What was airline travel in the 80's like?
Sep 20, 2016, 8:30 pm
#46
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Airline deregulation in 1978 meant some flights got cheaper and others got more expensive. There were more airlines, but they did not all compete against each other. So, just like today, prices depended how the level of competition and the level of demand and the frequency of service.
Sep 20, 2016, 9:12 pm
#48
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God, those awful headsets!How is it that I am the first person to say this: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna! (The wrinklies among us will know what I mean here.)
Sep 20, 2016, 9:14 pm
#49
Join Date: Apr 2000
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I remember in the 60's, the airlines supplied a 4 pack of cigarettes along with your meal tray.
As stated before, the planes flew faster. I remember being on 707s that approached the speed of sound (at least on the ground with a stiff tailwind). Transcontinental flights were significantly shorter.
DD
As stated before, the planes flew faster. I remember being on 707s that approached the speed of sound (at least on the ground with a stiff tailwind). Transcontinental flights were significantly shorter.
DD
Sep 20, 2016, 11:03 pm
#50
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 2
Really enjoying reading this thread!
I was born in '83, so the first flights I remember are probably around 1990. We flew a lot from the northeast to visit my grandparents in Florida. I remember a lot of 2-3 aircraft (MD-80s and the like), rather than 3-3 aircraft. I always got awesome pilot wings pins, and usually got to sit in the cockpit before we took off. I also remember getting a lot of playing cards from the airline.
The first flight that I vividly remember was flying from JFK to Tel Aviv on El Al circa 1997. At that point I think security was generally the same as it is today (certainly not as tight, but not tons looser). But the security on El Al was another level. They had their own security guys at JFK, and they would unpack each and every suitcase and quiz you about the items inside -- even for checked bags! "What is this? Why are you carrying it to Israel? Did you pack this all yourself? Tell me what's in the other compartment!"
When it came time to board the plane (a 747... knowing El Al they probably still fly the same one!), it was sitting in the middle of the tarmac. Not at a remote stand, just in the middle of nowhere, with a bunch of guys with big guns standing around it. They bused us out there and we had to walk probably a hundred yards in the open to make sure they could keep track of all the passengers and there was no funny business.
That was the only time I ever flew El Al, so I have no idea if that was typical for the time, or whether they do anything like that today -- anyone know?
I was born in '83, so the first flights I remember are probably around 1990. We flew a lot from the northeast to visit my grandparents in Florida. I remember a lot of 2-3 aircraft (MD-80s and the like), rather than 3-3 aircraft. I always got awesome pilot wings pins, and usually got to sit in the cockpit before we took off. I also remember getting a lot of playing cards from the airline.
The first flight that I vividly remember was flying from JFK to Tel Aviv on El Al circa 1997. At that point I think security was generally the same as it is today (certainly not as tight, but not tons looser). But the security on El Al was another level. They had their own security guys at JFK, and they would unpack each and every suitcase and quiz you about the items inside -- even for checked bags! "What is this? Why are you carrying it to Israel? Did you pack this all yourself? Tell me what's in the other compartment!"
When it came time to board the plane (a 747... knowing El Al they probably still fly the same one!), it was sitting in the middle of the tarmac. Not at a remote stand, just in the middle of nowhere, with a bunch of guys with big guns standing around it. They bused us out there and we had to walk probably a hundred yards in the open to make sure they could keep track of all the passengers and there was no funny business.
That was the only time I ever flew El Al, so I have no idea if that was typical for the time, or whether they do anything like that today -- anyone know?
Sep 20, 2016, 11:24 pm
#51
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2016
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Posts: 44
Here's a 1988 TV commercial for BA Club World. You will not be impressed.
UK TV AD : British Airways Club World (1988) - YouTube
UK TV AD : British Airways Club World (1988) - YouTube
Sep 21, 2016, 1:19 am
#52
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,438
There were more airlines, too, and their route networks weren't as large as today's post-merger carriers, so if you were flying between smaller cities and/or from one region of the country to another, there was a good chance your itinerary would be on two or more carriers.
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Sep 21, 2016, 1:51 am
#53
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Flying Domestic F on UA to/from Hawaii? Well, you would be served rack of lamb that would be brought out on a cart and presented to you with all the trimmings.
As another has mentioned, the planes were underutilized and coach seating was so available, that lie flats, while not formally introduced, were there for the taking by using the empty middle row of a 747.
Can't recall exactly when it started and ended, but UA also used to give away bottles of wine to passengers on the "Half way to Hawaii" game. I never won the game, but the FAs routinely gave me a bottle of wine when departing because I was nice to them. It happened so frequently, whether or not I was flying coach or F, it was amazing.
Ah, those were the days...
As another has mentioned, the planes were underutilized and coach seating was so available, that lie flats, while not formally introduced, were there for the taking by using the empty middle row of a 747.
Can't recall exactly when it started and ended, but UA also used to give away bottles of wine to passengers on the "Half way to Hawaii" game. I never won the game, but the FAs routinely gave me a bottle of wine when departing because I was nice to them. It happened so frequently, whether or not I was flying coach or F, it was amazing.
Ah, those were the days...
Sep 21, 2016, 1:52 am
#54
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I have a picture of my brother and I as kids in the early 70's when we were going on a flight from Melbourne to Hobart and we were all dressed up smartly. Dressing up seems to have been a bit deal in those days.
Sep 21, 2016, 2:05 am
#55
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If you wanted a cheap flight back then (at least in the UK), there were no LCC's. The only way was to buy over-capacity seats on charter flights, from "bucket shops". You could get extremely cheap flights (ca £20 return, which was significantly less than the equivalent scheduled flight), but it came at a price.
