BA - The Club - Seven stylish moments in aviation history

Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg

London Heathrow (LHR), 1977
The romance between Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg was an unlikely one. An actress, singer and English rose, she was just 21 when they met in 1968. He was 20 years her senior, the dishevelled enfant terrible of the French music scene.

And yet, love blossomed – Birkin and Gainsbourg were a couple for 12 years, collaborating on numerous creative projects. Their deep bond and insouciant style is perfectly encapsulated as they arrive in London in 1977 to publicise their film, Je t’aime moi non plus.

Trinity Mirror/ Mirrorpix /Alamy Stock Photo

Marlon Brando

Paris Orly Airport (ORY), 1959
You don’t get nominated for an Academy Award eight times for nothing. From A Streetcar Named Desire and Julius Caesar to The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, Marlon Brando was behind some of the most powerful performances cinema has ever seen.

His magnetism and brooding good looks were just as compelling off camera. Here, as he touches down in Paris in 1959, Brando’s wardrobe staples of a simple white T-shirt, jeans and motorcycle jacket have been replaced by a sharp two-piece and the obligatory dark glasses.

Roger Viollet / Getty Images

Brigitte Bardot

London Heathrow (LHR), 1967
French actress, singer and supermodel Brigitte Bardot is lauded for her captivating cinematic performances of the 1950s and 60s in such films as And God Created Woman, Contempt and The Truth.

Her success at this time, combined with her Gallic flair and kittenish looks, meant Bardot was one of the most photographed women in the world. Indeed, she even makes running for a plane look à la mode, as shown at London’s Heathrow airport in 1967.

PA Images

Lady Gaga

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), 2015
American singer-songwriter-actress Lady Gaga has enjoyed success after glittering success, releasing myriad multi-platinum singles and albums, garnering 11 Grammys and being nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award for A Star Is Born.

Never one to go unnoticed, she is also known for her outlandish sartorial choices, from futuristic bejewelled body suits to dazzling wigs and vertiginous platforms. As she walks through Los Angeles airport in 2015, Gaga looks positively demure in her perfectly accessorised red-and-white dress.

GVK / Bauer-Griffin / GC Images

Goldie Hawn

London Heathrow (LHR), 1970
Goldie Hawn’s illustrious five-decade career is filled with golden moments. The screen legend has appeared in every genre of film, though comedy is her forte (Private Benjamin, The First Wives Club and Snatched, to name a few hits).

Describing herself as a “goofy, crazy” actress, Hawn is all smiles at Heathrow airport in 1970. Perhaps she’d just been to the London première of There’s a Girl in My Soup, the hit British romantic comedy in which she co-stars with Peter Sellers.

Mirrorpixs / Getty Images

Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra

Heathrow Airport (LHR), 1961
Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra were Hollywood giants, both as Rat Packers (alongside Sammy Davis Jr) and movie stars. The two were also great buddies – a friendship built on mutual respect and appreciation – becoming as close as brothers.

They shared a sense of poise and panache, too, as seen here at Heathrow in 1961 in their elegant suits and signature fedoras. Whether they were arriving at or leaving the capital, who knows? But one thing is certain: these two always made an impression.

PA Images / Alamy

The Supremes

London Heathrow (LHR), 1965
Of all Motown Records’ acts, The Supremes – aka Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson – were the most highly revered, their unique take on what would evolve into R&B and disco resulting in a meteoric rise to becoming one of the greatest groups of all time.

By 1965, as they posed on the tarmac at London Heathrow, the trio were international stars, having made history with five consecutive number one hits, including Baby Love, Stop! In the Name of Love and Back in My Arms Again.

Evening Standard / Stringer