On the bygone days of flying glamorously...

Once in a while, one would read nostalgic columns or blogs that would remind us all of the days of old. Such is one about how glamorous it was back then to fly, and how proud the crew and passengers alike to be in the sky.

I remember well, of my first time flying, more than 20 years ago. Just the idea itself, of getting to the airport and a jumbo jet, flying off to a foreign exotic land, was glamorous enough back then. There was a kind of "exclusivity" in getting on a plane. Flight attendants (didn't we use to call them air-hostesses?!?) are always courteous. I've always flying international flights, and have always looked forward to sample the meals. (I remember the seafood on Lauda Air well. And the nice service on Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Thai Airways, and Singapore Airline.) To my innocent mind, air-hostesses looked like such a glamorous job, jet-set to fly anywhere on short notice. And those pilots look so smart in their uniform.

I think I lost my "innocence" when I got old enough to realize that air-hostesses are just a glorified version of a servant. Yes, they dressed nicely, had make-up (lots of it) on, wore high keels, and oftentimes, spoke multiple languages. For a brief period, I even thought of wanting to be one. Then, I realized a large part of their jobs was simply to attend to the needy passengers (mostly food handling and feeding), and I wasn't so keen anymore. The subsequent change of title, from air-hostesses to flight attendants, confirms my belief.

The myth back then, of the "exclusivity" of being part of the "elite club", and the fact that people in general love it (the service, the exclusivity), imply how we all enough a "class system", provided that we're part of the more superior class. The deregulation of the sky and airlines in general brought everything down to earth (crashing down, to some). Now, flying is no more glorified than taking a greyhound bus. People drag the prospect of flying, the long wait at airport, and cancellations of flights. Perhaps that's the "price" to pay, of opening up everything to the mass. And there will be no more myths.