This should be an interesting thread. When did you first fly and catch the aviation bug. Try to list airline, airplane, dates and cities.

Mine:

TWA 707 in 1980, from PHL to STL. I was 8 years old flying to visit my aunt/uncle in Oklahoma.

I think I must have been 3 years old or so. I don't specifically recall the first flight, it must have been a AM flight from BJX to TIJ or LAX on a DC-9 around 1982-83 but since I can remember I always enljoyed flying. I even wanted to be a pilot for the first 12 or so years of my life.

Nope. I was about 6 months old. I was told by my dad that the FA's on my China Airlines flight did have a keen interest in me, playing with me, holding me, etc....something that suprisingly continues to this day.

The earliest flight I do remember was a SFO-TPE flight when I was about 3 or 4 years old...I believe on a 742, but I can't recall the airline. I do remember pressing the FA call button when it was dark (i.e. in the middle of the night) and asking for an ice cream and somehow got one. That flight was about 25 years ago now.

First flight i remember was when i was about 8 flying from RAF Brize Norton to RAF Akrotiri (Cyprus) in an raf tri star.

i remember not being able to sleep the whole night before knowing i was going on a plane. it was great flying with the raf aswell.

I was probably 6 or 7 years old in the mid 60s on a Douglas DC-3 aircraft. I don't remember which company it was but I do remember the female flight attendants wore white gloves when they serve our food. I would love to fly a DC-3 again. I remember the ground people have to point a fire extinguisher on the rear of the piston engine when the engines started.

October 1976, HAM-LTN in a DanAir BAC 1-11.

I was 18, and quite a seasoned traveller - but (as was common for us Europeans in those days) all my travel so far had been by road or train.

Although I quite enjoyed the flight itself, I didn't really enjoy the experience of travelling by air - my journal entry for the day said something like "It gets you from A to B far too quickly, with no time to prepare yourself for the place you're going to".

Apart from one more flight the following summer (Blackpool to the Isle of Man) I didn't fly again until I was 26 - which was the cut-off point for youth fares on trains and ferries. I travelled a lot in the intervening years, covering quite some distances (including a memorable rail journey to Athens), but none of it was by air.

I now fly several times each month as a fare-paying passenger, and also have a Private Pilot's Licence. I like being in the air and looking down on the world, especially in light aircraft... yet I know that if I had the time I would probably still choose to use trains instead of short-haul flights.

Cannot remember my first flight. I was about 6 weeks old. HAM to RTT with KLM in summer of 1981. A few weeks later I flew on to JFK.

First flight I can remember (I believe) was AMS-NRT also with KLM in 1985.

Shame KLM might disappear one day...

I do not remember the first time. I was less than one year old. I am told that it was on a DC3 flown by Piedmont.

I was seven for the first flight that I remember. I traveled with my grandmother from Asheville to Idaho Falls. The routing was:

AVL - ATL - ORD - MSP - DEN - SLC - IDA

I remember flying on United and Western. I collected a bunch of "flight wings" from the pilots after my tours of the cockpits.

The return was

IDA - SLC - DEN - ORD - BNA - AVL

My first flight was almost 34 years ago on my honeymoon. We flew Eastern to Miami, and then some small airline to the Caymans. We were so excited to be on an airplane, that we took pictures of all the clouds as we rose above them. We must have been exclaiming loudly because when I finally looked up, I noticed everyone looking at us.

I remember seeing the safety demo and thinking it looked so funny seeing the FA's acting it out while someone else was speaking for them.

I remember being surprised at getting a meal, and thinking it was really good (can't remember what it was though).

And now...34 years later, my husband and I will be taking our SECOND flight ever (yes, it's taken us this long) on Tuesday morning. We're just as excited this time around, but won't make fools of ourselves! We promise!

Just remember to bring your own food. It has gotten worse over the years...trust me.

We're expecting warm nuts and a whole can of coke!

IIRC, I was about 12. We flew Eastern Air from BWI to MCO for Disneyworld.

At that time, mom's car had a separate key for the trunk. When we got to the airport, we forgot the key for the trunk, which had all our luggage. We had to drive back home to get the keys. When we drove back to the airport and went to the gate (no lines, no security, no parking garage, no shuttle bus, the good ol' days), the plane left and left EARLIER than scheduled. We were put on a later flight.

TWA, JFK (actually, Idewild) - LAS, 1963. I was a kid -- not sure what model the plane was.

My first flight was when I was a toddler, around 1967. I don't remember the airline or aircraft. I didn't fly again until 1985, when I flew America West PHX-LAX on a $19 fare.

I don't remember my first flight(s) either. I started flying as a baby, many times on Piedmont and TWA. I loved each (in my child eyes) for different reasons. I loved the peanuts on Piedmont and I loved the toys and gifts (of which I still have some) from TWA.

The first flight I explicitly remember was flying by myself at age 8 from Hartford to Dayton. I remember this because my aunt and uncle bought me a black cat at the airport when I arrived.