TheLocalYokel

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Jan 14, 2009
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Yes
This topic is sometimes raised in other forums so I thought I would ask members here for their views.

I'll start the ball rolling, though in all honesty, I don't have any airports, airlines or aircraft that I am passionate about over others.

Probably my favourite large airport is Amsterdam because of the ease of interlining, although its tendency to misplace baggage can be a downer, and the fact that everyone seems to speak English, often better than many native English speakers, I am ashamed to say.

Of the small airports, I fell in love with Inverness though I have only used it twice. Everyone seems so friendly and helpful.

Airports that I use most I would put in the medium-size bracket and they are Bristol, Newcastle, Glasgow and Edinburgh. I have no complaints about any of them though, at times like many airports worldwide, security can be rather slow.

As for airlines I still have a soft spot for the defunct Paramount Airways (the name lives on with an Indian airline, though not connected). They operated for a few years in the late 80s and early 90s with Bristol their operating base. They used four MD 83 aircraft, although one or two B 737s were acquired later on. They were the very first UK airline to ban smoking on board and, true to their conscience, would not sell tobacco products on board in the duty free rounds.

I am not a zealot when it comes to smoking. I don't smoke (never have so am not one of the enthusiastic 'reformed' smokers) but I don't seek to stop others so long as their habit doesn't affect me. When aircraft had smoking sections the smell inevitably drifted into the non-smoking areas and the recycled air on board made me wonder what I was breathing in.

Paramount was an intimate and friendly airline in my experience (I used them about eight times) and on more than one occasion the captain stood at the front of the passenger cabin to address the passengers via a microphone describing the forthcoming flight. It was a great pity the way they went out of business with recriminations about financial irregularities reverberating through the courts for a long time.

I suppose my current favourite airline is easyJet because it is now the airline I use most, although only for logistical reasons. By and large it is fine though not quite so chipper as Go which it absorbed.

As for aircraft, I don't really have a favourite although B 737s (of nearly all series) and B 757s are the aircraft I have flown in most.

I once had a glider lesson but the aircraft I have always wanted to fly in is the BN Trislander - the Flying Bomb in both sound and shape so far as I'm concerned. I tried to persuade my wife to fly from Guernsey to Jersey in one but she was not having it. I wished we had booked with Aurigny one day last year. The daily ATR 72 was replaced for some reason by TWO Trislanders that flew all the way from Guernsey to Bristol and back again.

Right, what favourites have others got?
 
Airport - Frankfurt Main - still best for spotting in Europe

Airline - Jet2 - friendly low fares and all that

Aircraft - B767/300 - great to look at and to fly on
 
My favourite Airport?

Been a 'localite' to LBA I have to say the airport has always been my favourite airport although over the last two decades it has slowly lost the originality that it once had. As the terminal has been expanded it has slowly lost it's nostalgic curvy look resembling Berlin's Tempelhof Airport and been replaced by the typical long sheets of glass walls seen at most other airports. Recent years have seem temporary buildings added to facilitate the rapid growth of Low Fares Airline Jet2 which has become the largest airline at the airport. From a spotting point of view, the airport has numerous locations around the airfield where people can view the aircraft, but again, like many airports these days, this has become harder to do with the erection of tall fences and a two new hangers which now obstruct one of the best views of the airport from a hill opposite.

My favourite airline?

Difficult question. I don't really have a favourite airline although I have a small list of airlines which I would never step foot on for various reasons.

My favourite aircraft?

I have a number of aircraft which I have liked over the years but needless to say, Concorde was undoubtedly my favourite and to those who had never seen the bird flying, you have really mist something special. The noise made by the aircraft was phenomenal. It made your hair stand on end and your stomach vibrate, not a particularly good sensation I admit but it was well worth it seeing this big bird landing and taking off.

I have always like the 'biggies', the jumbo jets. The 747's, Tristars, Airbus A300, A330, A340, A310's and the drone of the RB2-11 Rolls Royce engines seen the most on the Boeing 757's.
 
My favourite airport has to be LBA of course. It is small, definitely not beautifully formed, but its ours. It has too much dodgy weather, comes in for all sorts of criticism, doesn't get the support or passengers it deserves for a City the size of Leeds, but it got me passionate about airports and aviation way back when. Outside of LBA, my favourite airport is probably Mahon, simply because all my best holidays have started there and its a nice airport to use too.

Favourite airline has to be Jet2, simply because they have put LBA on the map and put their faith in our airport when it seemed that no other low cost airline would do. Your loss Easyjet, BMi Baby.

Favourite aircraft - going back a bit I loved the Viscount, mainly as I saw them more than anything else at LBA, and loved the sound of those 4 Dart Engines powering up at take off. Jet-wise, I always loved the shape and flying experience of the Boeing 727-200 - such a graceful aircraft with the lovely swept back high tail fin. Now its probably the Boeing 757 as I like the long slim fuselage and the shape of the nose is unique amongst the Boeing fleet.
 
Now its probably the Boeing 757 as I like the long slim fuselage and the shape of the nose is unique amongst the Boeing fleet.

