Once upon a time, that's how long it took to get to Europe. Still does, more or less. But at the time, most people inclined to visit Europe thought about taking a ship, which took longer but did not plunge out of the sky with everyone screaming.

The jet era, however, would change everything. What follows are images from the apex of civilized flying. It would get cheaper and a bit more comfortable and less noisy, but never any swanker.