A 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 names like 'Supersaver', 'Chickenfeed' and 'Peanuts' - and seduced air travellers into the skies as never before. While passengers experienced unprecedented delays, frustrations and overall chaos, the airlines counted up the cash - and executives are optimistic for the future.

7 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 tourists descending on countries, large and small, developed and underdeveloped?

The 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 shatters the serenity of an oil sheikh's palace - and the repercussions are anything but routine.

Where 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 future of air travel - as a social force - still holds many unanswered questions.