If you think Spirit Airlines is luxurious, just wait until you see this. Here are the most amazing in-flight perks that airlines had in the 1960s.
Key Parties
Naughty passengers would throw the keys to their luggage into a bowl and take home whatever suitcases they ended up with.
Gourmet Peanut Meals
Instead of foil packets, passengers savored a full plate of peanuts slow-cooked in their natural juices with sides of rice pilaf and roasted asparagus.
Free Cigarettes For Babies
Traveling with kids is always tough, but airlines used to soothe babies by letting them have their very own Virginia Slim.
Upgrades To The Whites-Only Section
If they had enough points or miles with the respective airline, a person of any ethnic group had the opportunity to be upgraded to the whites-only section of the plane.
If You Could Prove Your Fellow Passenger Was A Communist You Could Take Their Seat
Sure made getting a window view easier.
A Walk On The Wing
Even in the golden age of flying, in-flight entertainment was rather limited, but you could always go for a walk on the wing.
Performances By Members Of The Rat Pack
Every Pan Am flight had a live, midair performance by a Rat Pack member of Peter Lawford quality or higher.
Catheters
You thought airlines used to make people get up and walk to use the restroom?
Turkish Baths
Unlike the cramped restrooms of modern planes, coach passengers used to be able to cleanse themselves in a series of hot and cold pools and then be massaged by a member of the flight crew.
Windows That Opened
It’s sad we can’t reach out and touch the clouds anymore.
Fine Art On Seat Backs
Instead of today’s crappy in-flight entertainment, each seat back used to have a masterwork from artists such as Monet and Van Gogh for passengers to contemplate during their flight.
Immunity From Draft Enforcement
Loopholes in the Vietnam War draft forbade arrest while airborne, resulting in thousands of men age 18 to 26 spending years flying from city to city.
Ankle-Deep Cigarettes
When smoking was legal on planes, passengers could easily grab a smoke from the 3-inch layer of Lucky Strikes blanketing the cabin floor.
Free Wi-Fi
Wireless mid-flight high-speed internet used to be free in the 1960s.
Shoe Bombs
Airlines used to let you carry on your shoe bombs as long as you didn’t detonate them, but one guy had to ruin the treat for everyone.
Complimentary Line Of Coke
These days most major airlines charge extra fees for blow.
New Identity At Destination
Airlines were happy to corroborate your name being whatever you said it was.
Seats
It’s crazy to imagine now, but back then, coach passengers were often allowed to sit down for the entirety of the flight.
