childhood charter airline memories!

Correct, I flew with Orion many times from EMA. 737-200 and 737-300, they were the in-house airline of Horizon and Wings and did get swallowed up by boring Thomson and Britannia.

Didn’t fly on charters very often… My list includes only British Airtours 707-400 (Conway powered), Dan Air Comet 4b and 4c, Orion Airways 737-200, Aviogenex 727-200, British Airtours 737-200, Dan Air 737-400. And that’s about the lot – I fly “real” airlines now!!!

Andy

Legendary stuff!!!

I remember the DA 1-11, BY 732, Orion with their wonderful Orange and Brown livery… Think their parent company Horizon got taken over by Thonsom?

My very first flight was on a Dan-Air 737-400 from Newcastle to Palma. I was only 6-7 months old so I can’t really remember.

My very first flight was LGW-TFS in August 1981 on a new Laker A300. Throughout the eighties, I flew mostly British Airtours 737/Tristars but also some flights on Cal-Air Dc10, Mon B757 and BY B767. Most interesting flight was LJU-LHR with JAT in 1985. A/C should have been a B727 but they switched to a B707; still my only flight on this type.

I agree that the low-costs are awful. I dont have a lot of spare money and always pay for my own flights but I save and fly ‘real’ airlines. Once in awhile I do still fly charter though but Im not impressed, they were better back in the 80s.

Used to fly ZB until they cut out their meals, newspapers and wine etc. Now they are just like the no frills airlines.

What is a “REAL” airline?

T5 is right… I’m in the fortunate position that for the vast majority of my flights either (a) my employer pays for them when I’m working, or (b) I use frequent flyer miles to to travel when I’m travelling in leisure time.

I have flown with BMIBaby (twice – mostly a dreadful experience), EasyJet (twice, and the A319 wasn’t that bad!), and MyTravelLite (once – absolutely aweful), but I haven’t been on a charter flight for many many years.

Andy

What is a “REAL” airline?

I like this term.

To sum it up, it’s probably an airline which isn’t either (A) a charter airline or (B) a low cost airline! A real airline will offer you everything you could possibly want on a flight – entertainment, meals, beverages and more. The bonus to a real airline is that you don’t have to pay extra for these ‘extras’ once on board.

For example.. British Airways, bmi, Virgin Atlantic.

Unreal Airlines.. easyJet, Ryanair, MyTravel, Monarch Airlines, First Choice etc.

I fly “real” airlines now!!! Andy

What is a “REAL” airline?

Also remember flying Airtours Int to Banjul, the Gambia. It was on a MD83 We had to refuel in TFS. All the other airlines of the day used 757s non-stop, so we were unlucky, it was back when Airtours first started and had only MD83 in fleet. The following season it was dropped until they got hold of 757s from IEA

I think mine was Caladonian Glasgow to Larnaca

I flew Aviogenex too in the 80s when Yogoslavia was a popular package holiday destination.

As a child I loved the holiday atmosphere on the charter flights but today hate it!

Didn’t fly on charters very often… My list includes only British Airtours 707-400 (Conway powered), Dan Air Comet 4b and 4c, Orion Airways 737-200, Aviogenex 727-200, British Airtours 737-200, Dan Air 737-400. And that’s about the lot – I fly “real” airlines now!!!

Andy

my earliest flight was wen i was 4 years old from R.A.F Brize Norton to R.A.F Decimumanu in Sardinia as my dad got posted there we went on a vc10 we always flew a vc10 to and from sardinia when we came to visit grandparents etc the earliest commercial a/c i went on was a md83 alitalia from dussledorf – milan whe i went to hospital in germany due to having teeth pulled out. also that same day we flew on another md83 meridiana from milan to cagliari was good flights we were in buisiness class on alitalia to milan as r.a.f paid for it 😀 then the next flight i flew on p.s comercial was a mytravel dc10 both ways from luton to palma to luton in 2001.

Well it wasn’t long ago you flew to tenerife with FCA!?

Good point! but thats because we went on holiday with my friends so we had to fly with them!

Back when I was a little lad and through my teens, the charter carriers still allowed smoking, which was dreadful. Also, I recall how aften the flights would depart at awful times and we would always be hanging about in resort, after being kicked out of our accommodation at 12 noon and having to wait for a 2335 departure, which was invariably delayed. Good old DanDare

The likes of Air 2000 and Air Europe did much to enhance the reputaion of charter flights, with their new 757s and improved service but nowadays charter airlines are going backwards with their no-frills approach. Even my sister who has a family and is on a restricted budget doesnt even use the IT carriers.

i used to fly air 2000 when i was younger to italy alot but now i never fly on charter flights.

I fly BMI quite a bit from LBA to JER, usually on the ERJ145, no meal serive though, still its only a short flight.

Good Man!

Invicta Britannia, anyone? 😉

No, I try to avoid them these days as well. The likes of MyTravel and Monarch are dreadful, charging for meals. I fly BMI quite a bit from LBA to JER, usually on the ERJ145, no meal serive though, still its only a short flight.

I was so excited as a kid, going to the travel agents with my nanna and looking in the backs of brochures trying to figure out which airline we would travel on. We used to always book with Horizon and Wings, now long gone. Also Intasun, which used Air Europe.