Just before the airport closed, my wife and I flew out to HKG again. I had been there many times but it was her first time and it was a spectacular approach on the upper deck in a BA 747.

On the return flight I spent some time before the flight chatting to the flight crew. They invited me to sit in the jump seat for takeoff, which was the most spectacular aviation moment I have ever experienced (although the fast plane maybe just beats that). Takeoff was unreal, as you felt the plane would ditch in the harbour....We chatted for about half an hour and then I thought it was probably the done thing to go back to my seat. The captain told me that I was welcome to come back for the landing, if I wanted. Just let the CSD know, he said. About an hour out of LHR I asked the CSD if he would ask the captain if his offer was still there. We had a great early-morning landing and I was happy to skip breakfast for it. The captain told me it was not only his last flight out of HKG, but also his last flight as a BA captain. We talked about the handover, the closing of the airport, how it was all a real change for Hong Kong. As I left the cockpit when we got to the gate, he said 'Here, I thought you might like this..." and hands me his approach chart for Kai Tak, signed with his name, the date, and the flight number.

LE