[FDOS]

Bath

This is a photo that shows what I mean

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.kinja-img.com%2Fgawker-media%2Fimage%2Fupload%2Fs–2QSKZboc–%2Fc_fill%2Cfl_progressive%2Cg_center%2Ch_900%2Cq_80%2Cw_1600%2Fxm3eslrjjubyywurmdoa.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=4061afa958819d33030727d67918799f89fd31bb20fbc8b6aa56c46bd2d82a6a&ipo=images

However, I can see the IL86 resemblance, now you mention it.

[RoyC]

In 1974 my 6 year old daughter cried her eyes out on a holiday flight to Majorca because “the plane has no propellor so how can it fly ?”
Her only previous flying was in a Britannia and in my Piper Cub !

1 user thanked author for this post.

Bath_VIP

[FRANCESCABARNES]

I started as Cabin Crew with BEA Airtours on the Comet at LGW when they started Operations in March 1970. Although there were other ‘jets’ around (BCAL for instance), I consider 1970 to be the big start.

2 users thanked author for this post.

AMcWhirter, Bath_VIP

[AMcWhirter]

[quote quote=1338084]Although there were other ‘jets’ around (BCAL for instance), I consider 1970 to be the big start.[/quote]

In fact you have reminded me …

Whereas the B747 was the aircraft that ushered in long-haul mass travel (from around the mid-1970s) I believe it was the B737 (which entered service with Lufthansa in 1968) which led to the growth of short-haul mass travel.

The big start came before 1970.

My first flight was in 1967 and jets were widely used in mainland Europe at that time.

Aside from numerous BUA flights by 1-11s (in the late 1960s) my early short-haul ones 1967-69 were LGW-LED-LGW plus LED-SVO-LED with Aeroflot (TU-104 !), Lufthansa LHR-DUS (B727), Swissair DUS-ZRH (DC-9), Lufthansa ZRH-FRA-CGN (B737), BEA LHR-LBG (Trident), BEA 1-11 (MAN-LHR).

In fact the only prop aircraft I took in the late 1960s were those BEA Vanguard domestic flights plus the small prop plane which BUA operated LGW-LTQ as part of the Silver Arrow service.

As an aside FRANCESCABARNES you may have been working on one of the BEA Airtours Comet 4B charter flights I took around 1970 or so.

It was a simple one-way AMS-LGW and I paid a student fare of around £5 ! Back then there were no taxes/fees/charges.

As you know in 1970 IATA controlled all scheduled fares and one way to circumvent this was for airlines to operate affinity charters – hence those transatlantic flights referred to above by ASK1945.

[FDOS]

Another key milestone was the introduction of the DC8 Super 60s in the late 60s – still narrow body, but high density/high capacity and aimed at lowering the cost per seat, whilts still remaining profitable.

[TominScotland]

My first jet flights were, I think, in 1971 (I must be younger than many posters on this Forum!!) on a student charter on a World Airways DC8 aircraft (when it was very new to them) LGW-YQX-JFK and IAD-SNN-LGW. Hugely excited at the time.

[FRANCESCABARNES]

Thanks for the comment Alex.
You will obviously remember the 4 rear facing seats at the front, and with the steep climb of the Comet made quite a view towards the back. If I remember correctly a Package holiday all in cost around £25. St. Trinians of the Skies we are known as and still have a yearly Re-Union. those were the true fun days.

[RoyC]

In 1964 I flew from LHR to Copenhagen on a S.A.S. D.C.8 to spend Christmas with the mother of the previously mentioned 6 year old :>)

[Bath_VIP]

[postquote quote=1338188]

Was that the first aircraft type to get a stretch variant? At least since the Comet?

[AMcWhirter]

[quote quote=1338196]You will obviously remember the 4 rear facing seats at the front, and with the steep climb of the Comet made quite a view towards the back.[/quote]

Thanks Francesca. I was a teenager at the time so had no status ! I was sitting over the wings and I can recall the steep take off and the engine noise which was so loud.

[AMcWhirter]

[quote quote=1338219]Was that the first aircraft type to get a stretch variant? At least since the Comet?[/quote]

For short-haul aircraft it would have been the DC-9 and the Bae 1-11.

[AMcWhirter]

Hello FDOS – yes the 61 and 63 series DC-8 variants were stretched and with greater capacity.

But there was also a high performance 62 series variant.

As far as I can remember it may only have been slightly longer (if at all) than earlier variants but it had a greater range than the B707.

In fact, around 1972, Thai International became the first airline to fly Europe-SE Asia non-stop with the 62 series. At that time Thai operated LHR-BKK.

[AMcWhirter]

[quote quote=1338219]Was that the first aircraft type to get a stretch variant? At least since the Comet?[/quote]

In fact the VC-10 was stretched to Super VC-10.

The video below shows the standard VC-10 of BUA. BOAC had both standard and super VC-10s.

1964 – enter Freddie Laker & BUA on the South America routes. Their VC10s knocked a full 7 hours off the Comet journey time to Santiago. The routes would pass to British Caledonian after their 1970 BUA takeover, & then to BA in 1985 in a route swap.https://t.co/z5T9LysutW pic.twitter.com/VFktse1Q5C

— Captain Brent 🇬🇧 (@Birdseed501) January 27, 2023

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