Ulstair

You're right JeffBHD. It was late 80's and the aircraft was a Hawker-Sidderly HS748 (known as a 'Budgie').
Dan-Air used them between BFS & NCL, and also from LGW to BFS on SAT/SUN low demand services. Mon-Fri LGW flights were a BAC1-11.
BA also used these wee planes from BFS to GLA.
Hard to believe that the National Carrier Used to serve LHR/GLA/EDI/LPL/BHX/IOM/ABZ/MAN/NCL from Aldergrove during the 1980s.
I was fortunate to fly on the last-ever Shuttle flight into BFS at the end of Oct 2001, and had front row seats on a 3 day old A319.
A sad day for aviation in Norn Iron that was.

stillflying

Sorry pinkcat, it was not Dan Air that was responsible for your 20 year "grounding" with fear of flying - Dan Air was a very good airline - I know because I was a Stewardess for 3 years with them and they were great.

I found many passengers that had a fear of flying but they did not choose an airline you have chosen to slander - it is within you, not the airline.

If Dan Air were still in business I would still fly with them with no hesitation.

Ex-Stewardess,

Geraldine

uk1

Hi Gerladine,

I remember the days well .... as well as the Portakabins at Luton. I recall a few were occupied by Monarch ops and some others by Dan Air. I also remember that when I was taken out for a drink with Monarch ops ( I worked for the company that supplied their computers and helped supply the software that gave them computers to calculate maximum take-off weights for each runway length for their new Rolls Royce engines - and avoid manual calculation ) how often we'd come across Dan Air pilots in the pub pre-flight. I think the drinking rules were a touch more "friendly" then. I remember one Dan Air pilot complaining about the number dials that weren't working!

One of my other clients was Ciba Geigy Bonded Structures - they make the panels of the aircraft that are sometimes replaced when damaged. I remember being taken around their plant at Duxford and being shown some outer panels that were in a "reject and reinspect" pile. These panels are essentially a honecomb web of paper immersed in resin and covered with a metal (aluminion I think) cover. You can lift a plane panel with a finger. Panels were sometimes rejected if the colour was a bit inconsistant. I was told at the time that if BA reject a panel then Monarch might take it. If Monarch reject it then Dan Air will probably take it.

Old days .......

I must admit those days - the pilots in the pub, the dials, and the plane panels all combined to give me a bit of Dan Air aversion ....

stillflying

Well, weren't you lucky to be a "galley slave".

I was a Flight Attendant with Dan Air for 3 years and am proud to admit it - I loved the camaraderie within both flight crews and cabin crews - the whole airline was like a close knit family which I have never found again in my life since then.

Don't like the pax, they come and go.

On the whole, I found it a wonderful life to live with Dan Air and would do it all over again, and again......

stillflying

I don't believe you. I have flown with many airlines all over the world and I know Dan Air would not do that.

seraphina

Ahh, my very first flight was with Dan-Air as a mere slip of a girl. Can't even remember exactly where to or from (Belfast, but not sure whether BHD or BFS) to someplace in the French Alps for skiing, so would have been a charter. I do remember that wonderful smell of aviation fuel/oil that you used to get that sadly has disappeared from more modern aircraft - you used to really know you were on a proper machine when you smelt that!

uk1

I think the pilots called it "after shave"?

stillflying

Incidentally, Girona is actually spelt Gerona

redsailor

As its lunchtime.......

If pinkcat was refering to the city in Catalonia, Spain then I believe it is referred to as Girona by the locals. As we all know - "when in Rome......."

And as no-one else has mentioned it - welcome to FT Geraldine

Skimo

A touch sensitive Stilflying, methinks, but welcome nonetheless. Can't find anything in pinkcat's post that comes even remotely close to slandering Dan, btw. Oh, and we already have official spellcheckers/grammar monitors on this forum. They won't take kindly to a johnny-come-lately encroaching on their turf

Gaza

I'm another who popped their flying cherry with DanAir. EDI-AGP in 1976 on a Comet 4C.

The aircraft at East Fortune has the interesting interior. The overhead racks are exactly that; racks, not bins with lids. The seating is also interesting. The 2-3 config used by DanAir was not standard Comet 4C as they were 2-2. I read many years ago that DA increased capacity by effectively bolting on an extra seat to each row. The CAA would never allow that these days!

edi-traveller

They also had some rear facing seats so you had one row of 10 people looking at each other like on a train. I sat in one of those rear facing seats on a trip to Menorca about the same time Gaza.

pinkcat

Is this a wind up???, you chose a 6 month old thread to ressurect, accuse me of slander and tell me I am lying,
I know perfectly well where I flew, I spent many summer holidays in Girona and Barcelona, all by coach after that experience
I didnt give the reason at the time I posted it because it wasnt necessary but since you accuse me of slander, one engine went out on the way home to LGW the plane dipped to one side for a few minutes and it was enough to put me off flying for 20 years. I think you should choose your words more carefully before you launch into another tirade

LTN Phobia

I'm afraid I associate Dan Air with a rude and rather funny ATC anecdote that has been doing the rounds (the BA & LHR version has also been doing the rounds).

I shan't post it here as it contains a rather rude swearword, but if you do a Google search on "Danair 123 ABZ" and do a bit of digging around, you should be able to find it.

HIDDY

Only if you're a chav.