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Up in the Air: The Real Story of Life Aboard the World’s Most Glamorous Airline
New York, 1961: the dawn of the commercial Jet Age and a golden era of air travel.
Betty Riegel spent her early childhood hiding in air-raid shelters as bombs dropped all around. From humble working-class roots, growing up with a mother who struggled to make ends meet and a father away at war, she had always dreamed of bigger things.
After responding to an advert in the local newspaper she secured herself an interview for the Pan Am training programme, and at just 22-years-old was selected from thousands of eager young British women to begin a career that would change the course of her life. Betty said goodbye to everything she knew and boarded a plane to New York, a city full of noise, towering skyscrapers and promise.
Under the watchful eye of her 'housemother', Dottie, Betty mastered the art of being the perfect Pan Am stewardess; everything from faultless etiquette, geography and safety to seamless make-up application, how to charm influential passengers and preparing five-course Parisian cuisine at 37,000 feet. But no amount of training could have prepared her for the rollercoaster of life in the air.
Up in the Air charts the gruelling yet fabulous life aboard the most iconic airline there has ever been, and how a young woman from Essex opened her eyes to the world and lived her dream.
Betty Riegel spent her early childhood hiding in air-raid shelters as bombs dropped all around. From humble working-class roots, growing up with a mother who struggled to make ends meet and a father away at war, she had always dreamed of bigger things.
After responding to an advert in the local newspaper she secured herself an interview for the Pan Am training programme, and at just 22-years-old was selected from thousands of eager young British women to begin a career that would change the course of her life. Betty said goodbye to everything she knew and boarded a plane to New York, a city full of noise, towering skyscrapers and promise.
Under the watchful eye of her 'housemother', Dottie, Betty mastered the art of being the perfect Pan Am stewardess; everything from faultless etiquette, geography and safety to seamless make-up application, how to charm influential passengers and preparing five-course Parisian cuisine at 37,000 feet. But no amount of training could have prepared her for the rollercoaster of life in the air.
Up in the Air charts the gruelling yet fabulous life aboard the most iconic airline there has ever been, and how a young woman from Essex opened her eyes to the world and lived her dream.
316 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
70 people are currently reading
390 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
April 29, 2021
What a delightful read. There are quite a few stewardess memoirs out there, but not many that hit so well what readers want to know — what was it REALLY like to be a stewardess in the golden age of air travel. In a field filled with exaggerated fictional fantasy (Coffee Tea or Me?) or a too-heavy focus on international struggles (Come See the World), Riegel hits the perfect balance between telling personal stories and giving professional insights. She’s a lively storyteller, so it’s very readable, and you finish up really knowing what work it took in those days. It’s fascinating to hear about cooking raw meat in an airplane galley, scrambling up several hundred eggs for passengers’ breakfast, handing out unlimited caviar, shopping for pearl necklaces and sunbathing in exotic locations — while battling the very real experiences of homesickness and, in Riegel’s case, airsickness. It was refreshing to finish the book feeling like I had a better understanding of the life of a stewardess — and like I had met a really lovely human being.
June 7, 2013
Betty Riegel was a working-class girl from Walthamstow who, without being particularly rebellious, wasn't really interested in the usual life of girls of her age and class. After a couple of years in an office job, she became a stewardess with a tiny charter airline. And then she got the plum job - stewardess with Pan Am, at a time when flying was glamourous and expensive, and Pan Am was the classiest of airlines.
It was really quite fascinating to read how different air travel was in the 1960s - no cooking seven-course meals from scratch, or socialising elegantly with the passengers, now! A very enjoyable read.
It was really quite fascinating to read how different air travel was in the 1960s - no cooking seven-course meals from scratch, or socialising elegantly with the passengers, now! A very enjoyable read.
January 22, 2024
I love reading memoirs that give me a look at life I could never experience or imagine. Although I grew up in the 1960s, I never knew anything about the life of a stewardess. This book is an absolutely delightful look of life in that bygone era. I listened to the audiobook. The author was a marvelous narrator. I highly recommend the book.
March 21, 2022
This book was very well written and I enjoyed reading this book. I liked the fact that Betty began with airplanes being part of her life even from her early childhood days during WW2 as the German Luftwaffe bombed England. Then she went into details about her various jobs and how she became a stewardess for a small British airline and finally for Pan Am. I enjoyed reading about her many adventures around the world and also about her love for her family and the many friends she made. Reading the book, made me experience what it was like to live and travel during the golden age of air travel, being treated like royalty and when people dressed in their best to fly, unlike today where most people don’t take pride in their appearance and we cringe when we see them.
