New Zealand's national carrier is taking a trip down memory lane as it celebrates its 75th anniversary this year


A fancy lobster dinner, plenty of legroom and passengers wearing their best clothes – these vintage photos reveal what it was like to fly during the golden age of travel.

The decades-old images show glamorous scenes that would make today’s travellers jealous while they’re fighting for elbow space and eating bland meals inside a crammed economy cabin.

Air New Zealand is digging into its photo archives and providing a glimpse into the way people used to travel by air as it celebrates its 75th anniversary this year.

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Passengers enjoy first class service on board one of Air New Zealand's flights in the 1960s; curtains cover the plane's windows

A rare sight on today's flights, a cabin crew member - wearing a kaftan uniform - prepares freshwater lobster (crayfish) for passengers

New Zealand National Airways Corporation (NAC) flight attendants model their new uniforms in this photo taken in the summer of 1959

The government-owned carrier’s pictures – published in a new book documenting its history – show a passenger experience that is largely different from that of today, when only the wealthy could afford to travel and flying was an event to be celebrated.

Photos from the 1950s through to the 1970s – when smoking was still permitted on board – show first class passengers being treated to luxurious meals – from Tasmanian giant freshwater lobster to chicken, using metal cutlery – that rivalled anything that could be found on the ground.

The photo album also reveals how the airline’s flight attendant uniforms and aircraft fleet have changed over the decades.

A young passenger offers a wave while holding a Tasman Empire Airways Ltd (TEAL) 21st anniversary cabin bag

The 1960s saw Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL) join the jet era with the addition of DC-8 jet aircraft to its fleet

First-class in flight service equalled anything that could be found on the ground as jet aircraft were introduced to the fleet

New Zealand National Airways Corporation (NAC) flight attendants model their new 'lollipop' uniforms in the 1970s

The Auckland-based airline was founded in April 1940, when it operated its first scheduled flight between Auckland and Sydney under the Tasman Empire Airways Ltd (TEAL) banner.

About 50 people attended a ceremony in pre-dawn darkness before the Short S30 flying boat, Aotearoa, took off from a waterfront bay in Auckland for the nine-hour journey to Rose Bay in Sydney.

Today, the Auckland-Sydney flight takes just over three hours and uses a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, which has a capacity of just over 300 passengers in business premiere, premium economy and economy classes.

Flight attendants in their kaftan uniforms; TEAL became known as Air New Zealand in 1965 after it was bought out by the government

In the 1980s Air New Zealand flight attendants wore a poly-cotton overblouse and skirt with Koru motif on squares of navy and teal

This advert from the 1960s promoted Air New Zealand's fleet of DC-8 jets and new 'super-fast' oven technology on board

New Zealand’s domestic airline, National Airways Corporation (NAC), merged with Air New Zealand in 1978

Last week the airline held a series of special events and a themed service on its Auckland-Sydney route featuring a 1940s menu and flight attendants in retro uniforms.

TEAL became known as Air New Zealand in 1965 four years after it was bought out by the country’s government.

New Zealand’s domestic airline, National Airways Corporation, merged with Air New Zealand in 1978. In 1965 it began offering flights to Los Angeles via Tahiti, and in 1982 launched its service to London via Los Angeles.

Air New Zealand and its subsidiaries now fly to more than 50 destinations with a fleet of more than 100 planes, operating more than 4,000 flights a week.

Air New Zealand and its subsidiaries now fly to more than 50 destinations with a fleet of more than 100 planes

Air New Zealand's archived photos reveal how flight attendant uniforms have changed; the Nina Ricci-designed uniform in 1976 (right)