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What was airline travel in the 80's like?

What was airline travel in the 80's like?

Old Sep 19, 2016, 11:01 pm
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Question What was airline travel in the 80's like?

Hopefully this is the right place to post. I hear people deplore current air travel and I can't say I blame them. 9/11 shook the American psyche and upended American air travel and by proxy, the world's. I wasn't even born in the 80s so my perception of that time period is mostly informed from snippets of Home Alone and Less Than Zero. Yes, really. I've done some googling on my part but did not find much so where better to turn to than here? To those who remember "the good old days," how was it different? From frequent flyer miles to smoking to in flight meals to flight attendants...what was it like?
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Old Sep 19, 2016, 11:03 pm
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Expensive.
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Old Sep 19, 2016, 11:11 pm
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Question

Originally Posted by Doc Savage
Expensive.
Ha!

Can anyone speak more to that? I've read about airline deregulation (1978-beyond) but people can't seem to agree whether this was a good thing. Supposedly it lowered prices but then airlines started fee'ing passengers for services and amenities that were previously free. I don't have a personal frame of reference though.
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Old Sep 19, 2016, 11:19 pm
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Originally Posted by aerosexual
Originally Posted by Doc Savage
Expensive.
Can anyone speak more to that? I've read about airline deregulation (1978-beyond) but people can't seem to agree whether this was a good thing. Supposedly it lowered prices but then airlines started fee'ing passengers for services and amenities that were previously free. I don't have a personal frame of reference though.
I have been flying New Zealand to Australia and back for 30+ years. The $ value of the fare is the same as early 1980's.
In 1981 I flew Australia to USA. The $ value of the fare is a little less now.
Wages etc have risen a lot, so many less hours of work needed for the same flights now.

Services and amenities that were never free. Just part of the price. And no such thing as personal in flight entertainment back then.
Seat 2A has some 1980's trip reports
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Old Sep 19, 2016, 11:28 pm
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FF programs were introduced in the early 1980s. By the late 1980s, we had business class = full fare coach.
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Old Sep 20, 2016, 1:09 am
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I have been flying to San Francisco and back since I was a baby in the 60s. I recall my mother having to purchase a last minute fare (perhaps in the early 70s or very late 60s and being staggered that the fare was over $1000 - it was just such a huge amount of money.

In terms of what it was like, I recall well the Pan Am 707s which had to stop at Winnipeg for more fuel westbound but could make it the whole way Eastbound. I recall the open hat racks, which subsequently got filled up by black and white televisions which were for the IFE- barely visible. I recall, in Economy of course, being served smoked salmon, which was a real luxury in those days.

But, I also recall one of my last flights with Pan Am where the food was the worst I've ever experienced on an airline (which IIRC was not too surprising as Pan Am had been going downhill consistently for many years). But the FAs were always really nice.

How does it compare to today? It's almost impossible to say as memories play tricks over such a long period, and points of reference change. I think the seats were more comfortable then in economy, with softer cushions and more space. The FAs were always really friendly whereas, at least on US carriers, they are downright hostile then. But my recollection of the airport experience is not favourable. I remember huge queues to check in at SFO in the old international terminal, perhaps 50 feet deep, with no snake system of queuing. I remember queues for the old, half-baked security, again at SFO,. I remember Customs liked to open every suitcase - this persisted in the USA for years after other countries had abandoned it but I seem to recall Immigration was quite quick. LHR was very different, as you checked in at a bus station in Victoria and got a coach to the airport, which always seemed very civilised.

So it's certainly got massively cheaper. I'm not convinced it's less comfortable, the IFE has improved enormously. The food is probably on a par, the service has deteriorated enormously and the airport experience has improved, apart from US Immigration.
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Old Sep 20, 2016, 5:45 am
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Originally Posted by aerosexual
Hopefully this is the right place to post. I hear people deplore current air travel and I can't say I blame them. 9/11 shook the American psyche and upended American air travel and by proxy, the world's. I wasn't even born in the 80s so my perception of that time period is mostly informed from snippets of Home Alone and Less Than Zero. Yes, really. I've done some googling on my part but did not find much so where better to turn to than here? To those who remember "the good old days," how was it different? From frequent flyer miles to smoking to in flight meals to flight attendants...what was it like?
I took my first flight in 1988, BA Club World from LHR to JFK. It was 2-3-2, no flat beds, no pods; arguably more similar to today's WTP than to today's Club World.

The smoking situation was horrible. Flew United LAX to Sydney in First in 1991 and there was one passenger in the whole First cabin who smoked and ruined it for the rest of us. Simply mind-boggling that this was permitted, and horrible for the FAs. And then there was the perennial problem of smoke drifting between cabins. And don't get me started on Iberia's genius concept of designating one side of the plane as the smoking section!
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Old Sep 20, 2016, 6:02 am
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It was great if you were a smoker. If you weren't it was probably awful. The last rows were smoking. A travel agent friend had a client who didn't smoke but liked sitting in that section because he said everyone was friendlier & more jovial.

I joined American's Aadvantage in 1986. Upgrades were 10,000 miles for quite a while plus you got the mileage for the class you upgraded to. On my most frequent flights it was a wide-body and very comfortable. People did seem friendlier then. I recall a lot of fun on long flights. Of course, I was younger & hotter then which probably had something to do with it.
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Old Sep 20, 2016, 6:08 am
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We thought it sucked, at the time. You were stuck with whatever movie the airline chose to show, and no one ever wrote home about the food (though I don't think it was quite as awful as it is now - for one thing, you'd often get a lump of meat instead of everything being cut up and smothered in sauce, so you could at least tell what you were eating). Seats were definitely better padded and a bit longer. I really never understood why smoking was permitted, between the smoke and the open flames in such a small space with so much downside if anything went wrong.

