The airline industry has since gone through some major overhauls

Back in the days when passengers had to walk across the tarmac to board a plane, they were greeted by "air hostesses" arrayed in knee-high boots, short skirts and white gloves.

In 1971, the now-defunct U.S.-based National Airlines ran a saucy and suggestive commercial that featured a flight attendant named Cheryl, smiling affably and accompanied by the seductive slogan,  Fly me.


Flight attendants were trained at "charm farms" to maximize their feminine sex appeal & a book depicting the golden age of travel by "adventurous" former flight attendants entitled "Coffee, Tea or Me?" further stoked the flames of the fantasy of flying.

Along with National Airlines' promotion campaign Eastern Airlines encouraged flirting with stewardesses by handing out tiny black books to male passengers for storing phone numbers.

The airline industry has since gone through some major overhauls.

Airlines have adopted a gender-neutral professionalism, austere security measures & the ever-widening gaps between the luxury stool & the cramped budget.

Societal norms have changed for the better -- it is hard to imagine a number of the outfits pictured here ever being approved.