Some questions about airline flying in 70's/80's
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From: Amsterdam
Some questions about airline flying in 70's/80's
I'd like to ask some questions about flying in 70's / 80's:
1. How many short / medium legs did a crew have to fly in a day?
2. What was a typical turnaround time during such a day?
3. Did a pilot fly with the same crew / 2-3 crews for a longer period of time or was it the same as now in terms of crew assignments?
4. Is the depiction from 70's / 80's movies correct when showing the captain standing in front of the passengers and giving a welcome "speech"?
Thank you in advance for all the responses. I'm very curious.
1. How many short / medium legs did a crew have to fly in a day?
2. What was a typical turnaround time during such a day?
3. Did a pilot fly with the same crew / 2-3 crews for a longer period of time or was it the same as now in terms of crew assignments?
4. Is the depiction from 70's / 80's movies correct when showing the captain standing in front of the passengers and giving a welcome "speech"?
Thank you in advance for all the responses. I'm very curious.
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From: Cyprus
Capt Rodg : I'll bite because I'm stuck waiting for the Pool Guy ! -And, he expects me to help.
1. Can't recall a max although 6 is lurking about in the grey cells. I regularly did 5. We would, of course, be restricted by Flying Duty Periods and the length of the sectors proposed would be divided into.
2. Turnround time was typically one hour. For a 757, comfortable.One daft lot tried for 45 mins, never made it but gave us all a hard time for non- achievement. Fave was Northeast Airlines Trident in & out of Bilbao- 3 hours. Cabin crew laid out the first two rows (very first were rear- facing-then the rest forward which made it look like a banquet lay-out and we would all tuck into our crew meals. Except me. I was anorexic and trying to maintain my 9 stone body weight !
3. Don't know what happens "now" but we were not particularly tied. Just the way rostering went meant that 757 rides across the Atlantic made us tied together with one crew for as much as 6 days, Party on. Fabbo. Best ever was Banjul. One sector there but no way to get back. Stayed for a week on the West African Beach. So did, BA, Condor, few other well known European Charter operators. Now, I mean, R e a l l y................Party on ! - Total marriage & relationship wrecker though.
4. Never knew anyone standing in the cabin for the Welcome on Board bit. Except one. He was famous for pulling the hand-mike at full stretch into the cabin and off he went. Misplaced DJ/ TV presenter. I was just famous for going on and on and on with folk reaching for portable hang-man nooses or even the occasional fire-arm-mid speech.
1. Can't recall a max although 6 is lurking about in the grey cells. I regularly did 5. We would, of course, be restricted by Flying Duty Periods and the length of the sectors proposed would be divided into.
2. Turnround time was typically one hour. For a 757, comfortable.One daft lot tried for 45 mins, never made it but gave us all a hard time for non- achievement. Fave was Northeast Airlines Trident in & out of Bilbao- 3 hours. Cabin crew laid out the first two rows (very first were rear- facing-then the rest forward which made it look like a banquet lay-out and we would all tuck into our crew meals. Except me. I was anorexic and trying to maintain my 9 stone body weight !
3. Don't know what happens "now" but we were not particularly tied. Just the way rostering went meant that 757 rides across the Atlantic made us tied together with one crew for as much as 6 days, Party on. Fabbo. Best ever was Banjul. One sector there but no way to get back. Stayed for a week on the West African Beach. So did, BA, Condor, few other well known European Charter operators. Now, I mean, R e a l l y................Party on ! - Total marriage & relationship wrecker though.
4. Never knew anyone standing in the cabin for the Welcome on Board bit. Except one. He was famous for pulling the hand-mike at full stretch into the cabin and off he went. Misplaced DJ/ TV presenter. I was just famous for going on and on and on with folk reaching for portable hang-man nooses or even the occasional fire-arm-mid speech.
Last edited by Gordomac; 14th October 2025 at 08:42. Reason: TYpo excitement at recalling Banjul week-stoppovers !
