The first aircraft produced under these terms was the Boeing 247 in 1933, the world's first modern airliner. It could carry 10 passengers, fly 50 percent faster than the Ford Tri-Motor, and cross the country in less than 20 hours.
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According to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the average domestic roundtrip base airfare in 1990 cost $288 or $554 in today's dollars.
Despite being known as the golden age of air travel, flying in the '50s was not cheap. In fact, a roundtrip flight from Chicago to Phoenix could cost today's equivalent of $1,168 when adjusted for inflation.
Aviation's 'golden age': The 1950s and 1960s have now nostalgically become known as air travel's golden age. First class on a Pan Am flight: Not many could afford to sample the luxury on board. The most likely frequent flier was a white, male businessman traveling on his company's expense account.
But people didn't take flying for granted in the 1950s, when air travel was still new and exciting. In that era, flight attendants served in-flight meals on fine china plates with proper cutlery, passengers could stretch their legs in lounges on the plane, and even sleep in seats that converted into beds.
The average seat pitch — the distance between seats that we commonly refer to as legroom — in the 1970s was 34 inches. This number, as opposed to the 32 or even 28 inches offered by some airlines today, aligned perfectly with the windows of a plane, so that each row was sandwiched exactly between two windows.
Flights in the 1970s may well have been a lot more expensive, but passengers also got much more in terms of service. As airlines didn't set their own rates, they were guaranteed profits. As a result, with the money travelers paid, airlines were able to offer crystal glasses, complimentary champagne, and real cutlery.