Do you have a particularly memorable flight?
Joined: Jan 2008
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From: Geneva
In the late nineties, I was seated on the upper deck of a British Airways 747–400 flying from Tokyo to London. The flight was smooth and uneventful, until we touched down at Heathrow and the plane came to a very abrupt stop. There was a moment’s silence, then the captain said over the PA, “Senior cabin crew to the flight deck immediately”.
I will never forget the way he said it: there was no note of alarm or panic in his voice, he was totally calm, but it was the voice of iron, absolute authority. There could be no hesitation, no mistake, only immediate obedience. He wanted senior cabin crew in the cockpit now.
We pax all looked at each other nervously - WTF was going on?? - and sure enough within milliseconds one of the cabin crew came dashing up the aisle and vanished into the cockpit. I looked out the window and saw we were surrounded by fire engines and flashing lights. Yikes! Would we have to evacuate? Going down the slide from the top deck of a 747 would be ... exciting.
Everyone sat quietly for a few anxious minutes, then the captain came back on the PA, and spoke in the more soothing and understated tones typically used by BA pilots. He said something like, “We apologize for the dramatic arrival, but we had an indication in the cockpit that our auxiliary power unit was on fire. It appears it was a false alarm, but you will understand that we needed to treat it with some respect. Thank you for your patience; we will now proceed to our gate, where you can disembark normally. Thank you for flying with British Airways.”
I will never forget the way he said it: there was no note of alarm or panic in his voice, he was totally calm, but it was the voice of iron, absolute authority. There could be no hesitation, no mistake, only immediate obedience. He wanted senior cabin crew in the cockpit now.
We pax all looked at each other nervously - WTF was going on?? - and sure enough within milliseconds one of the cabin crew came dashing up the aisle and vanished into the cockpit. I looked out the window and saw we were surrounded by fire engines and flashing lights. Yikes! Would we have to evacuate? Going down the slide from the top deck of a 747 would be ... exciting.
Everyone sat quietly for a few anxious minutes, then the captain came back on the PA, and spoke in the more soothing and understated tones typically used by BA pilots. He said something like, “We apologize for the dramatic arrival, but we had an indication in the cockpit that our auxiliary power unit was on fire. It appears it was a false alarm, but you will understand that we needed to treat it with some respect. Thank you for your patience; we will now proceed to our gate, where you can disembark normally. Thank you for flying with British Airways.”
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From: Darkest Lincs
I have to admit that I absolutely hate BA and avoid flying with them as much as I possibly can.
In 2012 I had no alternative but to fly BA from the south of France to MAN via LGW.
The first flight was aboard a very pleasant Embraer, lovely crew...no issues at all. I actually thought that maybe BA had finally improved. That was until I connected with the BA flight from LGW to MAN.
Sitting there at the gate was a B737 that looked like it had been dragged kicking and screaming out of retirement. The outside of the aircraft was tatty...lots of that special sticky tape (nose, around the door, all over the wings etc), some hanging by a thread. Boarded and the carpet had a hefty dose of gaffer tape, the seats likewise. Found my seat...a window as always...but looking out of the window was going to be an issue, tween the layers of window hung quite a lot of insulation material (2 or 3 windows infront and behind mine also had insulation hanging within them). Eventually we moved off the gate, started the engines (engine noise plus other unrecogniseable noises comparitive to a sawmill at full chat). Off we trundled to the runway, every pothole causing the entire interior to bang, creak and rattle doing the perfect impersonation of an overloaded milk float. Take off roll and the overheads were bouncing and various bangs and crashes from under the seat, a gradual struggle into the air...and creaking and banging all the way to MAN where we arrived with a thump or three and most of the pax started clapping.
I have no idea what the reg was on that B737...it did have a distinguishing mark though, a black circle around the nose. It was the BA that I remembered why I avoided the airline. Not a nervous pax by any means but that old crate seemed ready for the knackers yard.
In 2012 I had no alternative but to fly BA from the south of France to MAN via LGW.
The first flight was aboard a very pleasant Embraer, lovely crew...no issues at all. I actually thought that maybe BA had finally improved. That was until I connected with the BA flight from LGW to MAN.
