Seat 2A

Following my lead on Air Canada’s 1977 Paris - Montreal service, I thought I’d create a more well rounded thread, encompassing any and all First Class Menus from years past. This way, any future menus which I post (or which you may care to add yourselves) can stay under one easily accessible thread. Certainly, any comments about and/or reminiscing upon one’s experiences from “The Good Old Days” would be most welcome. I think the comparisons with current services could be most enjoyable and enlightening.

Indeed, while catering standards for flights back in the sixties and seventies is generally thought to have been more elaborate than those of today, I think the evidence will suggest that some of today’s inflight services are every bit as good, if not better than those of yesteryear. In any event, I hope this thread will prove to have some historic as well as entertainment value amongst Trip Report readers.

The following menu is from a Philippine Airlines flight between Manila and Paris via Bangkok in 1993. I believe PAL offered its First Class clientele traditional seating downstairs and actual beds upstairs. The champagne was Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque.

Bon Apetite!

** *** **

P H I L I P P I N E . A I R L I N E S

Manila - Bangkok

DINNER


Canapes
Smoked Salmon with Dill, Onion and Caper
Asparagus and Ham Sushis

Hors D’Oeuvre
Shrimp Cocktail on Solo Papaya Boat
Parma Ham with Melon

Basket of Homemade Bread
Sesame Roll
Wholemeal Roll
Basil Butter Bread

Nilagang Baka
Boiled Beef Soup, garnished with
Beef Julienne, Shredded Cabbage and Potato Cakes

Chicory and Grapes Salad
Served with your choice of dressing:
Red Wine Vinegar with Mustard and Olive Oil
Or
Blue Cheese

** *** **

Entrees

Prime Sirloin Steak
Served with Tarragon and Rosemary Butter

Mang Leon’s Harana Lechon Manok
Roasted Chicken Mang Leon Style

Deep Sea Scallops
Accompanied by Mixed Capsicums

** *** **

Bouquetiere of Fresh Vegetables
Green Asparagus Spears
Sautéed Button Mushrooms
Sautéed Young Corn with Basil and Tomato Fingers

Starches
Rice Valenciana
Baked Potatoes in Jacket with Sour Cream and Chives
Linguini with Olives in Oil

** *** **

Fresh Fruits in Season

Cheese Tray
Camembert, Edam and Stilton

Vanilla Ice Cream in Chocolate Cups
With Apple Puree and Hazelnut Crisps

Assorted Chocolate Pralines

** *** **

Freshly Brewed Coffee
Napolitaine, Marnissimo, Irish Cream or Jamaica

Tea Selection
Irish Breakfast, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Lemon Scent,
Lipton, English Breakfast, Ceylon Orange Pekoe


** ** ** ** **

** ** ** ** **

SUPPER

Bangkok – Paris


Seasonal Salad
A combination of radicchio, iceberg, carrots, green pepper and celery
Served with Guava Vinaigrette or Thousand Island Dressing

Basket of Homemade Bread
Laugen Roll, Hard Roll or Kraft Corn Roll

** *** **

Entrees

Grain-fed Veal Loin
Served with Boletus Mushroom Sauce

Pan Fried Cod Fish
Presented with Red Wine and Pineapple Sauce

** *** **

Bouquetiere of Fresh Vegetables
Turned Carrots, Sliced Zucchini and Turned Turnips

Starches
Risi Bisi, Sablee Potatoes and Oriental Fried Noodles

** *** **

Fresh Fruits In Season

Cheese Tray
Brie, Cambozola and Gruyere

Assorted Mini French Pastries

Assorted Chocolate Pralines


** *** **

REFRESHMENT
Available Upon Request Between Meals

Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

Arroz Caldo
A ginger flavored chicken porridge.
Garnished with spring onions, toasted garlic and native lime juice

Assorted Pinwheel Sandwiches
Cream Cheese and Chives
Tuna Fish Salad
Ham Sausage

Fresh Fruits In Season


** *** **

BREAKFAST


Appetizer
Fresh Pineapple Juice
Rock Melon Boat with Kiwi and Apple

Cereals and Yogurt
Cornflakes or Muesli (Fresh bananas available upon request)
Fruit Flavored Yogurt