...and the winglets don't forget!
 
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Heather,

Mahon.................that brings back memories.

Only been there once - in 1987 with Paramount Airways and their MD 83s.

Menorca is a lovely island and we stayed in one of only two high-rise hotels on the island at that time. I think they were called Milanos and Pinguinos (something like that, excuse spelling, is it kite and penguin in English?) but can't remember which of the two we stayed in.

We were told they were built by the Clarkson holiday company (their airline was Court Line of course, with the pastel-shaded B 1-11s) who planned to build a chain round the island. They and Court Line went bust around 1973ish and the Menorca authorities changed their planning policy to prevent further construction of hotels like those.

Do you know if they still exist and have other high-rise hotels been allowed to be built in the meantime?

The other thing I recall about Mahon Airport was that it was very small in 1987 with three or four planeloads its maximum. Once checked in the 'departure lounge' was outside in an area supplied with chairs under a sort of canvass cover - can't really bring to mind the material but the effect seemed very tropical. Not sure how good it would have been in the rain.

We were told then that the airport was about to be substantially improved and expanded. I guess it's changed out of all recognition since the late 80s.
 
Local Yokel

I have not seen any high rise hotels in Menorca other than a few that are perhaps 6 storeys tucked away in Santo Thomas - one of which I stayed in on my first holiday there 15 years ago. They don't build anything over 2 storeys now as far as I know, although it is almost 3 years now since I was there and I am desperate to go back. As a family we cannot go anywhere until 1 year after my daughters transplant - which of course hasn't yet happened so despite having holiday club accommodation there, we're still kicking our heels each summer. All rather frustrating!

The airport has been expanded since you last went there and is now a fairly typical Spanish design airport, capable of handling quite a lot of aircraft as it has the usual wide and deep apron. Last time I was there it was being extended - so obviously even in Mahon they are more forward thinking than some of our local authorities closer to home - Leeds and Bristol/North Somerset spring to mind!

It is a lovely island if you like things quiet, and an ideal place for anyone to learn to drive on the 'wrong side of the road' as the roads are generally very quiet and straight forward. It is odd driving around the island interior to see cows grazing behind dry stone walls - a legacy of British occupation and very much makes me feel at home. Sort of like the yorkshire dales - without any hills!
 
...and the winglets don't forget!

Yes Aviador - but only on 2 of them still. Has anyone heard when the other 7 are going to be done - or are they leaving them as they are? I guess if any more are to be done, it will during the quieter winter months. Definitely not time to do anything like that at the moment!
 
My favourite airline is British Caledonian, I was a crew member with them for 6 months before we were taken over by B.A. I guess my favourite aircraft has to be the DC-10 30, it was a total joy to fly on despite its contraversial reputation.

Leeds Bradford is my favourite airport.
 
White Heather said:
Local Yokel
As a family we cannot go anywhere until 1 year after my daughters transplant - which of course hasn't yet happened so despite having holiday club accommodation there, we're still kicking our heels each summer. All rather frustrating!
Heather,

Best wishes to your daughter and I hope that you will all soon be able to enjoy more trips abroad.

We've also been kicking our heels for the past few months because of medical problems in the family and haven't been very far in terms of holidays abroad, but hope to put that right in the not too distant future. It is frustrating but of course your daughter's health is the most important thing.

Thanks for the update re Menorca. I remember the cows. My brother-in-law, who is a farmer, visited the island about twenty years ago and being a very social animal himself who makes friends easily sought out one of the local farmers and had an agrarian chat mainly by finger pointing and pidgin Spanish and pidgin English.
 
scottyuk said:
My favourite airline is British Caledonian, I was a crew member with them for 6 months before we were taken over by B.A. I guess my favourite aircraft has to be the DC-10 30, it was a total joy to fly on despite its contraversial reputation.

Leeds Bradford is my favourite airport.

Which makes me remember when they used to operate the Leeds YYZ service. I loved the airline too despite having never actually flown with them, the airline always had a certain 'thing' about it that I always loved.
 
Gosh, I didn't know that. All I remember was that the only B-Cal link with LBA was Genair.

I wonder if anybody ( maybe Heather, who has an amazing knowledge of LBA, so much so I log-on here especially to read her posts), knows whether a B-Cal aircraft has ever visited LBA ?
 
British Caledonian operated for about two summers if I remember correctly using Boeing 757 aircraft. The flight to Toronto was operated via another airport but I can't remember whether that was Exeter, Birmingham or somewhere else.
 
Ahh right, now I am with you. That was Caledonian Airways, not B-Cal. I totally seperate airline that had a similar brand image.
 
Aer Lingus is probrably my favourite airline *shock horror!* - Ryanair is my least favourite *shock horror again*!


I wonder is there anyone out there who would say Ryanair is they're favourite?


As for airports - if im honest - there are no "good" airports IMO and I have travelled widely. For me it's more a case of, rather then "favourite", it's "least bad"......and there are so many equally "least bad" so I may have to think about that one.
 

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