miami for four days refused. I felt so bad for him.

So, needless to say, I've been thinking a lot about how flying used to be and missing those times. I'm not saying that flying was without glitches back then. However, over the past ten years, the glitches have gotten to be more "the norm". And what I find annoying is that we're expected to tolerate it.

Believe it or not, years ago I seriously considered applying to several airlines to be a part-time flight attendant. But after the insanity during and after COVID with all the crazy-ass passengers physically assaulting flight attendants at 35,000 ft in the air, I decided NO WAY.

The skies are no longer friendly.

And unless you fly a luxury airline like Emirates or Etihad Airways and pay a fortune, flying is for the birds.

Today I would like to share my memories of what it used to be like to fly. I have flown both domestically and internationally. The longest flight I ever took was to Japan (27 1/2 hours). Yes, it was a long flight. Yet, flying Korean Air was the best experience I ever had. And I was fortunate to have flown onboard a 747 before they were retired.

Last month, I watched several episodes of the television series Pan Am. I didn't think the series was anything great, but I did enjoy reliving how flying was back in the 60s.

Please enjoy the way we used to fly...

The cast of Pan Am - Oh, how I loved these uniforms because they looked so special and professional. Seeing the crew dressed like that always made me more confident about flying. Nowadays on certain airlines, you can hardly tell the difference between the passengers and the cabin crew because they dress so casually. And let's not even talk about the lack of grooming...

Notice how nice the passengers look. When I was a child, my parents made sure I was dressed like a little man whenever I flew. Which included dress clothes and shoes that were clean and polished...

Of course, this is First Class, and how fabulous! If you look at the movie screen, they are showing the film, Manhattan...

Do you remember when they served a real meal? And they served it even if it was just a 2 1/2-hour flight, whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner...

Even Clipper Class on Pan Am seemed like First Class compared to today. The seats were wider and you had legroom. The last time I flew it felt like I was sitting in a size 4 shoe box...