Originally Posted by
WHBM
When the sleeper seats finally came along in F a number of airlines put the old F seats into a new class; this was the start of C class and 3-cabin configurations.
I think KLM was the opposite, when they still had Royal Class. They introduced a WT+ type product (between the unreachable F and everyman's Y) that eventually became business class, although Royal Class eventually disappeared as the new class became the big revenue earner.
Originally Posted by WHBM
Meals were probably of WT+/Club standard, and booze was free (which it was not in Y until about 1980). There was champagne, although unlikely to have been a choice (it was a simpler world).
I have always been told that food and drink tended to be much better in the "olden" days in the premium cabins, before gizmos such as AVOD and seats that turn into bedrooms became the most important attributes of a premium cabin. Essentially, one of the only distinguishing factors with Y was the food and drink. At least, this is what my parents told me, both of whom have been flying regularly since the early 1970s; my mother even as a "stewardess" while at uni and some years after, when they had carvers, cooked meat and eggs onboard, and received extensive training on how to prepare and present food in "Royal Class". Hence why people still continue to think lobster, vintage champagne and caviar is still the norm in F, whereas it seems to have become the exception.
Those were also the days of 3-week long stays in Kenya to go on safari with Jock Anderson, 1-week spent shopping for pearls in Singapore, even longer stays in Australia, and skiing and/or learning to drive on ice near Anchorage.