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From: Western Europe
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From: Central UK
Whenever humanly possible I made it a point to stand up in front of the pax to explain big delays in person, it was always well recieved and saved the cc from a lot of flak which was half the point. On occasion it saved what could easily have turned into a riot. imho more should do this.
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From: UK
Whenever humanly possible I made it a point to stand up in front of the pax to explain big delays in person, it was always well recieved and saved the cc from a lot of flak which was half the point. On occasion it saved what could easily have turned into a riot. imho more should do this.
As for the other points, 1980s UK 737-200 charter operator:
- With maximum 4h 30m capability nearly always two sectors out and back. Occasionally three to refuel from limiting runways, eg Funchal and Skiathos.
- 45 busy minutes supervising refuelling, walkround, programming Omega, manual loadsheet and, being British, tea with the cabin crew.
- Random rosters so usually no, but sometimes a couple of successive flights together due to common rest requirements. Occasional multi-day pairings with a crew touring through out-stations.
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From: Australia
I flew for a small airline in 1976 to 1989 called Air Nauru which in those days had had three Boeing 737's. . Because we rarely had a full cabin, the captain would stroll through the cabin during cruise and talk to each of the passengers. Our destinations included Hong Kong, Taipei, Kagoshima in Japan, Okinawa, Saipan, guam, Truk, Pohnpei, Majuro in the Marshal Islands, Tarawa in the Kiribati Islands, Nauru Island, Honiara in the Solomon Islands, Port Vila in Vanuatu, Fiji, Wallis Island, Tonga, Apia in Western Samoa, Pago Pago in Americam Samoa, Raratonga in the Cook Islands, New Zealand, Sydney and Melbourne in Australia The crews were mainly Australlian pilots while the flight attendants came from the different islands and countries that airline served. The airline's flight safety record was exemplary
Nauru was in those days a phosphate rich island that took one 25 minutes to drive around the whole island which had a population of 8.000 Some routes were 1400 miles such as Majuro to Honolulu. Others were generally two hour legs with the shortest route being Nandi to Nausauri within Fiji of 25 minutes. The variety of passengers was extensive from World War 2 American veterans of the Pacific war returning to old battle fields of Guadalcanal, Tarawa and Guam, to international yacht crews returning from delivering yachts to various parts of the Pacific to scuba divers on to sunken Japanese ships in Truk Lagoon.
One passenger I talked to when visiting the cabin was a Singer Sowing machine mechanic. In the 1920's mIssionarys had brought the old pedal operated Singer sowing machines to the remore Pacific islands. He would stop at one island to repair a broken Singer sowing machine and was invited to stay the night. Then he would fix other broken items like toasters or even radios. He would then move to another island and fix more items like a bicyle chain and stay for a few days repairing things around the island then move on and so on. If you Google the words Tall Tails of the South Pacific more stories of Air Nauru will come up
Nauru was in those days a phosphate rich island that took one 25 minutes to drive around the whole island which had a population of 8.000 Some routes were 1400 miles such as Majuro to Honolulu. Others were generally two hour legs with the shortest route being Nandi to Nausauri within Fiji of 25 minutes. The variety of passengers was extensive from World War 2 American veterans of the Pacific war returning to old battle fields of Guadalcanal, Tarawa and Guam, to international yacht crews returning from delivering yachts to various parts of the Pacific to scuba divers on to sunken Japanese ships in Truk Lagoon.
One passenger I talked to when visiting the cabin was a Singer Sowing machine mechanic. In the 1920's mIssionarys had brought the old pedal operated Singer sowing machines to the remore Pacific islands. He would stop at one island to repair a broken Singer sowing machine and was invited to stay the night. Then he would fix other broken items like toasters or even radios. He would then move to another island and fix more items like a bicyle chain and stay for a few days repairing things around the island then move on and so on. If you Google the words Tall Tails of the South Pacific more stories of Air Nauru will come up
Last edited by Centaurus; 16th October 2025 at 10:36.
