There was a discussion I read on another Forum recently which was querying the same point.

The stumbling block seemed to be , according to concensus , the runway length at Alderney which rules out a lot of alternatives balanced against possible load factors.

With decent maint. I can see them plodding on for another ten years at least. The make a lovely sound as they plod out of Southampton over my parents garden.

Im flying with spainair next sat and yes the same type of plane MD82! Im sort of worried!

I wouldn’t worry at all. Spanair appear on the surface to be fairly solid and dependable and the MD involved as a type are pretty reliable.

Personally , I don’t go in for accident conjecture but the whole description of lift-off , engine problem , return to earth and subsequent over-run reminds me of that incident involving a TU-134 of the Russian Military which is available on YouTube ; maybe some smart cookie on here can post a link if its still on there

Three differences however , a flat over-run and not a gully , plane appears to have been able to land again level and not at an angle and in this instance everyone got out safe.

My sympathies to everyone caught up in this awful incident. When I transit Barajas next March for the first time on my way to S.America , I will think of you.

As far as flying with Finnair goes , I travel to Helsinki once a year from LHR on holiday and have travelled on their A319 , A320 and A321. The aircraft has always been spotlessly clean and in good nick inside. To date we’ve not had any delays on any of the flights whatsoever and would wholly recommend them.

However , another forum a few months ago had someone derriding the interior of one of the MD11’s as being really shabby.

Norwegian Air Shuttle leave from either Gatwick or Stansted I believe. If you go to their website , click on the english flag on the first page to get a translation , then click on the boxes to choose your route. When you start to go through the process of booking , it will offer you the times of travel. It is feasible to go in through Oslo and back through Bergen. You just have to juggle around with the choice of days you want to go/come back on.

Don’t be fooled by “shuttle” , they are just like a Norwegian style Easyjet or Ryanair in the sense they have a conventional timetable.

More sad news , brave venture that deserved to succeed. Last passenger flight from UK is already in HK. The final flight HK to UK landed at LGW this morning…..but the frame probably won’t be going anywhere for a little bit.

Very nice snaps indedd Si….is this spot tolerated for spotting and photos by the local constabulary and can you park easily without causing problems ??