LUTON History and Nostalgia
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Re:Britannia Australia flights
I remember sitting in Singapore Changi and seeing Luton on the destination board.
Think the flight originated in Perth and it was a fortnightly service?
At the time didn't they also do ad hoc flights to Barbados from Luton.
The 767-200s in the high season from Luton
Mon Thessaloniki , Dalaman
Tue Malta , Bourgas
Wed Paphos
Thur Palma , Dalaman
Fri Palma , Corfu , Ibiza
Sat Paphos , Alicante
Sun Larnaca , Bodrum
Cant find the year though.
Friday night around 11pm used to be entertaining (with two 767s on occasions) if i remember correctly.
Travelbag was the company, just remembered Flights were Oct/ Nov to Mar/Apr
There is a timetable on a well known on line auction site
I remember sitting in Singapore Changi and seeing Luton on the destination board.
Think the flight originated in Perth and it was a fortnightly service?
At the time didn't they also do ad hoc flights to Barbados from Luton.
The 767-200s in the high season from Luton
Mon Thessaloniki , Dalaman
Tue Malta , Bourgas
Wed Paphos
Thur Palma , Dalaman
Fri Palma , Corfu , Ibiza
Sat Paphos , Alicante
Sun Larnaca , Bodrum
Cant find the year though.
Friday night around 11pm used to be entertaining (with two 767s on occasions) if i remember correctly.
Travelbag was the company, just remembered Flights were Oct/ Nov to Mar/Apr
There is a timetable on a well known on line auction site
Last edited by Falcon666; 22nd Jul 2017 at 15:38. Reason: Added company
For info on B767-200
1986 - Thursday to Iraklion
1989 - Tuesday & Thursday to Palma
1993 - Monday to Ibiza. Did a W pattern in between to Manchester (I think) So got an extra day in Ibiza!
All summer flights, in the winter of 85/86 they did a double Lyons for the skiing season.
1986 - Thursday to Iraklion
1989 - Tuesday & Thursday to Palma
1993 - Monday to Ibiza. Did a W pattern in between to Manchester (I think) So got an extra day in Ibiza!
All summer flights, in the winter of 85/86 they did a double Lyons for the skiing season.
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I remember a relation flying from Luton to Perth on the 767 they lived at st Albans and always flew from Heathrow on either BA or Singapore but when this service started it was a god send they said the money they saved enabled them to fly twice a year on this service.
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Is it true Britannia chose the B767 over the A310 because it could make FL370 by the UK FIR boundary off Luton and miss a shed load of slot restrictions?
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I'm not sure about the A310, but I'm pretty sure I saw something on TV touting the capability of high flight levels and avoiding slot restrictions.
The A310 was seriously considered but operating economics and interior layout issues were two big factors that tipped it for Boeing
BY joined with Braathens to gain a few concessions from Boeing for the joint 767 order (including a part-financed simulator which lived at LTN for many years)...Although Braathens association with the type didn't last long!
Incidentally, only G-BYAA operated for Air Aruba
The Australia runs initially operated weekly LTN-Bahrain-Singapore-OZ.....The crews were away for ages! The flights switched to LGW and MAN and the stops swopped to AUH/SHJ and Batam in Indonesia....
BY joined with Braathens to gain a few concessions from Boeing for the joint 767 order (including a part-financed simulator which lived at LTN for many years)...Although Braathens association with the type didn't last long!
Incidentally, only G-BYAA operated for Air Aruba
The Australia runs initially operated weekly LTN-Bahrain-Singapore-OZ.....The crews were away for ages! The flights switched to LGW and MAN and the stops swopped to AUH/SHJ and Batam in Indonesia....
Last edited by boeing_eng; 23rd Jul 2017 at 16:32.
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With regards to Britannia using the 767 my first flight was from gatwick with family to Ibiza 85 we had the late George best on the plane what ever the press said about him he was a true gentleman no special treatment just a true gent with regards to braathens using the767 it was so uneconomical for them they had to get rid of it only used it for a year and a half also didn't Brittania lease a 767 from air newzealand there was a tv show many years about Luton when the plane in question could not take off a passenger said they saw a mouse on it plane was searched and yes it was found.
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Yes. I remember disembarking from an Alitalia 747 at Kingsford-Smith just before Christmas 1995. We'd been very lucky and had been given given a first-class upgrade from Bangkok so we were feeling very pleased with ourselves, cool, nice and refreshed. On the next stand was a Britannia 767 off-loading. It was packed. They'd come out directly from the U.K. in 26 hours with only a refuel in the Gulf. Their pax followed us through the terminal. They were utterly, totally shattered, like zombies, poor little kids crying, wives and girl-friends wailing, they looked like walking wounded coming out of a war zone, but they said it had been a good flight. We didn't comment. I think it was a regular charter.
Braathens operated the 767 in a low density config of around 240 seats but couldn't make it work as travellers were not willing to pay the higher prices demanded....
Yes, ZK-NBJ was leased in 96/97 (an ex BY aircraft anyway!)
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/7569324
Yes, ZK-NBJ was leased in 96/97 (an ex BY aircraft anyway!)
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/7569324
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Is it true Britannia chose the B767 over the A310 because it could make FL370 by the UK FIR boundary off Luton and miss a shed load of slot restrictions?
Last edited by Stan Woolley; 24th Jul 2017 at 09:56.
On the next stand was a Britannia 767 off-loading. It was packed. They'd come out directly from the U.K. in 26 hours with only a refuel in the Gulf.
They were utterly, totally shattered, like zombies, poor little kids crying, wives and girl-friends wailing, they looked like walking wounded coming out of a war zone, but they said it had been a good flight.
Last edited by kenparry; 24th Jul 2017 at 09:15.
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The OZ flights started with the Britannia 102 in 1969 routing Luton, old Dubai, Singapore - callsign 'Southern Cross' but cannot remember if they were painted as such-only worked em on VHF.
One of my colleagues used that Britannia 767 sevice to and/or from Oz and what he and his family endured left them pretty well done for. The key point, as described to me at the time, was that the seat pitch was left the same as used on (e.g.) trips to Malaga which would be just tolerable for a couple of hours but not for over a day.