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.)
- Los Angeles to New York
- New York to Brussels
- Brussels to Frankfort
- East Berlin to Kiev
- Kiev to Moscow
- Moscow to Leningrad
- Leningrad to East Berlin
- Frankfort to Brussels
- Brussels to New York
- New York to Los Angeles
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!
How in the world do you remember the first airline you flew in much less the first twenty?
Twenty?? Jesus, not everyone is able to travel that much.
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Ansett Australia… RIP
The colouring book was mad though
I think I first flew on TAA, from Brisbane to Sydney, then connected to a KLM flight to the Netherlands. Would have been about '83.
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.
well virgin Australia got quite large
They filled the void for sure
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.
Kingfisher Airlines (India).
When it was operative, it was luxury flight at same “ordinary” prices as other airlines.
They were amazing back then.
Continental Airlines, way back in the 1960’s.
Pan Am.
Royal Air Force being emergency evacuated.
I don’t remember; I was a baby.
Possibly Delta, though we only flew a handful of times when I was a kid, and I don’t remember very well.
Why would anyone remember?
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Because kids don’t have memories? I remember my first flight at age 5. It was on Piedmont. The captain gave me a set of wings and I thought that was the coolest. Turns out I was sat next to Roy Scheider from ATL to MIA but I only remember the wings, lol.
Midway Airlines out of Midway Airport, Chicago back when they had their own airline. We got pb&j’s on a frisbee we got to keep. :). Things are a little different now…
Laker Airlines 1981 - London Gatwick to Tampa
The first time I ever flew was when I was reporting to boot camp. The US Navy chose United Airlines for that trip. I was absolutely nervous.
