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TWA
It was July 1988 and I had never flown on an airplane before. I flew on 10 airplanes in 21 days (with some driving from Frankfort to West Berlin and then to East Berlin.)
Sounds like some journey. Do you have any specific memories that stand out during your travels ?
Quite a few.
I was 12 and grew up in an American suburb. I remember the contrast of how dull and drab a lot of places were compared to where I was living.
I found an East German pfennig on the ground at the airport, the material it was made out of seemed almost like it was plastic.
There was a stereotype at the time that the toilet paper in the USSR was going to be like sandpaper. What I remember is that the toilet paper in the public bathrooms was the same material as the paper towels in our public bathrooms. I had brought a couple of rolls of toilet paper from home, but they didn't last the whole trip.
Going through Checkpoint Charlie was legit scary. There were armed guards, with German Shepherds, searching the bus we were on. The guards walked up to each person and closely examined your passport and made sure it was you.
German girls were cute and they liked our American accent. I don't remember interacting with many (or any) Soviet girls. The Soviet boys we met would ask us for "chewing gum" or "chocolates". I had brought along a big bag of insividually-wrapped gum (Double Bubble maybe) and a big bag of Tootsie Rolls to give out.
In Moscow, Red Square and St. Basil's Cathedral were very impressive, Lenin's Tomb was very underwhelming.
It was July, and Leningrad is so far north that the sun didn't set at all. We were sitting up in our hotel room talking, thinking it must still be evening because the sun was still up, but it was 1 in the morning.
There were shops that only took foreign currency (no Rubles) which meant it wasn't for locals, only for visitors. They had Pepsi and a few other well-known American brands of things for purchase.
There were status of Lenin everywhere.
West Berlin smelled like diesel exhaust.
When I got back home it was around midnight. I told my parents I was hungry, and they asked where I wanted to eat. I said In-N-Out, so that's where we stopped.
My sleep schedule was backwards for about a week and a half.
That was really interesting. Thank you for sharing with us.
Airline "crop duster". And he did loops for me. Take that, all you boring airliners!
TWA as a very young kid - I kept trying to pronounce it as a word and my dad was giggling and my mom and sister kept shushing me...I did not know why at the time.
I wonder if you were periously close to just yelling "twat" over and over.
Ansett Australia.. RIP
The colouring book was mad though
yeah me too. I specifically remember media covering the collapse of Ansett at the same time as 9/11, which seemed interesting that they thought the two were equivalent.
Ansett went on to exist as a training company for a while. Not sure if they still do.
How in the world do you remember the first airline you flew in much less the first twenty?
Lots of people don't fly.
A few trips ago, I sat next to a guy in his 50s on his first ever flight.
He was so excited. More so than my 4 yo was on his first trip.
I had to teach him how to put his seat back and told him he can keep the headphones and how they used to have these tube headphones and what it was like before 9/11.
Twenty?? Jesus, not everyone is able to travel that much.
Itβs not really traveling that much. Depending on how old you are that could be 0-1 times a year.
Pan Am.
Kingfisher Airlines (India).
When it was operative, it was luxury flight at same "ordinary" prices as other airlines.
They were amazing back then.
I don't remember; I was a baby.
TAA (Trans Australian Airlines) just flying domestically in Australia
Almost certainly American. My grandfather was a pilot for American, my uncle is currently a pilot for American, and my cousin just got hired as a pilot by American.
Continental Airlines, way back in the 1960's.
Royal Air Force being emergency evacuated.
Braathens, out of Fornebu. Neither the airline nor the airport exists anymore.
Ryanair when I was around 13/14yo. I wasnβt expecting something like business class on a A380, but boi that was a surprise. But I still enjoyed the take off.
Probably AirFrance
Possibly Delta, though we only flew a handful of times when I was a kid, and I don't remember very well.
Continental, sometime in the mid 90s.
Laker Airlines 1981 - London Gatwick to Tampa
Can't remember the first airline proper, but my first flight was with a bush pilot. Old, well beaten floatplane, the first leg of our trip. Took a week to walk back, stopping to fish on every lake along the way.
Air Canada. It was the first time I ever left home. Now I try to fly WestJet if I can. Air Canada has lost my bags like 60% of the time.
Sabena. Boston->Brussels in the 90s.
Delta, 1983, SLC to MPLS
Piedmont. From CLE to OWB. This was probably 87 or 88?
Iβve only ever flown on Southwest, which is basically the Greyhound bus of the sky.
I see you haven't met Southwest's meth addicted nephew, Frontier Airlines. That's the real Greyhound of the sky.
Or sun country. Flew them to Alaska and it was like a flying school bus.
Now defunct, Kingfisher Airlines.
Vueling, Spanish low-cost carrier, from Berlin to Bilbao on my first international business trip back in 2017. I loved the announcements in Spanish during the flight.
Midwest Express! Miss them cookies..
PSA in 1984
I still miss PSA. When I was growing up, if you were flying between Southern and Northern California you flew PSA. They were an institution.
And now that upstart Texas airline dominates inter-California routes.
American Airlines for a job interview. So it was selected for me. It definitely soured my expectations for air travel.
Most likely easyJet when I was a kid.
First one in my adulthood would be Lufthansa
US Airways or United I believe. I don't remember my first flight but those were the airlines my family always flew growing up.
First flight ever was Qantas business class from Sydney to London. I was 12
Lufthansa back from Munich Riem.
!The only airport ever with a fly-in McDonalds.!<