Originally Posted by
iaflyer
Nice report as always. Having gone through an extensive interview in TLV, I've what that's like for security to be interested in your travels.
I took British Airways business class LHR-ORD last year, it was "meh.." but sound like it was a nice flight for you - of course one class better. My seat on the A380 was one of those that faced backwards - other than probably superior protection in the event of a crash, I didn't appreciate the rearward seat. Of course, other than paying a significant amount (to me, but it was also the point of it), I couldn't select my seat head of time. In business class! It was an award ticket but still...
Thanks,
iaflyer ^ All of my interview took place at Amsterdam Schiphol. I was quite surprised that customs and immigration at TLV were a mere formality. I could just as easily have been entering Canada from the U.S. The same held true for my departure from TLV. The security protocol was really no different than had I been flying from Des Moines to Denver. Perhaps it's different if you're flying on El Al as opposed to BA.
It could be I got lucky with BA on these flights. Then again, it could be that I tend to focus on the positives. That's not to say that other's never do but as a rule minor lapses in service I tend to brush aside provided they don't define the flight - a bump in the road as opposed to a bumpy road, per se. But that's me. Other's grade on a much harsher curve. That said, your Business Class experience as described above would be pretty disappointing to me, too - enough so that I'd have real reservations about flying BA's Business Class if not being able to select my seat ahead of time were the normal policy. Is it?
Originally Posted by TheFlyingDoctor
It's a small world - I managed to pick up this report whilst making my own meandering way to AMS, and drove past the hotel which hosts the Aviation Fair you built the trip around! Sadly my extended routing was not in such luxury, nor by choice.... the inbound plane (which should have been KLM's first 737 service to BRS) went tech and returned to base, so a routine hop turned into several hours of queuing, four more in a taxi to central London, then alternative routing on BA for an eventual arrival some eight hours behind schedule. Although your pictures didn't make it into my phone's cache, all the words did, and it's a testament to your report style that that does not hinder the enjoyment of them whilst in the wifi-less confines of a shorthaul flight.
I'd be interested in a FlyerTalk meetup at a fair like this - I've gathered together a few mementos across the years, although mostly restricted to moments from my flying history or aviation employment to prevent the collector / hoarder instincts getting too far out of check. I would definitely echo JAXBA's recommendation of the BA Heritage Centre at Waterside, not just for its collections but the endlessly knowledgeable staff. In the meantime, as part of the BA 100 celebrations their photographic archives have been opened up and put online - creating the
Centenary Archive Collection. It's a bit confusingly organised, but is an absolute treasure trove of unseen and / or vintage material that you might enjoy browsing.
Thanks for your comments, Doc ^ In this case they read like a mini-trip report, but always enjoyable to read ^ Thanks also for the link to BA's Centenary Archive Collection. Those photos and memories are right up my alley. Indeed, 5 years ago in reference to a post at the
Old Timer's Airline Quiz regarding Alexander Frater's excellent book
which detailed his 1986 attempts to follow the 1939 route of the old Imperial Airways Flying Boat service from the UK to Australia, I posted a mini-trip report to see how it might have been done using the schedules available in 1969. The attraction of the 1969 schedules was the availability of so many exotic jets and props including flights aboard the Comet, Trident, VC10, Convair 990 and Caravelle to name just a few. How I wish there were a time machine that could have taken me back to that time as I would have loved to have flown those flights.
You'll find that trip report right
HERE.