It seems strange to think that Aer Lingus operated an aircraft as large as the Boeing 747 back in the 1970s. They did though and it operated on routes to the USA such as New York.
Boeing 747s at Aer Lingus are now just a memory. Luckily Ireland’s RTÉ did a story on a flight from Dublin to New York in 1975, so there is a chance to vicariously experience the era once more.
Aer Lingus 747 to New York Video
Compared to the razzle dazzle of today’s video productions, this one can best be described as a bit dry. Despite that, the shots of the aircraft and details give a fantastic flavour of the time.
A comment that, “planes are now pushed back from their parking stands by powerful tractors – just like a tug boat guiding an ocean liner to the open sea” really shows how things have changed. Today, this is the only way aircraft leave stands in almost all cases.
The video runs just under 10 minutes and contains quite a lot of cockpit footage of the Boeing 747-148. I remember seeing photos of these cockpits when I was a kid and thought they looked ultra modern. Maybe not so much now though!
It is also fun to see the meal service, with the Aer Lingus flight attendants plating up the first class meals from the trolley. Another fun thing is the old pneumatic headsets and movie screens at the front of each cabin. As the narrator says, “Who’d want to travel by sea?”
Has Much Changed?
Aer Lingus still fly to New York only nowadays it is on an Airbus A330 aircraft. The food and drink are probably just as good, if not better and I daresay business class today is way better than first class back then. WiFi is also offered on Aer Lingus flights across the Atlantic, something not even conceived of back in the 1970s.
Seating is much better nowadays and of course the inflight entertainment is far better than a movie hall experience. Still, much is familiar, especially when the camera crew walk through the 747. It looks startlingly similar to today.
Overall Thoughts
I always enjoy a bit of aviation history, so it’s quite good to see what flying Aer Lingus to New York was like back in the day. Luckily the world is fascinated with flight so aviation people have a wealth of footage available from days past.
Did you ever fly Aer Lingus or transatlantic in the 1970s? Do you remember it like this? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
To never miss a post, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
All my flight and lounge reviews are indexed here so check them out!
Featured image by Steve Williams on Airliners.net
I flew from Shannon to New York on the 2nd flight back of St. Patrick. It was so awesome after having watched those giant craft land & take off from Shannon airport.
That would have been very awesome indeed! You’re very lucky to have done that!
Reputation for good food?
The 747 was an aspirational aircraft in the 1970s. They couldn’t fill it then, and you can hear the captain announce that they only have 208 people on board.
I did laugh at that reputation for good food comment!!
Yes, like all the flag carriers back then, everyone jumped on the 747 bandwagon and mainly couldn’t fill them. Lucky they didn’t have too many in the fleet!