Air travel in 1950 was very different from what it is today, most planes were quite small and it was very expensive. People still sailed across the Atlantic ocean for example.
All the aircraft in service at the time were piston engined, and some were still converted WWII bombers - the Comet would not enter service till 1952 and the Viscount in 1953, these were the first gas turbine powered aircraft to enter service. Because piston engined aircraft suffered much more vibration than gas turbine engined aircraft, the airliners of the time were often worn out by the time they were 10 or 20 years old. The engines were also nothing like as reliable as modern gas turbines.
The only place you'll find airliners from this age today are in museums or in the hands of preservation groups like "Save a Connie". Many people think the Constellation is still the most graceful airliner to take to the skies.