BIRMINGHAM - 5
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And don't forget Air anglia in the late 70's who operated BHX- Humberside/Norwich & Swansea with PA31's .
The award goes to hellanic Imperial . Flight to Athens (yep, good idea give it go ) With 747-200's ( what the.....) .
Told you before, One world doesn't DO BHX
(some downright strange or daft!)
IB must have looked but deemed it no go from BHX for whatever reason at the moment 
Join Date: Jul 2002
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BHX services
GF - of course another defunct service was to / from LHR (probably the shortest scheduled service from BHX?).
Apologies if someone has mentioned this. I'm told I'm not particularly detail conscious.
Apologies if someone has mentioned this. I'm told I'm not particularly detail conscious.
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BHX nostalgia
GayFriendly wrote,
Yes they did. My brother was at Service Air and was lead agent for SABENA during their time, just before they went bankrupt! They had that fantastic nick-name Such A Bad Experience Never Again. 
I seem to remember my brother commenting on just how many bags they lost at BRU.
The airline that operated to Eindhoven and Rotterdam was B.A.S.E. (Business Airlines Systems Eindhoven).
I remember watching Air France 727s on a Friday evening come over my parents house in Aldridge.
We went a few years running to Yugoslavia on a JAT 727 and one year on an Adria DC-9 and an Aviogenex TU134 (I think) with Yugotours. I think they were loaded as scheduled services weren't they? Does anyone remember ski flights to Nis also JAT aircraft?
Remember AB Airlines that operated 1-11s to Shannon?
I also travelled to Tangier with RAM 737-200 very late at night (or very early in the morning) with Inspirations or maybe Falcon?
Didn't Thomson do Rimini and Venice also during the Summer with 737-200s?
Birmingham has seen some destinations come and go.
Daza
Did Sabena ever fly their own metal into BHX?
I seem to remember my brother commenting on just how many bags they lost at BRU.The airline that operated to Eindhoven and Rotterdam was B.A.S.E. (Business Airlines Systems Eindhoven).
I remember watching Air France 727s on a Friday evening come over my parents house in Aldridge.
We went a few years running to Yugoslavia on a JAT 727 and one year on an Adria DC-9 and an Aviogenex TU134 (I think) with Yugotours. I think they were loaded as scheduled services weren't they? Does anyone remember ski flights to Nis also JAT aircraft?
Remember AB Airlines that operated 1-11s to Shannon?
I also travelled to Tangier with RAM 737-200 very late at night (or very early in the morning) with Inspirations or maybe Falcon?
Didn't Thomson do Rimini and Venice also during the Summer with 737-200s?
Birmingham has seen some destinations come and go.
Daza
It is a pity that FR have not fulfilled early promise with route development
To me the only time we saw a regular 747 service was with Wardair back in the 80's. They built up quite a big operation from BHX. I believe during their final operation you could see up to 4 747s a week operating out. What's happened that market now?
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Those were the days!
I remember flying out of BHX in the late 90's, perhaps maybe 2000 and I remember that on the apron were x3 DC'10s (Monarch, Airtours, Continental), x2 767's (Britannia, American) and if I'm not mistaken an a Air Transat Tristar! And I remember the smokey Balkan Bulgaria and Krygystan Airlines (in the old Aeroflot colours) TU-154's coming in.
I remember flying out of BHX in the late 90's, perhaps maybe 2000 and I remember that on the apron were x3 DC'10s (Monarch, Airtours, Continental), x2 767's (Britannia, American) and if I'm not mistaken an a Air Transat Tristar! And I remember the smokey Balkan Bulgaria and Krygystan Airlines (in the old Aeroflot colours) TU-154's coming in.
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More Ex-BHX Services
In the BAA Airport Timetable published from 25.03.90:-
T.A.S. Airways x3 weekly Bologna on a Gulfstream
Also
Daily Iberia DC9 to BCN/MAD this service ran for a few years and alternated between a daily BCN and MAD and various combinations of x3 weekly BCN x4 weekly MAD etc.
