Places I Remember with Lea Lane
Places I Remember with Lea Lane
The Golden Age Of Air Travel: Tales From Former TWA Flight Attendants
They rekindle the glamour of mid-20th century as Trans-World Airlines flight attendants. We share personal tales, from unexpected celebrity encounters and passenger ploys for perks, to camaraderie and embarrassing incidents among the crew. These stories give us a peek into their high-flying lifestyle, and how air travel has transformed over the decades.
The two also reveal memories about a secret situation on a flight -- and a former President.
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Kathy Compare and Stephanie Johnson are authors of True Tales of TWA Flight Attendants: Memoirs and Memories from the Golden Age of Flying.
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Podcast host Lea Lane blogs at forbes.com, has traveled to over 100 countries, and has written nine books, including the award-winning Places I Remember (Kirkus Reviews star rating, and 'one of the top 100 Indie books' of the year). She has contributed to many guidebooks and has written thousands of travel articles.
Contact Lea- she loves hearing from you! @lealane on Twitter; PlacesIRememberLeaLane on Insta; Places I Remember with Lea Lane on Facebook; Website: placesirememberlealane.com.
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Fasten your seatbelts. On this episode, we're in for a bouncy ride. The Golden Age of Air Travel, from the first jets of mid 20th century to the early 1980s, was a time when beautiful, single young women interested in exploring the world were promised a life of glamour and adventure as flight attendants, or, as they were called then, stewardesses or airline hostesses. No airline offered more excitement than Trans World Airlines. In the 1960s, TW accepted fewer than 1% of applicants to be flight attendants, making it tougher to get into than even Harvard. Plus, a flying career offered an education money could never buy. W provided a jet set lifestyle and travels to exotic destinations from London to Bombay.
Lea Lane:Flight attendants appeared on TV and in movies and rubbed elbows with the rich and famous, all the while decked out in uniforms from designers including Oleg Cassini and Ralph Lauren. A flight attendant could cook chateaubriand medium rare, deliver a baby at 35,000 feet and survive a plane crash, all the while immaculately dressed from their never-a-strand out-of-place hairstyles all the way down to their mandatory high heels. We'll be talking about all this with the authors of the book True Tales of TWA Flight Attendants Memoirs and Memories from the Golden Age of Flying. ith stories from dozens of flight attendants. It's a delightful read filled with behind-the-scenes looks at the excitement and struggles during this exciting time in airline history O Kathy Compare and Stephanie Johnson have lots of travel stories to share with us. Welcome, Kathy and Stephanie, to Places I Remember.
Kathy Compare:Hi Lea. (Hi Lea, Thank you.)
Lea Lane:I really enjoyed your book. Having flown during that period as a passenger, I know how different it was. Flight attendants back then were considered so glamorous and it was fascinating to read about your experiences from the other side. What qualifications did it take to become a flight attendant back then?
Kathy Compare:There was a language requirement to fly international. Also, they liked you to have at least two years of college. Most of the people I knew had graduated. There were strict weight and height requirements. When Stephanie started, she had to wear a girdle.
Lea Lane:And when she ended, did she wear one?.
Kathy Compare:No.
Stephanie Johnson:Yes.
Lea Lane:Well, I read the application and among the things was no missing teeth, so we had lots of details.
Stephanie Johnson:I know you're going to be flabbergasted, but one of the things on the application was they wanted to know our measurements: bust, waist, hips. They wanted to know our weight. They wanted to know if you were divorced, how long you have been divorced. If you had had any children, and when I started in 1968, you couldn't be married and you couldn't have children- (When did male flight attendants come on board?)
Stephanie Johnson:They came on board approximately 1970, 71. It was because of the Equal Rights Amendment and you couldn't discriminate. When I started with the company, we had pursers on international and all pursers were male. No flight attendants were male, no pursers could be females. So then in 1970, that was all changed. Quite a number of senior women with TWA that said, oh, I'd like to be a purser too and make more money.
Lea Lane:So a lot of changes, wh o the differences between flying during the mid-century and now in the 21st century, for better or worse.
