Flights this time…
I had a real mixture this year. Long haul with KLM to Accra and back. That was tough. The outward flight was bearable as it was daytime. The overnight flight home wasn’t so funny. It’s only 6.5 hours and there’s no time difference (so no jet lag) but I may be too old now to sleep on a plane.
My BA flights in Club Europe could have been a contender. Quite a contrast to cattle class with easyJet. Enjoyable, but only while the airmiles were paying.
No Way, BA
Flying into Vilnius with SAS was nostalgic.
Vilnius Airport
It was the 1st choice airline when I was traveling to and from Vilnius every month. They had a deal which gave us business class flights for about £600 return as compared with economy on BA for over £1,000. It was also a better route, a better connection via Copenhagen and better service.
Air Baltic to Riga brought back memories for similar reasons.
Old Friend
London City Airport was revisited after a long absence. BA outward on an Embraer jet. FlyBe home on a turboprop. Neither is in the running for an award. The airport is still the best in London by a long way. It’s small. It works.
This year the choice is very easy. The award winner is Loganair (under the FlyBe franchise) from Tiree to Glasgow.
Tiree Airport
A short hop in a wee 18 seat DHC Twin Otter (a flying coffin, as they are called locally). Great fun and beautiful views.
The cockpit has no door to separate it from the passenger cabin, and in fact you can see everything the crew is doing. You can even see if they’ve lined up properly to land (they did).
Flight Time
No cabin service of course – no cabin crew. The co-pilot did the safety briefing.
It doesn’t fly high – 7,000 ft – so on a good day (as we had) you can see all around. 40 minutes to cover 103 miles.
© iain taylor 2016