What is the most memorable impression of your first trip on BA?

Is there any single hallmark or peculiarity of your first trip on BA that sticks in your mind more than anything else?

I recall being transfixed by the giant clacker board which loomed large in the departure hall at LHR Terminal 1. That was back in '89 and the magnificent Solari has since replaced by characterless flat screens but the exhilaration and excitement of that day returns, if for just a fleeting moment, whenever I pass through FRA.

 

I too can remember the LHR clackerboards. The two that loom large in my mind were in T2 and T3.

It's where I got my username. The various status updates for each aircraft went from 'Expected at x' to 'Landed at x' to 'Baggage in hall'.

My first BA memory was flying as a UM from NBO to LHR via LCA on an L-1011. I remember being all of 7 years old hitting the call bell after we left LCA to check that the new crew had my Passport! On the next trip, I was on a 747-100 from NBO to LHR; the crew moved the other UM and I to First for landing where I can recall sitting in a large leather seat with what I now recall as something akin to a sheepskin padding as we landed at LHR. Next to me was some Captain of Industry who I now can't recall but has in time blurred into David Mitchell's bespectacled character from the Henimore sketches.

 

Being stuck in the last row of 737 from ORY to LHR. Things have got better since then!

I can remember the clacker boards too but only as a country bumpkin visiting the big airport for the excitement of Concorde taking off. A very unglamorous childhood.

 

Remember the old cradle J seats. Back in the days when the telcos had money, we were able to fly in J for just about any trip. I used to do the SIN-LHR trip monthly and I have fond memories of just how good BA's J product was back then. I used to love those seats.

For some reason, the song "As I lay me down" by Sophie B Hawkins always reminds me of my J trips on BA. That, and any song from Take That. Anyway. Call me old fashioned. I don't care. I was probably drunk at the time. Or had eaten too much pate. Maybe both.



Image source: Jones Garrard Move Ltd.

 

I do remember several flights back in the days of BEA when going on holiday with my family to Spain. This would be in the early sixties when flights from Glasgow left from Renfrew airport with its wonderful arch entrance. I was six at the time and remember being fascinated by the old baggage scales for some reason. Aircraft flown were Viscounts and Vanguards....I take it we went via MAN although it could have been London. The most memorable thing I can recall about the on board experience were the meals. Always cold and always contained some vegetable salad....the kind you get out of a tin. I also remember the stewardesses hats and I'm sure they wore white gloves when welcoming you on board although I'm not sure if that is true or just in my imagination.
In my early teens after Renfrew had closed down and the new airport at Abbotsinch opened I fondly remember many flights to Inverness and Campbeltown and my first jet experience on a Trident to LHR. That was my first memory of LHR....I saw Larry Adler in departures and on the return flight to GLA John Hanson the "Red Shadow" and his wife were sitting behind me...who the hell is he I hear you say.

 

A flight on a brand new B777 back n October 1999 when the 777's were starting to get delivered and BA phased the remaining DC10's out of LGW. It was memorable as I was allowed in the flight deck for the departure and arrival for a charter BA flight from to LGW to SJU for a Royal Carribean cruise. How things have changed......

 

Think yourself lucky - my country bumpkim visiting the big airport visits were to Prestwick!

On the first BA flight memory, I was a relatively late developer - flying to GCM from EDI via LGW in 1997. Being sat on the 06:something flight down to LGW and rather hoping that I was going to enjoy flying because if I didn't the trip to GCM might have been rather interesting - fortunately the rest is history! Even managed a cockpit visit on the way to GCM - and the stewardess handed me a couple of choc ices from Club on my way back behind the curtain

 

it was on time....

 

My first BA was on Concorde in 1996, so yes, it was memorable indeed

 

MAN-ABZ - booked at check-in as I couldn't be bothered taking the bus. Managed to wring a big discount, and then pushed my luck in getting an upgrade so I could get to use a shower in the lounge (well I was a student at the time!).

I distinctly remember showers at MAN were better than at T5, but that could have been my rose tinted glasses or the fact it was my first airline lounge visit might have made it such a good novelty and clouded my judgement.

