# Jet set
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{{Short description|Wealthy people who travel widely for pleasure}}{{Redirect|Jet setter||Jetsetter (disambiguation)}}
{{other uses}}
The '''jet set''' is a social group of [wealth](/source/wealth)y and fashionable people who travel the world to participate in social activities unavailable to ordinary people. The term was introduced in the 1950s and replaced "[café society](/source/caf%C3%A9_society)"; it reflected a style of life involving travelling from one stylish or exotic place to another via [jet plane](/source/jet_plane). With the democratization of air travel it has been replaced at least in part by the term "glitterati", reflecting a greater emphasis upon celebrity, including "being seen" and stalked by [paparazzi](/source/paparazzi), and less upon mode of travel.
== Definition ==
Jet passenger service in the 1950s was initially marketed to the upper class, giving rise to the notion of a privileged group able to travel quickly and frequently between international destinations. Over time, however, the expansion of commercial aviation led to a broader democratization of [air travel](/source/air_travel), rendering the term’s original, literal meaning—those who travel by jet—largely obsolete.[{{cite news|quote=...air travel has been transformed from a luxury good to a mass-market product.|url=http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/in_praise_of_cheap_flights/14440|title=In praise of cheap flights|work=[Spiked](/source/Spiked_(magazine))|date=19 December 2013|last=Niemietz|first=Kristian|access-date=20 January 2014|archive-date=17 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917143110/http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/in_praise_of_cheap_flights/14440|url-status=dead}}]
The term "jet set" is attributed to [Igor Cassini](/source/Igor_Cassini), a reporter for the ''[New York Journal-American](/source/New_York_Journal-American)'' who wrote a [gossip column](/source/Gossip_columnist) under the pen name "[Cholly Knickerbocker](/source/Cholly_Knickerbocker)".[{{cite news|quote=[Oleg Cassini] and his younger brother Igor (who became the Hearst newspaper gossip columnist 'Cholly Knickerbocker' and coined the phrase 'jet set')…|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/oleg-cassini-470646.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080405235200/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/oleg-cassini-470646.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 5, 2008|title=Oleg Cassini - Obituaries|work=[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)|date=20 March 2006|first=Tom|last=Vallance}}][{{Cite web |title=Jet set - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms |url=https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/jet%20set |access-date=2025-06-28 |website=Vocabulary.com |language=en}}] The younger brother of fashion designer [Oleg Cassini](/source/Oleg_Cassini), Cassini coined the phrase in the early 1950s as a modern counterpart to "[café society](/source/caf%C3%A9_society)," a term popularized by his predecessor [Maury Paul](/source/Maury_Henry_Biddle_Paul).[{{Cite news |last=Herzog |first=Arthur |date=1962-10-28 |title=It's the Innest, It's the Jet Set; Meet Kiki, meet Ollie, meet Gigi...meet all the members of a fast-traveling, amusement-chasing, polyglot group that divides the world between 'in' and 'out.' It's the Jet Set |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/10/28/archives/its-the-innest-its-the-jet-set-meet-kiki-meet-ollie-meet-gigimeet-a.html |access-date=2026-04-21 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}] In 1962, Cassini explained: I used 'jet set' because it seemed appropriate in the age of the jet plane. I prefer it to cafe society because cafe society is outmoded. You can't say any longer that well-known society people go regularly to night clubs, because the usual night clubs are too dull for them. Jet-setters are people who fly away for weekends. They are the avant-garde, the pace-setters. The jet set is people who live fast, move fast, know the latest thing and do the unusual and the unorthodox. The jet set has no fixed rules and standards.
A related term that emerged during the 1960s was "Beautiful People",[''Vogue'' 15 February 1964:49 and ''[The Ladies Home Journal](/source/The_Ladies_Home_Journal)'' September 1970:81, noted [http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/beautiful_people/ Barry Popik, "Beautiful people"].] a precursor to today’s "glitterati," referring to a milieu of [celebrities](/source/Celebrity), [socialites](/source/Socialite), and cultural figures in which youth, style, and visibility often took precedence over traditional markers of status.
