Doing so, Duffy suggested, would help to usher in a new \u201cgolden age of travel\u201d \u2014 a phrase that harks back to the mid-20th century flight experience. The video was part of a Department of Transportation \u201ccivility campaign\u201d that aims to tamp down on in-flight fighting and other \u201cunruly passenger behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n
The PSA leans hard into earlier-era romance. It opens with Frank Sinatra\u2019s \u201cCome Fly With Me\u201d layered over grainy airport clips as a narrator proclaims that \u201cair travel is a miracle of American ingenuity. \u2026 We respected the dignity of air travel. \u2026 Flying was a bastion of civility.\u201d Moments later, the footage jumps to passengers brawling in terminals and shouting at flight attendants before Duffy appears on screen urging travelers to bring bygone civility back to air travel.<\/p>\n
Duffy\u2019s call to action didn\u2019t land smoothly. The video was mocked over social media and on \u201cThe Daily Show\u201d this weekend, when host Ronny Chieng asked, \u201cAre manners the most important thing<\/a> for the FAA to be dealing with right now?\u201d <\/p>\n According to historians and industry analysts, not really.<\/p>\n The interior of a British European Airways Vickers aircraft circa 1960 shows crew and passengers had more room to manuever.<\/p>\n (Fox Photos \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n University of Nevada aviation historian and former airline pilot Dan Bubb said although civility is important \u2014 and violent incidents are unforgivable \u2014 manners and mink coats won\u2019t fix the problem. That\u2019s because the cabin experience of today is all-around unrecognizable from the blue-blooded \u201cgolden age\u201d Duffy seems to miss.<\/p>\n First off, planes had spacious interiors back then, Bubb said. Some American Airlines flights even featured a live piano lounge, and professional chefs aboard Pan American World Airways served lobster and caviar on fine china. There was Champagne and free cigarettes on offer. And stewardesses were subjected to dubious age, weight and skirt-length limits \u2014 as airlines featured their \u201csky girls\u201d in racy advertisements, such as National Airlines\u2019 \u201cHi, I\u2019m Cheryl. Fly me<\/a>\u201d campaign.<\/p>\n One thing was clear: Flying was endowed with a sense of occasion, if only for wealthy passengers and businessmen.<\/p>\n \u201cThey got filet mignon. They got mashed potatoes, green beans and chocolate cake for dessert,\u201d Bubb said. \u201cNow we\u2019re lucky if we get a cup of water and a stale bag of peanuts.\u201d<\/p>\n The DOT\u2019s account, he added, leaves out the commonplace frustrations shaping the passenger experience today. <\/p>\n \u201cYes. It\u2019s very important to be civil. Be nice. Be helpful. At the same time, I think Secretary Duffy has to take a hard look at what flying in economy looks like when people are crammed together and they\u2019re fighting for the overhead bin space. You can\u2019t blame them for being a little bit edgy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n At Western Airlines\u2019 training center in Los Angeles in November 1966, stewardesses practice serving meals in a mock-up of a plane\u2019s interior. Trainees learned to handle elaborate dishes while aloft.<\/p>\n (Bettmann \/ Bettmann Archive)<\/p>\n Cabin service dominated industry business models until the late 1970s, when Congress passed the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978<\/a>, which ended federal control over airline fares, routes and market entry. The bill set in motion a fierce period of competition and market consolidation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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