I was born many years after all that sadly ended and now, we see how far air travel has sadly fallen, but it is good to know that through Betty’s book we can relive those days of glamor again when standards were very high. I also liked reading idioms like ‘cat’s whiskers’ and others, which I haven’t heard in ages. I was surprised about the mediocre accommodations for the stewardesses during their training days, but I guess that was all made up for when they got to travel as everything was paid for. I was shocked to read that they had to pay for their own uniforms. But oh well! I guess those were the rules, but probably a small price to pay for that grand career and those wonderful memories. I think it was a life well lived. The only thing I wish this book had were more pictures, but I guess that was the publisher’s call.
I was born many years after all that sadly ended and now, we see how far air travel has sadly fallen, but it is good to know that through Betty’s book we can relive those days of glamor again when standards were very high. I also liked reading idioms like ‘cat’s whiskers’ and others, which I haven’t heard in ages. I was surprised about the mediocre accommodations for the stewardesses during their training days, but I guess that was all made up for when they got to travel as everything was paid for. I was shocked to read that they had to pay for their own uniforms. But oh well! I guess those were the rules, but probably a small price to pay for that grand career and those wonderful memories. I think it was a life well lived. The only thing I wish this book had were more pictures, but I guess that was the publisher’s call.
February 27, 2016
Didn't expect this book which I picked up from a charity shop to be such a satisfying read. A great insight into how life used to be in the 1960s when air travel was only starting to become mainstream. How being an air stewardess (now called 'cabin crew' because 'stewardess' is not politically correct these days) used to be the most glamorous job for women in those days. How air travel used to be a luxurious mode of transportation where food was actually cooked on board. How there was almost no real security at airports in those days where anyone can drive up to pick arriving passengers right at the foot of the plane's staircase. The author narrates her experiences in a very easy to read storyline, starting from her boring childhood life in little Walthamstow to recruitment with Pan Am, leading a high-life flying all around exotic places in the world staying in five star hotels and resorts, climbed the career ladder and eventually got married and retired.
June 17, 2013
If you liked the recent "Pan Am" series, I would totally recommend this book. The author was a Pam Am stewardess at about the same time, and she mentions several of the plot points at various stages (as well as briefly touching on Frank Abagnale, the inspiration behind "Catch Me If You Can", who impersonated a Pan Am pilot).
It's a fun, light read. I particularly liked that she included sections during her childhood in 1940s/1950s London, and her training at a small English airline, before she ever dreamed of flying with Pan Am.
It's a fun, light read. I particularly liked that she included sections during her childhood in 1940s/1950s London, and her training at a small English airline, before she ever dreamed of flying with Pan Am.
February 24, 2018
I'm glad she was encouraged to write the book and that she was an independent women in the era when women married right out of high school. I believe there were probably more stories related to the cast and crew of characters on board and in the employ of Pan-Am that could have added to the book. There were pictures of 'holidays' of hers while on layover waiting for the next flight from an exotic location - but no scenarios to accompany the photos. But she was discrete and did a nice job.
February 21, 2015
A pleasant easy read. It did get a bit "samey" in regards to the structure of the text. It was a little bit "and then this happened" and "then that happened" so it did get a little predictable. However, it was a nice little insight into the days when it was seen as very glamorous to be an air stewardess.
June 1, 2020
A wonderful story of what life was like for a Pan Am stewardess in the 1960s. I was immediately drawn into Betty’s life story. Her story puts you right into the adventure of traveling the world as stewardess during the golden era of air travel.
June 13, 2021
I felt like Betty was sitting with me and telling me all about the adventures she experienced while working for Pan Am. Her dedication and enthusiasm for her job and her around the world experiences made for an uplifting book!
March 22, 2022
Fantastic book.
Takes you to a completely different era and opens up a whole new world. A world where it may look glamorous from the casual observer but the real life behind the scenes was very different ! (I don’t want to give too much away)
Highly recommended
Takes you to a completely different era and opens up a whole new world. A world where it may look glamorous from the casual observer but the real life behind the scenes was very different ! (I don’t want to give too much away)
Highly recommended
April 24, 2013
I wish I could of travelled in the 60's , none of this ryanair rubbish that we have now , Flying was classy !!
January 15, 2015
What a great read. Fascinating insight into the life of a Pan Am air hostess in the 60s.
April 28, 2016
6 stars for this one!!! Love reading about the life and times of Panam stews :)
July 23, 2016
It is the sort of a book that makes you want to travel a lot :)
January 1, 2019
Love this book. It has a real insight to the glamour days of flying. I have read this book multiple times.
September 2, 2019
Up in the Air is a really cute book that depicts Betty's career at Pan Am and how she viewed air travel in the 60's.
With a short biography of Betty and her family, it was a really interesting look into a moment in time where flying was glamourous and Pan Am stewardesses were the best of the bunch!
