Airline: Identity, Design and Culture [Paperback]

Keith Lovegrove (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000

Half a century ago, airline stewardesses wore double-breasted suits and perky cloth hats: in-flight refreshment consisted of a thermos of ice water: and passenger seats were fashioned out of tubular aluminum covered in wool. Today lucky air travelers are treated to fine wines, gourmet meals, personal television monitors and even the chance to sleep in a real bed, while the rest of us make do with increasingly skimpy leg room and a bag of peanuts. From utilitarian to luxury, from sensible to chic, from humdrum to kitsch, the evolution of air travel is one of the most dramatic and fascinating reflections of our changing culture, and it is colorfully and whimsically documented in this unique collection of photographs and entertaining text.

Air travel has a unique, global style unlike any that exists on earth. Airline examines every aspect of this style, from the exterior and interior design of planes to the advertising and haute couture. It uses hundreds of photographs and archival illustrations to show how the world has changed -- and how it is in some ways very much the same. Dotted with intriguing bits of trivia and ephemera it documents the history of in-flight service and the changing role of the stewardess from nurse to sex-object and back again: shows how airlines use art and interior design to distinguish themselves from their competitors: explains the development of the class system, and features ridiculous and awe-inspiring decorating schemes (some of which never got off the ground) developed to offer travelers the ultimate in luxury at 35,000 feet. Brimming with fun and historical relevance. Airline offers an armchair travel experience unlike any other -- a high-altitudetechnicolor trip down memory lane and into a world that many of us will never enter and that some of us know all too well.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Te Neues Publishing Company (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3823854607
• ISBN-13: 978-3823854609
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #298,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fashion flies!, November 2, 2000

By 

Paul C "Paul" (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Airline: Identity, Design and Culture (Paperback)

Nobody has tried to undertake such an ambitious project from the totally unique viewpoint of design.

I'm an airline Captain, but the son of a graphic artist and an art historian. So it's doubly in the blood! I salivated when I heard of this book about airlines and the design/identity/graphics they've emblazoned on their unique place in transportation history.

I agree with the other reviewer that it was a bit scant on text and illustrations to a certain degree. That isn't to say that it lacks for them either. Mr. Lovegrove has chosen a rather minimalist approach to his presentation. Perhaps this is due to the fact if he had tried any other way the book would be 1000's of pages long. This is not a book about airplanes nor airlines and their history. I had to keep reminding myself of this fact as I read through my copy.

It is a unique attempt, through the eyes of an author who is a designer, to chronicle that element of the airlines. I commend him for this first effort. Full page photographs of stewardesses in past uniforms and unique aircraft paint schemes are accompanied by a brief textual explanation of each element. However, I was surprised that there wasn't more about airports and their design as the late 20th century has produced some monumental and creatively designed gateways (Denver, Schipol, Munich, Orlando, Hong Kong...).

If you appreciate the whole package of art/design/fashion/graphics as it relates to airlines, this book is a real treat. If you're looking strictly for airline photos, history, or airplanes, there are books that better address those subject areas.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Frequent flyers take note, December 9, 2000

By 

David M. Scott "David Meerman Scott" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Airline: Identity, Design and Culture (Paperback)

For those of us who have spent thousands of hours in and traveled millions of miles on airplanes, take a look at Airline. It will turn that permanent scowl of jaded airline travel back into a playful grin (at least for a while). It's fascinating to see where the various features we take for granted came from - drink carts, flight attendant uniforms, airline company logos, the color schemes of the planes themselves. Fortunately, Lovegrove took an international perspective and not just a domestic (either UK or US) one. OK, so do I take the book on my next trip (AA BOS to LAX tonight)? Sure, and then when the plane is delayed (due to air traffic control the pilot will say) I'll lean back, smile and consider what it used to be like...

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Coffee Table Read, November 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Airline: Identity, Design and Culture (Paperback)

This book gives an interesting and innovative look into the ephemera of airline design and marketing over the years. It is a great coffee table/armchair indulgence read, not a serious analysis of the airline business. The book covers everything from design graphics on the plane, stewardess uniforms (some of them hilarious), interiors, catering and marketing techniques right through to designs of salt and pepper pots on board.

As a frequent flyer, I found the book to be most enjoyable, and and excellent digest of trends through the years.

Buy one for Xmas for anyone who has flown on or who is interested in air travel!!!