Evening star. [volume], April 27, 1952, Page 7, Image 124

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
This Week
MACA X I N E
When are you
GOING ABROAD?
For millions of Americans, an overseas trip
will come sooner than they think. Here’s an
exciting report on new trends which are bound
to change the travel habits of the nation . . .
m
by Lowell Thomas
This year well over half a million Amer
icans say the total population of San
Francisco, Pittsburgh or the whole State of
South Dakota will be globe-trotting be
yond U.S. borders, to Canada, Mexico, and
to countries overseas.
Yet, before the war only a fraction of this
number would have been able to venture
beyond our shores for their vacations and
This Week, with its 20,000,000 readers,
would certainly never have asked me for this
article on overseas travel for the “average”
American. In those days travel was strictly
for the wealthy few, the explorer, the journal
ist, the student, and, of course, the inter
national set to whom Europe was an extension
of Park Avenue, Chicago’s Gold Coast and
Beverly Hills. How then has this travel
revolution come about?
Monty Plan Leisure
First of all, I think it is a direct result of
the postwar rise in average income. For
example, in 1941 only one sixth of all U.S.
families were in the middle income group
$3,000 to SIO,OOO a year whereas today the
financial experts tell us that over half the
population is now in this bracket. Personal
savings are also up, despite income taxes.
Another key factor in the travel revolu
tion has been the steady increase in leisure
for everyone. Longer vacations —two to
three weeks or more on full pay are now the
general rule for over 30,000,000 wage earners,
including almost all office workers. But for
transatlantic travel even a three-week vaca
tion would not have been much use without the
tremendous speed-up which has taken place.
Famous World Traveler and Author
Today the majestic British Queen Mary and
Queen Elizabeth have cut the Atlantic crossing
to four days or less, and the modern airliner
has brought Europe to within half a day’s
flight of our Eastern seaboard. Los Angeles,
Denver, Seattle or New Orleans now only
a day away from Europe!
New Age of Air Travel
But even speed was not the whole story.
International air travel was of necessity an
expensive way to get around, definitely out
of the reach of Mr. and Mrs. John Doe. Next
Thursday, May 1, however, a new page will be
turned in air-travel history when the new
“air tourist” rate to Europe will be inaugur
ated by T.W.A., Pan American and nine
foreign-flag airlines. If we could imagine
ourselves aboard one of the new sky coaches,
we would see that the age of air travel for all
is really here.
Our fellow passengers in this tourist giant
of the air world, I think, present an interest
ing contrast to the usual luxury planeload.
Instead of the movie star, society leader or
businessman traveling on a generous expense
account, we find the student, stenographer,
GI bride going to visit her family in England,
bank clerk, young advertising executive and
family or parents visiting their soldier son in
Germany. They’re people from every walk of
life and maybe half the states in the Union.
These new sky coaches will be exactly the
same type of planes as are used on the de luxe
flights redesigned to carry more passengers
in reclining seats. The baggage allowance is
reduced from 66 to 44 pounds, and meals will
Continued on page 18
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Travel used to lie for rich people only. But look wlio**
making application for U.S. passport* today:
One fifth of all travelers are listed as housewives.
The sceond largest group is "skilled labor." H
More passports are granted to studenls than to exec- W
ulives, more to secretaries than manufacturers.
And more unskilled laborers than retired people!
Surely, this is pristf enough of a nationwide revolution
juun cooks
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