== History ==
The British international air carrier [BOAC](/source/BOAC) inaugurated the world's first commercial scheduled jet service on 2 May 1952, using the [de Havilland Comet](/source/DH106_Comet). After a series of accidents in 1953–1954, the Comet 4 was introduced in 1958. The first successful service, from October 1958, was the typical "jet set" route, London–New York City. [Pan Am](/source/Pan_American_World_Airways) followed suit with the [Boeing 707](/source/Boeing_707), making its first scheduled flight between New York City and Paris on 26 October 1958.[{{cite news |last1=Swopes |first1=Bryan |title=26 October 1958 |url=https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/26-october-1958/ |access-date=12 September 2023 |work=This Day in Aviation |date=26 October 2022}}]
Other cities on the standard jet set routes were [Honolulu](/source/Honolulu), [Mexico City](/source/Mexico_City), [Las Vegas](/source/Las_Vegas), [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles), [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco), [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.), [Rio de Janeiro](/source/Rio_de_Janeiro), [Athens](/source/Athens), [Madrid](/source/Madrid), [Paris](/source/Paris), [Rome](/source/Rome), [Vienna](/source/Vienna), [Bangkok](/source/Bangkok), [Hong Kong](/source/Hong_Kong), [Manila](/source/Manila), [Punta del Este](/source/Punta_del_Este) and [Tokyo](/source/Tokyo). Jet set resorts in places like [Acapulco](/source/Acapulco) and [Nassau](/source/Nassau%2C_Bahamas), where [Huntington Hartford](/source/Huntington_Hartford)'s new [Paradise Island](/source/Paradise_Island) opened in 1962, were taking the place of [Bermuda](/source/Bermuda). Meanwhile, [Cannes](/source/Cannes), [Capri](/source/Capri), [St. Tropez](/source/St._Tropez), [Portofino](/source/Portofino),["Portofino has long been fashionable with what we once called 'the jet set'." {{cite web |url=http://www.knowital.com/history/liguria/liguria-history.html |title=History and tourist information on Liguria, Italy |access-date=2007-04-27 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429213627/http://www.knowital.com/history/liguria/liguria-history.html |archive-date=2007-04-29 }}] and other sea-side towns on the [French](/source/French_Riviera) and [Italian](/source/Italian_Riviera) Riviera were on the jet set itinerary. Greek Islands such as [Mykonos](/source/Mykonos) were included in the loop around 1974.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} Later on other hot spots such as Spain's [Marbella](/source/Marbella) on its [Costa del Sol](/source/Costa_del_Sol) also developed a similar reputation.
The original members of this elite, free-wheeling set were those [socialite](/source/socialite)s who were not shy about publicity and entertained in semi-public places like restaurants and in [night club](/source/night_club)s, where [paparazzi](/source/paparazzi)—a jet set phenomenon—photographed them. They were the first generation that might spend a weekend in Paris or fly to Rome just for a party. The jet set was celebrated in popular culture, for example, [Federico Fellini](/source/Federico_Fellini) captured their lifestyle in ''[La Dolce Vita](/source/La_Dolce_Vita)'' (1960), and many movies and record albums of the era promoted flying to foreign lands for honeymoons and getaways, such as Capitol Records ''Honeymoon in Rome'' (1956).[{{Cite book|title=Designed for hi-fi living: the vinyl LP in midcentury America|last=Borgerson|first=Janet|publisher=MIT Press|others=Schroeder, Jonathan E., 1962-|year=2017|isbn=978-0-262-03623-8|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|oclc=958205262}}]
The term was joined in the spring of 1962 by ''[Vogue](/source/Vogue_(magazine))''{{'s}} coinage of the term the "Beautiful People". This expression initially referred to the circle that formed around [President](/source/President_of_the_United_States) [John F. Kennedy](/source/John_F._Kennedy) and [First Lady](/source/First_Lady_of_the_United_States) [Jacqueline Kennedy](/source/Jacqueline_Kennedy_Onassis). Readers of the 15 February 1964 ''Vogue'' could learn "What the beautiful people are doing to keep fit." The two phrases ran for a time in tandem; in 1970, author and social commentator [Cleveland Amory](/source/Cleveland_Amory) could fear "that the Beautiful People and the Jet Set are being threatened by current economics."[