Kathy Compare:I think, the security. There was a time when we never, ever, went through security. We just waltzed onto the airplane. Everybody walked to the gates, families were dropping off, people meeting people. The last thing you thought about when you went to the airport was someone with a gun or a bomb. That all changed. You couldn't mention the word bomb or gun, even though we didn't go through security. We had IDs and had a special line we could walk through. It was pretty shocking how quick they came up with all this TSA and now, thank God, for TSA pre-check. (Well, what do you think has improved? Safety is better. The planes are equipped better, other than it's too crowded. The seats are too tiny. Right.
Lea Lane:Tell us about some of the favorite perks you had as a flight attendant back then.
Stephanie Johnson:The best l one was obviously our company passes and being able to fly for free and if you got this, coach and also first class. But if you wanted to upgrade to first class it was all of $10. Oh goodness. And plus, what was great is we got all kinds of discounts on international carriers.
Stephanie Johnson:Then we got discounts in hotels and counting on earlier we were talking, I had gone on a picture taking safari with some other friends of mine in Kenya and Tanzania and I look back on that and they gave us a huge discount and it was expensive then, but with the discount, you know, I mean it was practically dirt cheap and we were able to do things like that that the average person couldn't take advantage of.
Lea Lane:Do flight attendants get those kind of perks?
Kathy Compare:Today there might be a couple of avenues that they could get a discount, on a cruise.
Stephanie Johnson:Their employees are still basically flying at reduced rates and they still have passes, but it's all space available and with the planes being so full, that's one of the issues you can't take advantage of the perk that you're being given.
Lea Lane:Also the attitude of some of the passengers on YouTube today the rudeness and the screaming. And in the old days I know as a passenger it was a big deal to fly and you got dressed up and you felt very special. Now most superstars, celebs, didn't fly in private jets. ack then, What was it like to interact with everyone from popes to presidents to movie stars? I'm sure both of you met many, many people. I know you did from reading the book.
Stephanie Johnson:Whether they were a senator, whether they were running for president, whether they were a famous movie star, whether they were a multi, multi now they'd be billionaires a famous sports person, they all enjoyed talking to us and they were just like everybody else. I really never had on one famous person that was pretentious.
Lea Lane:(They couldn't have been nicer.)
Stephanie Johnson:You got to the point where you weren't blase about it, but you weren't overwhelmed with their presence. It was just like, "oh hi, here's Ed c from the Johnny Carson Show bringing us a five pound box of candy. Oh, thank you, Mr B. You know you weren't blase, but you weren't overwhelmed. I just loved them all.
Kathy Compare:It was absolutely a pleasure to meet some of these people, and I have a story about Rosalind Russell
Lea Lane:Movie actress from
Kathy Compare:OMG, I just adored her in Auntie Mame. So I was off to my flight non-stop to l I'm laying over seven in the morning the phone rings and they say how fast can you get to the airport? And I said an hour and they said you have 30 minutes, get going. And I made it. I walk on the 747, the door closes, I'm standing in first class and the purser says 1 me 1a is Rosalyn Russell and you're taking care of her. I nearly fainted. This happened to me all the time. I just, I just couldn't believe my luck. So I spent like five and a half hours with Rosalyn and we found out we had the same birthday. I just told her how thrilled I was to meet her and I hope I could entertain her a little bit. For her trip.
Lea Lane:Sure you did.
Kathy Compare:I'm sure the other passengers thought why don't you talk to us?
Lea Lane:That might be true too, but it's fun to go to work and never know who you might m. e . You traveled a lot internationally and this is a travel podcast, so tell us a few of your favorite d. just love going to Italy period, whether it was Milano or Rome, Yeah, Now, forget it no liquids. (No liquids ) what? Three ounces
Stephanie Johnson:Three ounces.
