What was the first airliner you flew in?

[ZFT]

BOAC Britannia, London Airport (as it was then) to Rome as an 8 year old. 1st Jet, BOAC Comet 4 London to Zurich as an 11 year old.

[treadigraph]

BOAC VC-10 Heathrow - Nairobi, 1969, no idea if we stopped anywhere en route.

Originally Posted by hayessteph

Along with other members of the public, we got into a bi-plane which took off, and did a circuit, before coming back in to land. Must have taken about 15 minutes in all. I remember the flight cost 11 shillings per person.

That will have been an Island Airways Dragon Rapide operated by former Air Transport Auxiliary pilot Monique Agazarian - a few years ago, I got talking to a woman walking her dogs on rhe local common. She wondered why I was interested in the ongoing nearby Biggin Hill airshow and I professed a lifelong obsession with aeroplanes, particularly piston fighters such as Spitfires: "My mother loved flying Spitfires" she said quietly. "Who was your mother?" Turned out she was Monique's middle daughter, Mary; she was quite surprised that I knew something of her exploits and the Heathrow operation. Lovely lady, we must have chatted for an hour or more...

[NIREP reader]

DH Comet (Canopus) in 85 out of Boscombe down. Doing Nav equipment trials for the Tristar fleet. Also my first experience of G and the angles of bank that you might not usually experience in airliner.

[Paul_from_Dublin]

1970 as a nine year old schoolboy on an Aer Lingus 707 on the Dublin-Shannon leg of a Dublin-Shannon-Boston flight as part of a school trip.
Got a window seat beside an elderly kindly American couple who made it their mission to make sure I wasn't nervous. A great day out.

[pax britanica]

November 1971 BOAC 747-100 LHR-JFK Thanksgiving day so special menu for lunch. connect at JFK to Std VC10 JFK-Barbados via Antigua.

Traveling with couple of airline employee friends, in my case courtesy of fathers (BEA) concessionary ticket and my first time out of the UK for a two week holiday in Caribbean.
Return direct BGI-LHR on Super VC10 so all pretty memorable and such a long time ago

PB

[GROUNDHOG]

First was BEA viscount to Jersey, oldest probably a Martin 404 out of Kissimmee.

[Ant T]

Like ajdm, Expatrick, and wub, my first airline flight was on a Handley Page Dart Herald.
Early 1970s, I think it was from Exeter to Dublin, but can’t be sure.

(Just did a bit of checking, and the route, type and date that I seem to remember would fit with it being operated by British Island Airways)

[justapax]

Originally Posted by treadigraph

BOAC VC-10 Heathrow - Nairobi, 1969, no idea if we stopped anywhere en route.

It stopped at one European aeroport to refuel, which one depended on the day of the week. https://www.timetableimages.com/ttim...71/ba71-45.jpg is for 1971, which is the closest I could find to 1969.

[Peter47]

Possibly a viscount but I was too young to remember. Certainly a Britannia (RAF Transport Command) when I was 7 or 8.

[BonnieLass]

Britten Norman Islander in 1969.....Island hopping on holiday. First jet was my all time favourite Trident 3B in 1972...to Zagreb.

[TCU]

Civil Aviation Authority HS748 G-ATMJ, sometime in 1973.

The CAA organised a programme of air experience flights for Essex school children (a 1hr loop of Essex in and out of STN), with the happy 8 year old me then attending St Mary's Junior School in Stansted Mountfitchet.

[justapax]

Originally Posted by BonnieLass

Britten Norman Islander in 1969

So not long after it entered service (1965) near the end of the era when Britain led the world in aviation. Now the BN-2 is the only non-military aircraft still made in Britain by a British company.

[PAXboy]

The mention by BonnieLass of the Trident 3B, makes me ask: I went LHR ~ HAM on a Trident in late Dec 1975. I only noted that it was an ex- BEA (natch) Trident. Any guesses which model?

[DButler]

" near the end of the era when Britain led the world in aviation"

Did we ever LEAD? Outside the pages of the popular press and Boys Own I mean??

[jolihokistix]

Maybe 1964 Heathrow to Nairobi and back. I seem to recall a refuelling stop at Khartoum.

[lederhosen]

First I can remember was a Vanguard and the subsequent cockpit visit was the moment I knew I wanted to be a pilot. First landing in the cockpit was a Caravelle, with a gauloise stuck to the flight engineer’s lower lip, funny what you remember.

[cavuman1]

Capital Viscount, 1956. Simultaneously scared to death and fascinated! Went on to earn my PPL twenty years later.

- Ed

[treadigraph]

Originally Posted by Justapax1

It stopped at one European aeroport to refuel, which one depended on the day of the week. https://www.timetableimages.com/ttim...71/ba71-45.jpg is for 1971, which is the closest I could find to 1969.

Interesting looking at that - my mind says we stopped at Entebbe once, and that I flew on a BOAC Standard and East African Super VC-10s on the first trips there and back. Must have been East African and Entebbe on the way home in 1971 perhaps, I know I had my Junior Jet Club Log Book when I flew on a Air Taxi Cherokee Six in 1970, cos our Captain, Pat Innocent, carefully completed the log for each of the four legs we did! How I wish that little book hadn't been lost at some point after final return to the UK (BOAC 747 Heathrow/Nairobi 1971, Swissair DC-8 Nairobi/Zurich and a Cv990 back to LHR 1972) as a various light aircraft trips had been recorded, mostly by my dad but there were several that got away.

[justapax]

Originally Posted by treadigraph

Interesting looking at that - my mind says we stopped at Entebbe once, and that I flew on a BOAC Standard and East African Super VC-10s on the first trips there and back.

Your memory of events may well be right, in 1969 the UK and Uganda were best friends, but by 1971 Idi Amin was declaring himself Conqueror of the British Empire and other such lunacies, so BOAC may have decided to give Entebbe a miss. As you will see in 1971 East African Airways was still flying to the UK via Entebbe: Uganda was after all one of the three nations co-owning EAA,

That https://www.timetableimages.com site is good for giving a nudge to memories and for doing a bit of wallowing in nostalgia, but is only as complete as contributors can make it. If any PPrune Pax&SLF readers can find old timetables in their attics and take a pic of them with their phones, I'm sure they will be gratefully received.

[Cat3508]

First aircraft flown in was a SAAF DC3 at the age of 13, as a sea cadet in Cape Town. Did a trip around the peninsula, loved it.