Airlines You'd Like to Bring Back
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Turning base leg
Age: 65
Posts: 4,717
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
and....
Sterling (for those beautiful Caravelles)
ACE Frieghters (for the short Connies)
Wardair (for the 727 service from Canada!)
Capitol/ONA/Trans International/Seeboard World/Universal/Saturn (for the fab DC-8s)
Aeroflot (for the almost daily Tu-104 services in to LGW)
.... and more.....
RR
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Cheshire, California, Geneva, and Paris
Age: 67
Posts: 867
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Wonderful Wonderful Dan-Air Scheduled Services from LGW, as a staff passenger they could do no wrong. I once missed the flight from NEW to LGW as the flight had pushed back, the crew stopped the push and start and repositioned on stand to allow me to board!!
British Midland Diamond Service ex LHR, I used to return early to sample their mid-afternoon cream teas and they had DC9-10s!!!
British Airways Super 1-11 Division at Manchester
Air UK ex Stansted-Scheduled services all over Europe with an efficent and friendly face. I used to live in SW London and would travel up to Stansted to fly with Air UK rather than fly from LHR which was much nearer.
British Island Airways-Once brought me back free from Geneva when I would have been stuck overnight.
Air Bridge Carriers- Flight Deck Familarisation flights on their mighty Vickers Vanguard.
British Airways Gatwick Division that flew the Queen of the Skies-The McDonnell Douglas DC10-30
I dont fly much anymore- I wonder why that is???
British Midland Diamond Service ex LHR, I used to return early to sample their mid-afternoon cream teas and they had DC9-10s!!!
British Airways Super 1-11 Division at Manchester
Air UK ex Stansted-Scheduled services all over Europe with an efficent and friendly face. I used to live in SW London and would travel up to Stansted to fly with Air UK rather than fly from LHR which was much nearer.
British Island Airways-Once brought me back free from Geneva when I would have been stuck overnight.
Air Bridge Carriers- Flight Deck Familarisation flights on their mighty Vickers Vanguard.
British Airways Gatwick Division that flew the Queen of the Skies-The McDonnell Douglas DC10-30
I dont fly much anymore- I wonder why that is???
"Mildly" Eccentric Stardriver
Nice to see all the good opinions of AirUK (great airline, sadly missed), but no mention of buzz? Oh, to turn back time seven years, or better still, pre 9/11, when we could have children/enthusiasts/pretty girls up to the flightdeck.
Best airline? dunno, but best job... captain of a Handley Page 42 for Imperial, closely followed by captain of a Short "C" boat for the same company.
Best airline? dunno, but best job... captain of a Handley Page 42 for Imperial, closely followed by captain of a Short "C" boat for the same company.
I have to agree with the comments about Air UK. I remember coming back from Frankfurt in a Friendship one evening (I think it was one of the ones they pulled out of the Congolese jungle) when the Captain came back and said that as there was a strong headwind he'd make it a free bar to dull the pain of the noise of those two Darts roaring away. He wasn't being too generous though... there were only two passengers on board!. Things got a lot better when the 146s arrived. I liked them but I gather the engineers had views.
I flew with Buzz - what a great little airline it was too!
The acceptable face of LoCo travel! My only complaint was that the size of cabin baggage which they allowed was below the industry norm, so a bag bought specifically to be compatible with normal airline limits was too big for Buzz' limits.
But I could just walk to my local bus stop with my weekend bag, catch the bus to Oxford, then the coach to Stansted. Check-in and go through for a little seafood and chilled wine, then catch the shuttle train to the Buzz lounge before my flight.
Crews were friendly and efficient (apart from the woman who offloaded the bar once!) and it was exceptionally good value.
Arrival at real Frankfurt, not where-the-hell-are-we-Hahn some 115 km away, then the S-Bahn into town. Brilliant!
Sadly missed; when the shock announcement of their closure came just after the expansion plans for their second hub had been announced, I was appalled. So, back to Lufthansa as I would NEVER fly with the dreadful Ryanair......
Plus another vote for AirUK! I once flew with them from Turnhouse to Norwich; it took a while for the F-27's left undercarriage to retract as the poor old pneumatic pump had to raise sufficient pressure. Then we droned round and round at Leeds-Bradford before diverting to East Midlands. The hosties cheered up considerably at that point - it seems that the delay had triggered some guaranteed overtime payment. So my colleague and I announced that a couple of gin and tonics must therefore be in order.....and that's what the girls brought us! Then a quiet trip down to Norwich apart from being mistakenly intercepted by an F-4 from our own squadron!
