BA Santa Flights

[BWBriscoe]

Where in Lapland do BA fly to for their Santa flights?

Do they fly from LHR or LGW? What aircraft type do they use for this?

Cheers,

BWB

[BALIX]

Not sure where the BA Santa flights go, if indeed BA still do them. But every other airline in the country, and a number from other countries, seemed to be transporting children of all ages to Lapland from the UK and Ireland today. EFRO (Rovaniemi) seems to be the favourite destination but three or four other destinations are also extensively used. I would guess there were at least thirty flights, probably more.

Quite what they do with all these visitors I don't know. I would have thought that the bearded old codger with the red suit would be a bit too busy around now to meet several thousand kids. Oh, and there's another thing - the fact these flights go to four different airports - are they trying to tell me there is more than one Santa :E

The REAL one lives at the North Pole anyway :ok:

[Manchester Exile]

Around 1990-1992, I used to help out on the BA Santa flights from Manchester. I'm not sure if they still do them, but back then they were a great success. As a bonus, I got to fly on the last official BA BAC 1-11 flight from Manchester, which left on Christmas Eve after operating the last santa flight - a celebration flight for BA staff and other invited guests (Of which I was one).

We would dress up a BAC 1-11 with a bright red nose, Rudolf smiling teeth and antlers. Kids (and adults) would get on board, to be told that we were flying to the North Pole to pick up santa, who would beam aboard Star-Trek style. Shortly after take-off, we would instruct the passengers to shut their window blinds, to stop magic leaking from the aircraft. In fact, it was an attempt to disguise the fact that we were nowhere near the north pole, but actually flying around the Irish Sea and Isle of Man.

Santa would then beam aboard behind the curtain at the front galley, complete with sound effects and flashing lights. He'd hand out presents to each passenger, then we'd have a sing -along, then we'd land back at Ringway.

I remember one year we positioned in from Manchester to Blackpool, to operate Santa flights from there too.

It was great fun - but we'd get nowhere near the north pole!

Manchester Exile

[Platinum206]

Sorry but I have no idea on the BA Santa flights, I was however on the CityJet Santa Flight last year, they put on a really good show!

After check-in everyone is waiting to board down at the gate when the crew come along, the cabin crew are of couse leading along two guys in their pilots uniforms, complete with dark glasses, huge wigs and the canes used by blind people to help them find their way (apologies, I don't know the correct term for the cane)

Thats the first sign of trouble seeing the two old blind guys boarding their aircraft!

Once lined up on the runway, full power is applied with brakes still engaged until the crew are happy enough that these kids actually want to go see the the big guy, by virtue of screaming their heads off to the tune off GO GO GO GO GO! Everyone is then mashed into the back of the seats as the 146 tears down the runway.

The routing of the flight, WX001S, actually takes us down over Cork but of course it being Ireland in December, we are almost guaranteed to be over clouds not too long after take-off.

A little while into the flight we are informed by a sad sounding crew that we are unable to land at the north pole du to, yes you've guessed it, too much snow on the runway, makes sense i guess! However we have arranged for santa to come up and meet us, we just have to find him because his sledge is quite old and doesn't have the technology and radar we do!

What follows now is a spectacular aerobatic display of flying in the hunt for santa above the north pole, all the kids are told he is out on the lleft side, so they all run over to the left windows, or even if they don't, are persuaded to do so via gravity as we bank to the left! and so on to the right and back to the left again. All the kids, who many are ill from as far as I can rememnber are Crumlin Childrens hospital are loving this of course but aquick glance around to the faces of their parents hanging on to the arm rests for dear life tells a different story, "Why did I come on this Flight!!"

We eventually find santa and arrange for him to land on the roof,(please remember alot of magic and imagination involved here people!) So after a couple of tries, santa does eventually land on the roof, with effects from the crew of judders and jerks all over the place. Santa appears from the rear galley and does the usual presents and photos gig.

To finish off this incredible flight, we take a low-level fly by over the River Liffey in Dublins City Centre, not sure if this happened this year, but was certainly a feature last year. The kids are then taken off to a party after the flight, everyone of them absolutely beaming with joy.

CityJet really put on a fantastic show, and of course it is charitable as the kids are from a hospital for the sick. They really deserve alot of credit for this one.

P206