[LetsFlyNow]

Around 2003/2004
I was a student and got upgraded to Emirates’ Business class on a A330 DXB-NBO. I was ecstatic! I remember i had my very first Sushi on that flight. Does any airline serve sushi these days? ANA or JAL maybe?

Then i remember that i was sat next to a politician who kept pressing me on how i could afford business class and didn’t want to believe that i had been upgraded at DXB. She then kept trying to guess to which politician family i belonged to. I just enjoyed the food. I remember there were lots of watermelons too.

To drink i think i ordered a bloody Mary and that was the first and last time i ever had that drink. I had an aunt that used to yapp about it so decided to try it.
Got upgraded on the return DXB-MUC leg too and that could be where i ordered the bloody Mary.

[IanFromHKG]

What a great topic!

Back in 1993 my wife and I were transferring to Hong Kong. We thought it would be too difficult to say goodbye at the airport so we arranged with our families to have lunch at one of the hotels near Heathrow and said our goodbyes there, got onto the airport bus, and rocked up to the Cathay Pacific check-in. We were both pretty emotional – we were young, newly-married (less than one year), saying goodbye to our families. Then they said we were upgraded to business. FAB! All sadness disappeared, we had a brilliant flight and I am pretty sure it was champagne all the way!

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Greg, Johnnyg, MartynSinclair, cybertravller, esselle

[cybertravller]

What a wonderful story, IanfromHK; moving across the world, even today, is a big decision and it is tough to leave loved ones behind. Well done to CX

[STORMIN']

My first flight was as a young kid in 1963 flying out for school holidays to Bangkok where my family had been posted. BA710 – Comet 4 – G-APDJ – amazing that I can remember that yet not remember what I did yesterday. In those days, it was Economy and First, no Business, but I suppose to most people then, flying anywhere long haul was “Premium” given the cost. At that time, people were still travelling regularly by sea. Economy from what I remember was very different to what it is now – seating on the Comet was 2×3 and even although I was a kid, it did feel spacious. Food-wise, I can’t recall precisely what it was other than out of Heathrow, on the Comet and later the B707, there were always strawberries on the summer flights.

I suppose my first truly “Premium” flight was 1981, when in my 20’s, I flew out to Bahrain where I was being transferred for a three year stint by my Employer. This was BA, a B747-100 (BA 069 – G-AWNM for those of you that might be interested!), in Super Club – the widest seat in the air as the advertising described it. The Super Club seat, at least those on the window side of the aircraft, were in essence an Economy three-seater where a section of the middle seat back was lowered to provide a table (a la current A320/1 ceos in Club Europe), leaving a wide window and aisle seat. I recall not being particularly impressed with this as it wasn’t overly comfortable. I can’t really recall the food or drinks offerings which would suggest that they were nothing special.

I’m currently on a business trip to East Africa and came down last Monday to NBO on BA in the Club Suites on an A350-1000. Whilst continuing to travel extensively on business and being BA Gold for Life, like many people on this site, I’ve tended to drop out of BA with my loyalty generally going elsewhere. However, for the current trip, there was little alternative choice given schedules and cost, and I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised. The Club Suite is nice, the F&B was good and the crew actually appeared to be happy to be there. The A350 is my plane of choice and the airlines that I normally fly with tend to have these aircraft.

I have the old Club World on a B789-9 to look forward to at the end of the week on my return to JNB

[STORMIN']

Edit: …on my return from JNB

[Greg]

1988. Heathrow to Helsinki with Finnair.
I was such a naive excited 29 year old that I forgot to check in, and fortunately turned up at the gate with a really small suitcase
Was allocated 1F, (which is now my favourite seat) on an MD80 and it was so quiet being so far away from the engines
First drink was Champagne, served by a Steward wearing a white shirt and dicky-bow (suit as well before I get replies).
After the meal he came back with a basket of digestifs. 1988, it must have been a Baileys because didn’t have anything else in the house.

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cybertravller

[JCB2]

Was fortunate to get upgraded on gulf air flight from muscat to LHR many years ago. I think first drink was champagne. But what i remember most was guy next to said was a plane designer and tutted although flight. Cutlery to heavy – we have to shave 100th of mum of engine blades, drinking glasses too heavy and china crockery. I think if he had his way we would all be siting on the floor with paper cups with water and a sandwich
Next prem flight was QR return to Brisbane . Lanson pink champagne. I still think I enjoyed the flights more than the holiday in Oz!!!😂

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cybertravller

[alainboy56]

1967 on a BOAC B707 to Bermuda and onto Barbados from LHR in 1st Class. As I was still quite young, I guess a Coca Cola was the order of the day.
Also of note was my first trip on a B747, a BOAC flight from LHR to Barbados in 1977 where I experienced the wonderful upstairs lounge bar whilst travelling in 1st Class – I had probably moved onto G&Ts by then.