Oven-Fresh Morning Bread
Cheese Roll, Croissant or Danish Pastry
Served with Jam, Marmalade, Honey or Butter

** *** **

Entrees

Mixed Grill
Beef Tapa, Baked Chicken Thigh Adobo and Honey Cured bacon Rashers

Sea Perch Fillet
Complimented with Lemon Butter and Pine Nuts

Poached Egg Florentine


Complements
Scrambled Eggs
Fresh Farm Eggs
Tomato Half with Herbs and Sautéed Abalone Mushrooms
Fried Rice with Chopped Ham
Galette Potatoes

Coffee or Tea

** *** **

Next Up:
Braniff International
First Class circa 1978
Dallas – London


[This message has been edited by Seat 2A (edited 07-03-2003).]

RTW4

Ah yes.....another afficianado of menus. THANKS so very much.

pallensf

Seat 2A - this is wonderful! I love reading old menus...

I am all for this new topic...keep them coming.

I would love to read the old Pan Am menus or even Western Airlines.

Thanks for this piece of joy.

------------------
Patrick A. Inouye, LMT
volunteer trip reports moderator

opushomes

Actually, 2A, if you happen to have them, please post any TWA, Braniff, or CO (bird with the golden tail) menus from the 60's or 70's so that some of us may reminisce about how it was.

Thanks.

Raldal

Here is A Pan Am Menu from the Mid 70s- Polar Service - LHR to Lax

Assorted Cold Canapes

Hors D'Oeuvre

Caviar from the Caspian Sea - Iced Vodka
A display from various countries

The London Grille
Select your own roast from the cart cooked to your order aboard

Roast Rib Eye of Beef with natural juices
Angus Sirloin of Beef
Rack of Lamb with mint sauce

Or you may have from the galley
Fillet of sole with lemon butter sauce
Buttered Garden Vegetables
Baked Idaho Potatoes with sour cream and chives

Salad
Tossed Garden Greens

Cheese
Selection of Cheese

Desert

Fruit Basket
French Pastry

Coffee
Orange Pekoe Tea.

Raldal

Hi- Here is another First Class Menu - LH Flight FRA-ORD Summer 1978

Cocktail Hour followed by

Luncheon

Caviar Sevruga Malossol
Fresh Lobster with American Sauce
Rolls of roast beef with creamed horseradish
Roast Breast of Poularde on Rice Salad
Parma Ham
Herring Salad "Rhineland Style"
Shrimp Salad "tropicana"
Toast - Rolls - Butter

Consomme with Marrow Dumplings
Cheese sticks

We offer for your choice

Roast saddle of veal
Poached eel in dill sauce
Tender chicken in orange sauce
Roast veal with piquant stufing
Marinated beef "Rheinland Style"
Shoulder of Pork in mustard sauce
Ragout of Hare
with
Assorted Vegetables
Home-made noodels "Spaetzle"
Rice
Buttered Potatoes

Mixed salad with choice of dressing

Charlotte Russe
Basket of fresh fruit - assorted cheese
Bread - Butter

Coffee
Coffee-Kirsh Coffee-Asbach
Cognac-Liquers-Choclate


Afternoon Tea

Choice of Pastries
Coffee - Tea


Cold Buffett "Country Style"

Avocados stuffed with shrimp salad
Boiled Ham Garnished
Waldorf Salad
Salad of Chanterelles
Mexican salad

Rools-Farmhouse bread- Whole Grain bread
Butter

Sweedish Fruit
Selection of cheese

Coffee-Cognac-Liquers

pallensf

Raldal - STOP IT!...you are spoiling us senseless...

I am going to have to quit my job and stay at home in earnest waiting for the plethora of old menus from you...LOL

You would not happen to have any 1970s UA ones, now do you?

MAHALO!

------------------
Patrick A. Inouye, LMT
volunteer trip reports moderator

jrussell

Air Canada YYC-YYZ 10 Nov 1970

Cocktails in the forward lounge with martinis expertly stirred by the Maitre d'Avion at the stand up bar. All available liquors were displayed on shelves behind the bar with fresh flowers on the cocktail table.

