Sorry not sure where else to post but for anyone that has enough life experience to actually have been around when we smoked on aircraft as part of normality, when exactly would the No Smoking Sign be turned on/off, and would this be at different times to the Seatbelt sign or would they pretty much be used at the same time?

Thanks

39 minutes ago, dolbinau said:

but for anyone that has enough life experience

dolbinau,

Oh to be that young again LOL

No smoking signs came on before anyone (apart from crew) came on board. They stayed on until the aircraft reached about 10,000 feet and basically in clear skies (ie no turbulence) went out with the Seat Belts sign.  They came on again just after Descent and stayed on for the remainder of the flight.

As a very small acknowledgement that some people did not smoke the airlines did have smoking and no smoking seats.

I just love the use of No Smoking signs.  I inadvertantly walked into a bank with a smoke going and a staff member rushed up to me and said "Sorry Sir, this is a non smoking building"  He was very polite about it and chuckled when I responded with.  I wonder just how many people would be in here if it was smoking.

Back on topic.  The airconditioning units on aircraft in those days were relatively ineffective in filtering out either the smell or the smoke so all non smokers suffered somewhat, regardless of where they sat.  

I hope that helps

Happy new year to you mate and to all

Tony

1 hour ago, himmelhorse said:

I just love the use of No Smoking signs.  I inadvertantly walked into a bank with a smoke going and a staff member rushed up to me and said "Sorry Sir, this is a non smoking building"  He was very polite about it and chuckled when I responded with.  I wonder just how many people would be in here if it was smoking.

Just for fun, when I go out to eat and the host asks how many, when I answer, I always also ask for a non-smoking section. 😂

A lot of the times they look at me weird and say that the whole restaurant is non-smoking or sometimes they just laugh. Probably because most of the hosts or hostess were not even alive when smoking sections were actually a thing in the US.

Unfortunately, it’s a different thing in Europe. Most of the cafes allow smoking in the outdoor seating which I prefer if the weathers nice, but then you have to put up with the fumes. It’s especially bad in places like Paris where they smoke like chimneys.

Is smoking still allowed on some Japanese internal flights, or has that stopped now?

1 hour ago, cmpbellsjc said:

but then you have to put up with the fumes.

yes, it was annoying on side-walk cafes etc until they "banned" carcenogenic fumes from diesel vehicles .... now all you risk is the smoke from an isolated "fag"

here come the bus, hold your breath.

4 hours ago, dolbinau said:

Sorry not sure where else to post but for anyone that has enough life experience to actually have been around when we smoked on aircraft as part of normality, when exactly would the No Smoking Sign be turned on/off, and would this be at different times to the Seatbelt sign or would they pretty much be used at the same time?

Thanks

1990 seems to be the year for most airlines. Lucky you if that seems like a long time ago or was even before you were born. From my handful of flights, I remember that the two signs came on and went off together.

I remember the non-smoking section used to be in the tail of the aircraft. The smoke used to miraculously stop right over the non-smoking area - not. 

 

1 hour ago, Jude Bradley said:

I remember the non-smoking section used to be in the tail of the aircraft.  

 

... with smoke surreptitiously coming from the drawn curtains of the rear galley from smoking cabin crew  (Air France 🙄...) 

10 hours ago, Reader said:

1990 seems to be the year for most airlines. Lucky you if that seems like a long time ago or was even before you were born. From my handful of flights, I remember that the two signs came on and went off together.

Agreed Reader. I remember those days of both signs being turned off. In my previous posts, i mention kicking back with coffee, and a smoke during short trips.I miss the late 1960's , and 70's with vip  meal service in coach, and light up afterwards. When i fly in X plane sim, no authority breathes down my neck. The signs get shut off when i'm near  10, 000 feet. LOL!!! My call, my show. HAPPY FLYING ladies, and gents.

Edited December 29, 20205 yr by Paul Deluca

One of the fun things you used to be able to do on airliners when you could smoke on them, was when someone next to you fell asleep with earphones on. Back then, the earphones were similar to the ones you used to get in hospitals, which were not actually electronic, but simply 'speaking tubes' similar to a stethoscope earpieces, which plugged into a speaker outlet either in the back of the chair in front of you or in the armrest where the ashtray was and the sound went down the tubes to your ears. If you unplugged these, your could take a drag of a cigarette and then blow the smoke down the tube so it looked like it was coming out of the sleeping person's ears who was wearing the headphones. Trust me, it's funnier than it sounds - you kind of had to see it. To give you an idea of how long ago that was, I last did that on a British Caledonian L-1011 Tristar. 🤣

Here's a fun fact about smoking on aeroplanes: You might be interested to know that in most places, the requirement for an ashtray in the toilets of airliners is usually on the MEL (minimum equipment list) to legally allow it to fly a commercial flight, even thougbh smoking is not permitted on the plane. This is because sometimes smokers will sneak to the toilet to have a cigarette. Since it's been a long time since you could smoke on an airliner, people doing this in the toilet of an airliner is kind of rare these days, but used to happen a lot. Because of this, the airlines would rather have anyone who does this, at least have an ashtray available to use, rather than them do something stupid with their cigarette butt and as a result not putting it out properly, causing a potential fire risk.

 

6 minutes ago, Chock said:

This is because sometimes smokers will sneak to the toilet to have a cigarette.

I don't know about other parts of the world, but here in the U.S. the lavatories all have smoke detectors installed. That's a rapid way to find one's self on a no fly list, not to mention some potentially hefty fines!

10 minutes ago, n4gix said:

I don't know about other parts of the world, but here in the U.S. the lavatories all have smoke detectors installed. That's a rapid way to find one's self on a no fly list, not to mention some potentially hefty fines!

Yup, they have smoke detectors on pretty much every aeroplane in the loos, but that doesn't stop idiots from smoking in them sometimes, so the ashtray is there for that eventuality. As a matter of fact, if you ever see anyone getting hauled off an airliner by the police on arrival, there is a pretty good chance that will be reason, and what these pillocks don't realise is that this may mean a ban from departing from that airport, almost certainly a ban from the airline on which the incident occurred, and potentially a ban from all commercial flights, meaning it could potentially be very hard (i.e expensive) to get home.

I can never understand why anyone who smokes can't wait a few hours to light up. After all, they go without one for 6-8 hours every night when they sleep, so it's not like they cannot handle the withdrawal. Last time I saw someone getting hauled off for this offence was at Ruzyne airport Prague, with someone getting removed from a Ryanair 737 NG that had come from Stanstead, and the rampies still managed to get the thing turned around in about 30 minutes from arrival to departure, which believe me is no mean feat, because Ryanair's NGs don't have sliding carpets in the holds.

Edited December 29, 20205 yr by Chock

10 minutes ago, Chock said:

 

I can never understand why anyone who smokes can't wait a few hours to light up. After all, they go without one for 6-8 hours every night when they sleep, so it's not like they cannot handle the withdrawal. 

You'd be surprised how many get up in the middle of the night to take a wizz and have a cigarette dangling from their mouths while doing so.

For sure Alan. These days, one is handcuffed, and sent to the pokey for lighting a fag. Loved your other post about the ear sets. I laughed good with that one.!!!!!

18 hours ago, himmelhorse said:

As a very small acknowledgement that some people did not smoke the airlines did have smoking and no smoking seats.

Only after years and years without that policy.