FoxtrotOscar

First flight was probably to Faro is a kid but my earliest memory was flying to Australia in about 1990.

First leg was to Singapore with a refuelling stop in Dubai. I recall being monitored by armed guards in the waiting room while the plane was refuelled. I also recall enjoying a rather agreeable coffee eclair as part of the in flight service. It’s strange the small details we recall.

Rubecula

May 1975, Jo'burg to Heathrow via Nairobi. Three things I remember after 3 months abroad:
1) The accent of the captain
2) How green England was from the air
3) Some confusion over my date of travel so my mother came to pick me up a day early.

Joshm300

Due to my parents living 25 mins from Stansted, I had quite a deprived childhood of flying exclusively Ryanair and Easyjet for our European holidays. The first time I can remember flying BA was to Denver in December 2008 in WT on a 777 with the entertainment that came in cycles, so you had to pick your film and stick with it! I was with my mate who's parents had a condo in Vail, so remember being super excited that I was 18 and going to America for the first time, especially as none of our parents were involved! I remember it being a comfortable flight and having the middle seat free + being shocked at how cold it was when we landed! The excitement soon crashed down when we realised that was the last beer we were going to have for 10 days due to laws in America!

The game really changed for me post uni in 2013, when I went travelling in the states with my girlfriend at the time, we'd flown to LA very near the back of a VS A340, which had been really uncomfortable for me at and we had used her dad's avios to book our flight back from New York in WTP with BA. I had been looking forward to just not being in economy, then to my amazement we got upgraded at check in at JFK to CW! I had never been in business class before or a lounge and I remember being amazed by the whole thing at JFK and a bit embarressed that we were basically wearing summer backpacking outfits in the lounge. I remember sitting at the bar in the galleries lounge wating for the barman to come and pour me a drink, when another passenger walked in and served himself, at which point the penny dropped that the booze was self service and the rest is history really. From this point onwards, I was into the points game and certainly not keen to go back to economy! Looking back, it is amazing how serving the right upgrade to the right customer at the right time, can buy an airline that customers loyalty for a long time (I havent been upgraded on 100s of BA flights since).


My bedtime port on that fateful first CW flight.

I think my affection for BA actually really developed from 2013 to 2016 when my parents briefly had a flat in the south of France - whenever they weren't using it, myself and my mates would go and cram in down there for beach weekends a few times a summer, and thanks to the lack of BOB at the time we could always make sure the holiday started with the journey, first in The Crown Rivers at T5 and then on the plane, as we excitedly caught up on our early years in the world of careers, girls, sport and all those other things that you need to discuss when you haven't seen your mates for a while. On the Nice route on a Thursday or Friday evening the crew were always totally prepared for this and somehow the gin never seemed to run out! Sorry for long post, but better times hey!


The standard pre BOB scene in most rows on summer evening flights to Nice.

allturnleft

I always thought flying BA was the ultimate goal

Flew many exotic airlines in the days of bucket shops in the 1980s when you would go and pick up a hand written ticket for Eygptair or Aeroflot etc for sound roundabout itinerary.

Finally got to fly in Y on BA to Joburg in 1992, thought it would be the ultimate in luxury. Was very disappointed. Even my request for a visit to the cockpit was refused

My best memories of good service in the 1980s as a backpacker were Gulf Air and Thai Airlines but nothing beat the engines of an Il62 of aeroflot in a holding pattern in Bangkok or landing over the Savannah in Zambia

My first BA club was in 1997 in a brand new 777 to IAD was very impressed!

tjcxx

March 1976, GLA/SOU in a Viscount. Aged 17, I'd been 3rd crewmember (of 3) in a yacht delivery from the Solent to the Clyde. The new owner picked us up off the boat at about 6 a.m. just as we arrived, gave us a grand spread of a breakfast at his house, then drove us via the Hunter's Quay ferry to GLA. An abiding memory at the airport was saying to the guy at security "I wouldn't if I were you" as he was about to hand-search the sail bag full of a fortnight's wet socks etc.

If BEA counts, then it would have been LHR/GIR in a Vanguard in 1970.

carrotjuice

Sep 26 1993 on my way to the UK to start university. Because the organisation that sponsored my university studies left the booking to extremely late, it couldn’t get a direct flight.

So my first ever flight was on a convoluted route MH (KUL-DXB) then LX (DXB-ZRH) and finally BA (ZRH-LHR).

