It Was the Golden Age of Air Travel
The film “The 707 Astrojet” was produced in 1961 by American Airlines and Pratt & Whitney Aircraft to introduce the flying public to their turbofan-powered Boeing 707 in American Airlines Astrojet colors. The film explains the unique aspects of the 707 and the experiences a passenger aboard one of the new jets would be likely to have. As you might expect, the principles behind the newly fitted Pratt & Whitney JT3D-1 turbofan engines are explained succinctly and understandably. Thanks to YouTuber PeriscopeFilm for uploading this time capsule film from a simpler age.
[youtube id=”KIXMjwlmmO8″ width=”800″ height=”454″ position=”left”]
The Luxurious Astrojet
American Airlines flew 707s between 1959 and 1981. The 707 was AA’s first jet-powered equipment. The Astrojet livery was actually fairly short-lived, but the polish and paint job has been used on at least one Boeing 757 and a couple of Boeing 737 “retro-jets” in the years since the original Astrojet livery was replaced beginning in the late 1960s. Tragically on March 1st 1962, American Airlines Flight 1, a Boeing 707-123B Astrojet (registration N7506A) bound for Los Angeles (LAX), crashed due to mechanical failure two minutes after takeoff from Idlewild Airport (now John F Kennedy JFK) in New York with the loss of all on board.
My dad worked for American from 1938 to 1978. I flew on these marvelous aircraft as a young child. The airline industry used to be a fantastic group of customer oriented companies that knew how to treat people. These days I feel like I’m riding an overcrowded city bus.
Great video and images of the AAL &07 Astrojet. Tank you for sharing.
Herman