 

My first impression of a BA trip, which lived up to its promises, wasn't all that good especially with losing my bags on every single flight. This trend kept going and is still valid. Never managed to fly from point A to point B on BA without my bags getting lost somewhere. Except for a trip that I did entirely with carry on

 

My very first BA itinerary was ZRH-LHR-CAI, in Y, ca. 2002. I was not excited about the prospect, until I found out that another FTer ( & BAEC Gold) was going to be on the same LHR-CAI flight in F. So I met up with a friendly stranger, and on my first BA journey frolicked in the Concorde room, with the bird herself being there boarding.

An excellent first impression.

 

My first BA trip was last week, SYD-LHR via BKK.

Rear facing seats sure was a treat that I've never done before.

Food was average, but acceptable.
Cabin crew were tierd and cranky.
Seats look old and tattered.
No side headrest support.
Noise cancelling headphones...don't actually cancel noise. Used my own and it was fine.
Tray tables are impossible to get out, and they bend significantly if brought close up to your body.

On the plus side, the amenity kit was OK, although probably the worst of the oneworld carriers.

Can't see myself flying BA again it's far too overpriced for the value they offer.

If this is the normal, then I totally understand why BA ain't making cash. There's many many more better options.

I don't mean to sound negative, but my perception of their brand was probably too high to begin with.

Live an learn!

 

My first BA flight was also my first international flight. 1972 I think - I was a young kid. Darwin to Singapore. Arrived at the airport to find out there had been some chicken-up with our tickets. My parents knew the checkin agent and after a tense wait parents and three kids were all put into First on the 747-100. Of course I was too young to appreciate it, but I really enjoyed climbing the spiral staircase to the lounge in the "bump" of the aircraft. The First Class lounge on board would definitely be my most memorable impression on that trip - little did I know that they would soon be a thing of the past.

Return flight was on a VC 10 - only time I got to fly on one of those.

It was a looooong time (more than 20 years) before I got to experience BA First again.

 

The only thing I remember more than 33 years on is leaving the plane. Out the door, onto the steps and "bloody hell it's hot here". It was a TriStar to DHA, three or four weeks after a bloke in a pub had offered me a job as a chainman in the Rub' al Khali.

 

My first BA was a Tristar DEL-Kuwait-LHR in 1989 It was my first international flight. Economy. Also my first exposure to ""Toad in the hole"" which was helpful in preparing for Britisjh cooking of those times. It was my first middle seat. Also helpful for the future as, 22 years later I realise it was also my second last, in Economy.(bizarrely Ive had middle seats on other airlines, including BA, in J, since.) I was given a can of beer to drink with my toad in the hole. Underage, so a real treat!

 

Was a packed flight with the parents to Barbados on a 747 from Heathrow. 1979. We were split up. Joined JJC! Loyal ever since...

 

My first flight on BA was a intra europe flight in C, so except that the food was better than LH, nothing sticked to mind.
First over water flight I remember as the seats were so much nicer than UA.

 

I recall that despite the very nice signs having to ask five people for directions as we wound through T5 the first time. Each one we asked was very helpful, nevertheless the Arrivals Lounge was a little hard to locate.

 

It was simply my first international flight (as well as my second flight ever), on the beautiful 757 from OSL to LHR. I remember sitting on the left side, looking over the enginge and seeing my hometown from the air for the very first time.

 

My first BA trip ended up being in First EWR-LHR-CDG. I was just learning the frequent flyer game and discovered that I could transfer Starwood points to Cathay Pacific's Asia Miles and that they would book me the BA seat for a lot less than if I transferred to BA! I think BA was 150,000 miles at that time but Cathay back then (maybe 7 years ago) was only 90,000 points - what a deal!

I'm sure most can remember their first First and this was like a dream and pretty much spoiled me for the future. Bottom line is that I generate a lot of points through my dental practice. Bad news is that my wife decided I can NEVER retire!

 

How does a dental practice genrate points as a matter of curiousity?

 

probably buying all supplies, tests, etc thru CCs

 

Exactly - just like any business, we pay our suppliers with a credit card instead of a check. Next thing you know, we're on our way to Europe in the front of the plane and staying in hotels for free! Seriously, if I knew my dentist was not amassing points, I would assume he was also not keeping up with dentistry!

 

Most memorable impression was boarding a BA VC-10 at Prestwick that had British Airways painted on the side and everything on board labeled BOAC. Everyone started smoking like chimneys as soon as the light went off, and did so all the way to JFK. It was a totally tubular experience, as we said in 1974.

Just like this: http://www.airliners.net/photo/Brit...93595/L/&sid=77eb67388f17ce3acab0569efa7f8bf7