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From: by the seaside
1. 2-5 sectors a day.
2.45min to 1 hour turnaround generally.
3. Initially same crew but with different flight/cabin crew rostering sometimes two cabin crews in one day.
Flying for the Swiss we had the same cabin crew for the week’s work with the exception of a jumper for the larger DC9.
4. In BEA welcome speech from the cockpit and on long sectors a stroll through the cabin which included first officers and invites to the cockpit especially crumpet.
In SR captain was expected to greet pax and thank them post flight. Most blocks of work included 2/3 night stops where we dinned together with the captain and copilot paying for the drinks bill..(in BEA/BA drinks were courtesy of the first class galley).
2.45min to 1 hour turnaround generally.
3. Initially same crew but with different flight/cabin crew rostering sometimes two cabin crews in one day.
Flying for the Swiss we had the same cabin crew for the week’s work with the exception of a jumper for the larger DC9.
4. In BEA welcome speech from the cockpit and on long sectors a stroll through the cabin which included first officers and invites to the cockpit especially crumpet.
In SR captain was expected to greet pax and thank them post flight. Most blocks of work included 2/3 night stops where we dinned together with the captain and copilot paying for the drinks bill..(in BEA/BA drinks were courtesy of the first class galley).
Mistrust in Management
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From: UK
(in BEA/BA drinks were courtesy of the first class galley
Kind regards
Exeng
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From: by the seaside
On the iron duck the brown milk arrived up front after vacating the runway and had to be downed before getting onto the stand.
Heard a story iirc that the practice of removing some of the first class galley stopped after a Banjul service saw the whole return flight bar disappear to the crew hotel leaving a large number of mainly jocks who had been on a dry oil rig for a couple of months without refreshments.
I did a baslair charter in the mid 80s and met up with a Cali crew who had just had a fancy dress room party..attire was black bin bags.
Happy days
Heard a story iirc that the practice of removing some of the first class galley stopped after a Banjul service saw the whole return flight bar disappear to the crew hotel leaving a large number of mainly jocks who had been on a dry oil rig for a couple of months without refreshments.
I did a baslair charter in the mid 80s and met up with a Cali crew who had just had a fancy dress room party..attire was black bin bags.
Happy days
Thread Starter
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From: Amsterdam
Thanks to all the replies. It seems in terms of number of sectors, turnaround time and crew scheduling it was pretty similar to how it's done today (low costs excluded, as they seem to have ~30 minutes turnaround times).
Can someone explain me what "brown milk" refers to? Is it a term to refer to alcohol?
Can someone explain me what "brown milk" refers to? Is it a term to refer to alcohol?
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From: Wildest Surrey
On the iron duck the brown milk arrived up front after vacating the runway and had to be downed before getting onto the stand.
Heard a story iirc that the practice of removing some of the first class galley stopped after a Banjul service saw the whole return flight bar disappear to the crew hotel leaving a large number of mainly jocks who had been on a dry oil rig for a couple of months without refreshments.
I did a baslair charter in the mid 80s and met up with a Cali crew who had just had a fancy dress room party..attire was black bin bags.
Happy days
Heard a story iirc that the practice of removing some of the first class galley stopped after a Banjul service saw the whole return flight bar disappear to the crew hotel leaving a large number of mainly jocks who had been on a dry oil rig for a couple of months without refreshments.
I did a baslair charter in the mid 80s and met up with a Cali crew who had just had a fancy dress room party..attire was black bin bags.
Happy days
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From: A place in the sun
For those of us who had been on Britannias, such drinks were called 'brakedwell cocktails'. They were drunk between exiting the runway and arriving on stand. And very civilised it was too.
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From: Southampton
Thanks to all the replies. It seems in terms of number of sectors, turnaround time and crew scheduling it was pretty similar to how it's done today (low costs excluded, as they seem to have ~30 minutes turnaround times).
Can someone explain me what "brown milk" refers to? Is it a term to refer to alcohol?
