It’s a world away from the reheated microwave meals, plastic cutlery and tinned wine familiar to most modern air travellers. But a new book reveals the golden age of in-flight catering when passengers could enjoy fresh lobster, Champagne cocktails and sumptuous service from white-coated stewards, all at 35,000 feet.

As British Airways pilot and author Al Bridger reveals, on-board refreshments were a crucial part of the appeal in the early days of passenger flight.

Long before budget carriers…