[Travel] First and last flights

[wellquickwoody]

We live in a strange COVID laden world right now. Travel is not wise at times, or is completely forbidden.

So to remind us of happier times, what was your first ever flight, and your most recent flight?

You should include the departure and arrival airports, but could also include when the flight occurred, and with which airline.

I will go first as follows,

1984, Gatwick to Majorca, guessing at Dan Air

2020 Feb, Perth to Melbourne, Virgin Australia

 

[Albion_Dave]

1989 Gatwick to Dominican Republic, Monarch Airways. Amazing it had a smoking area at the back of the plane.
2020 Sep Antalya to Gatwick. Easy Jet.

 

[pasty]

First. Think it was 1974-ish, Gatwick to Hannover. British Caledonian at a guess.

Last: Catania, Sicily to Gatwick with Thomas Cook September 2019

 

[Beach Hut]

First Gatwick - Clermont Ferrand around 45 years ago so no idea who
Last - Gatwick - Lanzarote Aug 2020, TUI

 

[lawros left foot]

Brize Norton Gibraltar. Crabair. 1978. In a Hercules. If you know, you know.


Heathrow. Krakow. BA 2019, and return.

 

[Madafwo]

I can't remember my first, because I was knee high to a grasshopper but it would have been from Gatwick to Jersey in the 80s as that's the first holiday I can remember.

The first one I can properly remember is Heathrow to Chicago on my own when I was 16, Virgin Atlantic 747 and as someone with a passing interest in aviation to get a go in a 747 was lovely.

My last flight was from Faro to Gatwick on a BA Airbus 319/320, can't remember which, in 2019 after taking my son on his first overseas holiday, he was 15 months old at the time and he handled it like a trooper, wide awake and annoying for the 2 hours we were in the air and then sparko as we were coming in to land, so much so the assistance guy took pity on us and let us use the buggy and all the perks that brings.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

First flight was circa 1970, on a BEA Trident 1 from Heathrow to Glasgow.

Last was Feb 2020, Johannesburg to Heathrow on board a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-9.

Do you know which one l enjoyed the most? that's right the old BEA Trident, with it's weird backward facing seats. I suppose as a starry eyed 14 year old boy mad on aircraft, was the major reason why!

 

[Pevenseagull]

First Gatwick to Moscow 1987 Aeroflot

Last Malaga to Leeds Bradford 1993 British something or other.

 

[Rugrat]

Gatwick (I think) to Majorca - sometime in 1974 (I think) .... no idea which airline
Heathrow - Tenerife - Oct 2020 British Airways .......... and I very much wish I could be putting Tenerife - Heathrow now

 

[zefarelly]

First flight was in a Cesna when I was 10, a mates Dad from Shoreham. commercial . . . to Shannon from Heathrow for work, terrible weather, Air Fungus. Dec 1992.

last . . . . Bologna May 2017, again for work. prior to that I hadn't flewn since we went to Aus in 2007!

I'm quite proud of the fact I've never been on a package holiday.

 

[The Wizard]

My first ever flight was on a Virgin yellow banana plane, not sure if anyone remembers those from the late 90’s

Kefalonia last summer > Gatwick the last.

 

[Worthing exile]

Brize Norton Gibraltar. Crabair. 1978. In a Hercules. If you know, you know.


Heathrow. Krakow. BA 2019, and return.

I know lol.
First flight Brize Norton to Akrotiri. VC10 1975 RAF Airlines.
Last flight (strangely) Larnaca to Gatwick 2019. BA I think.

 

[WhingForPresident]

First- May 2000, Gatwick to Majorca, no idea who it was with.

Last- June 2019, Hong Kong to Heathrow with BA.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

We live in a strange COVID laden world right now. Travel is not wise at times, or is completely forbidden.

So to remind us of happier times, what was your first ever flight, and your most recent flight?

You should include the departure and arrival airports, but could also include when the flight occurred, and with which airline.

I will go first as follows,

1984, Gatwick to Majorca, guessing at Dan Air

2020 Feb, Perth to Melbourne, Virgin Australia

First: Gatters to Majorca with Monarch (I think) in 1988/89

Last: Frankfurt to Heathrow with BA September 2019

 

[Justice]

When I was a nipper my dad had to work in Switzerland and we often went over to stay for the holidays, the plane was so small I remember it had propellers and was loud and normally a shaky flight, we would take off from Gatwick and an hour or so later I guess would be flying over the Alps in this poxy little plane great fun for a kid as the pilot sometimes let you in the cockpit. This was probably around very early 1980’s.

 

[Insel affe]

1st: May 1987 Manchester - Flughafen Hamburg - to meet King Rockers Club for a Psychobilly gig in Hamburg
Last: Jan 2020 from Phoenix Sky Harbor - Heathrow - return 1st class flight back from family get together at in laws house, great fun swimming in the pool, good for all the kids to be together in one giant house, funny enough I recall watching the news one day out near the swimming pool with the sister in law and they were talking about Wuhan and the developing story, I turned to her and said this will blow our way, and could blow out of all proportion, she told me not to be silly....

Oh how we laugh about it now....

 

[BBassic]

First - 1989ish, four years old to Majorca I think, no clue on the airline.
Last - February 2020, Berlin to Gatwick, EasyJet.

 

[Gwylan]

December 1973 - Dan Air to Naples (the start of an 'educational cruise').
Sometime in autumn 2018 Lufthansa to Berlin

I've been to Europe a few times since then but by train - I may never take a flight again

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

When I was a nipper my dad had to work in Switzerland and we often went over to stay for the holidays, the plane was so small I remember it had propellers and was loud and normally a shaky flight, we would take off from Gatwick and an hour or so later I guess would be flying over the Alps in this poxy little plane great fun for a kid as the pilot sometimes let you in the cockpit. This was probably around very early 1980’s.

That would almost certainly have been a Dan Air HS748, which the airline continued to operate well after their sell by date, from Gatwick to Berne. I remember flying on one from Gatwick to Jersey in the mid 80's, great fun!

Dan Air were an unusual airline, operating a wide variety of somewhat elderly aircraft types, including the Comet 4B, one of which flew into the mountainside whilst attempting to land in Tenerife.

 

[The Maharajah of Sydney]

First - Gatwick to Malaga, May 1973, Charter flight.
Mum & Dad took us out of school for a fortnight on the beach in Torremolinos - what's not to like !

Last - Brisbane to Sydney, March 2020, Jetstar.
Just managed to get a holiday in up at Noosa on the Sunshine Coast before virus restrictions started to emerge.