Prior to circa 1960 people flew on very noisy piston engine aircraft which vibrated, were badly pressurised (sometimes not pressurised at all) causing ear ache, flew at lower altitudes through rather than over bad weather, were slow and had engines which had a habit of catching fire during the flight. Little wonder airlines did their best to make the experience as comfortable as possible. However, concerning the modern era post early 60's, economy class flying in the 1970's was not a luxury experience. Certainly it was better than today in many respects but care must be taken not to overrate it. It was certainly more civilised and passengers were treated with more consideration and respect. Perhaps a good comparison would be that flying in the 1970's was more like going out for a meal in a nice restaurant whereas today it could be compared to a visit to McDonalds. 1. Economy class seat pitch. Typical Y class seat pitch was between 32 and 34 inches, not the 36 to 40 inches claimed. In fact, 40 to 42 inches was the standard FIRST CLASS LONG HAUL seat pitch on launch configuration 747's (6 rows in the nose section). Video at 0.41 shows an emergency exit row where there is no window seat by the emergency exit and 0.33 is the first row by a full size aircraft door. Gross misrepresentation of the 'Spacious legroom' idea. 2. Economy class seat width. The idea that Y class seats were wider is only partially true. On narrow body single aisle aircraft the 3 X 3 Y class seating was the same width as today. For example, the width of a Boeing 737 has not changed. The width of a Boeing 737 today is the same width as the very first Boeing 737 from the 1960's. As the Y class seating has always been 3 X 3 on such aircraft, the seat width has not changed. The same holds good across all narrow body aircraft. Concerning wide body aircraft, the launch configurations of such aircraft usually had 1 seat less per-row, for example the 747 launch configuration in Y class was 9 abreast 2 X 4 X 3 as opposed to 10 abreast 3 X 4 X 3 from the early 80's onwards. This resulted in a very slightly wider seat on such wide body aircraft. 3. Economy class catering. The 'Gourmet dining' described was and still is found in long haul First Class. Economy class dining was not to that standard. A good restaurant quality meal on a tray yes, a luxurious gourmet meal no. 4. Piano bars in the sky. The image at 1.25 is FAKE. This is a mock up created by Boeing for a sales event to sell ideas to airlines. No airline ever took up the idea of a lounge such as this downstairs in the hold. The image at 1.38 is the First Class lounge on the upper deck of a Qantas Boeing 747, the Captain Cook lounge, and is an airline publicity image. Not sure what the image at 1.37 is supposed to be but that is NOT aboard an aircraft! Those Y class lounges with pianos were US domestic specific and existed only on wide body aircraft for a very short time due to significant overcapacity on US domestic flights following the change from narrow body to wide body aircraft. Thew were found only on 747 operated transcontinental flights, not on narrow body aircraft such as the 707, DC8, 727, 737 or DC9! They did not exist on international flights to/from the US or anywhere outside the US. Concerning the First Class 747 onboard lounges and First Class in general, the idea that travelling First Class was like attending some sort of party in the sky is a myth. The majority of First Class passengers were not the partying young couples of airline publicity images; they were suited businessmen for the most part plus wealthy elderly widows and other similar very conservative types who conducted themselves accordingly. 5. Complimentary cigarettes were only for First Class and usually limited to long haul international flights. 6. Champagne. Champagne was complimentary in First Class. All airlines charged for alcoholic drinks in Economy in the 1970's. 8. Gold plated Amenities. The images at 4.08 and 4.13 are of the private jets of billionaires or heads of state in more modern times. I doubt any commercial airline ever actually had gold plated cutlery. 9. Personalised service. You show an image of present day business class during the Covid pandemic with a passenger wearing his mask at 3.39. Why do you repeatedly single out Pan Am and Olympic Airways for praise? There is also a different side to air travel in the 1970's. In the UK we had various low-cost holiday charter airlines which offered levels of service very different to what you may expect from that era. Reduced 30 inch seat pitch, 33lb baggage allowance and onboard horrors such as the infamous 'seat back' catering concept. One such airline even squeezed an extra seat into a single aisle narrow body aircraft offering a 4 X 3 configuration instead of the usual 3 X 3.