JAT x2 weekly 727 to Dubrovnik & x2 weekly 727 Pula
Brittania 737/767 x3 weekly Palma & x2 weekly 737 Ibiza
In another BAA guide effective 29.10.96 :-
American AA23 to Chicago continuing to Detroit daily
Flights 5E502/504 J31 x2 Dailyx67 to Eindhoven and Rotterdam
Flights 5V102/106 SH6 x2 Dailyx67 to Liverpool
Jersey European BHD flight one daily extended to/from Londonderry/Derry
T.A.S. Airways x3 weekly Bologna on a Gulfstream
Also
Daily Iberia DC9 to BCN/MAD this service ran for a few years and alternated between a daily BCN and MAD and various combinations of x3 weekly BCN x4 weekly MAD etc.
JAT x2 weekly 727 to Dubrovnik & x2 weekly 727 Pula
Brittania 737/767 x3 weekly Palma & x2 weekly 737 Ibiza
In another BAA guide effective 29.10.96 :-
American AA23 to Chicago continuing to Detroit daily
Flights 5E502/504 J31 x2 Dailyx67 to Eindhoven and Rotterdam
Flights 5V102/106 SH6 x2 Dailyx67 to Liverpool
Jersey European BHD flight one daily extended to/from Londonderry/Derry
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BHX has pride of place in my passenger flying log book as its where me (aged 12) and 30 of my classmates flew from for a 1 week school trip to Paris.
BEA trident 1E G-AVYE to Paris Orly was the very first aircraft I flew on and I remember clearly being sat on the rear starboard side looking directly into the engine intake.
Also as my family are spread between UK and Canada we were regular VFR customers but as the previous poster has stated its quite rare to make the journey these days as our older members have passed away and skype is so easy to use for the younger family members.
Cost is also an issue, I am off to Toronto tomorrow for work, return airfare via Philadelphia from MAN £1300 !!!!!! AND THAT WAS THE CHEAPEST ECONOMY.
Come back Wardair and Laker skytrain !!
BEA trident 1E G-AVYE to Paris Orly was the very first aircraft I flew on and I remember clearly being sat on the rear starboard side looking directly into the engine intake.
Also as my family are spread between UK and Canada we were regular VFR customers but as the previous poster has stated its quite rare to make the journey these days as our older members have passed away and skype is so easy to use for the younger family members.
Cost is also an issue, I am off to Toronto tomorrow for work, return airfare via Philadelphia from MAN £1300 !!!!!! AND THAT WAS THE CHEAPEST ECONOMY.
Come back Wardair and Laker skytrain !!
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MAN 777
Quite amazing, Birmingham Airport flew 4 times more people to Canada over 20 years ago than we do now..Wardair 747s, Air Canada Tristars/747s/767s, Worldways Tristars..where did it all go wrong !!
Nigel
Quite amazing, Birmingham Airport flew 4 times more people to Canada over 20 years ago than we do now..Wardair 747s, Air Canada Tristars/747s/767s, Worldways Tristars..where did it all go wrong !!
Nigel
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Canada
MAN777
Trident - damn never got to fly in one but my first flight was a Dan Air Comet 4c
alas not from BHX.
Nothing wrong with yields on MAN-PHL if that is what they can charge
Mentioning Canada brings nicely on to Crewmeal's Wardair question and Air Canada's ill-fated Tristar service which seemed a fantastic coup at the time but eventually (partly due to other circumstances) brought a massive downfall on BHX-Canada routes. I agree where did that market go, just a weekly Transat A333.
GF - Gulf Traveller never operated to BHX not sure if they ever operated anywhere
KIEV - Aimed at onward connections to Delhi I believe
Le Harve - short-lived but some really good loads so I don't if it was supported by a business
Basle - Peugeot workers supported this service I believe for a while
Daza Britannia Rimini remember that one and I think mytravel lite did it or were going to it. I always remember one particular winter at BHX on a Thursday and there were 5 Britannia 732's passing through including Palermo
(Horizon Travel before Orion) which operated November then Feb half-term onwards - another route be can't even get in summer.
