Passengers had access to open spaces where they could sit, mingle and drink with each other - Getty/Pictorial Parade

 

All the Things We Miss Most about the Air Travel of Yesteryear

By Robert Jackman

 

It’s one of the most lamented casualties of the modern aviation era: not being able to go to the gate with your loved ones. But could this most romantic of aviation perks be about to make a return – albeit in a suitably safe way?

That’s the hope of the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which has just announced a trial program to allow pre-screened individuals who aren’t travelling to go airside at 13 US airports.

Of course, it’s not the only perk that travel enthusiasts get nostalgic about. Here are 10 of the most missed elements of air travel from rose-tinted decades past.

Analogue departure boards

For those of a certain generation, there is one sound that captures the romance of air travel: the flutter of those old mechanical departure boards.

While the analogue boards (known as Solari boards) have long been replaced by digital screens, they can still be found in select locations. If you’re flying first class with the Aussie airline Qantas, for example, you can find old-school departure boards at their lounges in Sydney and Melbourne.

Smoking on planes

All right, slightly tongue in cheek on this one, but you can’t deny there is a Don Draper-esque charm about the idea of an in-flight cigarette. Of course, the practice has been consigned to the dustbin of history for so long that you rarely see evidence of ashtrays on planes these days.

Visiting the flight deck

The idea of passengers popping into the cockpit seems almost absurd in the era of heightened aviation security. Yet once upon a time, it was common for captains to invite younger travelers to visit the flight deck.

Thankfully, this one hasn’t disappeared without a trace. Some airlines still give captains the discretion to let enthusiastic junior travelers – and their families – have a peek at the flight deck after the plane has landed.

In-flight pampering

Keen to stand out from its stuffier, more established rivals such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic once offered a unique perk to premium passengers: on-board beauticians to provide manicures and hand massages.

Could it even make a return? While some luxury carriers offer spa treatments in their premium lounges, the idea of offering massages at 39,000ft now seems far-fetched.

Flowers in the loos

Business class cabins may have become rather fancier over the past few decades, but there are a handful of perks that have nevertheless quietly fallen by the wayside – at least according to those who are used to casting a discerning eye over these things.

“It might sound minor, but a lot of airlines used to keep fresh flowers in the first and business class bathrooms to spruce them up a bit,” says Rhys Jones, aviation editor for the travel news outlet Head for Points.

No, they aren’t completely gone yet – but their future doesn’t look promising. Virgin Atlantic plans to retire the last of its in-flight bars by the end of the decade, when it completes the refurbishment of its 787s.

The airline says the space will be used to create larger business-class suites instead. But it’s hard to imagine that we won’t look back wistfully at the time you could knock back cocktails at the bar while cruising across the Atlantic.

Observation decks at airports

While in-flight banquets from the 1970s have gone viral on social media, one other feature of the prestige era of aviation has had much less attention – the lost art of building huge outdoor viewing terraces at major airports.

In the 1970s, Heathrow, Schiphol and Frankfurt all had them, while Los Angeles had a futuristic-looking tower with a panoramic restaurant offering views of the runways.

The Queen of the Skies

The iconic 747 was beloved by many pilots, but the trailblazing jetliner had some notable advantages for passengers too.

On BA’s 747s, for example, the business class cabin on the upper deck went right to the front of the nose. If you were sitting in the first row, you could just about catch a forward view by looking out of the window.

Unexpected upgrades

While it’s true that flight tickets were more expensive in the 1980s and 1990s, there were some upsides for passengers – not least the likelihood of being upgraded at the gate.

Nowadays, the ruthlessly efficient nature of frequent-flyer programs means that such treatment is reserved for those who are already in the airline’s good books – and that’s assuming there are any free seats in the first place.

Seeing loved ones off at the gate

As welcome as the TSA news might be, we’re a far cry from returning to those long-lost days when relatives and loved ones could flock to the gate as and when they pleased.

Years later, the trope of desperate lovers rushing to the gate – or back along the air bridge – has become a romcom cliché, immortalized in scenes from Friends and Liar, Liar, and parodied in Airplane! and 30 Rock.

Then again, Chandler would certainly have got away with his Yemen ruse had Janice not insisted on following him until the last possible second – so perhaps there are some advantages to leaving our nearest and dearest waving from the check-in concourse after all. – The Telegraph