As I approached the airport entrance, I felt like I was in a different country. The lush green grass, flowering trees, and floral landscapes were just the beginning of the airport experience. As I drove further into the airport, I came upon the fountains and additional beautiful landscaping that was not often seen in Queens at this time. The year was 1959, and it was Idlewild Airport!
I made my way to the Pan American Airways Headquarters building in Hangar 14, now the Port Authority Administration building, seeking employment. Two of us were hired as traffic representatives, and three flight attendants were hired that day. I soon began working with fleet services. Employee parking was then located where Terminal 7 now stands.
The Temporary Terminal Building (TTB) housed all operating airlines, including American Overseas Airlines, Transcarib, British Airways, Air Canada, Scandinavian Airlines, National Airlines, Panagra Airlines, Eastern Airlines, Trans World Airlines, and Pam American. Upon entering the TTB, you would see the Brass Rail Restaurant, where a chef would be at the carving station serving up a delicious roast beef, a restaurant ahead of its time.
Prior to the advent of computers, all passenger check-ins were done manually. Pan Am had a spiral spindle with all flights and aircraft configurations. Passengers would approach the check-in counter with their name, seat selection, and flight number. Once this information was received, stickers were removed from the spindle and placed on a boarding pass. The airline representative would call load control to confirm passenger information. The airline representative would have the flight manifest and would check the passengers on their chart – all done manually. Other functions that were done manually also included crew scheduling, dispatch, and weight and balance, just to name a few. It wasn’t until the 1960s and 1970s when Pan Am introduced a computer reservation system called Panamac and another system for check-in and weight and balance called Panacheck.
Baggage tags were color-coded by destination back in the day. For example, blue was London, green was Rome, and yellow was Lisbon. Once the flight was closed, the traffic representative would roll out the red carpet and begin greeting passengers on board. It was a different world in travel back then. Passengers would dress in their Sunday best when they traveled, unlike today, where anything goes!
Visitors could observe their relatives through telescopes on the observation deck for a five-cent fee. The observation deck also housed the only airport concession selling hamburgers, hot dogs, and soda. The FAA Control Tower was located in the center parking lot, surrounded by fountains, which remained until the airport underwent its redevelopment.
The TTB airlines eventually required more space for operations. In the 1960s, Eastern Airlines built the first unit terminal at the airport. This was followed by Pan Am, American, and United Airlines doing the same. The International Arrivals building (now Terminal 4) eventually housed all international carriers and welcomed all international arrivals.
On December 24, 1963, Idlewild was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport in honor of our assassinated President. Ted Kennedy, Jean Kennedy Smith, NYC Major Robert Wagner, and New Jersey Governor Richard Hughes attended the ceremony.
