How we used to fly: Luxury on board the Boeing 314 Flying Boat

Flying nowadays means being packed together in seats with barely enough legroom to stretch – but it wasn’t always like that. Back in the early days of aviation, flying meant putting on your good suit, and enjoying fine dining in a luxurious lounge before spending the night in your private sleeping accomodations.

Sure, the trip took considerably longer than it does nowadays, but with this kind of luxury, there was no real desire to get anywhere quick.

The photo you see above is from the dining room of the Boeing 314 Clipper, which flew up to 74 passengers from the U.S. to Hawaii and China “in a matter of days”. The plane flew during the 1930’s and 40’s before being replaced by even larger planes.

After dinner, guests could enjoy board games in the main lounge, or retreat to their private cabin. The pinnacle of luxury was in the rear of the aircraft, where you’d find the De Luxe Honeymoon compartment.

This is just one of many photos collected by Airshowbuzz.com. Other photos in their collection show the cabin crew and the spacious cockpit – definitely worth checking out!