uanj

I like Air China, among the China Big 3 I find they have the best operations. Fortunately it bears little resemblance to the CAAC that used to operate flights. CAAC was not just an airline, it was also the aviation administration for the government and was run like the transportation service of the government. Absolutely no thought to efficiency, pleasing customers or building a good reputation, it was part of the government and had a total monopoly. In the 70s and early 80s the reservation service was not on a computer, just on paper files in the originating city's ticket office. Booking a flight entailed going to the sole ticket office for the city you were in two days or more in advance to book the tickets. At the airport flight delays were not announced, and often boarding was not announced either. In the small airports it did not matter so much because there may only be 1-2 flights a day. But in Guangzhou, boarding was often the door to the apron being opened and everyone rushing up to see if it was their flight boarding or not. The signage for boarding, if there was any, was a meter high pole on a base with a small sign on top with the city's name in Chinese. It could not be seen from a distance or the minute people started rushing the gate. I believe I still have some candy from one of those flights, the brand name was "Shanghai Elevator Factory No. 2". Not all the planes were pressurized or climatized, planes only flew in daylight hours and sometimes at low altitude to follow the railroad tracks I was told. It got hot in the sun but we were provided with complimentary Chinese fans with the CAAC logo on them. But this really belongs in a different thread. ; )

Back to UA, one other difference I find from the 80s is that UA picked up a lot of FAs from PA when they bought their Pacific Division. They were very good but as they retired jaded UA system FAs started appearing on the Pacific flights and service went downhill. These last 3 years UA has gotten a handle on the in-flight service delivery, including FAs, so I still think flying today is better than the 80s.

rankourabu

I m kinda sad I m not old enough to have flown TPAC with a mandatory stop on Midway or Wake!

Markie

My memories are from the 1990's mostly when travel had bad seats but great service on United. I flew US shortly after they got the routes for London and on my second trip (during a double miles promo) I got an upgrade as the agent remembered me from the previous trip. Love upstairs on the 747 with just 4 rows.
Enjoyed upgrades to F on my frequent trips on Christmas Day including one where they let me take my big wheeled bag as I was the only passenger in F. (Joined just after take off by the Captain's wife). I don't remember how much DP I drank but it was a lot. The raspberry ice cream cake was superb I remember.
Great trips to Australia in F where nothing was too much trouble followed in later years. Staff who knew me by name and make an extra effort when they knew you flew a lot.
1K rooms where they would fix anything
And of course, no Global Services to steal the upgrades....

nwff

I flew CAAC HKG/SHA a couple of times in the mid-1980s. This article accurately sums up their reputation at the time:

https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/07/w...h-a-snarl.html

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1984/03/07/035485.html?pageNumber=2

wpcoe

IIRC, the YY fares refers to the airline code, not a particular fare basis. Instead of a UA or PA or NW fare, it was YY and you could use any carrier on it. Fares back then were mostly (all?) mileage based, so if you stayed within the MPM (Maximum Permitted Mileage) a YY fare was simply carrier agnostic.

seat38a

I'm guessing all of the kimono wearing FA's came from PanAm since they've been running the service for longer?

Can anyone chime in on what Connoisseur Class was like? I was too young to fly it when it was still around, but I do know of couple of people who flew it to Paris. Was it single tray meals similar to what Premium Plus class is today?

moondog

I normally simply "like" posts that intrigue me, but these articles deserve a WOW.

TPJ

My perspective:

1991 to 1993 - the highest DL tier (forgot the name of the tier - possibly just Medallion):

- still many ex-PAA (Pan Am) aircraft - C-class seats without even footrests
- No IFE other than the big screen (VS already had individual screens)
- Food and drinks were good
- F/A service was outstanding (not even a single bad experience)
- Local bases in WAW/TLV/BOM/DEL with really good F/A's
- Then service deteriorated under Escarra's 'leadership' - I moved to KLM

I, however, recall I had a single UA FRA-ORD C-class flight in 1994 and it was much worse than DL (even Escarra's DL) - only 2 F/A's for a full C (B767), slow service, lack of refills even when main course was delivered. I decided to stick to KLM - that was then so much superior.

Honestly I prefer today's C-class with fully flat seats. I do not have to eat - will just survive on lounge food, but will not be able to sleep on early 1990's C-class seats. For premium cabin travelers today are the 'golden days' (IMHO).

seat38a

Was clicking around and watching more of the videos from the YouTube poster of the KE flight. Looks like he also uploaded one of United L1011 at ICN. You can definitely tell it was an ex PanAm bird. Quick glimpses of the cabin towards the end. ICN -> KIX -> LAX in those recliners, no thanks!

eflyte

Like the patch job on the paint! Also notice the KAL livery hasn’t changed in the 25+ years since this was filmed. How many designs has UAL been through in that time?

cerealmarketer

Great to see primary source history. Nice theatrics to the salad and beef, but you realize how much harder it was to source vegetables back then - sticking to Swanson peas and carrots.

Wine was mass brand plonk and liquor - well there werent' so many upper shelf brands back then widely distributed. How many howls have we heard around here about Dewars.

EWR764

Great stuff... note the ex-PA 3-4-3 configuration in the L15!

narvik

On the flip-side, the United FA's in this film haven't changed either:
They're all still working the sought after routes due to their current seniority.

dilanesp

But I thought 3-4-3 in a 777 was a unique modern outrage!

jsloan

Nobody’s saying that. The A380 and 747 both run 10-abreast even today. However, they were both designed to do so. The L1011, like the B777, was not.

747 cabin width: 20 feet, 1 inch
A380 cabin width: 21 feet, 6 inches
777 cabin width: 19 feet, 3 inches
L1011 cabin width: 18 feet, 11 inches

That sounds... dreadful.