A bit late to the party but I started working as a junior for a travel agency specialising in business travel in the summer of 1980. Although the company had recently invested in Travicom - a 'multi-airline' computer reservation system (where one had to log in to the airline you wanted), ABCs were most definitely the standard/go-to when needing to plan an itinerary of any note. If I recall correct, there were 2 editions bi-monthly (blue as per above - I am not yet allowed to post URLs and red, simply divided alphabetically on departure city). They were the size of doorsteps and being a geography nerd (still am) I had no problem getting used to using them - the amount of information for most flights was fantastic. Obviously, as technology developed, the need to depend on the ABCs diminished, although I recall we always kept a couple of copies on subscription, probably until the late 1980s. Little travel-technology related footnote: the company I worked for was the first to use SABRE in the UK. That changed everything.
Last edited by roofterrace; 28th Dec 2022 at 09:33.
Reason: ABCs, not OAGs... and some grammar corrections