This episode can be dated to 1935, when Fred Perry of the UK defeated Gottfried von Cramm of Germany in the men's singles championship. Von Cramm defeated Perry in the 1936 championship.
When Inspector Japp goes through the passengers' personal effects, he notes that one passenger was reading an issue of Strand Magazine. A number of Agatha Christie's short stories first appeared in Strand Magazine.
Norman Gale's luggage contains the November 1936 issue of "Strand Magazine" featuring the then French Prime Minister Léon Blum on the front cover.
Although Jane Grey is a hairdresser in the novel, she is an air stewardess in this adaptation.
Philip Jackson reprised his role as Chief Inspector Japp in a BBC Radio 4 adaptation of the same novel - starring John Moffatt as Poirot - in 2003.