When it comes to aircraft cabin pictures from the jet set era, there are plenty around. Marketing departments at airlines went hog wild on posed images to lure in potential customers. What is very hard to find are candid inflight photos taken by passengers from that time.
Clearly things are different today, with everyone having a camera on them at all times. Not many people travelling on flights back then thought to take a picture of the inside of the plane. Here is a collection from a few of those that did.
Air Ceylon/BOAC de Havilland Comet 4
First up, we have a super rare shot of the passenger cabin of a de Havilland Comet 4. This particular aircraft is BOAC’s G-APDC on lease to Air Ceylon on a flight on 30 November 1962.
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- Not the best quality, but that can be excused for its rarity.
The five abreast seating is far more spacious in this era. During the 1970s, charter airline Dan-Air bought a lot of Comet 4s and packed people in quite tightly, so this is bliss by comparison.
Pan American Boeing 707
First cab off the rank in for jet airliners in the United States was the Boeing 707. Pan American was the launch customer and their blue and white interiors reflect the colours of their livery.
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- This is a Pan Am 707 on lease to Alaska Airlines, taken on 20 June 1972.
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- Inflight entertainment arrived with TVs on the hat racks!
Those round lights above the aisle are called dome lights and are a feature of the 707. At night, they had a blue colour and Australia’s Qantas designed theirs so that it represented the stars in the night sky over Sydney.
BOAC Vickers VC10
An aircraft with great passenger appeal during the era was the Vickers VC10. With its four Rolls-Royce Conway engines located at the rear, it meant a very quiet cabin.
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- An early VC10 interior from 1965-1967 with hat racks.
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- Late 1960s, the hat racks were enclosed to become overhead bins.
It is remarkable that both the photos above were taken from almost the exact same point in the cabin. For those wondering, the image at the top of this article is also a VC10, the reverse view of the early shot here.
Japan Air Lines and KLM Douglas DC-8
Heading into the 1970s now and here are two images of the Douglas DC-8. One is of Japan Air Lines showing the hat racks filled with pillows and blankets which must have rained down on people during severe turbulence.
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- Japan Air Lines DC-8 cabin from 1973.
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- KLM from 30 April 1978.
Later on the hat racks were changed into overhead bins as the KLM shot demonstrates. It must have been a long flight, with so many people standing in the aisle.
A Bonus Boeing 707 Shot
On Airliners.net, the photographer who took this photo mentions he is not sure which airline it is. His best guess is that this is a BOAC Boeing 707.
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- Is it BOAC? It is 12 January 1963 anyway!
Some people did comment they thought the uniforms of the crew right at the back were BOAC, but others thought it might be some other airline. Do you know what it is?
Overall Thoughts
Candid inflight cabin photos are pretty cool. It is very interesting to see what was happening inside the aircraft, and it really illustrates how little has changed over the years.
Seats are generally the same size, and apart from individual inflight entertainment and more overhead storage, things are pretty much identical. I’d still liked to have experienced flights on these aircraft though, as I imagine they sounded and felt somewhat different to those of today.
Have you flown in any of these cabins? Do these bring back any memories? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Two G-ARVM VC10 interior shots by P. Human via A Little VC10derness.
Widebody VC10 interior by Dan Clark on Airliners.net.
Japan Air Lines Douglas DC-8 by clipperarctic via Wikimedia Commons.
KLM DC-8-63 by Dan Clark on Airliners.net
BOAC 707 interior by Dan Clark on Airliners.net.
Pan Am 707 on lease to Alaska Airlines by Peter de Groot on Airliners.net via Pinterest.
PA 707 with TVs via Pinterest.
de Havilland Comet 4 image by Frans Koop via JetPhotos.net.
I have a vivid memory of the interior of an Eastern Airlines Lockheed Electra that had a table in the back with rear facing seats one one side. Fake memory?
There are some images of a lounge in the back of the Lockheed Electra with seats facing each other. Your memory for Eastern Airlines could be correct, but I can’t find anything online easily. Chances are you’re right and it’s not a fake memory.
I have many fond memories of flying countless trips on the 707 (AA and TW ORD/LAX/SFO/PSP/PHX/LAS/SAN) and LH (ORD/FRA). I’ve flown the BA VC-10 (ORD/LHR) which was really super quiet in First Class because those engines flanked the tail. You knew you were taking off on the VC-10. That thing shot off like a rocket . My memories of the DC-8 were mostly flying UA (ORD-WEST COAST) and DL (ORD- both TPA/ MIA) and also SK (ORD-ARN) to visit my Grandparents. Yes, I’m OLD. And no … IMHO, nothing today compares to flying back then.
You’ve certainly done some flying with some great airlines and on some great aircraft. I’m very jealous! Interesting to hear about the VC10, as it was designed for short runways, so it did have more power per engine compared to the 707s and DC-8s. It means what you report should be the case, so that’s great to hear. Some excellent flying there!!
That is interesting. Looking at the KLM picture, it occurred to me that I don’t know if at some point all seats were smoking. Any idea? Odd tidbits of history appeal to me such as onboard smoking, food, drinks and seat size and pitch.
You would think there would have always had to be non-smoking seats, but then again, perhaps in the 1930s and 1940s there weren’t. That’s something I’d like to know now!
I believe that the concept of “non smoking” seats didn’t develop until the late 1970s or early 1980s. During the late 60s and early 70s, smoking was permitted everywhere as long as the “No Smoking” sign was turned off. This is why you saw ashtray inserts in for every seat. But…..pipes and cigars were forbidden, even then.
I suppose that was a reflection of the times, where pretty much everyone smoked, so why have a non-smoking section for what was likely to be very few people. Thanks for the info, I appreciate that!
You’re right. Back then, most people smoked and the concept of a ‘non smoking area’ was limited to places where you might blow something up. As a little kid, I got to fly several times and thus remember how it was back then. It was in the early to mid 80’s that I recall booking flights in the “non smoking” section (which was useless anyway because the smoke smell still traveled throughout the cabin). Before that it was free range smoking and nobody thought anything of it. People smoked in their offices, cars, houses, in restaurants, basically everywhere. There were… Read more »
Looks like United Airlines was first with a non-smoking section in 1971, but I’d say it was a gradual thing. I just found a whole Wikipedia article on Inflight Smoking here – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflight_smoking
I’ve seen cigarette vending machines in Japan (in the streets) but never anywhere else apart from inside bars. Things certainly have changed quite a lot and you’re right, relatively quickly when compared to other changes which seem to have a longer period. Different times all round really!