Sitting there at the gate was a B737 that looked like it had been dragged kicking and screaming out of retirement. The outside of the aircraft was tatty...lots of that special sticky tape (nose, around the door, all over the wings etc), some hanging by a thread. Boarded and the carpet had a hefty dose of gaffer tape, the seats likewise. Found my seat...a window as always...but looking out of the window was going to be an issue, tween the layers of window hung quite a lot of insulation material (2 or 3 windows infront and behind mine also had insulation hanging within them). Eventually we moved off the gate, started the engines (engine noise plus other unrecogniseable noises comparitive to a sawmill at full chat). Off we trundled to the runway, every pothole causing the entire interior to bang, creak and rattle doing the perfect impersonation of an overloaded milk float. Take off roll and the overheads were bouncing and various bangs and crashes from under the seat, a gradual struggle into the air...and creaking and banging all the way to MAN where we arrived with a thump or three and most of the pax started clapping.
I have no idea what the reg was on that B737...it did have a distinguishing mark though, a black circle around the nose. It was the BA that I remembered why I avoided the airline. Not a nervous pax by any means but that old crate seemed ready for the knackers yard.
And then there was the time we flew BA from ALC to LGW, and then LGW to TPA the next day. We had been chatting to a crew member on the first leg - and, surprise, she was on the second leg as well (mixed fleet). She remembered us, and a surprising number of bottles of champagne reached our seat ! It's little things like that which make a difference in one's perception of an airline.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2000
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From: UK and Italy
1) they don't provide the service that other airlines do, but are no cheaper, at Business and First Class levels (First Class is purely hearsay, I've never flown First with BA)
2) They are overstrict on hand-baggage. I had the result of six months' work by a scientific team (so say 3 man-years) on my lap that would easily have gone in an overhead locker or under the seat in front of me, but they insisted that it went in the hold. Result: complete write-off, unhappy customer, a research programme set back by six months, the legal department sued BA for £ 1m. BA contested it, lost, and ended up paying both parties' legal fees, so £ 1.5m. The seat next to me was unoccupied, so holding the device in my lap wasn't inconveniencing anyone, and the device needed to be kept at a constant temperature. The ideal solution would have been to have kept it powered up so the crystal oven never cooled down, but these were the days before seatside power sockets.and the device was wanted in a hurry.
3) Their baggage handlers can damage goods that have been designed to withstand a 20g ballistic launch.
Joined: Apr 2009
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From: Darkest Lincs
My bitches against BA are in no particular order
1) they don't provide the service that other airlines do, but are no cheaper, at Business and First Class levels (First Class is purely hearsay, I've never flown First with BA)
2) They are overstrict on hand-baggage. I had the result of six months' work by a scientific team (so say 3 man-years) on my lap that would easily have gone in an overhead locker or under the seat in front of me, but they insisted that it went in the hold. Result: complete write-off, unhappy customer, a research programme set back by six months, the legal department sued BA for £ 1m. BA contested it, lost, and ended up paying both parties' legal fees, so £ 1.5m. The seat next to me was unoccupied, so holding the device in my lap wasn't inconveniencing anyone, and the device needed to be kept at a constant temperature. The ideal solution would have been to have kept it powered up so the crystal oven never cooled down, but these were the days before seatside power sockets.and the device was wanted in a hurry.
3) Their baggage handlers can damage goods that have been designed to withstand a 20g ballistic launch.
1) they don't provide the service that other airlines do, but are no cheaper, at Business and First Class levels (First Class is purely hearsay, I've never flown First with BA)
2) They are overstrict on hand-baggage. I had the result of six months' work by a scientific team (so say 3 man-years) on my lap that would easily have gone in an overhead locker or under the seat in front of me, but they insisted that it went in the hold. Result: complete write-off, unhappy customer, a research programme set back by six months, the legal department sued BA for £ 1m. BA contested it, lost, and ended up paying both parties' legal fees, so £ 1.5m. The seat next to me was unoccupied, so holding the device in my lap wasn't inconveniencing anyone, and the device needed to be kept at a constant temperature. The ideal solution would have been to have kept it powered up so the crystal oven never cooled down, but these were the days before seatside power sockets.and the device was wanted in a hurry.
