The way we were - Ansett, TAA, Qantas

[airspace alpha]

ansett in 1983

I commend to you the book “Beyond the Blue Horizon” by kiwi journalist Alexander Frater. (Only available these days as an e-book I’m afraid). In 1983 Frater decided to replicate using modern airlines the old Imperial Airways route to from London to Brisbane from the 1930’s. His journey variously took him through Egypt, Iraq, the Middle East and Pakistan- where he met an Air New Zealand F27 crew on detachment to the Oman air force.

The final chapters cover his route from Darwin to Brisbane and he flies a Tillair Cessna 421 (“The Conquest is crook today mate”) and has lunch with Ossie Osgood of Arnhem Air Charter.

Apropos the way we were here is a section from his evening flight from Townsville to Brisbane on the Ansett B727:

Dinner was roast lamb, carrots, broccoli and potatoes, served with a quarter bottle of classie Aussie claret. The moonless Pacific turned from pearl grey to black, the sky to the west over Australia from an exuberant swirl of orange and plum to a faint luminous smudge, like the glow from live embers.
I sat immediately behind First Class and the voices, fuelled by free liquor, grew more boisterous, the laughter less restrained until it sounded as if an impromptu party was being thrown in the forward cabin.

I saw reflected in the dark window a first class meal being demolished by a sinewy brown arm with its sleeve rolled up and gold Rolex Oyster on the wrist. It worked its way through a giant chunk of pate encased in pastry and a pound or two of beef. Periodically the small hand of the stewardess stole into the window to refill his wine glass. He and his neighbour were conversing noisily about the State Mangroves Board and the butt of their jokes was an official referred to as the Commissioner of Mangroves. Could this be true? If so these two held the commissioner in very low esteem.

I wasn’t in Australia at the time- in fact I was sitting on by ar$e in Nigeria trying not to get killed- but this to me evokes a time many talk about- the heyday of Australian airline service and of course some of the customers who used them.