The “golden age of flight” means something different to everyone. For some, it harkens to the early 20th century when high-flying daredevils the likes of Charles Lindberg, Amelia Earhart, Wiley Post, Col. Roscoe Turner and Howard Hughes took to the skies setting records and stretching the limits of human flight. Others recall the glamour of the jet-set era in the 1960s and ’70s when airlines began to compete with one another, enticing travelers with full-service meals, bars stocked with top-shelf liquors and, yes, stewardesses decked out in mini-skirts and go-go boots. For a while, until someone came up with the idea of filling the space with revenue-producing seats, the Boeing 747s of that era designated the upper deck as a first-class piano lounge. I remember my first flight. It was spring 1974 and I was flying solo from Boston to West Palm Beach, Fla., to spend spring break with my godmother. It was a big deal. My parents outfitted me in a red-and-white houndstooth check skirt and jacket. They also bought me my first piece of real luggage — a giant (by today’s standards) purple Amelia Earhart Pullman suitcase. (My mother later confessed she picked the regal purple because she could imagine me as a well-traveled woman sitting atop the suitcase with a fur coat draped casually over my shoulder. She was right about the “well-traveled” part, but there’s no fur in the picture, and the purple suitcase is long gone.) Air travel has changed significantly over the years. Security concerns, deregulation of the airline industry and service cuts have all taken their toll, but I got a glimpse of the golden age last week when I flew from Seoul to New York in the business-class cabin of Korean Air’s newest Airbus A380. When we reached our cruising altitude, I slipped out of my comfortable seat and into the airline’s onboard Celestial Bar, where I sipped a cocktail in the company of fellow passengers. And I didn’t even miss the piano. — Lisa Matte, editor in chief