PassPort Price

[Gary406]

[highlander]

Where you off to Gary? And which airline you going with?

I know I'm being a nosy sod but I like planes

[CalamityJames]

Where you off to Gary? And which airline you going with?

I know I'm being a nosy sod but I like planes

I'd gathered that from the previous posts, I find it all fascinating too! Speaking of gliding, there's always BA flight 9, a 747 that went through a volcanic cloud, lost all 4 engines and was able to glide for long enough to let them cool, clear debris off and restart!

Despite what I said about the moments of being scared, I bloody love flying, and I'm getting on a plane again in June, although only to Sweden, and with Ryanair

[highlander]

Oh yes, I remember BA Flight 9, over Java, Indonesia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_9

There was another aircraft, a KLM flight over Alaska, which lost all four engines due to volcanic ash ingestion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KLM_Flight_867

Ryanair cop a lot of bad flak about their low-budget image, but their cabin crew (who are entrusted with passenger safety as well as selling you booze) are very professional, and the pilots are excellent. I flew with them to Rome for a holiday a few years ago, and the flight was one of the smoothest I've ever been on, and touchdown was properly gentle.

My favourite flight so far has actually been from Aberdeen to London on a lightly-loaded British Airways 757 - those things are like rockets; the engines are very powerful in comparison to the weight of the aircraft, and it just shot into the air. Got to sit in the emergency exit row, so loads of leg room. Smooth flight down, nice food, comfortable leather seats (even in economy class!) and they arrived on time. No faffing about at all.

Also, any time I've been to Indonesia (to see my wife's family) when we've gone with KLM, at some point we've always flown on a Fokker F-100, which are very nice aircraft to fly on.

I also enjoyed a work trip to Celle, Germany - I got to fly on a Fokker F-27 twin turboprop, landing in Hannover. Definitely different, with the wing being on top of the fuselage, but this gives the aircraft a lot of lift, meaning short take-off runs and short roll-out after landing.

I love flying with Emirates - their in-flight entertainment system is superb, and the meals are of a high quality.

KLM long-haul is pretty poor - overhead TVs only (meaning you watch what they want to show you), and cramped, uncomfortable seats. That's on their 747 fleet, anyway.

Kuwait Airways are also very good, or at least they were, when I flew with them back in 1999. That's the first and only time I've been on a Boeing 777 (which has the largest, most powerful airborne engines in the world - the General Electric GE90-115B high-bypass turbofan engine).

[CalamityJames]

Wow that's one heck of an array! The planes I've been on have been much more standard fare!

Gonna try and recall all my TA flights now!

LHR - Detroit - British Airways Boeing 767, can't say I thought much of the in flight entertainment!
LHR - America a few times to various places with United Airlines - got free Premium Economy upgrades, excellent! Boeing 767, I think, here's a pic: http://www.windoze.biz/usa/United-UA905.jpg
LHR - Montreal - Air Canada, can't remember the plane but free upgrades to Premium Economy too!
LHR - Los Angeles and Miami, both with Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340s, by far my favourite airline so far, v:port in flight entertainment is great - video on demand! Although I did manage to crash it once: http://www.flickr.com/photos/james-msc/ ... hotostream

[Catflem]

£70 odd quid sounds like a bargain. I had to pay double that to get a new UK passport when I lived in France.

Expats have to get theirs from their local embassy, and have to pay through the bloody nose for it. They give you some tosh about the extra fees contributing to the running costs of the embassy. The poxy Ambassador never invited me over to share a ferrero feckin rocher, so why should Ihave to pay for them .

I love flying, I used to work for an airline many years ago (perhaps this is the point that I should point out that I'm not gay ), but the crap you have to put up with in the airports these days makes me want to drive if its at all viable.

[steve_earwig]

The acceleration for take off is the best bit, trolling around the airfield or level flight are just the same - dull, dull, dull - but sitting in something that feels the size of a house accelerating like an F1 car, man, that feels goooooooooooooooooooooood I used to work with a guy that was terrified of flying, he went to the quack who gave him some Vallium... The wife's a bit jittery about flying too. And lifts. And escalators

And, on to the plane crashes I always remember the documentary on the flight that ended up in Sioux City, Iowa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_232), which was an amazing bit of flying by the 3 pilots. At the end of the doc they interview one of the pilots and he says yes, he's still flying, he isn't afraid because he knows he's in more danger driving to the air field than he is in the air.

[Gary406]

Where you off to Gary? And which airline you going with?

I know I'm being a nosy sod but I like planes

were going back to benalmadena mate spain.

flying with ryan air from liverpool .

we booked the flights and hotel on different orders. worked out cheaper that way.

[DiscoPol]

Where you off to Gary? And which airline you going with?

I know I'm being a nosy sod but I like planes

were going back to benalmadena mate spain.

flying with ryan air from liverpool .

we booked the flights and hotel on different orders. worked out cheaper that way.

I used to live just up the road from there mate, enjoy.

as for flying, well i live in Poland and my family and friends primarily live in the uk and beyond, i use planes at least 5 or 6 times a year plus holidays, they are quite simply.......boring but efficient, amazing engineering feats when you think about it, but just plain old boring im afraid.

Gaz stop being a b!tch and man up ,

its just a plane, trust me you are much more danger when driving the pug.

[Gary406]

ye true mate. should be ok with my 3 kids at side of me.

i plan on making a trip to marbella while i'm there and meet jock and his crew (english mobile mechanics)

The Garage. it probably wont happen but we'll see. i was gonna have a trip to him while i was there last time but its not something you would normally do on a family holiday

[DaiRees]

i plan on making a trip to marbella while i'm there and meet jock and his crew (english mobile mechanics)

Take photos, post on here

Flying is very safe, I quite enjoy the act of flying but I have an almost irrational hatred of airports. Checkin, security, waiting around, passport control, bagage claim.... so much stress and frustration, no way to start or end a holiday in my opinion! That's why I go on cruises

[Gary406]

will do if i go and see them. its a 40 minute drive in a taxi so will have to see how many euros it will cost.

[DaiRees]

Rent a car (or alternatively a seat marbella) and get up into the mountains for a day, go to Ronda, very pretty, then you can go to Marbella on the way back....

[highlander]

should be ok with my 3 kids at side of me

DON'T let the kids see you frightened of flying - you'll more than likely give them the same fears. Put a brave face on, or take a walk to the lav if you feel wobbly; if they see you being frightened they'll just pick up on that.

At least it's only Spain, so not a long-haul flight. I've never been to Spain - at least you'll have decent weather too

[STALLED]

Don't drink before you fly!

Thing is, the change in altitude makes you super mega more pissed than you are on the ground - e.g: 5 pints on the ground, may equal 10 in the air. Messy.