3) Their baggage handlers can damage goods that have been designed to withstand a 20g ballistic launch.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2000
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From: UK and Italy
The choose which contractors to use. Some airlines like JAL choose them by a 'beauty contest' in which years of service, passenger complaint levels, etc., are assessed, and the lowest contractor does not necessarily win the contest. BA seem to employ gorillas as contractors.
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From: Beyond the Blue Horizon
On my last BA flight in December the Gorillas managed to break a diving mask and put a dint in a cigar tube both of which were wrapped in the inner part of my hold luggage. God knows what they dropped on it or where dropped from, but must have been high or heavy, though no bag damage?
Cheers
Mr Mac
Cheers
Mr Mac
Paxing All Over The World
Joined: May 2001
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From: Hertfordshire, UK.
Around 2006, they almost trashed a medium sized Samsonite on an FCO-LHR and I got an email to say they would refund the full price. When it was finally delivered it was actuallt still servicable! It is particularly useful on rail journeys due to the oversized wheels that handle roads, pavements and platforms better than any of the mini-wheel variety. I still use it. Which makes up for the two other hardsided and expensive (Samsonite and a Delsey) that were trashed. They are now only used for storing things in the loft.
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From: Near SOU
In 2006 I flew home from Buenos Aires with Iberia with last leg flown by BMI (EZE-MAD/MAD-LHR/LHR-LBA). My suitcase did not make the entire journey with me. It arrived by taxi a few days later and looked very much as if it had been run over several times by a herd of B747's.
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From: Oxon
1. BOAB supersonic over Bay of Biscay, ok not a 'proper' fight, but who cares, I got to fly on Concorde and suponsonic too, and I loved every minute, especially the take off.
2. Other memorable flight was the first time on a 747 in 1975, leaving LHR for JNB. There was engine trouble, and we had to return to LHR. I remember my mum and dad being quite nervous, but for me, it was a huge adventure!
3. In 1993 (I think it was), from Xi'an to Beijing, on a Tupolev TU-154M. It was an evening flight, so dark outside, and I recall being in a departure lounge and not seeing anything at all outside no lights, nothing, until the aircraft arrived. The seat in front of me on the ac when I put my hand on it, gave way. I am pretty sure at the time, the aircraft was used by the Air Force but also flew civilian flights too.
2. Other memorable flight was the first time on a 747 in 1975, leaving LHR for JNB. There was engine trouble, and we had to return to LHR. I remember my mum and dad being quite nervous, but for me, it was a huge adventure!
3. In 1993 (I think it was), from Xi'an to Beijing, on a Tupolev TU-154M. It was an evening flight, so dark outside, and I recall being in a departure lounge and not seeing anything at all outside no lights, nothing, until the aircraft arrived. The seat in front of me on the ac when I put my hand on it, gave way. I am pretty sure at the time, the aircraft was used by the Air Force but also flew civilian flights too.
Last edited by Helol; 4th January 2025 at 18:15.
Joined: Apr 2009
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From: Darkest Lincs
1. BOAB supersonic over Bay of Biscay, ok not a 'proper' fight, but who cares, I got to fly on Concorde and suponsonic too, and I loved every minute, especially the take off.
2. Other memorable flight was the first time on a 747 in 1975, leaving LHR for JNB. There was engine trouble, and we had to return to LHR. I remember my mum and dad being quite nervous, but for me, it was a hug adventure!
3. In 1993 (I think it was), from Xi'an to Beijing, on a Tupolev TU-154M. It was an evening flight, so dark outside, and I recall being in a departure lounge and not seeing anything at all outside no lights, nothing, until the aircraft arrived. The seat in front of me on the ac when I put my hand on it, gave way. I am pretty sure at the time, the aircraft was used by the Air Force but also flew civilian flights too.
2. Other memorable flight was the first time on a 747 in 1975, leaving LHR for JNB. There was engine trouble, and we had to return to LHR. I remember my mum and dad being quite nervous, but for me, it was a hug adventure!
3. In 1993 (I think it was), from Xi'an to Beijing, on a Tupolev TU-154M. It was an evening flight, so dark outside, and I recall being in a departure lounge and not seeing anything at all outside no lights, nothing, until the aircraft arrived. The seat in front of me on the ac when I put my hand on it, gave way. I am pretty sure at the time, the aircraft was used by the Air Force but also flew civilian flights too.
