The flights operated between NYC and Chicago and LA and San Francisco, came with complimentary cigars and specially prepared meals, and were off-limits to women and children; some services were co-branded with the Wall Street Journal.
The flights flew at 5PM in both directions, and came with teletype updates on business news, as well as "last minute messaging" to allow captains of industry to command their underlings before taking off.
I believe the New York – Chicago flights operated between LaGuardia and Midway until around 1961. That's when they switched to the Caravelle and flew from Idlewild (now JFK) to O'Hare, at the time that scheduled air service was in the process of transitioning away from Midway. On the New York side the Executive flight was later moved to Newark…
Likely apocryphal but there's a story that United sent vouchers to the wives of passengers on these Executive flights, "A special invitation for wives whose husbands like to fly" or something to that effect. They then surveyed those who redeemed the vouchers, and the most common response was "what flight?"
United Had Men-Only Flights Until 1970. Here's the Manly Services They Offered.
[Gary Leff]
(via Dark Roasted Blend)