Who else would I like to see back? All those airlines driven under by ba's Dirty Tricks. The only 2 airlines I will never fly with are ba and Ryanair.
The acceptable face of LoCo travel! My only complaint was that the size of cabin baggage which they allowed was below the industry norm, so a bag bought specifically to be compatible with normal airline limits was too big for Buzz' limits.
But I could just walk to my local bus stop with my weekend bag, catch the bus to Oxford, then the coach to Stansted. Check-in and go through for a little seafood and chilled wine, then catch the shuttle train to the Buzz lounge before my flight.
Crews were friendly and efficient (apart from the woman who offloaded the bar once!) and it was exceptionally good value.
Arrival at real Frankfurt, not where-the-hell-are-we-Hahn some 115 km away, then the S-Bahn into town. Brilliant!
Sadly missed; when the shock announcement of their closure came just after the expansion plans for their second hub had been announced, I was appalled. So, back to Lufthansa as I would NEVER fly with the dreadful Ryanair......
Plus another vote for AirUK! I once flew with them from Turnhouse to Norwich; it took a while for the F-27's left undercarriage to retract as the poor old pneumatic pump had to raise sufficient pressure. Then we droned round and round at Leeds-Bradford before diverting to East Midlands. The hosties cheered up considerably at that point - it seems that the delay had triggered some guaranteed overtime payment. So my colleague and I announced that a couple of gin and tonics must therefore be in order.....and that's what the girls brought us! Then a quiet trip down to Norwich apart from being mistakenly intercepted by an F-4 from our own squadron!
Who else would I like to see back? All those airlines driven under by ba's Dirty Tricks. The only 2 airlines I will never fly with are ba and Ryanair.
Last edited by BEagle; 17th Oct 2009 at 08:12.
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: stratford upon avon
Age: 57
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Orion Airways were best charter
I used to work at EMA as a Trolley Dolly just before BRIT took over....the aircrew/cabin staff were fab, great characters - happy memories...
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,414
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Bristol based Amber Airways then Paramount Airways. Some wonderful characters - the odd eccentric jerk in the left seat but they were mostly harmless. I joined Amber from Air Nauru in 1989 - my first British airline and loved it.
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: ascot berks uk
Age: 93
Posts: 251
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My Father worked for Imperial Airways 1928 1940,BOAC 1940 1964, and he use to regale us with stories of Senior Captains especialy Captain O.PJones lining up the cabin crew inspecting cleanliness of uniform , shave and nails befor allowing them onto HIS airplane and woe betide if they fell short of the mark they had to go and smarten up and a voyage report was made against them plus all the cockpit checks had to have been carried out and all he had to do was to pull on his leather gloves and order "Start 1" not like now in the days of our dear Queen there was no M.E.Ls as once the plane left Croydon they didn't see it for a week or two.would we like those days back? My father said he never changed even when he flew Connies after the war and even ensured stocking seams were straight on Stewardesses.
A Runyonesque Character
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: The South of France ... Not
Age: 74
Posts: 1,209
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
Metro man, I'll second UTA. I never flew them but they gave my daughter a free ticket to Malawi for her honeymoon, a 50% discount to her husband (who wasn't entitled to any deal via my concessions), an upgrade on the way out and even an in-flight cake!
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: South Africa
Age: 87
Posts: 1,329
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I too was going to add UTA, until I saw Metro Mans post.
I only used them once, JNB to NCE, in the days when Pax had to pay for drinks. I was given change in CAF Francs, that I found out were worthless
Can I cheat ever so slightly and add:
RAF Transport Command.
Ah! Those Beverly's
No Smoking
No Hot drinks
No Hot meals
No Presurisation
No Flush Toilets.
But lots of headroom if you were in the freight bay
I only used them once, JNB to NCE, in the days when Pax had to pay for drinks. I was given change in CAF Francs, that I found out were worthless
Can I cheat ever so slightly and add:
RAF Transport Command.
Ah! Those Beverly's
No Smoking
No Hot drinks
No Hot meals
No Presurisation
No Flush Toilets.
But lots of headroom if you were in the freight bay
Can I cheat ever so slightly and add:
RAF Transport Command.
Ah! Those Beverly's
No Smoking
No Hot drinks
No Hot meals
No Presurisation
No Flush Toilets.
But lots of headroom if you were in the freight bay
RAF Transport Command.
Ah! Those Beverly's
No Smoking
No Hot drinks
No Hot meals
No Presurisation
No Flush Toilets.
But lots of headroom if you were in the freight bay
