Airlines go all out to entice the traveler
By United Press International
In this air-oriented age of mass transportation, it is hard to believe that more than 50 per cent of the population of the United
States has never flown in a commercial airplane.
It is even more remarkable when you consider that U.S. scheduled airlines reported carrying more than 159 million pas-
Rio stalls acceptance of maxi-midi fashions
RIO de JANEIRO (UPI)—The maxi and the midi fashions are having their troubles this year in Rio of Janeiro, a tropical city.
Except for people with money, Rio is stalling when it comes to accepting long skirts.
A 15-block stroll on Rio's main thoroughfare, Avenida Rio Branco, showed that not a single woman—and this includes the middle-aged — was wearing a maxi. Two 50-year-old spinisters wore the nearest thing to them—skirts four inches below the knees.
"This thing they call the miniskirt is obscene," one of them huffed.
But that's what girls in Rio still wear—either a mini or a length cut above the knee in varying degrees.
Miss Mirtes Barros, a 26-year-old social worker, predicted that eventually "the maxi will be worn only by the rich, and, then, it will only be worn at night. Mini, yes, it belongs to everybody."
Odilon Pereira Alencar, a 29-year-old government worker, predicted that the maxi would never catch on among the poor. The amount of cloth and styling made them "anti-economic" he said.
However, some in Rio's high society are certain that the maxi will catch on in the cooler months of the southern hemisphere winter (summer in the northern hemisphere). A few can be seen on the street already in the beachfront, middle-class neighborhood of Copacabana.
Thus coffee came to U.S.
CHICAGO (UPI) — Ever stop to think how the first coffee came to America? It's an interesting story—for one thing the first coffee plants were smuggled in, about 150 years ago.
Coffee was introduced throughout Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. It came by way of southern Arabia, which until the
end of the 17th century produced most of the world's supply.
KU prof appointed adviser
Soon, however, it was growing in Java and other islands in the Netherlands Indies, and later it came to the new world.
Robert S. Hoffman, professor and chairman of the department of systematics and ecology at the University of Kansas, has been asked to serve on the Advisory Committee on USSR and Eastern Europe of the Office of the Foreign Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences.
The committee is charged with the responsibility of developing international cooperative scientific endeavor through the National Academies of Sciences throughout the world.
It is here that a "smuggler" emerges. One of the most dramatic stories of how coffee was brought to the Americas concerns Gabriel Mathie De Clieu, a French naval officer stationed in Martinique.
British royalty arrive in Capital
WASHINGTON (UPI)—Prince Charles and Princess Anne arrived at the White House Thursday, accompanied by the sound of Army herald trumpets — a touch of pageantry in deference to America's traditional interest in British royalty.
The ceremonial welcome, including President Nixon's formal welcome and Prince Charles' response, were added touches of pump not originally planned. The White House was still stressing the "private" nature of the visit.
The royal pair were on their way from Canada where, with their parents, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, they had been visiting Manitoba and the Northwest Territories.
The President, the First Lady,
and their daughters, Tricia and Julie Eisenhower, along with David Eisenhower, greeted the prince and princess at the White House.
KANSAN July 17
1970
Some authorities say it was 150 years ago that De Clieu, while visiting France, heard that the Dutch had transplanted coffee to the East Indies. He decided to take a few plants back to Martinique with him.
Finally he landed in Martinique and planted the little tree. From that single smuggled tree came the seeds of the vast majority of the coffee plants in the Americas, according to authorities.
The only coffee plants then under cultivation in Paris were guarded in the royal hothouse of Louis XV. But somehow the lieutenant acquired one of these plants and headed west. For more than a month on his return voyage he shared his scanty water ration with his coffee plant.
sengers in 1969. That figure,however, includes repeaters-travelers who made more than one flight—and foreign passengers.
Airlines industry sources have estimated the total of non-flying Americans at about 120 million. Others place it even higher, possibly closer to 65 per cent of the estimated population of 202 million.
It is this vast untapped market the airlines are depending upon to fill all those seats in the Boeing 747 Superjets said the other big wide-bodied airliners which will come into service soon.
I have been traveling by plane on business and pleasure for years so probably I am prejudiced. For me, it is not only the fastest way to get where I am going (barring air controller slowdowns and weather or mechanical delays) but part of the fun of getting there.
And the price is right. While virtually everything else increased in cost over the past decade (the government's Consumer Price Index went up 28 per cent between 1959 and 1969), average air fares went down.
DIAMOND RINGS
The commercial airlines industry is fiercely competitive. With scheduled U.S. domestic and international air fares fixed by agreements among the carriers and governments, each goes all out to outdo its competitors in the battle for the air traveler's dollar.
To help while away the hours on the longer flights, airlines offer first-run movies and multi-channel stereophonic sound systems among other diversions. TWA offers 747 passengers a choice between a restricted and general audience film—and you can pick your seat in a nonsmoking or smoking section, too. Pan American 747s also have sections for smokers and nonsmokers.
Reading and writing materials are provided free, as are games, coloring books, puzzles, etc. to keep the kids amused. Pillows and blankets are furnished free if you get tired of watching the movies (or stewardesses in miniskirts), listening to music, reading or writing.
Trans World Airlines serves meals on request during "normal" meal periods on its 747 flights. Pan American offers a variety of foreign national dishes on its overseas services while American Airlines gives passengers a choice of U.S. regional specialties on transcontinental hops.
First class passengers usually get hot and cold towels, sleep shades, travel socks and other extras, such as toiletries and pocket-sized comb-and-toothbrush sets, on long distance flights.
United Airlines has Polynesian meals on its Hawaii runs and Braniff offers Latin American food and drinks on its south-of-the-border service. Eastern Airlines also caters to the "inner man" with selected American and continental dishes.
All meals are included in the price of the fare, except on certain thrift flights. They range from snacks and sandwiches to full-course meals, including cocktails, champagne, wines and liquors in first class. There is a charge for alcoholic drinks in tourist and economy sections but soft drinks are free.
If notified at least 24 hours in advance, most airlines will provide specially-prepared meals to meet religious, dietary or personal preferences of passengers. Special menus for children also can be arranged in advance. And most planes also carry a supply of baby food.
As a result, travelers by plane are probably among the most pampered passengers ever. Take eating and entertainment, for instance.
The foreign airlines also are competing for bigger shares of the American market on international flights with various gimmicks. Japan Air Lines provides first class passengers with happi-coats and soft-soled slippers; Lufthansa rolls out a real keg of beer on trans-Atlantic flights; and Air Jamaica's stewardesses put on a live fashion show way up there in the wild blue yonder.
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