First Aer Lingus transatlantic flight from Dublin to New York recalled

THEY CAME to remember a time when flying transatlantic was as exotic as flying to the moon for most people, when getting a job as an Aer Lingus airline stewardess was the ultimate career for any aspiring young Irish woman, and nobody asked you to take your belt and shoes off at security checks.

The 50th anniversary of the first transatlantic flight by Aer Lingus was marked with a reception at the US ambassador's residence in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, yesterday.

The memorabilia on display, which included old photos, timetables and copies of Cara magazine, recalled a kinder, gentler age in air travel when to fly was seen as a privilege, and to fly transatlantic was beyond the dreams of most.

The inaugural flight on April 28th from Dublin to New York was a momentous occasion, not just for Aer Lingus, but for the country in general, but the crew who were present yesterday recalled how it nearly never happened.

Four days earlier, the Lockheed L1049 Super Constellation left New York's Idlewild Airport bound for Dublin but had to divert to Gander in Newfoundland when a fire broke out in one of its engines.

The aircraft, with a passenger list which included New York mayor Robert Wagner, was delayed in Gander awaiting a new engine.

Miriam Conway, one of three hostesses on board, recalled: "It was dreadful and we were in uniform. We couldn't really leave our room. If we left the door open, somebody would say 'are we going soon?' and we didn't know what was happening. We were very tired by the time we got to Dublin. We hadn't slept for nearly three days."

Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion recounted that at the time of the inaugural flight, America had Johnny Cash, Bob Hope and Stevie Wonder and "we had no cash, no hope and it was no wonder".

It prompted US ambassador Thomas Foley to joke: "It seems we're the ones with no cash, no hope and no wonder now."

Mr Mannion spoke of Aer Lingus's proposed expansion plans for its transatlantic routes through the Open Skies policy, but he was not above mentioning the recent €5 web ticket fiasco.

"You may have heard rumours that we have some €5 premier class tickets available for everyone in the audience. I'm here to disabuse you of that notion," he joked.

Among the invited guests was former taoiseach Garret FitzGerald who was then Aer Lingus's research and schedules manager.

Mr Mannion presented him with a copy of the 1951 Aer Lingus timetable which Dr FitzGerald had drawn up himself. Dr FitzGerald recalled that it took him 38 consecutive hours to devise the timetable.