advertisement


Concorde Crash...The Nerdy Details

James said:
They don't call the elegant 747 queen of the skies for no reason. The 400 variant is my all-time favourite commercial aircraft. It's a shame most of the leading airlines have decommissioned their 747s.
Click to expand...
It was mine too until I went on an A380

Had the pleasure of going on Concorde too a couple of times but in the driving seat.

Ms Canonman has lost count of her trips on it to NYC and they were free, courier trips on BA wit ha shopping stopover
 
James said:
They don't call the elegant 747 queen of the skies for no reason. The 400 variant is my all-time favourite commercial aircraft. It's a shame most of the leading airlines have decommissioned their 747s.
Click to expand...
The 777 is more economical to operate, and the cabin is quieter than the main deck of a 747. While BA were operating both types, I'd always opt for the 777 if given a choice since the interior on those is much newer.
 
canonman said:
It was mine too until I went on an A380
Click to expand...
The A380 flies well, but the insane number of passengers means getting people on and off takes forever. The future seems to be more in smaller long-range planes like the 787 and A350.
 
mansr said:
The A380 flies well, but the insane number of passengers means getting people on and off takes forever. The future seems to be more in smaller long-range planes like the 787 and A350.
Click to expand...
Not too bad getting off from upstairs:)
787 is ok but I really want to try A350
 
mansr said:
True, but you still have to wait for the lower deck to board before you can depart. Also, at many airports they are confined to the most distant gates.
Click to expand...
Not had that gate problem but only been at LHR, CDG and JNB with one.
 
Was lucky enough to travel quite a few times upstairs in 747’s in BA Club World and Virgin Upper Class - really very nice indeed, quiet and spacious.

Never got to get on Concorde. I did have work colleagues who deliberately booked the Heathrow -> NY late flight (leaving around 6pm) which was close to the late Concorde flight, as BA did do some upgrades for Gold card holders onto Concorde… quite a few got a flight that way.

The day return to NY always intrigued me: I know the thing people doing this famously did was to helicopter into Manhattan after it landed at JFK around 9.30am, but IIRC it left JFK around 2pm, so you really had very little time to get to the meeting in the city. Must have been very important to justify that!

And then there was David Frost doing the “commute” on Concorde to host his US TV show with a seat for him and (supposedly) the adjacent seat for his briefcase so he could work. At £10K return per seat…..
 
Branson had to fly on Concorde to sign the Chris Evans Virgin Radio deal with him (on the back of a menu!) … he hated the fact his only option was a BA flight!!
 
I think I have flown on all the main airliners other than Concorde. The A350 business class suite on Qatar from Singapore to Doha and then to Heathrow was a fav, highly recommended lots nicer than the 787 Dreamliner. A380 is amazing but as long as you are upstairs in Business, lovely bar area where I spent most of a flight with Cathay to Hong Kong. 747 is like a pair of old shoes, really nice plane and the crew like them. 777 is just like a bus and some have very old interiors. I flew LHR to BOS most of the time and you got 747,777,380 depending on the time of your flight. Used to get a lot of 340’s but not been on one for a while.

Europe flights on 727, 737,757, 320, 321 and a few turbo prop trips to Maastricht and domestics. US trips were mostly 318, 320, 321, lots of 737 variants and a whole bunch of Embraer’s cant remember which models.

Like James, the 747 is a fave but the A350 would be my long haul pick now.
 
mansr said:
A crew complaint I've heard is that there's only a single galley in the rear serving the entire economy cabin.
Click to expand...

Yes but at least it is a big space. I have spent many a flight standing at the back with them chatting and them going forward to get me better whisky from first class, occasionally got leftover club class dinners as well. Got to know some of the crew quite well as I was travelling on that route once a month or so. The gossip was awesome.
 
mansr said:
At SFO, the A380 can't access the usual BA gate (A6) which means you lose the dedicated boarding directly from the lounge.
Click to expand...
Never been to West Coast but 747 countless times to East. First A380 was CDG to JNB, upstairs, simply amazing. Love the cameras to watch the takeoff and landing.

I hear so many compliments about the A350 so it's on bucket list
 
James said:
I've flown the A-380 several times, including business class on Singapore Airlines. I still prefer the upper deck of the 747-400.
Click to expand...

The only thing to come close to the 747 upper deck is a private jet. I have never had the pleasure but my wife used to travel on one a couple of times a year.
 
I used to love the A380 on the KL-LHR run. The airline love to serve a meal over the Andamans and the coast of India. The turbulence there is reliably strong and the A380 was the only aircraft stable enough that you didn't end up wearing your supper
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top