However the Thursday Tenerife could only manage a split load (how times have changed), it went GLA-BHX-TFS with one going in the opposite direction at a similar time.
FQTLSteve Yes remember the Iberia service and again always packed along with the SAS DC9-21 (not so good loads except during NEC exhibitions) at a similar time to CPH.
getonittt Agree with Hellenic. There is a little bit one One World with
the BA code-share on the flybe flights and BA still own a share in them, okay a bit tenuous.
Air Anglia - It used to park by the spiral steps and easy to count the pax off (always more interest in loads than registrations
). That did so well for such a long time unlike the Swansea and Brymon Plymouth which was variable to say the least.
To keep it a bit present as well, the thread has been so active this last week I am not sure if it has been mentioned (Daza might have) but Air Malta are coming back. Not scheduled alas but the Thomson Tuesday flight this summer. It is another drop in seats as it was the 189 738 but at least a bit of variation. Not sure what the 738 is doing in place.
Pete
Trident - damn never got to fly in one but my first flight was a Dan Air Comet 4c
alas not from BHX.
Nothing wrong with yields on MAN-PHL if that is what they can charge
Mentioning Canada brings nicely on to Crewmeal's Wardair question and Air Canada's ill-fated Tristar service which seemed a fantastic coup at the time but eventually (partly due to other circumstances) brought a massive downfall on BHX-Canada routes. I agree where did that market go, just a weekly Transat A333.
GF - Gulf Traveller never operated to BHX not sure if they ever operated anywhere
KIEV - Aimed at onward connections to Delhi I believe
Le Harve - short-lived but some really good loads so I don't if it was supported by a business
Basle - Peugeot workers supported this service I believe for a while
Daza Britannia Rimini remember that one and I think mytravel lite did it or were going to it. I always remember one particular winter at BHX on a Thursday and there were 5 Britannia 732's passing through including Palermo
(Horizon Travel before Orion) which operated November then Feb half-term onwards - another route be can't even get in summer.
However the Thursday Tenerife could only manage a split load (how times have changed), it went GLA-BHX-TFS with one going in the opposite direction at a similar time.
FQTLSteve Yes remember the Iberia service and again always packed along with the SAS DC9-21 (not so good loads except during NEC exhibitions) at a similar time to CPH.
getonittt Agree with Hellenic. There is a little bit one One World with
the BA code-share on the flybe flights and BA still own a share in them, okay a bit tenuous.
Air Anglia - It used to park by the spiral steps and easy to count the pax off (always more interest in loads than registrations
). That did so well for such a long time unlike the Swansea and Brymon Plymouth which was variable to say the least.To keep it a bit present as well, the thread has been so active this last week I am not sure if it has been mentioned (Daza might have) but Air Malta are coming back. Not scheduled alas but the Thomson Tuesday flight this summer. It is another drop in seats as it was the 189 738 but at least a bit of variation. Not sure what the 738 is doing in place.
Pete
Air Canada's ill-fated Tristar service
That service looked suspiciously like a spoiler, as aprt of a strategy to kill off Wardair which, with their newly ordered fleets of 310s, and plans for "proper" year round scheduled services between UK and Canada were becoming a real threat on what would at the time, have been one of Air Canda's most important markets.
Wardair went down shortly after the end of AC's first (and only) summer season at BHX - and surprise surprise, AC were never seen again.
Were AC government owned then?
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Anybody else remember that short lived maintenance contract that had TU154's parked up round the back, next to the railway track? Think they were having new interiors, but could be wrong!
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There are a lot of historic pictures from BHX on the BHX movements ********.
