BA002. I cannot recall as a grown man feeling a schoolboy level of excitement about a flight before or since. 6A was available to me as a Gold and put me clear of the delta wing for a great view as we banked left with the gear still coming up and thundered low over Jamaica Bay with afterburners blazing. Ten minutes later we broke the sound barrier. Just awesome in the truest sense of the word.

In general the best flights have been when I had the same happy crew on the return (and in two cases even the same hotel downroute). It is when the "welcome back" at the door is delivered without looking at your boarding pass that seals it.