Cabin service on board an intercontinental Boeing 707 during a flight with the West German airline Lufthansa, April 1967

What is the first thought when contemplating flying somewhere: cramped conditions with stodgy unappetising meals? Business Class is completely different experience but who can afford a seat which can cost anywhere from 5 to 10 times that of an economy class seat.

This series of photographs will reveal the elegance of flying during the 1950s and 1960s. Women would be dressed up to the nines and for the men suits and ties were de rigeur. In effect the whole plane was in current terms First and Business Class. The prices reflected that fact too. The plebeians were not allowed to lower the tone. There was no need to discriminate against them overtly. The price ensured that they could not enter these hallowed cabins.

Main picture: Passengers enjoy a drink and a game of cards in the cabin of an Imperial Airways plane in 1936

The change of air travel from a languid, luxurious affair to one of cramped insufferable conditions arose when the entrepreneurs envisaged a business opportunity. The likes of Freddie Laker conceived of dirt cheap fares, fares that even the previously excluded classes could afford. What Mr Laker did not advertise were the cattle truck conditions.

Air travel boomed as air flight became more affordable. In an effort to compete, the full service airlines rapidly scaled back their service offerings and the era of modern air flight with affordable fares but cattle truck conditions became the new norm.

Dining service aboard the Pan American Martin Clipper aircraft, circa 1936

For those of us who cannot afford the current fares on the existing Business Class, there is hope for us. A cunning entrepreneur has perceived a gap in the market and intends to exploit it. The current pricing of Business Class is not reflective of the cost of providing the service. Instead the current fee structure comprises the break-even working class at the back and the extremely profitable – dare I refer to it as super-profits without incurring the wrath of the airline bosses – in Business Class.

What this devious imperious entrepreneur is proposing to introduce is a full flight of Business Class but with the advantage that the premium on Economy Class will only be a factor of two. This will set the cat amongst the pigeons or the fox in the hen house. I foresee a mad cat fight as Business Class passengers betray their allegiances and use the services of this trailblazer.

Relaxing in the main salon aboard the Pan American Martin Clipper aircraft, circa 1936

Without the Business Class subsidising the Economy Class, their fares will have to be adjusted upwards over time. The eventual implication is that the Economy Class passenger will be paying more for their seat but with the same uncomfortable confined conditions.

A look at Boeing’s new 747 aircraft, 1968

Sleeping berths on an Imperial Airways Flying Boat, most likely of the Short Empire class, 1936

A woman snuggles up in her sleeping berth on an Imperial Airways aircraft, March 1937: 31st March 1937

Even where passengers did sleep in their seats they did it in style, with plenty of room. Here, passengers prepare to take a nap on a Transocean Air lines Boeing 377 Stratocruiser in the mid 1950s. Transocean Air lines flew between 1946 and 1962 and was a pioneer discount airline – the retro equivalent of Ryanair or EasyJet

23 December, 1946 – Air hostess Patricia Palley attends to passengers in the decorated cabin of a Pan-American air liner over the Atlantic

21 April, 1952 – E Courtney, a member of the cabin crew, serving luncheon to a passenger on board the world’s first jet airliner service. The Comet flight is bound for South Africa

1970 – first class passengers in a BOAC Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet are served lunch

The Aft Cabin of an Imperial Airways Liner of the Heracles Class in the 1900s – with embellished woodwork and cushioned seating, it looks like something out of the Orient Express.

Cabins came with tables, even on budget airlines. This photo shows the inside of a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser from discount airline Transocean Air in the mid 1950s.

13 May, 1968 – A demonstration of the new Boeing 747 passenger plane, which was so large it included a spiral stairway between decks and carried up to 490 passengers in the most luxurious seats ever offered to air travellers

October 5, 1933 – singers from The New York Midnight Follies band alight from an Imperial Airways aeroplane at Croydon Airport.

Fashion designer Oleg Cassini and an in-flight model attend the Lufthansa Airlines Fashion Show in October 1967, at the Pierre Hotel in New York City.

Heathrow 1970 – crew from the first Boeing 747 to land at Heathrow, via a Pan Am flight with 361 passengers on-board

The cabin of the all-new Boeing 707 Stratoliner. The first commercial flight was by Pan Am in 1958