I was sitting on a recent flight near a passenger who had a loud & obnoxious cellphone conversation that nearly everyone in the F cabin could hear. And I thought there probably isn't much more annoying things on-board possible ...until I saw the captain test the electronics and have the "No Smoking Sign" light go on/off. And then a light off went in my head --what is/was it like to sit next to a smoking passenger?

I'm guessing CO at one time did allow smoking on their planes, and had smoking sections designated on at least international flights. And as annoying as sitting next to someone with a phone conversation is while a plane is on the ground, I could only imagine the lack of comfort and true annoyance of someone lighting-up in-flight next to me.

So when did CO allow in-flight smoking ...and what was it like?