Originally Posted by
WHBM
They weren't on all Electras, they were an option - some others had regular windows throughout. At that time aircraft were commonly single class only, presented as "First Class" (or "First Class Propeller" once two-class large jets came along). The Electra had 3+2 seating, but the fuselage narrowed at the back, so rather than work down to 2+2, and then maybe 2+1, Lockheed offered the sort-of semi-circular seating, which was meant to appeal to travelling business groups to sit and discuss things. I don't know if extra was charged for them. Typically 4 on one side, and 2 plus an emergency exit door on the other.
It was a good place for a discussion group because it was as far away from the plane of the props as you can get. Propeller aircraft in those days often had galleys and washrooms directly in the propeller plane, close to the front, because of the noise there, so these seats were the best positioned. ...
summer of 1969 (1970?) I was one of ~60 local high school students who won a one-hour sightseeing flight over the Washington DC area ... we were on board N5517 and I distinctly remember the lounge area at the back of the cabin
Originally Posted by
WHBM
Southwest had a couple of blocks on the 737 of 3+3 seats facing one another at the front and the rear of the aircraft, which I think went about the year 2000. Reason was the same, a group together. ...
PSA had a row of aft-facing seats on their MD-80s in the mid 1980s (it may have actually been the forward overwing exit row, which would actually make sense for providing a much larger pathway) ... I recall a LAX-SEA flight, departing ~0615 on a Saturday morning, where I was in the aft-facing window seat on the 2-seat side, and feeling like I was looking almost straight down at the ground during climbout