Glamour in the Skies: The Golden Age of the Air Stewardess

Present for a Birthday.

Lovely book. I bought 2 as gifts

This book contains a wonderful collection of anecdotes from those who flew when airline travel was not only glamorous but also adventurous. The destinations we visited were all so different - the world was not yet homogonised - for example, Dubai was still a small trading town beside a creek in the desert with dhows drawn up on the foreshore, Singapore had few highrise buildings, and cities were not clogged with traffic and tourists. Mass travel had not yet been invented, we had time to explore, we had time for our passengers, meals were served with style, there was room to stretch your legs and long queues in airport security were unknown. But above all the people we flew with were fun.

Very interesting content. Was recommended to read this by an ex BA flight attendant, Amanda Pepper, who is mentioned in the book. She was on one of my flights and we got chatting.However, I agree with other reviewers, that the size of the print is a bit too small, which makes it very hard going, especially if reading it when a bit tired.

This was, for me, a wonderful trip down memory lane. As a stewardess with BOAC in the 60s I could totally relate to the anecdotes and descriptions of flying as it was in those days. Getting into BOAC was extremely difficult as they required attractive personable girls with intelligence and a knowledge of nursing, catering or languages. One had to look good but also have the skills to deal with difficult people, foreign customs and religions. We were well rehearsed in emergency procedures and certainly had to be diplomatic in many situations. The job was high prestige at the time and I considered myself lucky to be with an international airline. This book captures perfectly this golden age of flying and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There one or two mistakes regarding uniform but by and large it is accurate and hugely enjoyable to anyone interested in flying. This was an age when the words trolley dollies had not been thought of and would have been totally inappropriate!

For anyone, flight deck or cabin crew, who flew in the fifties, sixties and possibly the seventies this is a delightful read. It has many of the best stories, and acts as a good reminder for those of us who may have forgotten what those halcyon days were like. It is clear that the airline crews, working before the age of mass airline travel, were a privileged group. Today's crews, often exhausted and working at a far greater pace, will read this book with envy.

Quite entertaining book about the life and times of the BOAC and BEA stewardesses. It really is just a compendium of anecdotes as told by the many stewardesses interviewed for the book and there's not much in the way of a historical or social analysis from the author. So, unless you know quite a bit about British aviation from the 40s onward, you might be left with a feeling of something missing. Also, the font chosen is quite small which makes reading it a little uncomfortable.

what a brilliant idea bringing the pleasures of flying in the past superbly to life; it must have been a labour of love gathering so many reminiscences and putting them all together with such clarity and amusement, albeit with some repetition; it all comes across as such a romantic way to travel especially in these days of "cattle class"; one yearns for those more gracious and glamorous days