The Golden Age of Aviation

Tom Edwards sits down with Tyler Brûlé, Monocle’s editor in chief, and contributing editor Tristan McAllister to discuss what made this era of aviation “golden” and how the industry can soar to new heights.

We discuss the highs and lows of the groundbreaking supersonic technology for commercial aviation that emerged in the late 1960s, as Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144 took flight. Plus: the perks of travelling faster than the speed of sound.

Meet the Californian with a major collection of Pan Am memorabilia, discover the significance of Canada’s Gander International Airport as a beacon of mid-century design and find out why Alitalia is an icon of the skies.

We learn about a musical campaign for Cathay Pacific in the 1970s with the pop star Frances Yip, and talk iconic poster designs with author of ‘Airline Visual Identity 1945-1975’, Matthias Hühne.

With the help of Laudomia Pucci, we learn about the space-age cabin-crew uniforms that her father, Emilio Pucci, designed for Braniff in the 1960s. We also meet Hawaiian Airlines’ first female pilot, who also led the first all-female commercial flight in the US, and hear from former flight attendants about what it was like to be on board during the heyday of aviation.

In New York we learn about the iconic TWA Flight Centre at JFK airport, meet an ANA chief purser whose 25-year career on planes was inspired by the golden age, visit the Swire Archive in Hong Kong to discover the history of Cathay Pacific and find out why Australian airline Ansett was a leading force for in-flight service.

Monocle contributing editor Tristan McAllister heads to Seattle, the birthplace of Boeing, to find out its role in the world of aviation. He heads to Teague – the design agency responsible for some of the most iconic plane interiors – and the Museum of Flight, and meets the people for whom the industry has unlocked a life of adventure.

A soaring start to our new series as our experts discuss the unrivalled era of aviation from the 1950s to the 1970s. We meet the man responsible for the savvy marketing of one of the most prestigious airlines of its time: Pan Am. Plus, learn what it was like to fly into Hong Kong’s notorious Kai Tak international airport and hear from a woman in Japan whose collection of 1960s airline cups tells the design stories of many countries.