Tell Me (and Others)

Recent security scares on flights from London Heathrow reminded me of a BA flight I took back in 1997. I was able to do something then that will probably never be possible again for a member of the travelling public.

I was flying on a BA Boeing 747 to Miami, Florida. We headed North-West from London over Ireland and out across the Atlantic toward Nova-Scotia.

I was travelling in the upper deck, and had a chance to chat briefly with one of the cockpit crew when he wandered down the aisle. I asked if I could have a look in the cockpit sometime during the flight. He was not definite that it would be OK, but I could check with one of the cabin crew “in a few hours”.

So, I did! I pestered the steward and he got permission for me to pay a visit to the cockpit.

When I got to the cockpit, things were pretty quiet, and I think “George” was in control. At that stage we were about an hour from Nova-Scotia and the crew were performing intermittent checks of dials and their multi-function video screens.

I asked several questions about what they were doing, and the Captain took great delight in answering, and giving me a full rundown on the features and information of their video screens.

The co-pilot would occasionally chat on the radio for a few seconds at a time. Otherwise he was running his eyes over flight systems as we went.

I was there for about 45 minutes, before the Captain said that they were about to get busy as we were getting close to land and were about to turn southward down the east coast of USA. It was time for me to return to my seat.

It had been a great experience, and before leaving I thanked the crew for their time.

It was a daytime flight, and I do not recall really “looking” out the windshield. If I did look, there was certainly nothing to see apart from blue sky.

With the “Locked cabin door” rules in place since 9/11, I am certain that I would not be allowed this experience again.

Found this Satellite photo on Google Earth and was able to find a Qantas 747-400 parked at the “Tom Bradley” international terminal.

It may be the one we flew in on from Sydney in March! That’s about where we were parked. But then again, it happens about three times each day, so probably not!

Amazing the clarity. Friends with military experience say that the resolution can get MUCH better! So, next time you are out walking, look up and smile!

Well, we survived that trip again! Yep, this week we did our six monthly migration so that we can have continuos sunshine and to catch up with distant family. We left Perth in Western Australia on Wednesday, overnight in Sydney to help break the journey a little, then Thursday morning we flew out of Sydney on trusty Qantas 747 for Los Angeles. The flight time was not too bad this year, about 12 hours 40 minutes. After clearing immigration and customs at LAX, we picked up a direct flight to San Antonio where we landed at about 2PM. Then an hours drive to Kerrville and we were back in our Texas home once more.

The trip each year is not much fun, but it is great to be able to enjoy the warm to hot weather twice each year by splitting our time between the Southern and Northern hemispheres.

It would be great if we could cut down on the flight times… well, not really. The worst part of the journey each year is the time and hassles in getting through airport security, waiting for connections and sleep deprivation along the way.

We made it!
But Not without some troubles:-

1: One bag went missing on our first flight: Continental Airlines SanAntonio to Houston. That suitcase did turn up after about 24 hours and was delivered to us in Liberty Tx. where we were staying for two nights.

2: Our checked luggage did not make the same connection as we did from London Gatwick to Dubai. But, upon arrival in Dubai, where we had a 14 hour layover, the Emirates representative advised us that the bags had been located in London, and would be on the next flight, ready to be on our flight to Cairo.

3: Guess what. When we get to Cairo, the bags are NOT on the luggage conveyor. We report to the Emirates “Lost Luggage” desk and they start looking for them. We lose about 90 minutes sitting in the dirty Cairo arrivals terminal worrying about our bags. We finally do get them after John goes with an Emirates Luggage assistant, into a dirty catacomb of tunnels, stairways and locked doors. He and I had to find the airport officer with a final set of keys. This took about 30 minutes as he was away at his Muslin prayer break. Finaly I get the two bags and we head back upstairs to where Candace was waiting with our Cairo greeter from EMECO travel. The bags had in fact arrived in Cairo before we did and were stored awaiting our arrival.

Then we were off to our hotel at Giza on the western edge of Cairo.
This was our first experience with the Cairo traffic (read Chaos!).

Here I am supporting one of the Pyramids at Giza near Cairo.

We travel from Texas to Western Australia in the first week of November 2005. Travel is via London (for just a flight connection) and then onto Dubai, then to Cairo. In Cairo we will see the pyramids and some tourist sites.

Then it is back on the planes for the 11 hour flight down to Perth

The flights from London to Dubai and Dubai to Perth are courtesy of Emirates.