Dinner

Lobster Parisienne

Accompanied by Un Gran Vin Blanc du Rhin ou de Bourgogne

Pheasant en Cocolte
or
Chateaubriand Sauce Bordelais
Jardiniere de Legumes
Salade de Laitue

Accompanied by Un Vin Rouge de Gran Cru

Soufle Clare de Lune
Cerises Jubile Glacees
Vacherin ua Moka

Accompanied by Champagne

Plateau de Fromages
Friandeses

Accompanied by your choice of Liqueur

Cafe

The parchment menu was personally signed by the Chef du Cuisine Mr Bolinski and the Maitre d'Avion Mr Balogh.

daph

I am looking forward to the Braniff menu but it will be for F, not the back of the bus, right? Anyway, I had the "pleasure" of being on a very crowded flight in July of 1980. LAX-CDG, changing at a sweltering DFW, where they ran out of ice for drinks in the terminal and we then sat on the runway for 20 minutes, waiting for our turn to take off. Not very ladylike, but I was sweating like a pig. Couldn't sit with my group--was with a few Texas doctors who were feeling no pain. Had to land in Amsterdam and before Paris we were served croissants and champaigne, which was a nice touch. I'd taken a sleeping pill so slept through that. That's about the time I became an EC member and have flown non-stop, LAX-LHR ever since.

Raldal

Sorry - No early United Menus but just to bring us all back to earth here is a Pan AM Economy Menu for 1972 - Note only First and Economy Class then. Menu is for a flight across the Atlantic


Pub Fare

Hors d'Oeuvre

Grilled Filet of Beef

Buttered Garden Vegetable

Thousand Leaves Pastry

Coffee

Tea

Mints

(Not no choice of meal!!.)

Drinks

Various Cocktails and Liquers $1.00
Beer and Wine $.50
Cigarettes $.30

Champagne (Split) $1.00


I think that the Y class service is much better now!!

CMK10

I thought I'd compare the by-gone days of yesteryear to what we deal with now.
American Flight 143, STL-LGW. Economy.
Dinner:
Fifteen pieces of penne pasta with marinara and four chunks of chicken.
Salad of iceburg lettuece, shredded carrots with Italian Dressing.
Cold Roll
Coconut Cake
Square of Choclate.
Bottle of Water.
Breakfast:
Warm Croissant with Preserves
Blueberry Yougurt with your choice of raisins or nothing.
Orange Juice, Coffee, Tea.


------------------
DC-10's Forever!

pallensf

CMK10 - that's a sore menu...

LOL...

Thanks for the info too...

I will be glued to my PC for each and every menu that is forthcoming...

I may have some early 1990s UA menus in storage, I'll see and if I do, I'll scan them into my PC to post.

Blessings all around!

------------------
Patrick A. Inouye, LMT
volunteer trip reports moderator

Seat 2A

What a great response! Thanks to all of you who have posted those First Class menus. Raldal, I wish I'd been of age to have flown Lufthansa First Class back in the 70s. What a spread!

I do have some of these. At present, they are in storage up in Fairbanks. Until then, please check out This First Class TWA DEN-JFK menu from 1972. It's an awesome menu compared to today's services on this 3:40 minute sector. There are also some interesting comments following the original posting.

Patrick, I can also help you out on some of those 1970s Western services. Again, they are in Fairbanks, but I have MIA-LAX and DEN-LHR alng with SEA-ANC menus. I also have a 1960s Pan American Honolulu-Tokyo First Class menu I will retrieve. It is catered by Maxim's of Paris.

Seat 2A

Daph, although I have some Coach and Business Class menus, the only ones I personally will post here are for First Class. I hope to have that BN menu out in the next couple of days. It's a very nice dinner and breakfast service aboard 747-127 N601BN, "The Big Orange"

pallensf

Seat 2A -

I am drooling over the TWA menu...STOP or else I'll have to buy a time machine & go back in time to that TWA flight & buy a 1st class ticket.

FYI - I was around in 1972...LOL

Looking forward to the PanAm menu as well...

Mahalo...



------------------
Patrick A. Inouye, LMT
volunteer trip reports moderator