How did airlines ticketing work before the internet era?

Question

I am gonna refer to the movie Argo here which was based in Iranian revolution in 1979. In the final moments of the movie during the tickets are bought only during the last moment (I understand the last moment ticket purchase was dramatized for the movie). But was it possible to book a ticket for flight from Iran from United States so quick without the internet?

In: 28

Answer 1

My dad used to travel constantly for work. He always had the United timetable book, which listed all the scheduled flights out of an airport, what times, where they went, etc. Then you’d call the 800 number and ask for a ticket on flight x.