The London tube map no longer has Heathrow Terminal 1. I was surprised as I’d forgotten that it closed last June. From 1968 – 1972 I used it at least six times a year, so remember it pretty well in its early days; it opened in 1968.
What I don’t remember is the terminal that preceded Terminal 1. Check-in was on the Cromwell Road in the BEA West London Air Terminal that is now a Sainsbury supermarket. From there it was a bus journey out to Heathrow with the luggage towed behind in a trailer. It features in a Patricia Highsmith novel, probably one of the Ripley ones. With no tube or train going to Heathrow it wasn’t such a bad idea.
Another idea to make air travel more convenient was the mobile lounge (above). I used these a few times in the 1980s at JFK. Basically it was a big room on stilts that you walked into out of the ‘plane door and it took you to the terminal building. Gangways that link the ‘plane to the terminal building have put paid to them in most airports now.
Two more bits of London travel nostalgia: smoking carriages on the tube and bars on some tube platforms. The bars were mostly on the Circle Line as I recall and they are still there as shops selling food and newspapers.
Will we have smoking carriages on the tube again if we vote Brexit? The Leavers will promise us anything, even passive smoking. Meanwhile it has been in the news that “pro-Europe MPs could defy Brexit poll victory”, something you have been aware of since reading this post in April: A Delicious Paradox.
And one more bit of nostalgia; British Caledonian, that was taken over by British Airways in 1988. I think this is a genuine ad and not a spoof but I’m not entirely sure. Watch out for the lady hanging out her washing at the end. For sure, they don’t make ’em like this anymore.
https://youtu.be/bKQVpTVdLag
Haha that’s a blast from the past!!!
Loved the ad. Definitely the real thing.
Just watch Boris and his merry band vote to renegotiate rather than exit should they win.
On air travel nostalgia, when I was living in Beijing 82 to 85, you could go through security and welcome your guests directly off the plane. One day the door opened and out came a pop group called Wham. As I was the only person at the door they assumed that I was there for them and were much disconcerted as my outstretched hand passed them to greet a mining engineer from Milwaukee.
If I was as adroit as you I would append a Wham clip. I am not though.
Definitely the real thing, not a spoof. I worked in West Africa for much to the 1970’s and used British Caledonian frequently. I remember the ad from then and it was good to see it again !