Lea Lane:Yeah, that's it oh well, you can have a shot -- vodka or something. Uh yeah, so I know, reading the book, it was so much fun to read some of the stories that the crew would get together in all these foreign aces l l l Cairo Cairo or wherever and have a good time, and it's it's very, very glamorous. Again, this was a earlier time and not very many people got to do this. Nowadays we hop in jets and it's not such a big deal to go around the world, but then it was very, very special and I think reading about it was loads of fun. Now you have lots of stories about men, women, behavior before before h h Me Too t too movement.
Kathy Compare:I think people were more respectful back then. But I did have one good friend who was very rudely spoken to, vulgar. He grabbed her arm, said it again in her ear and with that she slapped him as hard as she could. She's running to the cockpit crying because this has shaken her up so much. On his way out of the airplane he announced to the captain I'm going to call my lawyer Once in a while. H would run into these creeps.
Lea Lane:Yeah, I would think you'd be flirted with a lot (R ? Not in a bad way. ).
Stephanie Johnson:This happened to a very, very good friend of mine. She was standing on the armrest in a 747 with the luggage compartment open and she was trying to rearrange some luggage so to get more in there. And this is in the day and age, before we had slacks with our uniforms. And as she's standing on this armrest, the passengers are boarding and this man took his hand and put it all the way up underneath her skirt and she almost fell off the armrest as she let out a noise. Then later on, ironically enough, he was seated in the zone she was working, and it's like we say you never should mess with anybody.
Stephanie Johnson:She took a hot , of coffee and instead of pouring it into his cup, she poured it into his lap and then winked at him like he had winked at her.
Lea Lane:Okay, there you go. Now let's get practical. How do passengers get on a flight attendant's good side for extra perks when they're flying? What can you get if you're especially nice?
Kathy Compare:I f y ou're nice t h take notice and they're always looking for able-bodied people to help in case they have a problem. You can't nice your way into first class. No.
Lea Lane:I was asking about that. Say pretty please, (no), okay, okay, good to know. I know sometimes there's some discretion, but it doesn't come from being nice, it comes from another reason or other. Is that right?
Kathy Compare:It usually comes from the captain, who has the authority. So you know, if you ask the captain about something, could we upgrade so-and-so you might get it.
Lea Lane:Yeah, I remember on one flight I took on Air India, I got to go in the cockpit, you know, maybe 1980, when people could still do this and I got to see, you know, the stars from the front of the plane and all. I can't imagine today anyone being able to do that. It was just a different time. Yeah, it really is a shame.
Stephanie Johnson:I remember when there were newlyweds I'd get them a bottle of champagne from first class, wrap it up in an Icelandic towel and congratulate them. Unfortunately you couldn't accommodate, at 33,000 feet in the air, a lot of people's requests. It was amazing what a few drinks or a few splits of wine freebies could do to change their attitude, and it didn't cost you anything. You weren't getting them intoxicated by any stretch of the imagination, but just being nice to people. That's what we always tried to do.
Lea Lane:Knowing what you know now, would you think you'd become a flight attendant today? Why or why not?
Stephanie Johnson:Well, k and I talked about this earlier today and we both always have said, yeah, go do it, go try it. If you don't like it, you haven't lost anything. But if you do, maybe the perks aren't as great as they used to be in flying on your own personal time, but you still can have wonderful layovers, you still meet nice people and it's the camaraderie of the crew.
Stephanie Johnson:You really become good friends with these people over the years. So, yeah, it's like a job like no other and, if nothing else, when you begin, you will find out in about six months time that you now have a spine made out of steel, I would imagine.
Lea Lane:You have to do many things we don't know about that are important to ensure safety. The training you have in that alone makes you stronger and more aware of how to help. We think of the glamour, but I'm sure both of you have been in situations which were dicey, where you had to use that spine of steel. Now the name of the podcast is Places I Remember. So would you two each give me a memory that stands out from all your other ones when you were flying with TWA? Kathy, do you want to start?
Kathy Compare:I was leaving London in 1983. We were loading on to this giant bus that they would take us right underneath the airplane and I met the cockpit crew and it was the pilot's last flight, the last flight. He was retiring, his whole family was meeting him in Chicago and we were going over a polar route. That was the shortest time. I said, oh well, this is exciting, I'm taking care of you upstairs, this will be fun. And then I got this sinking feeling that, or what it, something's going to happen. So I just finished.