First of all, you had to find the bucket shops. And phone round lots of them to get a decent price on the dates you wanted. Then they'd have terms and conditions about travel insurance - they went out of their way to make it difficult to buy without getting their (rather expensive) insurance. So you jumped through the hoops and got there.
Then the flight. You'd be at some secondary airport at a silly time in the morning. There'd be one counter open for the entire flight, and, everybody else being away for their 2-week holiday, they'd all be checking in luggage. Slowly. Seating was allocated by a sticker on a boarding pass, naturally.
Then your flight would be lowest in the pecking order. Delays of 4+ hours were commonplace, and you'd get no compensation - a soggy sandwich and a carton of foul-tasting juice if you were lucky.
The plane itself would be, as Mary Berry says, "informal". A charter outfit you'd never really heard off, a BAC 1-11 or similar, packed as full as possible. 29" pitch and thick old seats, covered in a hideous orange cover, and not the cleanest. You would, however, get a MASSIVE meal served slowly so that, on the shorter flights, you'd be getting your main course (inevitably an overcooked stew in a foil container) just as you were starting descent. Most of the flight would be quite drunk by that point too.
Then you'd land. At a military airfield in some random country. You'd be stamped in by a border guard in a peaked cap who didn't really care. And then the charter passengers would be whisked off in a coach. If there was space, you could offer the driver a bung to take you too - provided there was any way you could get the local currency in advance. But if there was no space or no currency... You'd find yourself outside a deserted terminal in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country.
(I remember this happening to me in Treviso in Italy - now a Ryanairport in its own right. I managed to find a café that sold me bus tickets, had a rather excellent espresso, and used pidgin Italian to find out how to get to the nearest station. From there, I found my way to the coast, and a half-decent campsite (via another bus). That was half the fun of travelling in those days!)
First of all, you had to find the bucket shops. And phone round lots of them to get a decent price on the dates you wanted. Then they'd have terms and conditions about travel insurance - they went out of their way to make it difficult to buy without getting their (rather expensive) insurance. So you jumped through the hoops and got there.
Then the flight. You'd be at some secondary airport at a silly time in the morning. There'd be one counter open for the entire flight, and, everybody else being away for their 2-week holiday, they'd all be checking in luggage. Slowly. Seating was allocated by a sticker on a boarding pass, naturally.
Then your flight would be lowest in the pecking order. Delays of 4+ hours were commonplace, and you'd get no compensation - a soggy sandwich and a carton of foul-tasting juice if you were lucky.
The plane itself would be, as Mary Berry says, "informal". A charter outfit you'd never really heard off, a BAC 1-11 or similar, packed as full as possible. 29" pitch and thick old seats, covered in a hideous orange cover, and not the cleanest. You would, however, get a MASSIVE meal served slowly so that, on the shorter flights, you'd be getting your main course (inevitably an overcooked stew in a foil container) just as you were starting descent. Most of the flight would be quite drunk by that point too.
Then you'd land. At a military airfield in some random country. You'd be stamped in by a border guard in a peaked cap who didn't really care. And then the charter passengers would be whisked off in a coach. If there was space, you could offer the driver a bung to take you too - provided there was any way you could get the local currency in advance. But if there was no space or no currency... You'd find yourself outside a deserted terminal in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country.
(I remember this happening to me in Treviso in Italy - now a Ryanairport in its own right. I managed to find a café that sold me bus tickets, had a rather excellent espresso, and used pidgin Italian to find out how to get to the nearest station. From there, I found my way to the coast, and a half-decent campsite (via another bus). That was half the fun of travelling in those days!)
Sep 21, 2016, 5:55 am
#57
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Yes! To my parents: "Would you like to learn more about Krishna consciousness?" while proffering a book (the BG?), which they politely turn down. Meanwhile, the Krishnas are giving me a flower.
Sep 21, 2016, 7:01 am
#58
Join Date: Jan 2010
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Posts: 36
I flew from New York to Paris on Air France on a student fare in 1978 or 79. I’m pretty sure it cost about $300. Had a row of 3 seats to myself, enjoyed a tasty dinner with wine, watched Saturday Night Fever and then lay down flat to sleep the rest of the way. Ranks up there with an upgrade to business class in my flight memories. 
Flying with children was different in the 80s. They were given toys—even little backpacks of toys on one BA flight—and it was possible they might be invited to visit the flight deck. On the other hand, there was no protecting them from smoke. I still recall the cold response of a KLM check-in clerk when I objected to our family with two children under the age of 3 being seated in the row right in front of the smoking section.
Flying with children was different in the 80s. They were given toys—even little backpacks of toys on one BA flight—and it was possible they might be invited to visit the flight deck. On the other hand, there was no protecting them from smoke. I still recall the cold response of a KLM check-in clerk when I objected to our family with two children under the age of 3 being seated in the row right in front of the smoking section.
Sep 21, 2016, 7:15 am
#59
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This doesn't cover the 80's, but a few people mentioned cost. Saw a Nat Geo show recently about development of airliners early on. Quote stuck with me.
"In the 30's it cost $300 to fly cross country. It still does today." That $300 meant a lot more in 1935. But, still very interesting.
"In the 30's it cost $300 to fly cross country. It still does today." That $300 meant a lot more in 1935. But, still very interesting.
Sep 21, 2016, 7:52 am
#60
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Visiting the flight deck was common on Long-Haul BA through this period, especially if you were a child or travelling with one. Just ask the flight attendant and a few minutes later the captain would be chatting away to you and showing you how all the controls worked and what did. Great fun for children of all ages.