Intrigued about its origins, we’re starting a short series of blog posts on the history of travel.
During the heyday of Don Draper, the Duke of Windsor, and the Rat Pack -- and before the era was lost to the hoi polloi, the first wave of wealthy took to the skies. Hoping to discover far off destinations where they could socialize with attractive people and soak up an abundance of sunshine, these jettsetters escaped to islands like Capri and Santorini and small European resort towns.
Something that inspires us is the ‘Golden Age’ of air travel in the 1960s. That era gave us Mad Men and jet set. Air travel was expensive, so only a certain class of people could do it, thus coining the term "jet set.”
The Boeing 707, born out of the prototype of the Dash 80, commenced its first flight on December 20, 1957. It overcame adversity to make the world accessible with its first commerical flight. Eclipsing rail and sea, the 707 was set up for astounding success.
Over the next decade, the human experience would change forever. With less travel time and more comfort, the appeal of its super de luxe ads, Pan Am made flying an experience with assets no other airline could match until Virgin Airlines entered the fold in the mid-80s.
Jet travel, with Pan Am leading the way, made the world over - literally. Dominating the industry until its demise in the 90s, the airline’s first round-the-world jet service inaugurated in 1959.
That introduced a very stylish era. Jet setters got dressed up to travel because it was a privilege. Much of that stylishness was lost when air travel became economically accessible to the general public in the 1970s. But, the images of that era inspire us, and we want our brand to put the fabulous feeling of elegance and style back in travel.