TTG at 70: The 'big bang' that made travel affordable for all

The decade was also the one that saw the Boeing 747 make its mark. The revolutionary 400-seat jet slashed costs, with Qantas bringing it to London in 1971, while BOAC used the aircraft’s downtime to operate it to Palma on behalf of agency chain Lunn Poly.

Freddie Laker emerged as a low-cost long-haul pioneer, purchasing two 345- seat DC-10 aircraft in 1972, serving his ambition to launch SkyTrain no-frills flights to North America with £37.50 one- way fares (£386 today). But opposition from the UK government and other airlines meant it was to be 1977 before his dream was realised.

Another transatlantic boost came when the US government relaxed a rule that stipulated inclusive tour firms must be 75% US-owned, while Iata agreed to a 28% reduction in North Atlantic air fares from 1972. British Caledonian applied to operate scheduled services to the US from four UK points, increasing competition.

Another issue was surcharging, with the TOSG urging operators to publish rates of exchange on which holidays were priced. To alleviate the issue, big operators had to apply to the Bank of England to buy currency ahead, something rudimentary these days.

The decade also saw the merger of state-owned BEA and BOAC to create British Airways. In 1977, BA was accused of trying to destroy the package market by cutting European fares, with Corfu reduced, in today’s terms, from £792 to £429.

The decade ended with signs the European Union was about to scrap EU-wide bilateral restrictions on European airlines, something that was to have yet more liberating effects on travel.

What did it all mean?

The 1970s were perhaps the industry’s “big bang” when mass travel really became a possibility. Governments, particularly in the UK, realised trying to protect state-owned airlines by keeping fares artificially high was a losing game. At the same time, destinations discovered the money to be made and a building boom began, while new jet types slashed per-seat costs.

Harry Goodman’s Intasun – for better or worse – showed the industry how to grow volume by slashing margins, making dream holidays affordable to ordinary people. The 70s was the decade the Atol system came into play, protecting consumers who booked long in advance. TOSG, which later became the Federation of Tour Operators, followed its work on bonding with health and safety initiatives still the benchmark today.

It was all revolutionary stuff, but as the decade drew to a close, officials in Brussels began talks on tearing up yet more red tape hampering the growth of travel. But that’s a story for April.