The Beginnings of Modern Air Travel: A Look at the 1930s

Air travel in the 1930s was quite different from what it is today. At that time, commercial air travel was in its infancy and was primarily used by wealthy individuals and business travelers. The experiences, services, flight crews, and passengers were different from what we see today.

The aircraft of the 1930s were much smaller and less advanced than those of today. They were typically propeller-driven and had a limited range. The cabins were cramped and not as comfortable as modern airliners. There were no in-flight entertainment or food service, and the flight attendants, if any, were primarily there to assist with baggage.

Passengers on flights in the 1930s were mainly wealthy individuals, businessmen, and some celebrities. Traveling by air was considered a luxury and was more expensive than traveling by train or ship. Due to the limited number of flights and destinations, air travel was not yet a standard means of transportation for the general population.

The flight crews were also quite different from what we see today. Pilots were often veterans of World War I or barnstormers, and there were no formal training programs or certifications for pilots at that time. The flight crews were also much smaller, with only a pilot, sometimes a co-pilot, and a mechanic.

Despite the limitations of air travel in the 1930s, it was an exciting time for the industry as commercial air travel was still in its infancy, and many advances were being made. The first transcontinental flights were made, and the first airmail and air freight services were established.

#1 An airplane from British Imperial Airways, taken in the early 1930’s

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#2 This picture is from 1938, and famous chefs are shown loading cakes onto the airplane for the passengers

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#3 The picture was taken in Pennsylvania in 1938, which would have been the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg

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#4 Passengers at the airport in Washington DC, 1938

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#5 Taken at an airport in Israel, 1935

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#6 Waiter service aboard Imperial Airways ‘Scylla’ during its flight from London to Paris, 1935.

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#7 Passengers enjoying a drink and a game of cards in the cabin of an Imperial Airways plane in 1936.

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#8 Preparing lunch on the Imperial Airways airplane ‘Scylla’, 19 November 1936.

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#9 Day cabin of an Imperial Airways flying boat, most likely of the Short Empire class, in August 1936.

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#10 A sleeping berth on an Imperial Airways aircraft in March 1937.

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#11 First projection on board, 1938

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#12 Cabin of a De Havilland DH86B biplane, 1934.

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#13 Germany: Passengers in an airplane, 1935.

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#14 Aeronautics testing a four-engined aircraft, 1934.

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#15 Interior of a Farman tourist airplane during a demonstration, 29th November 1932

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#16 Passengers settling down for their journey on an Air France plane

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#17 American Airline passengers make the first stratosphere flight test. The picture shows passengers breathing through their special masks during the flight.

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#18 Passengers sitting in their seats inside the cabin of a 21-passenger airplane making daily trips between New York City and Chicago. Several women read magazines.

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#19 A customer reclines in the cabin of a Transcontinental & Western Air Douglas DC-1 Airplane.

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#20 Wireless communications make it possible for passengers aboard an Imperial Airways plane to hear the derby results via headphones.

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#21 The First Ever In-Flight Movie, San Francisco, 1930s.

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#22 Interior of the commercial aircraft of the future in a cinema studio in hollywood on february 1936

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#23 imperial airways monoplane demonstration at Croydon in London on October 11st 1938

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#24 Miss Helen Rickey, first woman to be employed as a pilot of an airline has resigned her position. Photo of Miss Rickey in the pilot’s seat of her plane leaving the Washington Airport.

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#25 Passengers listening to a radio on board an airplane.

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#26 Aeroplane passengers with headphones listening to the first test broadcast of a new service which will enable them to hear and watch the boat race from the air.

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#27 The Duke and Duchess of York alight from an Imperial Airways liner, on their arrival in England from Brussels, 1935

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#28 An Eastern Air Transport flight attendant serves tea to passengers, 1931

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#29 Nazi leader Adolf Hitler takes a flight in an aircraft on his 43rd birthday, 1932

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#30 Mrs. F.D.Roosevelt On Plane, 22nd January 1933.

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#31 Interior Of A DC-3 Plane, 5th October 1938.

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#32 Flight Attendant Serving Passenger a Meal

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#33 Women aboard an airplane between Paris and London, 1934

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#34 Passengers on a flight from New York to Miami are entertained with a fashion show featuring the latest beachwear in the air, 1930.

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#35 Children welcome Santa Claus as he disembarks his plane in a photograph from around 1930.

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#36 Inside Douglas Passenger Plane, October 5, 1938

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#37 Passengers on an Imperial Airways flight enjoy a drink and a game of cards in the cabin in 1936.

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#38 A waiter serves passengers aboard the Imperial Airways ‘Scylla’ flight from London to Paris.

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#39 Miss Wanda Wood, hostess for Eastern Air Transport, serves tea for two, Misses Charlotte Childress and Elizabeth Hume, aboard one of the line’s passenger planes 1930.

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#40 Two male passengers play chess on a Pan American Clipper seaplane flying between San Francisco and Hong Kong, Hawaii, and Manila.

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#41 Miss Trehawke-Davies in the passenger’s seat of one of her Bleriot monoplanes, 1913

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#42 A couple enjoys cocktails in the smoking lounge of the new Imperial Airways Empire flying boat passenger plane in London, 1930

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#43 Passengers board an aircraft at Croydon Airport in London, bound for the Grand National horse race in Liverpool.

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#44 Airliner Dornier Do X is shown with an interior view of the passenger saloon in a vintage photograph from ullstein bild.

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#45 Passengers board an American Airlines Condor biplane airplane for commercial flight from Newark, New Jersey, 1930s

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#46 Passengers of a plane from Mexico to Los Angeles, 1930

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#47 Passengers are seen on board a de Havilland Flamingo aeroplane, 1939

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#48 Passengers inside an aircraft, 1930

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