Glamorous hostesses have always been the focus of airline publicity, particularly in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Aircraft manufacturers, like Boeing, and airlines have always used them to highlight new aircraft and new passenger features. Subscribe to the Airlineratings.com newsletter to get the relevant news first Video of stunning supersonic flyovers The following images from the vaults of AirlineRatings.com showcase many of the great airlines of the past and a few that have survived through to the present day.

The Douglas DC-3 (below) in the 1930s brought an entirely new level of safety and comfort to flying.

The Douglas DC-4E followed the DC-3 but was too luxurious for airlines who wanted a leaner more economical model.

After WW11, commercial aviation was dominated by the Douglas DC-6 and DC-7 (below) and the Lockheed Constellation series.

Qantas was a big user of the Lockheed Constellation and launched the world's first around the world service in 1957. The hostesses look more like matrons in their long white outfits.

Into the jet era, United Airlines offered a male-only flight between New York and Chicago on its French Caravelles.

BEA flight attendants with pose in front of a Trident airliner. Colorised by Benoit Vienne About AirlineRatings.com Airlineratings.com was developed to provide everyone in the world a one-stop shop for everything related to airlines, formed by a team of aviation editors, who have forensically researched nearly every airline in the world. Our rating system is rated from one to seven stars on safety – with seven being the highest ranking. Within each airline, you will find the country of origin, airline code, booking URL and seat map information. The rating system takes into account a number of different factors related to audits from aviation’s governing bodies, lead associations, as well as the airlines, own safety data. Every airline has a safety rating breakdown so you can see exactly how they rate. Over 230 of the airlines on the site that carry 99 per cent of the world’s passengers have a product rating. Given that low-cost, regional and full-service carriers are so different we have constructed a different rating system for each which can be found within each airline. Airlineratings.com has information on over 30 types of aircraft from the latest Boeing 787 to the A380 and smaller jets. Best of all, there are simple answers to many of the quirky questions including:

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