A few interesting anecdotes here and there (eg how she was swept off her feet by a Japanese superstar!) the book is short and really quite sweet.
Much like a stewardesses career was chopped short when they married, so too did the book end abruptly by the same fate. Worth a read as holiday fiction or if you're thinking about flying!
With a short biography of Betty and her family, it was a really interesting look into a moment in time where flying was glamourous and Pan Am stewardesses were the best of the bunch!
A few interesting anecdotes here and there (eg how she was swept off her feet by a Japanese superstar!) the book is short and really quite sweet.
Much like a stewardesses career was chopped short when they married, so too did the book end abruptly by the same fate. Worth a read as holiday fiction or if you're thinking about flying!
December 8, 2022
Easy, light-duty read. Very interesting and educational about flight attendants at Pan Am in the 1960s. If you pick it up, remember to take it for a historical account rather than shaking your head through today's cultural lens.
July 6, 2018
Call me old-fashioned, but I have always delighted in the idea of the glamorous and accomplished elegance of the original air stewardesses. It was a time when air travel was still something special and the experience was a little bit magic (for some of us it still remains so). Stewardesses were part of that enchantment, and not just because they were some of the most pioneering career women.
Betty Riegel was one of those young women who made their way to the skies, flying for America’s most renowned airline, Pan Am. In her biography Up in the Air, she takes readers on her stewarding journey through the golden age of sixties air travel.
Before Pan Am, Betty flew for Silver City, flying across the English Channel and back up to six times a day – and initially battling horrendous airsickness. At 22, she decided to try out for Pan Am, and became one of only 17 British girls (out of thousands) selected to fly for the airline. Before long, Betty was flying around the globe, working alongside her “Pan Am sisters” for the world’s most stylish airline.
Betty accumulated many an interesting story of walking down the aisles serving the rich and famous, and, as per employer guidelines, treating them the same as everyone. It was not all glamour and celebrities, though – it was hard work, too. The Pan Am sisters were expected: to know the names of all of the first class passengers; to prepare seven course gourmet meals in incredibly confined spaces; to look absolutely immaculate at all times; to be fluent in more than one language. They also had to possess all the skills a fine woman was expected to have, and be able to deliver a baby if need be. These are Betty’s personal anecdotes from her time with Pan Am, Saudi prince and all.
Riegel’s memoir left me convinced I’d been born into the wrong era. Air travel has become yet another modern luxury that we take for granted. The same can be said for women choosing and following a career: nowadays it is expected, but it hasn’t always been so. Betty had to fight for hers, and she handled it with aplomb, instilling in me a real sense of admiration for her. In Up in the Air, the now 72-year old woman paints a colourful picture of a different time, with some wonderfully vibrant characters, and highlights how much things have changed. A worthwhile read for anyone interested in a bit of nostalgia, the progress of working women, taking a peak into someone else’s life, or just in a bit of a different read.
Betty Riegel was one of those young women who made their way to the skies, flying for America’s most renowned airline, Pan Am. In her biography Up in the Air, she takes readers on her stewarding journey through the golden age of sixties air travel.
Before Pan Am, Betty flew for Silver City, flying across the English Channel and back up to six times a day – and initially battling horrendous airsickness. At 22, she decided to try out for Pan Am, and became one of only 17 British girls (out of thousands) selected to fly for the airline. Before long, Betty was flying around the globe, working alongside her “Pan Am sisters” for the world’s most stylish airline.
Betty accumulated many an interesting story of walking down the aisles serving the rich and famous, and, as per employer guidelines, treating them the same as everyone. It was not all glamour and celebrities, though – it was hard work, too. The Pan Am sisters were expected: to know the names of all of the first class passengers; to prepare seven course gourmet meals in incredibly confined spaces; to look absolutely immaculate at all times; to be fluent in more than one language. They also had to possess all the skills a fine woman was expected to have, and be able to deliver a baby if need be. These are Betty’s personal anecdotes from her time with Pan Am, Saudi prince and all.
Riegel’s memoir left me convinced I’d been born into the wrong era. Air travel has become yet another modern luxury that we take for granted. The same can be said for women choosing and following a career: nowadays it is expected, but it hasn’t always been so. Betty had to fight for hers, and she handled it with aplomb, instilling in me a real sense of admiration for her. In Up in the Air, the now 72-year old woman paints a colourful picture of a different time, with some wonderfully vibrant characters, and highlights how much things have changed. A worthwhile read for anyone interested in a bit of nostalgia, the progress of working women, taking a peak into someone else’s life, or just in a bit of a different read.
