In the biography Antonio Carlos Jobim: An Illuminated Man, Helena Jobim describes how her brother came up with the idea for the song: "Tom's many walks from Ipanema to Santos Dumont Airport yielded that ode of beauty...
[2] Jobim wrote "Samba do Avião" for an Italian film, Copacabana Palace (1962),[1] where it was performed by Jula De Palma and I 4 + 4 di Nora Orlandi.
The movie was filmed in Rio and features cameo appearances by Jobim, João Gilberto and Os Cariocas.
[3] The first performance of the song was by Jobim and Os Cariocas in August 1962 at the Au Bon Gourmet restaurant in Copacabana, Rio, at what music historian Ruy Castro calls "the bossa nova show to end all bossa nova shows", as it featured Jobim, João Gilberto, Vinícius de Moraes and Os Cariocas on stage together for the only time.
[1] The first English-language version was by Tony Bennett for his 1965 album If I Ruled the World: Songs for the Jet Set.