STN Ramp Rat....thanks for the qualification....every day is a school day as they say
Down here at 18E/33S we have a regular Il76 service from my new local airport (FACT) to Antarctic.....is a lovey sight to see it descending in a clear Cape sky having magically appeared from the South....from where only penguins and whales normally emerge. Apols for wanderings.
Back to topic, one of the most exciting times I can recall, was when we all thought Laker DC-10's Skytrains would give sleepy Stansted an injection of life. I can recall the Laker signs going up above the check in desks and Skytrain air stairs parked in anticipation for the first service.
The Laker fleet had always been quite regular visitors anyway, partaking in "bump and go" training. Although I was a school boy at the time, I can recall it was a huge event locally and the 11th and a half hour disappointment of seeing services start from Lakers preferred LGW, saw Stansted revert back to the sleepy backwater we have all been discussing above.
As an aside, deep in some loft box, I still have my unused compensation voucher provided to all passengers who had flown the Atlantic in the "Skytrain years" which came out of the successful action against the scurrilous Pan Am, TWA and BA for their part in assisting Lakers demise. That's probably a topic in its own right.