Great thread.

Abadan to THR at 3 mos. THR to FRA at 4 mos. FRA to NYC and ORD at 5 mos. Lots of international flying as a child, I feel soo sorry for my mother.

I think I've flown every year of my life and probably since 1994 every month.

lala

My fisrt flight was back in 1972 (SJU-BOS). My dad sent me and my brothers to camp in New Hampshire for the summer while he went galavanding and partying in Europe.

The equipment was an old AA 707, which as not that old in 1972!!

Then at 15, I went to New York to visit my mom. Again flew AA, but this time in the legacy 747's. Where they great or what???

I remember a 3-1/2 hour flight from SJU-JFK or SJU-BOS felt such a LOOONNNG flight.

Later, at 18 took my first inter-continental flight: SJU-MAD on AV. Another 747 ride.

Have not stopped since.

My father was in sales when I was little and always won trips to someplace grand. My parents usually took me along. My first memory is being about 7 and going to Hawaii on one of the first UA 747 flights. Of course, I had to have a new dress for every flight. I have pictures of me flying when I was much younger. I flew in first for the first time when I was 8 and I'm afraid the experience was lost on me.

I was always fascinated by travel and in high school started traveling with friends. I used to spend more time on the phone to airline reps pricing flights than I did to my friends - and that's saying quite a bit for a teenager. I tried to do things like fly from OAK to SJC so I could go to Great America theme park and then fly back the same day (I was too young to drive). The phone reps must have thought I was nuts. Now I just do that kind of stuff for the status and miles and the reps definitely think I'm nuts.

Growing up in Hawai`i meant that flying was a way of life. Back in the not-so-distant past, flying inter-island was a cheap and relatively painless affair. With relatives and friends spread across the islands, flying was a natural thing - like catching the bus. My first flight must have been when I was two or three on an Aloha 737-200 (the orange paint scheme) from HNL-OGG.

My dad used to take me plane spotting with him and I have always loved the smell of jet exhaust.

To this day, my favorite job was the summer I spent working at an FBO in LAX. I had full ramp access and a customs clearance and was surrounded by aircraft of all types. I used to love driving around the roadways by the terminals and watch the planes taxi so near that the car would shake from the jet blast.

Jet fuel, the smell of freedom.

Who can compete with dlombard's eloquent story?? I feel as if I were there at the In-N-Out dreaming about the flights (or at least watching Gattaca http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif ).

I, sadly, don't recall my first flight. We were in the heart of Southwest country, so it was easy and cheap to fly around the state. In the early 80's, my Dad lived in Midland, and I flew Southwest every other weekend to stay with him. So, at ten, I was already quite the frequent flyer. I knew where all the instant ticket machines were and how to quickly punch the right buttons for my flight. I learned how to convincingly lie to gate agents about my age--I HATED being an unaccompanied minor, particularly with those big heart tags they put on your arm! I even made friendly chit-chat with the flight attendants (sadly, not a lot of boys in those days of WN http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/frown.gif ) and got to make the PA announcements from time to time.

Clearly a prodigy at frequent flying, I became quite particular about the on-board snacks. I knew to ask for the Keebler Pretzels after they switched to those god-awful honey-roasted peanuts (I still, to this day will not eat a honey-roasted peanut!). I knew exactly how much time to allow at the airport and knew my way around every inch (not all that impressive when you consider there was only one concourse open at LUV, and MAF was quite the small airport).

If only we had flyertalk at the time!

One of my long time friends from Aiea, HI mentioned that to me. But when he was here in Los Angeles visiting family, his mom drove me home from Westwood and told me that was like driving from one side of the island to the other. So, I would imagine those were some QUICK flights! Reminds me of the SNA-LAX runs AA used to do until 7/2/03.

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My dad used to take me plane spotting with him and I have always loved the smell of jet exhaust. To this day, my favorite job was the summer I spent working at an FBO in LAX. I had full ramp access and a customs clearance and was surrounded by aircraft of all types. I used to love driving around the roadways by the terminals and watch the planes taxi so near that the car would shake from the jet blast.

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Yeah, I'm a big fan of Aviation Blvd. and Sepulveda Blvd at 96th St. for that same reason. You get a great view there.

What I'm loving, also, is that now that AE operates out of T4 at LAX, they drive you on that shuttle bus that's out there with the planes. How sweet a view is that? http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

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Best regards,
Dairenn Lombard
Los Angeles, CA

dlombard, what a great story!

For me flying was a lot more unromantic. I started when I was unborn, flew as a baby, flew all my life. My mother always went once a year to a beach for vacation, taking a cheap fly-hotel-food package (Pauschaltouristin). We mostly wore hand-me-down clothes as kids, never ate in restaurants besides when my grandparents paid and learned how to bargain at a fleamarket as kids, but once a year it was a vacation.
For me flying was a bit boring, it took long and you had to sit still, had to wear clean clothes and werent allowed to make them dirty, no yelling and only some toys were ok. I think I started to value travel only after I turned 11 or 12 slowly and it took me until I was 13 and stoped going with my mom and brother (I had my expensive pony that needed my attention) that I started to miss it. Never was fascinated by planes itself, but I love the idea to fly 10 hours and be in Texas or South Africa.

My mother pushed me out of the nest.

http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...um/biggrin.gif

The only closer view I got was driving around the mid field connector by Bradley one night and finding myself playing chicken with a Twin Beach who had gotten lost and mistook the roadway for a taxiway ... http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...um/biggrin.gif

I first started flying as mun & dad worked abroad and we'd all go back to the UK in the summer to say hello to relatives etc (and so that mum could stock up on birthday and Christmas presents and then spend 5 months convicing my brother & I that what we really wanted was what she'd already bought!). Some of these flights were on commercial airlines, some on RAF troopers (VC10s to start, then Tristars).

Now I work in the oil industry, and depending on the project, work rotation and live away from work, or have to jump on a chopper to get to work!

Flying is just so darn cool - think about it: tons of metal flying through the air at &gt;500 mph - it's such a trip!! Going several hundred mile, from point A to point B in a matter of hours - a miracle. Ya gotta love it.

I guess my parents were trailblazers. They came to California by train from PHL just after WWII and said goodby to all of their relatives. As a child, I flew cross-country in a DC6, DC7 and once, in a DC3 (with a change of planes in Chicago) to visit my relatives on the east coast. This was when barf-bags were routinely used(my sister always got sick). I don't remember much about the flights except that I was always dressed up and so was my mother and all of the relatives always met our arrival. No red carpet in the world could ever match that! My first Jet flight was in the early 60's (on my honeymoon) from HNL/LAX. It was a PAA 707 and the "new" LAX was a few months shy of opening, so we landed at the "old" airport. I'll never forget my first jet flight. As memorable, as my first Concorde flight.

The first flight I'm told I ever took was when I was six months, with my parents to bermuda.

The earliest flight I remember is when I was two and travelled to Israel with my parents and little sister.

Yes, I remember those 732's that Aloha used to fly... oh wait, they still fly them.. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...um/biggrin.gif

My dad lives in Hilo, so it would always be a 50 minute flight for me rather than the short 15-20 minute hop to OGG. I still remember when Aloha and Hawaiian didn't have their new interisland terminal (which wasn't that long ago). Still remember walking out onto the tarmac at HNL, approaching the AQ flight. I miss those days.

ALOHA