I recall flying on Ward Air, a Canadian airline that served dinner on tablecloths and china even in economy class.

The big thing was you didn't have to get to the airport so much in advance, security wasn't such a huge deal, and people seeing you off could walk you to the gate.

wg
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Old Sep 20, 2016, 6:22 am
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I remember having to phone the airline to reconfirm for the fight I would be one. Am I right in thinking that for international flights you had to reconfirm 3 days before your return? That was a pain in the butt.

Overhead bins were smaller and rarely full.

Boarding was by row from the rear.
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Old Sep 20, 2016, 6:32 am
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Originally Posted by mules

Boarding was by row from the rear.
Continental (now United) Airlines used to board by row from the rear up until 2011. Now it's by group number/status of course.
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Old Sep 20, 2016, 6:43 am
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I went to college in 1986, so I was doing the SJU-BOS-SJU route constantly, it seemed (vacations, long weekends, and the need to get out of what was, for me, an absolutely shocking cold weather -- brrr).

My airline of choice was AA, which back then was flying several flights a day on that route. In Y, seats were more padded than they are now (or who knows, maybe the "freshman 15 made my arse more padded). Either there was more legroom or people have grown a lot taller, because I could easily sit in a window seat, get up to use the facilities, and come back in. These days, even attempting that in some J class configurations is more than I can manage, and I stick to the aisle seat.

Food in Y was airline food -- but it was there and it was hot.

There was no IFE -- just the TVs above the aisles every five rows or so. They would play an edited version of a movie, and if you missed something because the FA spoke to you or because you went to the lav, oh well. They were never great movies, really.

I don't know if the bidding system was different back then, or if some FAs liked working certain routes, but it seemed to me that we often had some of the same FAs on this route, and once they recognized you, they were always warm and friendly -- asked how school was going, brought an extra tea on early morning flights or Diet Coke on later flights unbidden, just because.

During winter break, these flights from BOS-SJU were almost like a school bus taking all of the boricuas home for the holidays, and they could be quite a party. People would be drinking, exchanging home phone numbers (this was before cell phones), and letting one another know who was having parties, where, and on what days. By the time you got off the flight, your winter break was more or less scheduled.
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Old Sep 20, 2016, 7:21 am
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Food on most flights, and smoking sections as others have noted.

Bigger planes and fewer passengers. I use to fly TWA frequently, taking an L1011 from STL to BOS. I don't remember it ever being full. Also was on TWA STL to BWI one time, 727, with 13 passengers.

More hubs offering more places to connect, like BNA, MEM, MCI, PHX, LAS just to name a few that I remember.

Hotel stays for overnight misconnects.

Flying wasn't glamorous in the 80's, but considerably less stressful than it is today. On the other hand, it seems like every year there were major plane crashes, so that was more of a worry.
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Old Sep 20, 2016, 8:10 am
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I only flew once in the 80's - from Boston to Hawaii and back. It was a three leg flight each way in DC-10s and a brand new 767! There were a lot of differences back then, but I think much of it was also reflective of a different way of life. I think that era stretched a little into the early 90's even.

Going somewhere was always a big deal. People took you to the airport and saw you off, they met you at the airport and wanted to know all about your trip. There was no such thing as the Internet and cell phones and ipads, so everything was planned out ahead of time, and there was always a measure of unknown. Most people didn't choose a seat - if you knew what you were doing you knew how to look at a seat map in the back of the schedule and request a seat, but it was not an instant request. Planes were much less filled, so while you purchased a coach seat, the reality was that unless you flew on the busy flights the middle seat was usually open. People socialized back then. The plane as a place to mingle. That has more to do with everyone being buried in their phone these days or glued to a screen than the airlines. They gave you more time boarding, too, and with fewer passengers it was much less hectic. No problems finding space to put your carryon, and you even got drinks, in coach!

But like Vivo said, you actually worried about crashes, you bought flight insurance. Smoking itself was far more acceptable then so of course you smoked on an airplane. Every public place smelled back then. Airports were cooler, with much more to see and you could watch planes and stuff, but you maybe had one or two places to get something to eat, if you were lucky. And the Moonies! Remember the people trying to sell you flowers (or Leis, in Hawaii)?

I think I miss it, because flying was an event. It had it's problems, but flying wasn't just what got you to where you could start your vacation, it was part of the vacation.
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Old Sep 20, 2016, 8:29 am
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Originally Posted by Cloudship
I think I miss it, because flying was an event. It had it's problems, but flying wasn't just what got you to where you could start your vacation, it was part of the vacation.
Agree with all of your post, especially on this point.

Flying was an event and part of the vacation. Getting on a jet plane was something a family looked forward and was part of the experience. Back then, family and friends can actually (no crazy security then) see you to the Gate, and meet you upon arrival! Imagine, de-boarding and immediately seeing your family/friends who are there to pick you up!

We didn't have all these intricate rules (there weren't many abusers back then) and everyone was very nice and friendly. There wasn't a need to define every rule/regulation since most simply acted within the dictates of generally accepted etiquette.

Unlike now, where we must a rule for everything.
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