Epicura

BA BRU-MAN-JFK RT in 1995. Was a student at the time, trip with my BF (thank God I did not marry the guy in the end) to visit friends in NYC over New Years.
In hindsight it was pretty iconic IMHO:
- BRU-MAN neither MAN-JFK still operating
- Got a free upgrade to club world on both segments as BF was more than 2 meters tall and check in agent felt sorry for him. I guess that in the end both were nothing more than OPUP's but it was definitely communicated to us as a goodwill gesture.

I don't think I have the BP's. I do have the CW amenity pouch somewhere. It was purple from the Body Shop. Anybody recalls it?

peter h

Similar for me - family summer holidays MAN (aka Ringway) - GCI on BEA Viscounts.

First 'official' BA shorthaul - can't remember.

First BA longhaul - LHR-JFK November 2002. This was memorable for several reasons. I'd won the economy ticket in an office fundraising raffle (Ł25 stake) and it was provided by the husband of a colleague, a BA staffer. The outbound went without problem but, when I checked in for the return, I noticed the ominous word 'standby' on the boarding pass! As it was the final BA flight of the evening, I was a little concerned, to say the least! I asked at the BA desk if there were any empty seats and I was just told to sit down and wait - which didn't help matters! Eventually, when boarding started, the women on the desk beckoned me over and asked for my boarding pass. She tapped a few keys and gave me a new one - I looked at the seat number and thought 'that must be right at the back'. It was only when I got on the aircraft that I realised that 60K was wasn't at the back, but much closer to the front - and upstairs! It was a long wait until my next upgrade!

Akoz

Don't have any boarding cards, but used to lots of LON-EDI from mid 80s to mid 90s. First up grade I got to business was on an Airmiles ticket from LGW to CDG in 1998. That flight had a 3.5 hour engineering delay at two hours we were called on the tannoy to collect a voucher. Presenting my boarding pass to collect my voucher I was simply told my set had been changed and was given new boarding pass. Didn't realise it was business till I got on the aircraft.

cwl

I believe my first BA flight London to Hong Kong 1975 first time on a 747 back when routing over the Soviet Union and China wasn't an option

Refuelling stops in Bahrain and Bangkok before the then forced dog leg south out of BKK round the southern tip of Cambodia and Vietnam before heading back north to Kai Tak.

As a child my main recollections were what seemed like endless meals each sector with each tray crammed with little packets and the excitement of watching the one movie per sector. I quickly worked out the ability to squeeze or twist the headphone tube to cut off the sound coming through which thereafter annoyed the rest of the family as I couldn't resist the temptation to fold their headphone tubes also. l also recall each cabin showing a different movie at different times as crew had to swap the tapes in the projectors stored in the middle overhead bins plus the cabin crew having to turn the screen over at the front of each cabin to switch from a patterned screen to a white projection screen. Inflight movie preparation was an event in itself.

Aus ATC

I presume BOAC counts.

August 1973, we returned, for the first time since leaving in 1964, to England for 12 months "study leave" - my father was a Professor at the University of Queensland, and he was to work for 12 months based at Cambridge University. I was 10 years old at the time.

We flew in a BOAC Super VC10 from BNE - DRW - RGN - CCU - BOM - KUW - LHR. We then connected to a Vickers Viscount (with a super long wait in the queue to depart, on a very rainy night at LHR) for the short hop to LBA, where I met (essentially for the first time) my extended family. I also remember being impressed by my grandfather's P5 Rover 3.5 litre, in which he collected us from the airport.

BA or bust

First flight was London (Gatwick methinks) to PMI in the later 1950’s. Afraid I can’t remember much about it due to my age being counted in very few fingers of one hand.

After many years as an expat, came back to the UK and IIRC first proper BA flight was LHR to EDI for work in 1980 something. After having done a few holidays on the likes of Monarch, I thought BA was proper luxury!

KT550

November 1982, LHR-MIA in a 747-100, G-AWNO. BA294
First 747 flight too.

Back then there was a standby fare, so I bought a one way ticket on the day at the Gatwick ticket desk, before taking train and tube to Heathrow.
Price for the one way ticket was GBP 166, in economy.

Return flight was an Air Florida DC-10.

KT

BA or bust

Though OT (not BA) I do recall the excitement of watching my first inflight movie on Pan Am in the early 1970’s. You are correct, setting up for the films in those days was a right old faff!

internetplumber

I know exactly when my first flight was -- November 6th 1999.

I'd never travelled much when growing up, and didn't get into the habit for a long time. Then a colleague at work that did a lot of the international liaison became ill, and someone had to step in, starting with a week in Washington D.C. Outbound was BA217 on 6/11/99, and return was BA222 on 12/11/99. I'm pretty sure one of them was a 777, but that was long before I started noting down the reg!

After that I started travelling in earnest and had also been to New York and Adelaide (both with BA) within the following months.