'Mad Men' meets 'Airplane!': Vintage photos show aviation's golden age

They actually took time to look out the window to see the real world from a magical perspective!

No question these romanticized depictions are more Hollywood than real life, but the snarky comments below the photos are off the make as well. Still, the fact remains that was a Golden Age in more things than aviation. Flying back then was highly professional business with only the cream of the crop picked for the stews, and it was a thrilling, memorable experience for the pax.

Somewhere around 1965, After completing an Army Arty course in Ft. Sill, I flew to Love Field where I boarded a Lockheed Electra and flew to Memphis, via Little Rock. I was seated back in the starboard rear of the cabin, on a circular couch next to a round table, just like the picture except for the color: my seat was red leatherette...

I would rather ride on a comfy first class window seat on yesteryear's DC-8 than any of the modern first class "bathtub style" accommodations of today's airliners.