Which inaugural flights and final flights have you been on? The inaugural flights can be the first commercial flight of an aircraft type, a registration number, or a route launch. The same for final flights.
I've yet to be on any inaugural or final flights, though I thought I had booked a flight on Virgin's route launch from Seattle to London in 2017. An article I read either received misinformation and published it, or Virgin moved up the inauguration date by a month. I was gutted! But I wrote to their marketing department and they sent me a box full of swag from the inauguration event.
Which inaugural and/or final flights have you had the fortune to be on?
I had the pleasure to make the first landing of an A 340 at JFK, IAH and SIN.
it was in 1992 during the route proving of the aircraft.
Jean Pierre.
Which variant was it?
I guess there aren't many forum members who have had the pleasure of being on inaugural and/or final flights. The only member I know who has, is Dylan who was on the final Delta L-1011 flight.
I was on the final US Air flight from San Jose to Burbank. It had been operated by PSA prior.
They played old PSA commercials over the PA in the airport and other memorabilia such as old uniforms etc. abounded. Alas, I didn't record the tail number. The aircraft was a BAe 146.
I guess there aren't many forum members who have had the pleasure of being on inaugural and/or final flights. The only member I know who has, is Dylan who was on the final Delta L-1011 flight.
Hardly a final flight but I, by accident, booked myself on the penultimate delta MD-80 flight, I was down in Atlanta to see family, and it turns out, the aircraft I was on flying into Dulles, was actually the same plane who would fly the final flight the next morning.
Most precious was being on my Dad’s last flight before his retirement on an Air UK Bandeirante into Stansted.
Then was on a few CAA route-proving flights. BAC One Eleven, BAe 146, ATR72, 2 separate 737s & finally a MD-83.
I was fortunate to be on the last UK commercial flight of both the Viscount & BAC One Eleven. G-APEY from Bournemouth to Southend
on 30 Nov 1997. It was meant to do a last flight to Aberdeen and back but this was cancelled. And G-AZMF with EAL on 31 Mar 2002.
Coincidentally, it was also out of Bournemouth! The a/c did one more flight with staff.
I flew the first Delta 767-400 inaugural flight from Orlando to Atlanta in 2000 and I flew the very last L-1011 revenue passenger flight by a US carrier Delta in July 2001 between Orlando and Atlanta as well.
Also, the inaugural flight of Tristar Airlines BAE-146 from Las Vegas to SFO in June of 1995
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Real tomato ketchup Eddie?
Nothing but the best! "I don't know why they call this stuff hamburger helper. It does just fine by itself, huh? I like it better than tuna helper myself, don't you, Clark?"
"you're the gourmet around here, Ed!"
Ta for sharing your wonderful memories and photos. I assume you know a model of G-APEY was produced in 1:400 scale, assuming you'd be interested in having a model of it.
The only member I know who has, is Dylan who was on the final Delta L-1011 flight.
Damn good memory! Yes, I was on the final Delta L-1011 flight. ATL-VCV, flt 9930. Full of a bunch of Delta employees who "bid" on their seat.
Flight was operated under FAR Pt. 91 flight rules, so the cockpit door was open the whole flight. What a party!
Although not a "final" flight, I was on G-BOAA's second-to-last LHR-JFK-LHR on 8-5-00 rotation. After arriving from JFK, -AA did one more round trip the following week before retiring for good. She never received the fuel tank mods and now rests in the National Museum of Scotland.
I also was on the second to last flight of N358FE, a MD-10-10, MEM-SLC in November 2019. The next morning, she operated SLC-MEM and was DONE!
I was on the final British Airways Boeing 757 flight back in late 2010. G-CPET from Edinburgh to Heathrow, in retro Negus scheme. I got a final flight certificate too.
I was copilot on the first revenue service of BEA's Trident 3B G-AWZS. It had just been delivered from Hatfield and its first service was to Paris.
My logbook is not immediately to hand so I can't give the exact date but it was early 1970s. The flight was delayed a bit because we found the aircraft library (manuals etc.) wasn't on board and had to be brought out to us!
I flew the final Fokker 70 service with KLM out of Norwich to Amsterdam on 28th October 2017. Aircraft was PH-KZS, its last flight for KLM and the penultimate Fokker arrival in AMS. It was also the final time a Fokker would fly the NWI-AMS route since Air Anglia launched it in 1971!
Back in 1997, I had the booking form for one of the last flights on a Vickers Viscount. I recall it was around £70 or so, but at the time I was a Monarch Aircraft Engineering trainee on £45 a week and decided it was too much.
Fast forward to Feb 2014 and I booked myself a seat on the penultimate Biman Bangladesh DC-10 (S2-ACR) flight operated for enthusiasts from Birmingham/BHX.
I thoroughly enjoyed the 1.5 hours on that classic, and a few months later I flew on PH-KCB, a KLM MD-11 from AMS-YUL.
- Final Flight THF-HAM Lufthansa Fokker 50 D-AFKU 08.01.1995
- Final Flight AMS-AMS KLM MD-11 PH-KCD 11.11.2014
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1/400 Wishlist:
Caravelle - Sterling/Hispania/TAE
DC-8 - Spantax/TAE
DC-9 - Aviaco/Spantax/INEX/JAT/SAS (o/c -20/-40!)
TU-134 - Aviogenex/Malev/Interflug/CSA/Balkan/LOT
B737-2 - Hapag/Braathens
B727-2 - Aviogenex
F28 - NLM/Aviaction
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Which inaugural & final flights have you been on?
