Come fly with me – the Arab world and the golden age of air travel

Airlines like Emirates and Etihad are often said to have inspired a second golden age of air travel with new standards of passenger comfort.

But what of the original “golden age”, when flying meant wearing your best clothes, enjoying a three-course meal and perhaps relaxing with a fine cigar?

This was the 1950s and ‘60s, when long-distance travel to exotic destinations was for the privileged few, and before budget airlines brought flying to the masses.

It was the age of glamorous stewardesses and dashing pilots. An age where new jet aircraft brought places that were once weeks away by ship to just a few hours in a pressurised cabin.

It transformed travel in the Arabian Gulf, once just a refuelling stop for the old propeller-driven giants of Imperial Airways on their way to India and Australia, but now a destination of its own right, thanks to oil revenues that drove a surge of investment and capital in the region.

By the 1960s places like Abu Dhabi and Dubai had built airports and runways capable of handling the biggest long-haul passenger aircraft, and airlines competed to win their slice of this valuable traffic.

To the established kings of the air like TWA, BOAC and Air France came a new challenge as new airlines in the region set out to create their own distinct national style.

Gulf Aviation had been formed by Freddie Bosworth, a former Royal Air Force pilot, in 1949. Flying small twin-engine propeller aircraft like the de Havilland Dove, it operated out of Bahrain with charters for the oil industry and short haul hops within the Arabian Gulf.

In 1973, control of the airline passed to Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Oman and Qatar after their rulers bought out a large stake previously owned by BOAC.

Rebranded Gulf Air, it became the national flag carrier for the four countries, expanding routes to Europe, Asia and the Far East with the new Lockheed Tri-Star and Boeing 737 jets.

Billing itself as “the world’s five-star airline”, Gulf Air offered new standards of luxury on its “Golden Falcon” service, with restaurant-style dining at tables for four, sumptuously decorated cabins and even on-board telephones.

Its biggest competitors in the region were Egyptair, which had been flying under various names since 1936, Royal Jordanian, which began to expand international during the 1960s, and Middle East Airlines (MEA).

Founded in 1945, the Beirut-based MEA had several international stakeholders, including Pan-Am, BOAC and Air France. From a handful of short-haul routes, MEA rose to the 16th largest airline by the mid-1960s.

According to Time magazine, “it reported record 1963 revenues of $70 million and earnings of more than $1,000,000, figures that make it the most successful Arab aerial enterprise since the flying carpet.”

The man responsible for this transformation was Najib Alamuddin, otherwise known as the “flying…