The term was introduced in 1949 and replaced "café society"; it reflected a style of life involving travelling from one stylish or exotic place to another via jet plane.
The term "jet set" is attributed to Igor Cassini, a reporter for the New York Journal-American who wrote a gossip column under the pen name "Cholly Knickerbocker".
was Beautiful People,[2] a period equivalent to today's concept of "glitterati" being "supermodels, celebrities and socialites", where looks, youth, and attractive activities predominated over wealth and high social standing.
Jet passenger service in the 1950s was marketed primarily to the upper class, but its introduction eventually resulted in a substantial democratization of air travel.
The two phrases ran for a time in tandem; in 1970, author and social commentator Cleveland Amory could fear "that the Beautiful People and the Jet Set are being threatened by current economics.
From November 1977 the Concorde was flying between standard jet-set destinations, London or Paris to New York City; passenger lists on initial flights were gossip-column material.