Prior to circa 1960 people flew on very noisy piston engine aircraft which vibrated, were badly pressurised (sometimes not pressurised at all) causing ear ache, flew at lower altitudes through rather than over bad weather, were slow and had engines which had a habit of catching fire during the flight. Little wonder airlines did their best to make the experience as comfortable as possible.
However, concerning the modern era post early 60's, economy class flying in the 1970's was not a luxury experience. Certainly it was better than today in many respects but care must be taken not to overrate it. It was certainly more civilised and passengers were treated with more consideration and respect. Perhaps a good comparison would be that flying in the 1970's was more like going out for a meal in a nice restaurant whereas today it could be compared to a visit to McDonalds.
1. Economy class seat pitch. Typical Y class seat pitch was between 32 and 34 inches, not the 36 to 40 inches claimed. In fact, 40 to 42 inches was the standard FIRST CLASS LONG HAUL seat pitch on launch configuration 747's (6 rows in the nose section). Video at 0.41 shows an emergency exit row where there is no window seat by the emergency exit and 0.33 is the first row by a full size aircraft door. Gross misrepresentation of the 'Spacious legroom' idea.
2. Economy class seat width. The idea that Y class seats were wider is only partially true. On narrow body single aisle aircraft the 3 X 3 Y class seating was the same width as today. For example, the width of a Boeing 737 has not changed. The width of a Boeing 737 today is the same width as the very first Boeing 737 from the 1960's. As the Y class seating has always been 3 X 3 on such aircraft, the seat width has not changed. The same holds good across all narrow body aircraft. Concerning wide body aircraft, the launch configurations of such aircraft usually had 1 seat less per-row, for example the 747 launch configuration in Y class was 9 abreast 2 X 4 X 3 as opposed to 10 abreast 3 X 4 X 3 from the early 80's onwards. This resulted in a very slightly wider seat on such wide body aircraft.
3. Economy class catering. The 'Gourmet dining' described was and still is found in long haul First Class. Economy class dining was not to that standard. A good restaurant quality meal on a tray yes, a luxurious gourmet meal no.
4. Piano bars in the sky. The image at 1.25 is FAKE. This is a mock up created by Boeing for a sales event to sell ideas to airlines. No airline ever took up the idea of a lounge such as this downstairs in the hold. The image at 1.38 is the First Class lounge on the upper deck of a Qantas Boeing 747, the Captain Cook lounge, and is an airline publicity image. Not sure what the image at 1.37 is supposed to be but that is NOT aboard an aircraft! Those Y class lounges with pianos were US domestic specific and existed only on wide body aircraft for a very short time due to significant overcapacity on US domestic flights following the change from narrow body to wide body aircraft. Thew were found only on 747 operated transcontinental flights, not on narrow body aircraft such as the 707, DC8, 727, 737 or DC9! They did not exist on international flights to/from the US or anywhere outside the US. Concerning the First Class 747 onboard lounges and First Class in general, the idea that travelling First Class was like attending some sort of party in the sky is a myth. The majority of First Class passengers were not the partying young couples of airline publicity images; they were suited businessmen for the most part plus wealthy elderly widows and other similar very conservative types who conducted themselves accordingly.
5. Complimentary cigarettes were only for First Class and usually limited to long haul international flights.
6. Champagne. Champagne was complimentary in First Class. All airlines charged for alcoholic drinks in Economy in the 1970's.
8. Gold plated Amenities. The images at 4.08 and 4.13 are of the private jets of billionaires or heads of state in more modern times. I doubt any commercial airline ever actually had gold plated cutlery.
9. Personalised service. You show an image of present day business class during the Covid pandemic with a passenger wearing his mask at 3.39.
Why do you repeatedly single out Pan Am and Olympic Airways for praise?
There is also a different side to air travel in the 1970's. In the UK we had various low-cost holiday charter airlines which offered levels of service very different to what you may expect from that era. Reduced 30 inch seat pitch, 33lb baggage allowance and onboard horrors such as the infamous 'seat back' catering concept. One such airline even squeezed an extra seat into a single aisle narrow body aircraft offering a 4 X 3 configuration instead of the usual 3 X 3.
boring