Two long haul international flights in 1990 - a review of flying on the Boeing 747-400

 

It was September 1990 and Evening Post aviation journalist Martyn Gosling wrote about what it was like to make two long haul flights, his first on the then then Boeing 747-400. Notable because the 747-400 had range that enabled non-stop flights between New Zealand and the USA, and one-stop flights to Europe via Asia.  The photo of then Air NZ CEO Jim Scott in a first class seat is not the story of this article.

He noted that although Boeing leads, the Airbus A340 would be available from 1992. He notes that the Economy Class seats of Boeing 707s in 1960 had similar seat widths as the 747-400 in 1990, of 43.6cm, but there is less leg-room and reduced padding.  He also described the conditions on a long-haul flight that affect health, such as the 10% humidity seen in a desert. 

He flew Singapore to Europe on Qantas, and returned on UTA (a now-defunct French airline that was absorbed by Air France fully by 1992) in business class (which at the time would have been only slightly more comfortable than today's premium economy). He preferred Qantas. 

The article notes that Virgin Atlantic apparently wanted a 100-seat Airbus A340 to fly non-stop London-Perth (which like so many statements by Richard Branson, didn't happen).   Finally it notes tests underway for a new entertainment system with personal video screens!