Kathy Compare:The service started the movie upstairs this was business class upstairs and the door flew open to the cockpit, which is quite a ways away from the passengers, maybe 15, 20 feet. And they say get in here, Kathy, get in here. So I did. They said we just got a call from the government, the Air Force, whoever is monitoring the airspace. And they said there are two Russian MiG jets chasing your plane. Now this was terrifying because a week before, two Russian MiG jets had shot down a Korean Airline 747.
Kathy Compare:I remember going from, I believe, Seattle to Korea. Window shades were down. This is the same situation with our plane right now. Everybody's watching the movie. Window shades were down. He said grab the service manager and go to the back, see if you can see them. And I wanted to say don't you have a rear view mirror? They didn't, so I've run a football field now To get to the back of the plane. I opened this huge window cover on the 747 door. We're looking like crazy and we're on the phone on both sides of the airplane with the pilot. Meanwhile our plane is banking and making a sharp left turn. The military had told the pilots OK, you're going to go to X amount south and they have to turn around. They don't have enough fuel to follow you and get back to their base. So that's what we did. Nothing was said to the passengers Except . no nothing.
Kathy Compare:It wasn't even shared with the rest of the crew until we landed. We were two hours late, but his family was there to meet him and they were very happy he was finished his last flight and his wife said what was the delay? And he just winked at me and said oh, some weather.
Lea Lane:Interesting. Ok, Stephanie, how about your special memory?
Stephanie Johnson:I think one of the most special memories I had was having t President Ronald Reagan on flight. I'm working first class. The agent got on and he said you're going to have Reagan on flight with one of his aides. I said, oh, I thought, well, this should be interesting. He got on before the passengers, I went over, introduced myself, gave him a menu and I said I'll be back in a few minutes to get your orders.
Stephanie Johnson:Nobody else is on the plane yet, so I came back and got their orders and the man was such a little Irishman. He had little red, rosy cheeks, his eyes glistened, they sparkled and he just had this wonderful smile. And he's looking at me like, oh really, there was no. Oh yeah, I'm great. You know, it was that. So, okay, now we've gotten up in the air, finished the service, I come out of the cockpit and who's walking around the bulkhead? but Ronald Reagan, and I don't know why, whatever, but you can tell I'm a chattie Cathy. I said something to him Next thing, you know, 15 minutes later, we had talked about Vietnam, we had talked about history, he had told me Jimmy Stewart was one of his best friends and he's doing a Jimmy Stewart imitation for me and all this type of thing.
Stephanie Johnson:But the best, the very best part as we're doing this, a male flight attendant comes walking around the bulkhead to go up into the cockpit. He knocks on the cockpit door, the flight engineer opens it, he starts to walk in and the captain sees Ronald Reagan and myself standing out there and he says oh, governor Reagan, would you like to come into the cockpit? And he looks at me and he says, oh, no. He says no, I'm sorry, I can't do that. I'm talking to Stephanie, and I wanted to go around and high five a bunch of people.
Stephanie Johnson:So the end of the story is I go into the cockpit about 15 minutes later and the captain was not a happy little camper. He says what were you talking about? And I told him and he was like oh you know, you can tell he was just very put out. When Reagan passed, the one thing that stood out to me was what a gentleman he was. And all those years I had thought Reagan told the captain he didn't want to go out there because he didn't want to be stuck in the cockpit with three guys and he was using me as n excuse. But in essence no, he was a gentleman and he I'm sure in his mind it would have looked like I'm just dissing this woman to go talk with these three men. So that is truly my most memorable experience. Wonderful.
Lea Lane:Well, a big thanks to Kathy Compare and Stephanie Johnson, authors of True Tales of TWA Flight Attendants, for sharing the glamour and fun and excitement of being a flight attendant during the golden age of travel. I highly recommend your book. It's perfect to read on a flight. Thanks again. (Oh, thank you Lea. Thank you Lea.
