Fun Facts You Didn’t Know-
Fun fact No. 1: Amtrak was founded the same year Travel + Leisure put out our first issue.
THE FOLLOWING WRITTEN CONTENT BY MAYA KACHROO-LEVINE
In celebration of Travel + Leisure’s 50th anniversary, we’ve done a deep dive into the last 50 years of travel. Suffice it to say, 50 years ago — in 1971 — travel didn’t run on airline miles, rideshares, and promises of space hotels within the decade. In the ’70s, we were instead celebrating commercial trans-Atlantic flights and the founding of Amtrak. There wasn’t the airport security we know today, but there was a piano bar in an American Airlines economy class cabin.
The more we delve into these last 50 years of travel, the more fun trivia facts we uncover. And some of this knowledge — like the fact that Aeromexico was the only airline to show the movie “Airplane!” in flight — just needs to be shared. Here, 25 things you didn’t know about travel over the last 50 years.
1970s
Pan Am flew passengers from London to New York on the first commercial 747s in the ’70s.
Amtrak incorporated in 1971 and debuted with 21 routes.
Southern Airways, a popular airline in the ’70s, was nicknamed “Route of the Aristocrats,” because they served booze and Champagne in coach.
Security screenings at the airport were not required until 1973.
You might not think it, but the ’70s was the first decade of supersonic air travel. The supersonic Concorde plane actually took its maiden voyage in 1969.
American Airlines had a piano bar in the economy class cabin of their 747-100 — because nothing says cruising in style quite like in-flight live music.
1980s
Wish you could check more than one bag? You should’ve been flying in the ’80s, when you could check as many bags as you wanted.
You could also bring liquids aplenty onto a plane — including wine from Bordeaux or Napa Valley, and full-size shampoo bottles.
Construction on the Chunnel (or the “Channel Tunnel”) — which connects Folkestone, England, with Coquelles, France, and runs under water for 23 miles — began in 1988. It cost $16 billion and the tunnel opened in 1994.
The movie “Airplane!” came out in 1980 — and Aeromexico was the only airline to buy the movie to show in flight.
Passengers were allowed to visit the cockpit while commercial aircrafts were flying in the ’80s.
NASA’s first space shuttle launched in April 1981.
Las Vegas became a luxury town toward the late ’80s, when Wynn Resorts opened their first Vegas outpost: The Mirage.
1990s
Interest in Australia travel surged in the ’90s because of “Crocodile Dundee.”
The ’90s was the era of traveler’s cheques and cash. We hadn’t quite hit the golden age of credit card points.
The first hybrid car hit the roads in 1997 in Tokyo, Japan.
The Bellagio Las Vegas is inspired by Bellagio, a lakefront city in Italy, and the hotel’s fountain holds 22 million gallons of water. The hotel opened in 1998 and cost $1.6 billion.
2000s
TWA (Trans World Airlines) officially ceased operations in the early 2000s, after a 70-year tenure in the friendly skies.
The average price of a domestic flight in the U.S. was $502 (adjusted for inflation) in 2000. Read more from Travel & Leisure.
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