Smoking in the air

On this morning’s Danny Baker show on Radio 5 Lynsey Hipgrave spoke with a mixture of wonder & horror as she remembered people smoking on the plane when she flew for the first time on a package holiday to Yugoslavia.

Very Mad Men, said another studio guest.

When I took my very first flight, in the real 1960s, there was not even a non-smoking section on the plane – London to New York, BOAC, Boeing 707. I remember the Captain coming on the public address system to welcome everyone aboard before take off & explaining that we would be able to smoke once the non-smoking sign went off. He did however ask that the 100+ passengers refrain from smoking either pipe or cigars, as their pungent aroma would too much for some in that confined space.

In those days the captain of the plane behaved more like the captain of a ship & at some point in the journey he came back to greet & speak to passengers individually.

He was smoking a cigar as he did so.