The Way it Was…
...When it Was Fun to Fly
by Al Eicher

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think it is fun to fly on commercial airlines anymore. Today, the airport experience is far from being enjoyable. We can only be hopeful and anticipate the fun part will begin when we arrive at our selected vacation spot. The airport and flight experience today is not what it was 10 years ago. We Americans waste a lot of time in airports. We are encouraged to get there two or more hours ahead of departure. It’s like the Army: “hurry up and wait.” There is always a long line of people waiting to check in and now, with additional baggage restrictions, you really don’t know how much extra your ticket will cost. The seats on the plane are too narrow and have less leg room…Oh, how I long for the good old days.

My flying days on commercial airlines started in 1955 when I was in the Army. My first flight originated at Willow Run Airport on TWA with a landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York. The parking lot at Willow Run was next to the main terminal, and getting a ticket at the airport was easy - no waiting in line. There was no security check or weighing of baggage and no search for knives, drugs, guns or taking your shoes off. My Mom saw me get on the plane at the gate and I left on time. None of those things can happen today. By the way, my airline ticket was about $26.

During my two years of military service, I used Willow Run and the airport at Charlotte, North Carolina, to come home on furlough. The Willow Run complex had been built by the Ford Motor Company under the supervision of Charles Lindbergh in 1941. Here they built the B-24 Bomber. At Willow Run during the peak of wartime production, 42,000 people were employed. They built 8,700 bombers before the war ended, and then it was converted into the Commercial Airline Terminal for Detroit. In 1955, seven commercial airlines flew out of Willow Run.

In the mid 1960s, major airline passenger traffic in southeastern Michigan switched to the new Metro terminal and Detroit City Airport. At this time, rules and regulations at airports had not changed, except the Airport Complex was much bigger. The majority of my air travel in the 1960s and ’70s was about 50 percent commercial and 50 percent on the corporate aircraft of the Campbell Ewald Advertising Agency and General Motors corporate jet. The Agency had the Rockwell International account, and therefore, we had an Aero-Commander, top-of-the-line, six passenger aircraft which Rockwell made. It was always an enjoyable experience flying into the major city airports, and on occasion, we landed in a few farm pasture strips in Ohio. In the early days of flying on the corporate aircraft we didn’t have a co-pilot so on some flights I could seat in the co-pilot position, which made the trip even more enjoyable.

In this type of corporate aircraft, although pressurized, we didn’t fly at 30,000 feet or higher, as the commercial airlines. Flying over the Great Lakes, in a corporate aircraft, at a low elevation is a great experience. You can see the lake freighters and pleasure boats with great detail. There is a degree of excitement when landing at certain airports, such as the Cleveland Burke Waterfront Airport or at Meigs Field in downtown Chicago. Meigs Field was a single strip airport built on a manmade island, which was created for the 1933-1934 Century of Progress Exposition and the great Sky Ride. I liked landing on this narrow strip, because it was like landing on an aircraft carrier. Another benefit for landing there instead of O’Hare Airport was that we didn’t have to rent a car. We usually had meetings at the Chicago Hilton Hotel, which was right across the street from Meigs Field. We could carry our baggage from the plane right into the hotel lobby, only a few blocks away.

I have always liked to visit museums, and Chicago has some of the best. Next to Meigs Field were the Field Museum of Natural History and Adler Planetarium. When our business meetings were over, my next stop was at the Field Museum. Meigs Field was like many small airports; as a passenger we just walked off the runway and returned to meet our pilot and proceeded out to the aircraft. No inspections and no tickets. Meigs Field and the Cleveland Burke Waterfront Airport being near the water, when the fog comes in, can create some excitement. I remember, one fall evening, about 8’oclock at Meigs Field, our pilot took off from the narrow strip and was told by the Airport Tower control to make a turn while staying at a low altitude. We made another turn and soon the only thing I could see, in the fog, were the street lights and people in their hotel rooms at one of the Chicago large hotels. That was a scary moment flying at an altitude of about 350 feet.

During the 1970s and '80s, nearly 90 percent of my flying time was on American Airlines to New York, Ottawa, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Houston, Kansas City and a few trips to Europe. When you travel over a million miles on one airline you do get some extra benefits. For about six years I was given upgrades to first class when buying a coach ticket. These upgrades were usually given out in the Admirals Club, which was then only a $50 membership per year. If your flight was delayed or canceled, you just went to the club to have them arrange your next flight out. If I saw some friends going on my flight I often gave them some of my upgrade coupons to first class. The airlines, back then, were most willing to please their customers. It isn’t possible to do some of these things today because of 9/11.

In the 1980s, my favorite commercial airport was in Ottawa, Canada. Traveling there in the wintertime was a real treat. This big airport was like a small-town terminal. The airport had a knotty pine interior everywhere, and the Air Canada personnel were most friendly. Arriving one winter evening, I took a cab into the city for the 10-mile ride. Along the highway was a canal that was frozen and cleared of snow. The cabby told me this was the old Rideau Canal maintained by the city for skaters. It had street lighting and many warming stations with concession stands for the people ice skating on the canal. I saw many hundreds of people skating all along the way right into the Ottawa convention center area, which was across the street from my hotel. Canadians love to skate!

Not all of my flights were enjoyable, especially when we lost an engine over the Grand Canyon on a trip to Los Angeles, or when we were about to land at O’Hare Airport and a plane taxied across the runway as we were about to touch down. In this emergency situation we had to take off immediately to avoid hitting the plane. I am sure you have felt turbulence in some flights and maybe through the window witnessed an electrical storm, seeing lighting all around. Fortunately these are not a normal flight experience, but it does give you something to talk about in the coffee shop or at the barber shop…and That’s The Way It Was When It Was Fun To Fly…

Al and Dave Eicher provide television production services to corporations, ad agencies and nonprofit organizations.? They also create Michigan town histories and offer lecture services on a variety of Michigan History Events. You may contact them at? 248-333-2010;? E-mail: info@program-source.com; Web site:? www.program-source.com.