BHX5DME
http://bhxmovements.********.com/
BHX5DME
http://bhxmovements.********.com/
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Adam G1;
Don't recall that but I've got a few photos of a TU-154 in old Aeroflot colours parked up on those stands which I always assumed was the Kyrgyzstan Airlines flight to Bishkek but I could be wrong. If memory serves me correctly the flight targeted connections to India but didn't last long (somethings never change).
The shop at the viewing gallery used to have a noticeboard outside which used to list all the interesting movements. My dad used to take me Sunday mornings and have happy memories watching the AA to Chicago loading up ready to go. One time we went to see an Alitalia A300 come in but when it arrived it was plain-all white on some sort of charter flight. Remember seeing a Sabre 727 and British World BAC 1-11's. Sometimes we'd go to Manchester and I remember the excitement when a Royal Air Maroc 747 landed - no idea what that was doing there.
Happy memories in 1996 when all the charters for the Euro96 arrived and was amazed at the number of planes parked just about everywhere. Also saw Air Force One bring in President Clinton for the G8 and whenever Concorde was coming in we were always there at the old viewing park. It's also hard to believe that back in the day Cyprus Airways used to send their A310's to Birmingham. Oh the nostalgia! And Nationair? Remember them?
Also, has BHX ever seen an MD-11? Find it funny that the new pier has markings for them on the stands. Is it just incase KLM upgrades?
Code:
Anybody else remember that short lived maintenance contract that had TU154's parked up round the back, next to the railway track? Think they were having new interiors, but could be wrong!
The shop at the viewing gallery used to have a noticeboard outside which used to list all the interesting movements. My dad used to take me Sunday mornings and have happy memories watching the AA to Chicago loading up ready to go. One time we went to see an Alitalia A300 come in but when it arrived it was plain-all white on some sort of charter flight. Remember seeing a Sabre 727 and British World BAC 1-11's. Sometimes we'd go to Manchester and I remember the excitement when a Royal Air Maroc 747 landed - no idea what that was doing there.
Happy memories in 1996 when all the charters for the Euro96 arrived and was amazed at the number of planes parked just about everywhere. Also saw Air Force One bring in President Clinton for the G8 and whenever Concorde was coming in we were always there at the old viewing park. It's also hard to believe that back in the day Cyprus Airways used to send their A310's to Birmingham. Oh the nostalgia! And Nationair? Remember them?
Also, has BHX ever seen an MD-11? Find it funny that the new pier has markings for them on the stands. Is it just incase KLM upgrades?
Last edited by chinapattern; 11th Feb 2012 at 18:40.
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I think the Maroc 747 came in because of a new mosque that was been opened in Birmingham.
Also before BASE we had NLM Fk27's to Amsterdam. I think they were both merged into The KLM Cityhopper brand.
And finally, there was the Air France SAAB 340, which I think was always the same one I kept seeing, FGELG ( I think! )
Adam
Also before BASE we had NLM Fk27's to Amsterdam. I think they were both merged into The KLM Cityhopper brand.
And finally, there was the Air France SAAB 340, which I think was always the same one I kept seeing, FGELG ( I think! )
Adam
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AF & Nationair
chinapattern Yes used Nationair BHX-LGW-YYZ and YYZ-BHX direct.
The aircraft I flew back on crashed three weeks later killing 261, needless to say they didn't last long after that.
ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61 C-GMXQ Jeddah-King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED)
AdamG1 - Air France Saab, your memory is correct I flew on that in pretty awful weather from BHX and it was as smooth as anything.
Burpbot - Never got to use them but they seemed an impressive airline looking at it from the outside it was sad to see them go.
Half-term - meanwhile a fairly decent weekend due to the school holidays. Swiss upgraded every flight today, A320 early, A321 lunchtime and an A319 this evening.
Baby doubled their number of flights this Saturday including three Geneva's.
Thomas Cook also had an extra Tenerife with their NBE and PFO restarting tomorrow.
Flybe had an extra Lyon (hint hint) today and easy operated all four scheduled flights as well (3 x GVA and 1 x GNB).
Also Air France managed an A319 tonight instead of the usual A318 after a week of cancellations.