September 28, 2013
This is an interesting little book about working women in the beginnings of the jet age. I honestly never thought about reading this until I found myself sitting in Heathrow Airport in London, looking for something to read before I flew back to the States. It seemed perfect for a short flight from London: a book about a British stewardess's adventures in the air. I found this book to be entertaining, and to open up a view of modern history from a new perspective. I like seeing the hippie culture in San Francisco from the eyes of a proper, British flight attendant, along with her views on discrimination against women in the workplace. It was a charming book, nothing super thought provoking, but it is a fun read. Give something different a try, and read it with open eyes and an open mind, and I promise you'll get a separate experience from whoever reviewed it before you.
March 22, 2016
I've read several of these career memoirs and often there's too much detail about the person's life outside their work and not enough about the job. This book gets the balance just about right. Setting the scene with the author's wartime childhood and early working life, she conveys her excitement and huge sense of achievement when she becomes a PanAm stewardess. This was a time when flying was a luxury, with first class passengers served seven course meals and even carriage class getting freshly made scrambled eggs for breakfast! In their tailored uniforms, flying to exotic destinations with long stopovers in 5* accommodation, being a PanAm stewardesses gave young women a chance of a prestigious career - even if they were governed by rules we'd now see as sexist and archaic. An interesting memoir that also reflects world events and social change. (To charity box)
January 8, 2019
I very much enjoyed this book. When the series Pan Am starred on tv I had heard about the qualifications for a Pan Am stewardess and became instantly interested in hearing real stories of real pan Am stewardesses it took me a while but I finally got the book after hearing Pan Am stewardess talk about her experience on a Travel podcast. I am delighted to have had the opportunity to read this book. Betty led an interesting life - starting life In Working class England , becoming a stewardess on a small airline, finding the advert for Pan Am and her almost decade long career with Pan Am. It’s a fun read.
May 19, 2014
Having been a fan of the TV series Pan Am, I couldn't resist Up in the Air when I found it on sale ($3). the book was written by ex-Pan-Am stewardess Betty Riegel, who at age 22 was on of 17 British girls picked from 1,000 to be interviewed to be a stewardess for Pan Am in the US. It is a fascinating read, and gives an in depth look at a life in the sky. I was amazed to discover the amount of cooking the girls had to do on the plane, sometimes preparing seven course meals! The book starts during WWII, and Betty's childhood memories of that time are also interesting.
August 3, 2021
What a delightful book and interesting historical document of air travel in the 1960's with the Glamorous Pan Am.
Betty started life in what is now East London but was then a suburb in Walthamstow and it documents some of her early life leading up to being an air stewardess.
I found this a fascinating read and the few pictures that there were wonderful.
I loved hearing her anecdotes and was sad when the short book came to an end.
Well worth the read.
Betty started life in what is now East London but was then a suburb in Walthamstow and it documents some of her early life leading up to being an air stewardess.
I found this a fascinating read and the few pictures that there were wonderful.
I loved hearing her anecdotes and was sad when the short book came to an end.
Well worth the read.
March 29, 2013
I found this book a very enjoyable light read which brought back memories of my father's stories about working for Pan Am in the 1960's. The author highlights how glamourous travel was then compared to the way travel is viewed today. The book has a naive quality to it which I found charming. I think anyone associated with Pan Am in the 1960's will enjoy the book.
May 25, 2014
As someone who has an extreme fear of flying, I figured I'd give this book a go and see all the benefits of taking a flight on-board the worlds most famous airline. It was an easy and enjoyable read and gave a fairly decent perspective from a stewardesses point of view, although I do fear it was slightly biased. But all in all, a good book to pass time!
June 28, 2015
Jumping on the bandwagon of the (Ill fated) Pan Am TV series Betty Riegel highlights her journey as a Pan Am Stewardess in the 1960s. If you are interested in that profession, now the politically correct name of cabin crew or flight attendant, or you are in that job yourself this is a great insight into a by gone era of flying.
January 15, 2017
An enjoyable book. I like to read how one can achieve their dream, when the odds are against them.
It was an eye opener to me, how the hostesses had to conform to the strict dress code, even down to the girdle. The meals they had to prepare whilst in flight is beyond imagination in today's aviation world. But the benefits, so rewarding to a young person wanting to see the world. "I wish..."
It was an eye opener to me, how the hostesses had to conform to the strict dress code, even down to the girdle. The meals they had to prepare whilst in flight is beyond imagination in today's aviation world. But the benefits, so rewarding to a young person wanting to see the world. "I wish..."
April 19, 2013
An easy short read. As an ex hostie it was nice to reminisce, although my time wasn't as glamorous as Betty's. I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed it more or less if I hadn't been a flight attendant.
November 3, 2013
Really interesting peek into the world of Pan Am, at a time when air travel was very much an experience for the more well heeled. Also fascinating to follow Betty's story and how things were for a career orientated woman in the 50s and 60s.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews