Early Airplane Travel Etiquette

“It's proper to smoke cigarettes in flight without violating the sensibilities, but odorous cigars and pipes are frowned on. It's not correct for women to expect men to yield window seats, nor should travelers remove their shoes unless given a lap robe or slippers by the stewardess.”– Circa 1930: Miss Ellen Church became the first airline stewardess after convincing Boeing Air Transport that female nurses on board each plane would be a relief to nervous airline passengers.

Air Travelers Establish New Etiquette Rules

IS IT good etiquette to tuck your napkin under your chin and eat directly from the casserole? Yes, say social arbiters of airline travel. It's perfectly all right to wear your napkin like an ascot tie and forthright approaches with knife and fork are approved in handling casserole dishes. Entrees and vegetables are served together in the same dish for the sake of convenience in airline cuisine.

In checking on social behavior sanctioned by custom and usage among air travelers, United Air Lines reports that, contrary to Victorian standards, gentlemen may remove their coats and ladies may in all propriety strike up conversations with strangers. And it's quite proper for a man to precede a lady in getting on a plane, if that's his place in line.

It's proper to smoke cigarettes in flight without violating the sensibilities, but odorous cigars and pipes are frowned on. It's not correct for women to expect men to yield window seats, nor should travelers remove their shoes unless given a lap robe or slippers by the stewardess.

And it's a gross breach of airline travel etiquette to pocket the silverware as a souvenir of the trip. – Hanford Daily Sentinel, 1949

🍽️Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia