The Romance of Air Travel
Published on 13th August 2013
Where has the romance gone? There was a time when it was a great adventure to fly, it was very glamorous, you dressed the part, and your luggage did not cause major grief. The role of air hostess was a top job for attractive young women. The Flying Boat Museum at Foynes, Co. Limerick, the excitement of the early days of passenger flight.
Right: Dublin Airport
Aer Lingus, the Irish national airline, started life in a very small way back in 1936, with one small biplane, flying out of the military air base at Baldonnel, Co. Dublin (see images below). The following year construction work began on a new purpose built airport at Collinstown, north of the city. The new Dublin airport opened in January 1940, with a modern terminal building and runways. This postcard gives a sense of the exclusiveness of the flying experience.
During World War II Aer Lingus operated just one route, Dublin to Liverpool. In November 1945 the direct service to London was reopened. Aer Lingus recruited the first three air hostesses in December 1945. By August 1951 the airline had carried its one millionth passenger.
The Dublin and Irish Collections at Dublin City Library & Archives holds a collection of ephemera, which can be viewed in the Reading Room. This Aer Lingus timetable for the summer of 1951 is very evocative. We can see that a new night service, called ‘Starflights’, was inaugurated between Dublin and London. The fares were expensive, costing £5 one way, or £10 return: a large investment in 1951.
Below: Report in the Irish Independent, 28th May 1936.
Below: Five seater de Havilland Dragon DH84 about to depart Baldonnel Airport.
The above screenshots are of the Irish Independent newspaper, 28 May 1936. You can access the Irish Independent and many more newspapers online and free of charge at Dublin City branch libraries courtesy of our subscription to the Irish Newspaper Archives. This subscription allows you to search, retrieve and view newspapers from 1700s to the present. More about our online subscriptions.