Favourite Airports

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Sisemen

Re: Favourite Airports

#21 Post by Sisemen » Wed Sep 02, 2015 2:59 pm

Changi has to be tops, closely followed by Dubai. Australian capital city airports leave an awful lot to be desired with Brisbane possibly the best of a bad lot. Considering it's currently the world's most liveable city Melbourne needs to be bulldozed and started again.

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Re: Favourite Airports

#22 Post by 500N » Wed Sep 02, 2015 3:05 pm

Siseman

"Melbourne needs to be bulldozed and started again."

Considering it was a totally Greenfields side 30 - 40 years ago, they have made a right cock up of it
with a lack of long term planning.

FFS, we are even now having calls for a curfew !

They have just put in a new road system to allow another way into the airport and
I have never seen such a CF of confusing roads like this.


Re Dubai, interesting photos. I used to love the Dubai airport when I stopped over
as a teenager. A great place to "do business" buying stuff to take to the UK.
That was in the 1970's.

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Re: Favourite Airports

#23 Post by Keef » Wed Sep 02, 2015 9:44 pm

Southend (EGMC to those who speak that language).

It's nothing out of this world, except that it's where I learned to fly and where the excellent ATC folk got me back in a few times when the weather was less than perfect (and before the ILS was installed). Reputedly it's one of the last airfields in the south east UK to "go down" when the weather isn't playing nicely.

Not been there in years - it's quite busy now with its own railway station, scheduled flights, and all sorts.

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Re: Favourite Airports

#24 Post by Ex-Ascot » Thu Sep 03, 2015 8:52 am

Slightly off thread but we have a new tower going in here at MUB (Maun). It is growing very fast - worrying. They extended the runway some years ago but still had a tiddly little tower. Essentially they have been operating illegally for some time now.
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Re: Favourite Airports

#25 Post by Mrs Ex-Ascot » Thu Sep 03, 2015 11:23 am

Keef have happy memories of Southend airport. Always wanted to learn to fly since I was young. For my 18th birthday my parents arranged for me to have a trial flying lesson out of Southend airport followed by a tour around the museum. Is the museum still there I wonder.
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Re: Favourite Airports

#26 Post by Ancient Mariner » Thu Sep 03, 2015 1:03 pm

For Business: Changi SIN
For Fun: Kai Tak HKG
For Pleasure: Busuanga USU
For Convenience: Sandefjord TRF
Worst: Where do I start........................ :-?
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Re: Favourite Airports

#27 Post by Capetonian » Fri Sep 04, 2015 6:58 am

Zurich and Amsterdam.

I yearn for the days when you walked off the plane, strolled across the tarmac or grass (or sand in the case of Swakopmund), a native fellow handed you your suitcase and took to your waiting taxi, drove you to your hotel, checked you in, and carried your bag to your room where tea and cucumber sandwiches were waiting.

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Re: Favourite Airports

#28 Post by probes » Fri Sep 04, 2015 7:06 am

Blacksheep wrote:My favourite is Brunei International. Least favourite was New Delhi, where I was made to pay a bribe under threat of violence before I was allowed airside to prepare our aircraft for departure.

did they specify the bribe and threat? :-?

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Re: Favourite Airports

#29 Post by probes » Fri Sep 04, 2015 7:20 am

limeygal wrote:Here you go Angels-if I've done it right!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PCOcyt7BPI&NR=1=/a*

Wow, that's like some inflated ghost dolphins over the city :)
- and the next video playing up is "instructive" for a layman :ymsmug: .

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Re: Favourite Airports

#30 Post by Blacksheep » Fri Sep 04, 2015 1:15 pm

did they specify the bribe and threat?


5,000 Rupees or they'd arrest me and take me away. Said while tapping his stick against his hand.
I was supernumary crew as "Flying Spanner" and listed on the Gen Dec, but that made no difference. My presence at the departure gate in uniform with company ID, carrying out a transit check/refuel was "suspicious" - Europeans do not operate as crew on Indian internal flights, you see. The Indian cabin crew of our Nepalese aircraft bought him off with a partly consumed bottle of Johnny Walker.

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Re: Favourite Airports

#31 Post by om15 » Fri Sep 04, 2015 4:57 pm

Capetonian,

I once took my wife on holiday to the Isles of Scilly, flew down in the Twin Otter to St Mary's Airport and it was exactly how you described but without the sandwiches.

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Re: Favourite Airports

#32 Post by Stoneboat » Sat Sep 05, 2015 2:30 am

No comment.

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Re: Favourite Airports

#33 Post by Keef » Sat Sep 05, 2015 5:20 pm

Mrs Ex-Ascot wrote:Keef have happy memories of Southend airport. Always wanted to learn to fly since I was young. For my 18th birthday my parents arranged for me to have a trial flying lesson out of Southend airport followed by a tour around the museum. Is the museum still there I wonder.


Sadly not. It closed a long time ago, and many of the larger aircraft were broken up for scrap. The building was recycled as a sports facility and then morphed into something else.

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Re: Favourite Airports

#34 Post by Ex-Ascot » Sun Sep 06, 2015 5:44 am

Thank you Keef, for some bizzare reason the boss can't post on 3G from home.

For the record she did go on to get a PPL.
'Yes, Madam, I am drunk, but in the morning I shall be sober and you will still be ugly.' Sir Winston Churchill.

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Re: Favourite Airports

#35 Post by Rwy in Sight » Mon Sep 07, 2015 7:15 am

When I was leaving there Brussels National or Zaventem airport departure lounge was the best airport feature on Earth.

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Re: Favourite Airports

#36 Post by lasernigel » Mon Sep 07, 2015 10:24 am

Great video Limeygal, saw one a fe years ago of a Cathay Pacific, lot of shots of the pilot, one hand on column, one on throttles and laegs going back and forth on the rudder pedals.

Got to admit Changi gets better and better.
Worst are and not in order, Peshawar, Manila, Kolkata Interrnational and Miami. Least equipped a strip in Pakistan called Sadu Sadu. PIA F27, the stewardess asked if I wanted to get off. One very small corrugated tin hut, stayed on the F27!

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Re: Favourite Airports

#37 Post by Stoneboat » Mon Sep 07, 2015 4:01 pm

Any of the old timers remember whose signature line was "Happiness is V1 at Lagos ." :D

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Re: Favourite Airports

#38 Post by Ex-Ascot » Tue Sep 08, 2015 3:25 pm

Stoneboat, never had the misfortune but I can believe it.
'Yes, Madam, I am drunk, but in the morning I shall be sober and you will still be ugly.' Sir Winston Churchill.

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Re: Favourite Airports

#39 Post by Wodrick » Tue Sep 08, 2015 3:52 pm

Missed a treat there *ExA*. I went for 10 days to look at the Wx Radar on a fleet of 1-11s
These as it happens,
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'course they had rotted down a bit by the time the photo was taken.
After I came back I refused ever to go again regardless of price.
Lagos was the first time I had seen a dead body just lying in the street and nobody paying any attention.
Happiness truly is V1 at Lagos, but in truth, if flying Nigeria Airways, then it is probably crossing the Med in the cruise, can't turn back then. :))
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Re: Favourite Airports

#40 Post by Ex-Ascot » Wed Sep 09, 2015 7:32 am

Wodders, don't know how I missed out on Lagos. Luck I guess. Neat bit of parking there.

Once saw what I thought was a child's doll on a rubbish heap at the side of the road in Calcutta - dead baby. I hate India, Pakistan is just as bad.
'Yes, Madam, I am drunk, but in the morning I shall be sober and you will still be ugly.' Sir Winston Churchill.

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