‘Queen of the skies’: How the Boeing 747 shaped an era of air travel

‘It’s the aeroplane that all the pilots wanted to fly. Because of its size, it’s so stable and you just feel so secure in it.’ Photograph: Aviation Wire/AFLO/REX/Shutterstock

By the time Lynn Rippelmeyer began work as a flight attendant on a Boeing 747 in 1972, the jumbo jet had already seized the public’s imagination for its immensity and the beauty of its lines, serving as the epitome of glamour in the skies.

“We had linen napkins and tablecloths, china and crystal vases with real flowers on a pedestal in first class. There was a seven-course meal. You got your prime rib carved right at your seat. It was quite something,” said the former TWA attendant.