Pete
The aircraft I flew back on crashed three weeks later killing 261, needless to say they didn't last long after that.
ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61 C-GMXQ Jeddah-King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED)
AdamG1 - Air France Saab, your memory is correct I flew on that in pretty awful weather from BHX and it was as smooth as anything.
Burpbot - Never got to use them but they seemed an impressive airline looking at it from the outside it was sad to see them go.
Half-term - meanwhile a fairly decent weekend due to the school holidays. Swiss upgraded every flight today, A320 early, A321 lunchtime and an A319 this evening.
Baby doubled their number of flights this Saturday including three Geneva's.
Thomas Cook also had an extra Tenerife with their NBE and PFO restarting tomorrow.
Flybe had an extra Lyon (hint hint) today and easy operated all four scheduled flights as well (3 x GVA and 1 x GNB).
Also Air France managed an A319 tonight instead of the usual A318 after a week of cancellations.
Pete
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Nostalgia
JAT used to fly 727's and DC9's, with the odd 707 thrown in.
Air Canada was L1011's and 767's vis Prestwick. Apart from the first flight when Sue Pollard was out on the ramp there was no advertising or publicity, and the crews were really grumpy!
Aviogenex were Tu-134's, 737's and the odd 727.
RAM 737's used to come in around 2300.
El Al came in a few times, always remember it being followed by the police landrover from the runway.
Iberia A300's on Aviaco flights, and the other Spanish charters by Hispania, LAC, Spantax, Viva, and many others I can't remember right now.
Wardair used to operate the shortest scheduled 747 route in the world BHX-LBA.
Other Canadians were CP Air, Worldways, Nationair, others?
American Trans Air, L1011's to various locations in the US for Ambassador Travel Club and a 727 based one winter for Dan-Air.
UK charter airlines Airways International Cymru, Amdassador, Air Europe, BIA, Paramount, IEA, TEA UK, Orion, Dan Air, Excallibur, BAF, Hot Air, Baltic, Air Scandic, Club Air and some more that escape me just now.
Air Canada was L1011's and 767's vis Prestwick. Apart from the first flight when Sue Pollard was out on the ramp there was no advertising or publicity, and the crews were really grumpy!
Aviogenex were Tu-134's, 737's and the odd 727.
RAM 737's used to come in around 2300.
El Al came in a few times, always remember it being followed by the police landrover from the runway.
Iberia A300's on Aviaco flights, and the other Spanish charters by Hispania, LAC, Spantax, Viva, and many others I can't remember right now.
Wardair used to operate the shortest scheduled 747 route in the world BHX-LBA.
Other Canadians were CP Air, Worldways, Nationair, others?
American Trans Air, L1011's to various locations in the US for Ambassador Travel Club and a 727 based one winter for Dan-Air.
UK charter airlines Airways International Cymru, Amdassador, Air Europe, BIA, Paramount, IEA, TEA UK, Orion, Dan Air, Excallibur, BAF, Hot Air, Baltic, Air Scandic, Club Air and some more that escape me just now.
Air Maroc 747 was about the time Vauxhall did a car launch in Marrakech. Other aircraft from Air Maroc were utilised from other parts of the UK and Europe as it was a Pan European launch.
Those were the days
Going back to the late 1960's I remember the Alitalia/Sam caravelles also Friday nights used to be very exciting with air Spain Britannia then dc8 then there were the spantax Coronado ......oh and fab restaurant below control tower with views ! I will never forget GAVYE trident and the fantastic Boac vc10,BMW dc9-15 to LHR,I was there for last BA viscount
I do also remember siting round for hours with nothing landing or taking off ! In fact I remember even in the early 1980's on a Sunday the 1st arrival of days wasn't till after midday....
Does anyone else remember servern air herons ?
I do also remember siting round for hours with nothing landing or taking off ! In fact I remember even in the early 1980's on a Sunday the 1st arrival of days wasn't till after midday....
Does anyone else remember servern air herons ?