Ah yes, the good old days.
And who remembers the concept of Apex tickets and a requirement to stay a Saturday night. Then there was the standby option where you packed up and went to the airport without a ticket and hoped you’d get a last minute deal.
And people think it’s complicated now?
On the other hand, I can also remember availing of "bucket shops" to get cheap flights (from Gatwick or Manchester) to exotic destinations back in those halcyon days! (Needless to add, such cheap holidays always involved the use of an overnight ferry and train! I vividly remember sitting in the waiting room in Crewe Station for four interminable hours one cold December night!)