Cabin Pressure takes place at MJN Air, the world’s smallest airline, consisting of just one 16-seater plane: a Lockheed McDonnell 312, registration Golf Echo Romeo Tango India (G-ERTI), and thus nicknamed ‘Gerti’. The company name derives from when owner Carolyn Knapp-Shappey was awarded Gerti as part of her divorce settlement and thus proudly proclaimed that Gerti was: ‘My Jet Now’. The company is so small, with Carolyn joking that rather than an airline, MJN is more of an ‘airdot’, that everything is run on a tight budget and they are willing to take on any job to keep the business going. The company is based in the fictional Fitton Airport, located somewhere in the Midlands.

The story follows the day-to-day working life of MJN Air and its crew of four: Carolyn the owner and stewardess; First Officer Douglas Richardson, an experienced pilot formerly at Air England until he was sacked for smuggling; Captain Martin Crieff whose love of flying and planes is let down by his lack of natural ability; and Arthur Shappey, Carolyn’s over-excited and idiotic (but well-meaning) son who works as a steward.