American Airlines commercial from 1981 makes us sad

“Full service no matter what you pay.” That’s what flight attendant Betty Lynn Fischbach promises in this 1981 ad for American Airlines as she places a meal on the tray of an economy class passenger. Was that meal delicious? Probably not, but it was free. And a skycap opened the cab door for an arriving passenger. That’s pretty swell. Low fares? American Airlines has ’em! Oh, 1981, we miss you (except for the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan, the walkway collapse at the Kansas City Hyatt Regency that killed 111 people, and the air traffic controllers strike).