The company archive contains the traces of all those years of pioneering. On the wall hangs a large photo of an airplane surrounded by women. “We are very proud of the fact that we were the first company with a female captain and made the first flight with only female crew members on board, both flight attendants and pilots,” says archivist Robbert Honing, who flew as a steward for the company for many years.
He also shows mannequins with different uniforms: the very first brown one – worn by just ten flight attendants – quickly turned green. However, in the meantime, experiments were also carried out with red and yellow. “That evolution in uniforms – from color to design – shows how much Transavia has changed in sixty years.”
Take to the skies with world stars
Many people know Transavia as a holiday airline, but that has not always been that way. The company had to fight for its place and tried everything: from business class flights to London to transporting freight.
The company also came up with bold advertisements. “We pushed the boundaries because we had to make a name for ourselves,” laughs Robbert Honing. He shows a poster with a woman in a bikini with the tantalizing text above it: ‘we are your two highlights of the trip’.
In the 1970s, Transavia flew not only sun worshipers to Spain, but also world stars. “We flew the Jackson 5 through Europe for a month,” says the archivist. The celebrities were able to rent the plane.
Teen idol David Cassidy also boarded the Dutch plane at the time. “He even had his own name on the device. It’s special that we did that.”