I am the mood to travel to some place warm and exciting so I thought, why not experience some vintage airline commercials from the the past for some inspiration? Here are a bunch of TWA, Pan Am and Braniff commercials produced in the late 1960s and the 1970s — the golden age of air travel — that are sure to bring a smile to your lips. Which is your favorite airline to travel with today? Continue reading to see all the clips.
From online shop Inretro comes these lovely retro airline and hostess flight bags straight out from a relaxing intercontinental flight in the 1960s. Although reproductions, they look like the real deal and they won't set you back like the Marc Jacobs designer Pan Am bags that arrived not too long ago. Inretro features both airline bags and smaller airline hostess bags for storing all your must-have items on a long transatlantic flight. I was able to obtain my own Pan Am flight back dating back to circa 1960 from eBay a few years back. Although not original, it was bought from the same line of bags they used in Catch Me if You Can starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Complete with a Catch Me if You Can luggage tag and minus the smell of a bag that's been stowed away in the attic for 50 years. Inretro has well over 70 bags from different airlines to choose from, including Pan Am, TWA, Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa and many more. Prices range from around £20 to £30 which is a great deal for anyone wanting to look like a jet setter.
Join Trans World Airlines and Ultra Swank for a flight to the city that never sleeps, New York city! We will depart from Los Angeles and set down at New York, Idlewild airport (soon to be known as JFK airport). Our flying time is estimated at around 8 hours. Fasten your seat belts and enjoy the scenery. If you have any questions, our delightful stewardess will take care of all your needs. Footage taken in 1954 and made available through the lovely people at The Travel Film Archive.
Here's a glimpse into the wonderful world of now defunct Trans World Airlines (TWA). I love the catchy and somewhat cheesy 1960s theme song! The video could use some color correction obviously seeing it has degraded quite a lot over the years, but who cares. Following that video is a promotion of Boeing's new 747 airliner with what looks like Trans World's livery. I can't help thinking of the movie The Out of Towners when I watch it. Maybe that was the idea though, anyone who knows?
Update: The livery of the 747 is not the one of TWA but of Boeing and the aircraft that is shown is in fact the very first 747 (RA001) in production. It is on display at the Seattle Museum of flight. Hat off to Hans for pointing this out!
More airline retro goodness from a TWA commercial made in the early 1970s. Looks cheesy but still delicious in some odd way.
This is a continuation of my posts about my favourite architects from the golden days of architecture (this one is for you janepeepshow). Second up is Eero Saarinen, originally born in Finland in 1910. Relocated to the United States when his family emigrated there in 1923, where he began to study sculpture and furniture design. Saarinen however pursued his ambition to become an architect, his resume contains over 20 buildings.
Here are some more swank retro air travel photos. Just look at the cool interiors and colors of those Boeing 707's and 747's! That groovy stewardess in pink looks like she is from outer space or something. All you need now is some lush jet set airplane music to play in the background (hint). That's right, keep an eye open for more custom made compilations on this site very soon.
Ultra Swank takes you back in time into the kitsch, chic and swank living of the 50s to the 70s. We mainly focus on the design, architecture and the lifestyle of the happy-go-lucky and space-age-living mentality from that era - but also on the mood music that takes you back to happier times. Ultra Swank is run by Chris who resides in Sweden. More | Contact
Here it is, the compilation that started everything. This compilation was actually compiled a few months before I started this place back in september 2005 and I decided to keep the name Ultra Swank for this site. This compilation was the first compilation I had done in many years, so it is not as solid [...]
I recently discovered a Swedish website that featured abandoned and disused places, buildings and what not. One of the locations was one of those old motel / restaurant / bar establishment thingies that was a common sight along the Swedish highways up to the 1980s. The interesting thing about this place is the design. It [...]
Share your retro images in the Ultra Swank Pool at Flickr!
Interested in contributing to Ultra Swank? Do you have a story you want to share? Submit it and get a chance for it to be read by lots of swell retro fans from all over the world!
Receive Ultra Swank updates to your mailbox. It's quick and easy!
Ultra Swank is your blast from the past that takes you back to a more civilized and elegant era with lush cocktail parties, retro design, tasteful architecture and dreamy mood music.
About | Contribute | Contact | Advertise
Copyright © 2005-2010, Some rights reserved. Ultra Swank is presented under a Creative Commons noncommercial-share alike licence.
