An old memory

Heres a trip report I did for a flight waay back in 2003, when I got to ride the MyTravel DC10-10. Which helped make the DC10 my favourite aircraft ever 🙂

Flight Number: MYT111

Aircraft: DC10-10

Aircraft Registration: G-TAOS.

We decided to try Fuerteventura this year so we booked with a private tour operator who got us the holiday a lot cheaper than the brochures charge. We were told we would be flying with MyTravel, which was OK.

We arrived at MyTravel’s dedicated check in area at Manchester Terminal 1. There were lots of flights going out with them on this extremely hot and busy Saturday, so check-in took quite a while, but that wasn’t a problem.

We checked our baggage in and received our boarding passes, we looked at our seat numbers to see 9H, J and K. I realised that the aircraft would be a widebody, which was even better! We proceeded through Passport Control very quickly and I went to see if I could see our plane, but it hadn’t arrived yet. An hour before we were due to leave our plane finally arrived, and it was a DC10-10 G-TAOS looking really good. I was very excited now.

We were called to board at Gate 26 and then we waited, then the crews reported that the aircraft had a technical fault and that we would be delayed by 30 minutes, which wasn’t much of a problem. Then after about 30 minutes they came on again and told us that we would be boarding in another 15 minutes. Then boarding began.

As soon as we stepped onto the aircraft it was really really hot! Like being in a sauna. When everyone was seated the pilot told us that the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) had failed and that was why the aircraft was so hot, he apologised for the delay and insisted that he would try to get the aircraft going as soon as possible. So we were waiting on the plane, everyone wafting their safety cards using them as fans to cool them down. Then after a further 30 minutes the pilot came on again and said that we had lost our ‘slot’ with air traffic control and that we could be delayed by up to 50 minutes unless a plane was to leave the french airspace we needed. But soon the engines were fired up and the whole plane cooled down really quickly. We taxied to Runway 24L and made a full-power take-off, which was really powerful!

Once in the air the flight attendants began to do their duties, they were very friendly and cheerful despite the delay. The flight itself was very smooth, the legroom was quite good too. The meal had gravy on it and I’m not really keen on it, so instead I had crackers and a bread roll, which were still OK.

After 3 and a half hours of flying the engines began to slow down and I began to wonder what had happened, and I realised that we were already descending into Fuerteventura. Usually flights take around 4 hours 15 minutes, but the DC10 did it in 3 hours 30! We turned over Caleta de Fuste beach to see the lovely town all lit up at night, and then landed at Fuerteventura, which was a very smooth landing.

Overall I enjoyed my flight with MyTravel and despite the delay, I was more than happy with the service of the flight attendants and the pilot who constantly apologised for the delay – we were kept well informed of what was happening. The legroom was quite nice too. The DC10 is a very spacious aircraft. It was a really good flight.