Can someone explain me what "brown milk" refers to? Is it a term to refer to alcohol?
In a veterinary context, brown milk from a cow can be a sign of a severe issue like a major vein rupture or severe mastitis, and milking should be discontinued.
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From: by the seaside
We had a jock who would raid the first class bar filling up his hip flask and eat his crew meal..three courses ..in first class with a glass of wine.
Met up with a hostess from the early 70s who “accidentally” trapped his hand in a bar trolley when she caught him..CC hated him but you couldn’t say anything; one of those old British supposed class or Freemason cr@p.
We had quite a lot of guys who attempted to put on a public school accent and had “captain” in front of their name in the telephone book..me I went from Essex to rough Essex/cockney and had a mate who was public school put on an extremely bad cockney accent to take the mickey at the former.
My dad used to say it was Fred Karno’s circus.
Our union rep flew in the cockpit in air chance and not only did they have wine with their meal but a cognac afterwards with their coffee.
and now you can’t have a nice glass of wine and drive although antidepressants are allowed.
Met up with a hostess from the early 70s who “accidentally” trapped his hand in a bar trolley when she caught him..CC hated him but you couldn’t say anything; one of those old British supposed class or Freemason cr@p.
We had quite a lot of guys who attempted to put on a public school accent and had “captain” in front of their name in the telephone book..me I went from Essex to rough Essex/cockney and had a mate who was public school put on an extremely bad cockney accent to take the mickey at the former.
My dad used to say it was Fred Karno’s circus.
Our union rep flew in the cockpit in air chance and not only did they have wine with their meal but a cognac afterwards with their coffee.
and now you can’t have a nice glass of wine and drive although antidepressants are allowed.
"Mildly" Eccentric Stardriver
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From: England
I had the situation once where a newish hostie brought the after-landing drink onto the flight deck while on finals. You can imagine the questions if there had been an accident. Two empty glasses and the deck smelling of booze. "Take them back". Ref the question of taxying, I think most people used the rule of: after parking brake on and engines shut down. In fact, if it was a hotel stop, the drinks didn't arrive until in the taxi. Mind you, that was the better part of thirty years ago.
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From: Central UK
We had a jock who would raid the first class bar filling up his hip flask and eat his crew meal..three courses ..in first class with a glass of wine.
Met up with a hostess from the early 70s who “accidentally” trapped his hand in a bar trolley when she caught him..CC hated him but you couldn’t say anything; one of those old British supposed class or Freemason cr@p.
We had quite a lot of guys who attempted to put on a public school accent and had “captain” in front of their name in the telephone book..me I went from Essex to rough Essex/cockney and had a mate who was public school put on an extremely bad cockney accent to take the mickey at the former.
My dad used to say it was Fred Karno’s circus.
Our union rep flew in the cockpit in air chance and not only did they have wine with their meal but a cognac afterwards with their coffee.
and now you can’t have a nice glass of wine and drive although antidepressants are allowed.
Met up with a hostess from the early 70s who “accidentally” trapped his hand in a bar trolley when she caught him..CC hated him but you couldn’t say anything; one of those old British supposed class or Freemason cr@p.
We had quite a lot of guys who attempted to put on a public school accent and had “captain” in front of their name in the telephone book..me I went from Essex to rough Essex/cockney and had a mate who was public school put on an extremely bad cockney accent to take the mickey at the former.
My dad used to say it was Fred Karno’s circus.
Our union rep flew in the cockpit in air chance and not only did they have wine with their meal but a cognac afterwards with their coffee.
and now you can’t have a nice glass of wine and drive although antidepressants are allowed.
If the utterly unsbstantiable and unacceptablly toxic remarks you've made were on racial or sexual grounds you'd rightly be in line for a prison sentence. But I suppose you think that identically nasty classist bigotry is OK do you?
For shame. For utter shame.
Freemason my erse. If only you knew how ridiculously idioticly uninformed you sound.
