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What was airline travel in the 80's like?

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What was airline travel in the 80's like?

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Old Sep 23, 2016, 12:57 am
  #106  
 
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Originally Posted by CDTraveler
My parents made several trips to/around the SU in the 80's. From one of those trips there is a photo of my Mom and the woman seated next to her who happened to be holding a basket with 3 live chickens. Elsewhere on the plane were several piglets, but Dad didn't manage to get a photo of them. I think that flight was to somewhere in Georgia.
Piglet? Huh, there was a story how one 'gentleman' from village managed to bring a live ram on TBS-SVO flight for his son's graduation in Moscow. Yes - to be slaughtered for the feast there for 200 guests.

Fast forward 30 years, you won't see chickens and piglets any more in that part of the world, but in US you have really good chance to see them in cabin as Emotional Support Animals.

Last edited by invisible; Sep 23, 2016 at 5:20 am
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Old Sep 23, 2016, 8:18 am
  #107  
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Originally Posted by nsx
I once flew on another person's ticket this way. I even made sure he earned miles!

Other fun facts:

1. In the late 1970's and early 1980's Eastern Airlines offered an Unlimited Mileage Fare allowing 3 weeks of travel for about $300. I bought those two years and flew all over the Caribbean and the US. It was mileage running before flights earned miles.
Thank you for describing these Eastern tickets in detail! My mother often refers to the old days, when she and my father would purchase "RT" tickets on Eastern for the family, and we would be able to fly to any points in between on that ticket during our vacation. I wasn't sure what she was referring to, or even if she was remembering correctly. And here it is!
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Old Sep 23, 2016, 8:42 am
  #108  
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Originally Posted by nsx
1. In the late 1970's and early 1980's Eastern Airlines offered an Unlimited Mileage Fare allowing 3 weeks of travel for about $300. I bought those two years and flew all over the Caribbean and the US. It was mileage running before flights earned miles.
We did something very similar with Qantas in 2000. It was a "Discover Australia" pass, and man, did they lose money on us big time.
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Old Sep 23, 2016, 9:18 am
  #109  
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Originally Posted by ysolde
Thank you for describing these Eastern tickets in detail! My mother often refers to the old days, when she and my father would purchase "RT" tickets on Eastern for the family, and we would be able to fly to any points in between on that ticket during our vacation. I wasn't sure what she was referring to, or even if she was remembering correctly. And here it is!
Weird fact: Due to taxes those Eastern tickets were about $20 cheaper if you included an non-US city in your itinerary than if you didn't.

It was fun assembling an island hopping trip when some of the flights only operated a few times per week.
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Old Sep 23, 2016, 9:53 am
  #110  
 
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Originally Posted by invisible
My first flight to US was in 1998 from Russia on IL-86. Smoking was allowed until plane entered US airspace. Almost half of the cabin was chain-smoking and they almost rioted when it was announced that smoking is not allowed any more.
I traveled Aeroflot from Moscow to LHR in the 90's. I asked for non smoking and got 1A!

Smoking rows started at 3.
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Old Sep 23, 2016, 11:06 am
  #111  
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Originally Posted by PTravel
Originally Posted by nerd
That's equal to around $6,000, so yes, that's a lot of money relative to what most people would be able to afford, even today.
I'm not sure where you get that figure. I mentioned, earlier, $300 transcon tickets on TWA in 1980. According to this, that's only $869 today, or about 2-1/2 times as much.

http://www.in2013dollars.com/1980-do...016?amount=300
Straight from the horse's mouth. Where else would you get your inflation data from?

http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl

$1,000 in 1970 is equal to $6,202 in 2016.
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Old Sep 23, 2016, 12:35 pm
  #112  
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Originally Posted by invisible
Piglet? Huh, there was a story how one 'gentleman' from village managed to bring a live ram on TBS-SVO flight for his son's graduation in Moscow. Yes - to be slaughtered for the feast there for 200 guests.

