Flight attendants have a long history of being eulogized, envied, glorified and fictionalized. Growing up, I was fascinated with what I viewed as the “posh” uniforms worn by flight attendants and how their glamourous style turned heads. One-on-one inflight service, false lashes and designer uniforms….I loved how it was all about presentation!
Whenever I saw a plane in the ski as a kid, my grandfather would tell me that it was on its way to Disney World. At the age of 5, I boarded an airplane for the 1st time to go to Disney World with my family. As my family drove everywhere for family vacations, I would not step foot on to an airplane again until I was in college. Caught up in the cosmopolitan allure of the jet-setting lifestyle that I associated with flying, I relied on movies and tv shows to fuel my fantasies of what it would be like to have a career where I had a chance to fly, see the world and meet all kinds of interesting people. I even briefly considered becoming a flight attendant, until I dated a guy who worked for an airline (but that’s another story for another post).
Creating a high-flying life of my own, I have taken hundreds of flights since that initial flight from Philadelphia to Orlando as a tiny tot so many years ago. It just so happens that my last 5 international trips have departed from NYC’s John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport. While it felt kind of weird NOT to be rushing to the airport with suitcase in tow on a Saturday morning, I discovered the best excuse for a staycation at JFK’s terminal 5. The TWA Hotel is the only on airport hotel at JFK Airport.
Named after a major American airline that was one of the most famous names in aviation history, TWA is short for Trans World Airlines. From its humble beginnings as a mail carrier, the airline flourished under billionaire Howard Hughes. Growing to be the second unofficial flag carrier of the US after Pan Am, TWA existed from 1930 until 2001 (when it was acquired by American Airlines).
A glamorous landmark that was gone way before its time, the sleek 1962 Trans World Flight Center designed by Eero Saarinen officially re-opened its doors in May 2020 as the TWA Hotel. I was excited to explore the newly renovated space with 3 of my friends. Ironically, the 2 friends who would have totally been down for my childhood land of “make believe fabulosity” were now here stepping back in time with me after lunch at the hotel’s Paris Café.
A monument to the optimism of the Jet Age and midcentury style Saarinen’s iconic TWA Flight Center is at the center of the hotel, where bars, restaurants and retail outlets have taken flight. Two hotel wings are home to 512 guestrooms that sit behind the historic building with views of JFK’s runways and the TWA Flight Center.
“Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe”