With all of the changes in airplanes, engines and performance, I tend to forget about the changes in airports in the United States. Looking at airports through passengers’ eyes, the changes have been awesome.
When I first flew the airlines in the early 1960s, we walked out to the airplane—rain or shine—and climbed portable steps up to the cabin door, just as they did in the movie, Casablanca. When the Beatles first came to America, they too descended from airline to ramp on foot, coming down stairs.
It was years before airports enabled us to board airlines without venturing outdoors at all, and I, for one, appreciate it.
Smoking? You young folks wouldn’t believe it. Not only could we smoke on airlines, we could smoke in any seat without asking the permission of the person seated next to us. The airport was the same way. Smokers were the norm and they were everywhere.
One of the weirdest memories was pay toilets in the airport. You could get to a urinal free, but it cost a dime to get into a stall. That’s what finally wiped out pay toilets. Feminism was on the rise, and some women complained that they had to use the stall all the time, but the men didn’t (that’s enough detail—you figure it out). That closed down the pay toilets for good and I haven’t seen one in decades.
Airport food back then was limited, strongly prone to soggy sandwiches, and usually less than delightful. Today, you can get whatever you want at the airport. Yes, it costs more than it did back then, but it’s a lot better and oh, the choices are so much greater. Take your pick, peanuts or a full meal.
The difference ‘twixt then and now is truly amazing, but you had to be there back then to fully appreciate it.