Fast forward 30 years, you won't see chickens and piglets any more in that part of the world, but in US you have really good chance to see them in cabin as Emotional Support Animals.
Back in the 50s and 60s, there was, apparently, an airline, an early LCC, that did the JFK-SJU run, popularly known as "La Guagua Aérea" (The Flying Bus). Tales of people who flew that (possibly tall tales, but who really knows) recount live chickens regularly being on board, among other interesting passengers . . .
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Old Sep 24, 2016, 6:54 pm
  #113  
 
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If I remember correctly, the old Eastern Shuttle from EWR to BOS (and I assume the other locations) were $15 cash paid on board. This would have been the early 70's. Were there airline credit cards at that time?

I also recollect a flight in the early 70's from BDL to EWR on a 747, but those were my college days and my memory might be a bit, um, "hazy."

A little OT, My Mom used to call credit cards "Charge Plates," metal and half the size of the current cards - good only at the store (Bamberger's!) that issued them. Anyone else familiar with the term?

Cheers,
Pogopossum
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Old Sep 24, 2016, 7:24 pm
  #114  
 
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I do remember the phrase "charge plate" and I most certainly used to shop at Bamberger's...and A&S. I don't remember the cards being half the size though. Of course, there are still store cards--these days, I have them for Saks and Bloomingdale's, since both Bamberger's and A&S are lost to the mists of time!
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Old Sep 24, 2016, 7:36 pm
  #115  
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Originally Posted by pogopossum
If I remember correctly, the old Eastern Shuttle from EWR to BOS (and I assume the other locations) were $15 cash paid on board. This would have been the early 70's. Were there airline credit cards at that time?

I also recollect a flight in the early 70's from BDL to EWR on a 747, but those were my college days and my memory might be a bit, um, "hazy."

A little OT, My Mom used to call credit cards "Charge Plates," metal and half the size of the current cards - good only at the store (Bamberger's!) that issued them. Anyone else familiar with the term?

Cheers,
Pogopossum

I don't think EA ever flew to EWR; LGA was/is the shuttle destination.
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Old Sep 25, 2016, 3:05 am
  #116  
 
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Originally Posted by moondog
I remember:

1. Airline tickets for sale in the classifieds (as mentioned upthread)
I also remember the classified ads for travel agencies offering 'One-way' fares, based on Round trip purchase. I always wondered how they got away with that. In my mind it's like quoting a price for half a coke when you still have to buy the full can.

Originally Posted by moondog
I don't think EA ever flew to EWR; LGA was/is the shuttle destination.
FWIW, wiki says they did, and had a lounge there, but I can't recall. I was sorry to see Eastern disappear as I had decent flights on them.
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Old Sep 25, 2016, 3:22 am
  #117  
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Originally Posted by VivoPerLei
I also remember the classified ads for travel agencies offering 'One-way' fares, based on Round trip purchase. I always wondered how they got away with that. In my mind it's like quoting a price for half a coke when you still have to buy the full can.



FWIW, wiki says they did, and had a lounge there, but I can't recall. I was sorry to see Eastern disappear as I had decent flights on them.
Nobody gave a rat's behind about Newark in the 1980s. If Eastern flew there, it was certainly from Atlanta only.
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Old Sep 25, 2016, 11:37 am
  #118  
 
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I did a lot of flying as a kid in the 80s, although I wasn't buying the tickets!

Anyone else remember the Deflt china giveaways in KLM? Blue and white tile squares. And socks! You would get a little kit with a toothbrush, toothpaste, eye mask and socks. Swissair had the fluffiest, comfiest socks.

I also remember flying London to Manchester on BA-- possibly in business class? -- and getting afternoon tea with fresh warm scones, jam, and clotted cream.
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Old Sep 25, 2016, 1:14 pm
  #119  
 
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Originally Posted by moondog
Nobody gave a rat's behind about Newark in the 1980s. If Eastern flew there, it was certainly from Atlanta only.
Sorry moondog, that was Eastern's territory:

http://airwaysnews.com/galleries/6853.jpg

http://www.virtualeastern.com/images/routemap3-2-87.jpg

Last edited by 747FC; Sep 25, 2016 at 1:16 pm Reason: added link
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Old Sep 26, 2016, 12:53 am
  #120  
 
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Pan Am and the 747SP.

No round the world tickets - so it was bucket shops each way inter-continental. Or YY tickets with unlimited stops within the mileage limits. And varied combinations of airlines since there were no alliances.

Having to identify your luggage on the ground next to the airplane before boarding (ATH comes to mind)

Happy wandering

Fred
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