[norbert2008]

I was an onboard courier back in the early 80’s with Airport Courier Service (anyone remember or worked for them?). We worked out of LHR mostly, mainly young gap yearer’s but some old hands. We did mostly European routes and our main client seemed to be Banker Trust collecting cheques and sending them on to NYC that evening. Once a week I went to Rome for a day trip. BA there and back on Tri Stars, loved seeing the doors close from the roof down. We travelled on back to back tickets which you needed to stay a Saturday so went out on one ticket came back on the next, etc. On Friday night I was greeted by the Purser and said had he known my brother who had worked for BEA/BA. He remembered him very well (hard to forget). He said slip into that seat directing me to the back of club, not sure if we have enough meals but will see what we can do. It turned out to be such a fun flight, loads of free champagne an evening meal, a tour of the downstairs galley (weird feeling in the lift). Then finally landing on the jump seat into LHR at night.

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Greg, IanFromHKG, MartynSinclair

[Greg]

Following my post above, readers might also be interested in my first ever flight, which proved more than eventful.

British Eagle 1-11 Heathrow to Malaga 1967. About an half an hour into the flight the crew were running around is a sort of panic and the captain announced we had “water in the arial, and had lost contact with the ground”. After circling to jettison the fuel, we somehow made it back to Heathrow where the flight took off a second time, with fewer passengers than the first.

Half way through our holiday, British Eagle went bust, but we were bailed out by Dan-Air, on a comet, which took us back to Gatwick, while my Dad’s car was at Heathrow.

What a start to an amazing life of travelling around the globe since.

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IanFromHKG, alainboy56, cybertravller

[cybertravller]

Hi Norbert, I heard about those courier jobs; I wonder if they are still going?

[cybertravller]

Hi Greg, I was in my third month as cabin crew and had a bird strike coming into LGW. Captain called a mayday and we had the brace position and emergency vehicles. Makes water in the aerial seem a bit tame. Great story and what an experience.

[LuganoPirate]

I still have a vivid, but embarrassing tale on my first ever First Class flight, where I ended up in hospital.
1973 and I was just 19 years old and had to travel to a trade fare in Cologne. Out in economy with BEA was fine, but for the return economy was full, only First was available. A simple calculation said it was cheaper to pay the fare difference, than a hotel, taxis and meals. I was on a tight budget as it was my own money I was spending.

The outgoing flight I can no longer recall, but after a successful day I returned to check in and was escorted to the BEA lounge. It was very small as I recall with plush armchairs and a bar!! Wow. Brandy and Cokes for free and unlimited.

Off to the plane and I think champagne was served, but anyway, it was definitely alcohol. So free drinks all the way to LHR.
By now I was very inebriated to say the least, and after the steps had been pushed to the plane, I turned, and I still don’t know to this day why I said this to the stewardess, but I said “Thank you, this was my best first class flight ever, and I’ve travelled all over the world in first class but this was the best ever”! At that I spun around, missed my footing on the step and fell all the way down the stairs.

I sprained both my ankles and my wrist, and apart from a few scratches and bruises to my hands and head, was relatively unscathed. I just sat up, unable to walk, and was carted off in an ambulance where I was x-rayed and patched up. Dear old dad was called and he came from S.E. London to rescue me, bandaged up but alive 😉

Yes, my first premium flight ever and one I’ve never forgotten.

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Jacob, GivingupBA, Ekond222, esselle, IanFromHKG

[IanFromHKG]

That’s quite a memory, LP!! Thank you for sharing (even if it did make me spit out my tea with laughter!)

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LuganoPirate

[FormerBA]

On the 6th January 1984 I was upgraded in error from Y to F. I was flying to Jeddah from LHR and was just 22.. I was returning to work in Saudi and had a domestic F sector on Saudia down to Abha. The weather that day was awful and my flight from Glasgow was very late. I know I still had my suitcase when I got to T3 so no doubt, I had had to pick it up in T1.

The Jeddah flight was also late and I was accepted as runner to the gate with my suitcase. The coupon was pulled and put into a boarding pass with a window. I was escorted to the gate by a man in a BA uniform and given a seat number at the gate and taken to the door. Only at that point did I realise that I was turning left and was escorted to 2A!

For the next few minutes I sat there waiting (sweating) and fully expecting to be unceremoniously ejected back to Y to where my boss and a couple of colleagues were located!

We pushed back and I began to relax and then began the take off roll and lifted off the ground. It was magical sitting there in the nose of a B747 and experiencing that for the first time. Then, before we had even cleared the end of the runway there was a blinding flash followed by an almighty bang. We had been hit by lightning. As we continued to climb, I recall clearly thinking that if I lived I would return to Y. I clearly did live, but no I remained in the lap of luxury!

We crossed Mont Blanc just as lunch was served and it was pink tinged from the setting sun.

I cannot recall what I ate but I drank far too many gin fizz cocktails and drank myself to sleep and was poured off in Jeddah, much the worse for wear and putting my job in jeopardy had the authorities stopped me. Just how I got away with that I don’t know to this day – but what a memory, what a treat.

The euro was the agent had pulled the wrong coupon and the gate staff could only see the F fare code and not the route. The following day, Saudia had to get BA to change the ticket but by then I’d flown and my 22 year old self couldn’t shut up about it. It was the start of 40 years of premium travel and I have loved almost every minute of it.

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LuganoPirate

[Author]

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