By the 1970s, the jet set had evolved into a broader cultural phenomenon encompassing a network of globally recognized figures across fashion, art, film, and music. Prominent figures associated with the jet set included socialites and musicians such as [Bianca Jagger](/source/Bianca_Jagger) and [Mick Jagger](/source/Mick_Jagger), artists such as [Andy Warhol](/source/Andy_Warhol), film stars including [Helmut Berger](/source/Helmut_Berger) and [Liza Minnelli](/source/Liza_Minnelli), fashion designers such as [Yves Saint Laurent](/source/Yves_Saint_Laurent_(designer)) and [Halston](/source/Halston), and models including [Marisa Berenson](/source/Marisa_Berenson) and Jerry Hall.][{{Cite book |last=Bromley |first=Iain |url=http://archive.org/details/veryvintageguide0000brom |title=Very Vintage: The Guide to Vintage Patterns and Clothing |date=2008 |publisher=Black Dog |others= |isbn=978-1-906155-38-4 |location=London |pages=129}}][{{Cite news |last=Shales |first=Tom |date=1976-01-10 |title=Marisa … From Jet-Set Model To Actress |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee-marisa-from-jet-set/195986691/ |access-date=2026-04-21 |work=The Sacramento Bee |pages=10 |via=The Washington Post}}] Their lifestyle was defined by international fame, wealth, and beauty, as well as frequent travel and regular appearances at exclusive venues such as [Regine's](/source/Regine's) and [Studio 54](/source/Studio_54).[{{Cite news |last=Taylor |first=Angela |date=1976-03-17 |title=Regine Sparkles at Club Preview, And Her Dresses Share Spotlight |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/03/17/archives/regine-sparkles-at-club-preview-and-her-dresses-share-spotlight.html |access-date=2026-04-21 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}][[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3203_concorde.html On-line NOVA transcript] (18 January 2005)] However, the Concorde was doomed by its [sonic boom](/source/sonic_boom), limited global fly-over rights because of the boom, and its huge thirst for jet fuel. After [a disastrous crash](/source/Air_France_Flight_4590) in 2000, the aircraft was retired in 2003. Meanwhile, the [Boeing 747](/source/Boeing_747), densely packed with some 400 passengers,[366 in the 747-100 inaugurated in 1970; 400 by 1983 in the 747-300; and 467 in the 747-8 of 2010; see: [Boeing 747 Specifications](/source/Boeing_747)] was a craft that accelerated the democratizing social changes already brought about by the [jet age](/source/Jet_Age).
== In pop culture ==
A sign that "jet set" had passed from urbane use was the 1974 [country](/source/country_music) song "[(We're Not) The Jet Set](/source/(We're_Not)_The_Jet_Set)", in which [George Jones](/source/George_Jones) and [Tammy Wynette](/source/Tammy_Wynette) claim they are "the old [Chevrolet](/source/Chevrolet) set," as opposed to leading a glamorous, "jet-setting" lifestyle. The 1975 romantic drama movie ''[Once Is Not Enough](/source/Once_Is_Not_Enough)'', and the 1986 teen romance drama, ''[Fire With Fire](/source/Fire_with_Fire_(1986_film))'', were two movies examples of this, the latter had the girl lead's ([Virginia Madsen](/source/Virginia_Madsen))'s off screen parents as this, leaving her care to the nuns at the convent school Madsen's character was sent to by them with plans to enroll her in a Swiss [finishing school](/source/finishing_school) after her convent school graduation, further depriving her of needed family bonding and normal teenage activities. [{{cite magazine |last1=Hackett |first1=Vernell |title=(We're Not) The Jet Set |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/were-not-the-jet-set-54990/ |access-date=April 30, 2024 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=June 8, 2012}}]
== See also ==
* [Celebrity culture](/source/Celebrity_culture)
* [Commercial aviation](/source/Commercial_aviation)
* [Elite](/source/Elite)
* [High society](/source/High_society_(social_class))
* [International Debutante Ball](/source/International_Debutante_Ball)
* ''[Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous](/source/Lifestyles_of_the_Rich_and_Famous)''
* [''Pan Am'' (TV series)](/source/Pan_Am_(TV_series))
* [Playboy lifestyle](/source/Playboy_lifestyle)
* [Setjetting](/source/Setjetting)
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last=Amory |first=Cleveland |author-link=Cleveland Amory |title=Who Killed Society? |location=New York |publisher=Harper |year=1960 |oclc=419736 }}
* {{cite book |last=Wilkes |first=Roger |year=2003 |title=Scandal: a Scurrilous History of Gossip |location=London |publisher=Atlantic |isbn=978-1-903809-82-2 }}
== External links ==
* {{cite web |title=The Opening of the Commercial Jet Era |url=http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Commercial_Aviation/Opening_of_Jet_era/Tran6.htm |archive-date=March 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060302081516/http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Commercial_Aviation/Opening_of_Jet_era/Tran6.htm }}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Upper class culture
Category:History of aviation
Category:20th century
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jet set](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_set) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_set?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.