Diamonds in the Sky (1979)
It all began on 25 August 1919. Four passengers left Hounslow Heath for Paris - the world's first regular, daily, international air service. Today 600 million people travel by air every year. How has this extraordinary growth in air travel changed our lives? As Civil Aviation celebrates its 60th year, this series of seven programs examines the impact of air travel on our world.
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Episodes
- 1 1. Changing the World1979-11-01In Papua New Guinea, almost overnight, air travel transformed a stone-age country into a 20th-century state. It brought remote hill tribesmen into the age of the computer, the flus
- 2 2. Running an Airline1979-11-08A candid behind-the-scenes picture of a modern airline during a remarkable year. In 1978 like most airlines in the USA, United Airlines tempted customers with cut-price fares with
- 3 3. Opening the Routes1979-11-15Air travel today makes better sense when thrown into relief by what came before. In 1919, airline pilots followed railway lines expecting to make regular forced landings. But as wo
- 4 4. Conquering the Atlantic1979-11-22The air conquest of the North Atlantic pit the aeroplane against the elements and against the airships - and of both against the ocean liners - in a race to the first commercial ai
- 5 5. Travelling for Fun1979-11-297 out of 10 travellers are on holiday, all flocking to the same 'unspoilt' beaches, beauty spots, and places of interest. What is the social impact of millions of package air touri
- 6 6. Dealing Down the Line1979-12-06The British Airways team operating in the Middle East is accustomed to dealing with fuel crises, food shortages, technical problems and even wars. But the sonic boom of Concorde sh
- 7 7. Flying into the Future1979-12-13Where has civil aviation brought us in the last 60 years, and where might it take us all in the future? Whatever technical challenges aviation engineers may be resolving, the whole
Cast
Julian PettiferSelf - Presenter
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