The style and elegance of the flying boats of Imperial Airways and BOAC gave those passengers who could afford it a luxurious way to travel to their destination. The capacity of the aircraft was up to twenty four passengers during the day and it could accommodate sixteen passengers during night flights. Long-haul journeys were done in stages during daylight stopping for refuelling and overnight, where a first-class hotel would be booked. The stately pace of the journey prevented prevent jet-lag occuring. A journey to Australia for example would have taken seven days flying slow compared the the twenty four hours it now takes us, but it was still faster than going by ship. The Empire aircraft also had space to carry one and a half tons of mail and five crewmembers. The converted military Sunderland flying

Flying boat promenade area

boats were fitted with two full height decks and extra windows. Later even larger civilian flying boats were built, these were known as the Solent class.

The spacious accommodation on board and the high standard of service were on a level with what would have been found on the large ocean going liners from the day. The aircraft had a promenade cabin with large observation ports that allowed the passengers to walk about whilst experiencing the view below of countries they travelled through from the height of several hundred to a thousand feet. This is low compared the 35,000 feet (11,000 metres) we fly at today.

[046984] BOAC stewardess serves flying boat passengers

Interior of flying boat

Catering on board was ‘silver service’- the food was served by the cabin staff on china plates with crested cutlery and glassware. Menus were cosmopolitan for their day, reflecting the countries that were travelled through on the flight. Each aircraft even had its own headed stationary and emblem. These luxurious standards placed the flying boats in the same league as an ocean liner or a first class hotel.

WW2 service

Imperial Airways to BOAC

Flying hotels flying in style