30 Rare Photographs of Historical Air Travel Will Put You on the Edge of Your Seat

American singer and actor Frank Sinatra lands in London in 1956. Copyright by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis. https://www.thedailybeast.com/vintage-photos-of-airplane-travel-and-celebrities

Rosa Parks waves as she gets off of a United Airlines flight. Photographed by Gil Baker, 1956. Library of Congress. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/rosa-parks-collection

Interior of a giant Pan Am Boeing 707 jet. The jet has 165 seats. This flight is carrying a crew as it conducts noise flights over England. Photographed September 8, 1958. Copyright by Keystone/Getty Images.
http://www.vintag.es/2013/08/old-photographs-of-boeing-planes.html

Actress and singer Marilyn Monroe boards a flight at Miami International Airport. Photographed by Bob East, February 21, 1962. This photograph was taken less than six months before her death on August 5, 1962. Pinterest.

Flight attendant is serving coffee on board a Braniff International airplane. Photographed in the late 1960s. Copyright by Hulton Archive/Getty Images. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/15/air-travel-1950s_n_5461411.html?slideshow=tru

Two flight attendants serve passengers a decadent meal on a British Airways flight. Photographed in the 1960s. Pinterest.

Economy seating on a Pam Am 747. Photographed in the 1960s. Pinterest.

Two flight attendants serve first-class passengers with drinks and refreshments on board a Boeing 747, 1970. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images) http://www.vintag.es/2013/08/old-photographs-of-boeing-planes.html

John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin plays an electric organ on board a private plane. The band used a Boeing 720B plane called the “The Starship” on their North American tour. Photographed July 30, 1973. Copyright by Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images. http://www.vintag.es/2013/08/old-photographs-of-boeing-planes.html

A flight attendant in the 1970s. The uniforms for flight attendants for Southwest Airlines of Texas became highly sexualized, with female flight attendants being forced to wear hot pants and leather boots. Women who applied for these jobs were specifically hired for their appearance, especially their faces and legs. Photograph by Alan Band, ca. 1972. Copyright by Alan Band/Keystone/Getty Images. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/15/air-travel-1950s_n_5461411.html?slideshow=true

Two flight attendants carve meat for first-class passengers on a flight. Carving meat for first-class meals was a tradition until the 1980s. Copyright by British Airways/PA. http://home.bt.com/lifestyle/travel/world-travel/everything-about-flying-in-the-1980s-thats-totally-different-now-11364189733854

Muslim passengers face Mecca for prayers while waiting for a flight at Terminal 3 of London’s Heathrow Airport. Photographed by Graham Morris, March 1977. Copyright by Graham Morris/Evening Standard/Getty Images. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/15/air-travel-1950s_n_5461411.html?slideshow=true

A flight attendant for Air New Zealand models the new uniform with blue polycotton blouse in the 1980s. https://www.express.co.uk/pictures/pics/2740/Air-New-Zealand-the-golden-age-of-travel-archived-photos-flight-pictures/A-flight-attendant-models-the-blue-polycotton-blouses-of-the-1980s-59361

People waiting to board a flight with their luggage. Photographed in the 1980s. Copyright by Joe Shlabotnlk/Flickr. https://www.skyscanner.com.au/news/8-quirks-of-flying-in-the-80s

Virgin Atlantic Airways’ founder Richard Branson was involved in the campaign to end smoking on flights in the 1990s. Copyright by Virgin Atlantic/PA. http://home.bt.com/lifestyle/travel/world-travel/everything-about-flying-in-the-1980s-thats-totally-different-now-11364189733854