Jet set

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Jet set is a term that was used to describe an international social group of wealthy people, who organize and participate in social activities all around the world which are unreachable to ordinary people. The term, which replaced "café society" came from the lifestyle of travelling from one stylish or exotic place to another via jet airplanes. Although jet passenger service in the 1950s was initially marketed primarily to the upper class, its introduction eventually resulted in a substantial democratization of air travel. Today air travel is functional but without glory, and the term "jet set" has no longer had cachet since the mid-1960s.

The original "jet set" were those "socialites" who were not shy about publicity and entertained in semi-public places like restaurants and in night clubs. They were the first generation that might weekend in Paris or fly to Rome just for a party. Federico Fellini captured their lifestyle in La Dolce Vita (1960). If the expression was not coined by Igor Cassini, writing for the Hearst Newspaper syndicate, it was certainly given wide circulation in his gossip column.

The term first came into usage circa 1951, when BOAC inaugurated the world's first commercial jet service (2 May 1952), using the de Havilland Comet. The first service was the typical "jet set" route, London–New York. Other cities on the standard "jet set' routes were Paris and Rome, and for the first time, Los Angeles. "Jet set" resorts were also circumscribed by modern standards: Acapulco, Nassau, Bermuda, Cannes, St. Tropez and selected small towns on the Riviera, Capri. Miami Beach, Rio de Janeiro, and Bali are among other destinations popular among the jet set.

The term "jet set" is referenced in the 1974 song by George Jones and Tammy Wynette, entitled "(We're Not) The Jet Set". The lyrics refer to a couple as being "the old Chevrolet set," as opposed to leading a glamorous, jet-setting lifestyle.

The term "jet set" may be valid today in rich countries if it is understood to mean those who can afford to travel in privately owned or leased aircraft. Late in the 20th century "wa-Benzi" became an equivalent term in central Africa.