Joined: May 2024
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From: Near SOU
The old TU 104B had the glass nose and was used by Aeroflot and other USSR State airlines back then, might have been one of those that you remember
Paxing All Over The World
Joined: May 2001
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From: Hertfordshire, UK.
Last trip through LHR we did OK. Had packed several bottles of very good South Africa Wine in special travel pouches and placed in middle of cases. All survived.
Paxing All Over The World
Joined: May 2001
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From: Hertfordshire, UK.
Many years ago, a great story of an internal flight in Russia was reported in this forum and I recall:
The aircraft had minimal heating. The cabin crew wore heavy overcoats. When offered tea or coffee - they were served from large thermos flasks that she stored in the large pockets of her greatcoat - one each side.
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From: NL
Joined: Oct 2002
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From: London UK
In 1969 Aeroflot from Heathrow was on the Ilyushin 62, but if they sent a charter aircraft for your group, likely a Tupolev 134, the initial ones had glazed noses. The Tu134B had the full radar nose.
A further myth about the glazed nose, especially from those who manage a closer look at one, is it carried a special spy camera fixed there. This is typically a mis-identification of the Nav's sextant, which is of course installed there !
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From: Australia
In the late nineties, I was seated on the upper deck of a British Airways 747–400 flying from Tokyo to London. The flight was smooth and uneventful, until we touched down at Heathrow and the plane came to a very abrupt stop. There was a moment’s silence, then the captain said over the PA, “Senior cabin crew to the flight deck immediately”.
I will never forget the way he said it: there was no note of alarm or panic in his voice, he was totally calm, but it was the voice of iron, absolute authority. There could be no hesitation, no mistake, only immediate obedience. He wanted senior cabin crew in the cockpit now.
We pax all looked at each other nervously - WTF was going on?? - and sure enough within milliseconds one of the cabin crew came dashing up the aisle and vanished into the cockpit. I looked out the window and saw we were surrounded by fire engines and flashing lights. Yikes! Would we have to evacuate? Going down the slide from the top deck of a 747 would be ... exciting.
Everyone sat quietly for a few anxious minutes, then the captain came back on the PA, and spoke in the more soothing and understated tones typically used by BA pilots. He said something like, “We apologize for the dramatic arrival, but we had an indication in the cockpit that our auxiliary power unit was on fire. It appears it was a false alarm, but you will understand that we needed to treat it with some respect. Thank you for your patience; we will now proceed to our gate, where you can disembark normally. Thank you for flying with British Airways.”
I will never forget the way he said it: there was no note of alarm or panic in his voice, he was totally calm, but it was the voice of iron, absolute authority. There could be no hesitation, no mistake, only immediate obedience. He wanted senior cabin crew in the cockpit now.
We pax all looked at each other nervously - WTF was going on?? - and sure enough within milliseconds one of the cabin crew came dashing up the aisle and vanished into the cockpit. I looked out the window and saw we were surrounded by fire engines and flashing lights. Yikes! Would we have to evacuate? Going down the slide from the top deck of a 747 would be ... exciting.
Everyone sat quietly for a few anxious minutes, then the captain came back on the PA, and spoke in the more soothing and understated tones typically used by BA pilots. He said something like, “We apologize for the dramatic arrival, but we had an indication in the cockpit that our auxiliary power unit was on fire. It appears it was a false alarm, but you will understand that we needed to treat it with some respect. Thank you for your patience; we will now proceed to our gate, where you can disembark normally. Thank you for flying with British Airways.”
Finally we got to board again, Got buckled up, about to close up and push back, and the captain came on the PA "Ladies and gentlemen, due to a slight issue, would everybody please get off the plane - quickly!"
We got off - quickly. It turned out there'd been a bomb threat. They towed the plane to the far side of the airport, searched it, took off all the baggage, then bussed us over to identify our bags on the far side of the airport, finally reboarding and off. It added about 5 hours to the trip, such that the crew were running out of hours, so we then had to fly to (I think) Bahrain, where we swapped crews and carried on to LHR.
I was talking to the flight engineer, who explained that it would take a good few days to wash it all out of the system, as the Chinese speaking crew were now in Bahrain, on the Arabic sector, the Arabic speaking crew would be in the UK at the wrong time, and the 747-300 was a long-distance version which they used on the HK route, was now going to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
