I Was A Jet Set Stewardess was on Smithsonian Channel recently, and I watched it last night. Loved the '60s-vintage footage. I was born in the '60s and raised in ‘suburbia’ (in the sense that San Diego is pretty much all suburb 
). Dad was a Naval officer, and mom was Little Miss Cocktail Dress. Dad had a Ford Galaxie 500 7-Litre, and mom had an MGB. We had a boat, and dad was an avid water-skiier. The scenes of seaside recreation in the show struck a chord with me.
Technically (OK, actually), I did fly on Pan-Am in this era; but I was only three and four years old. The only clear memory I have is looking out a terminal window in Alaska, where we were changing planes or something, and seeing a lot of darkness. I remember in the early-'70s being put on a plane from San Diego to Orange County. (It was a PSA 727, and we walked across the ramp and entered through the tail stairs.) But I really didn’t start flying commercially until 1982, after deregulation.
I Was A Jet Set Stewardess said the beginning of the end of the ‘Jet Set’ era came with the introduction of the Boeing 747. The plane was so huge that stewardesses (if you’ll forgive the modernly-unacceptable term) could no longer give as much attention to the passengers as they had in the 707. The large capacity jet also brought air fares down. And then there were the ‘Fly me’ commercials, where stewardesses were no longer shown as glamorous professionals, but ‘easy lays’. Deregulation brought prices down to the level at which anybody could afford to fly, and it was no longer a special occasion. No more dressing up in your ‘Sunday best’; jeans and T-shirts are fine. You’re just riding a bus.
The show was an interesting glimpse of the past, when ticket prices were controlled and airlines had to compete on amenities. Now they compete on price, and irrelevant luxuries such as legroom sufficient for a normal-sized person can be forgotten – or charged extra for. It was a look at a time when exotic places were exotic. People went out and did things instead of doing what I’m doing now – typing on a computer – or yakkin’ on their mobile phones. Of course I wouldn’t want to go back. I’m a fan of progress. Well, maybe go back for a visit…
