I was thinking of going to Japan too. The Chinese carrier are a lot cheaper usually. BA was over £1500 return.
I came back on train. The early flight to Bristol is a summer only timing on Saturday, useful for getting down early doors.
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Flights you have been on
- Thread starter telstarbox
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I came back on train. The early flight to Bristol is a summer only timing on Saturday, useful for getting down early doors.
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TravelDream
Member
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- 7 Aug 2016
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Yes, BA, JAL and ANA were all about £1500 or more. Air China £500 (£420 if I'd been willing to fly from Singapore coming back - a £160 detour, but a chance at visiting two places). Amazingly, the Chinese airlines often have competitive flight times despite connections as they fly over Russia (a no-no for some I guess).
Air China was 1/3 of that so it's a real no-brainer for me.
If you are considering, Japan is an incredible place to visit and is really not as expensive as some say. The economy has been at death's door for 30 years and the yen is weak. Hotels, eating out and attractions are surprisingly cheap coming from the UK despite the reputation.
I actually found the bus more comfortable on that route (despite this being a train forum :P) and generally recommend it unless reliant on a train connection.
Yes, I have been to Japan a while back now. KLM for under £500 return. I only seen the Tokyo area.
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Well yesterday (August 27th 2026) was a horrendous weather day in a good chunk of the UK. Luton Airport Air Traffic control tower got damaged by rain and lightning and LTN was closed. I was on flight EZY612 Glasgow to Luton. Horrendous delays and eventually diverted to East Midlands. Aircraft registration was G-EZUK an A320. At least 12 aircraft were diverted there with others going to other airports such as STN. I ended up getting a bus to Derby railway station then Cross Country to Tamworth then an Avanti to Preston. The captain took pity on us (took well over 1 hour to deplane) and let some of us into the cockpit. Photo attached
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atillathehunn
Established Member
My around the world in Airbus A330s continues.
Edmonton - Amsterdam - KLM A332. Another smooth flight on a busy flight. The seats are pretty good, food not bad. Early landing at Schiphol, but immigration a mess.
Amsterdam - Istanbul- TK 332. Smooth flight on a busy flight. IFE not bad, and food good as usual. It was Turkish victory day, with many announcements about this. Long, long taxi in Istanbul.
Istanbul - Kabul - TK 332. I have done quite a number of connections at Istanbul, always involving long walks. For the first time ever, I arrived at the gate adjacent to my departure gate. Win-win. Empty flight on the retro liveried frame. Poor man's business class down the back and I slept most of the way. Lovely views in the morning on the way into Kabul. Immigration was smooth and the airport has in general got better over the years (painted over all the bullet holes from 2021). The new road from airport roundabout to Jalalabad road is a game changer. The usual 45 minute grind is now just 15 minutes.
Edmonton - Amsterdam - KLM A332. Another smooth flight on a busy flight. The seats are pretty good, food not bad. Early landing at Schiphol, but immigration a mess.
Amsterdam - Istanbul- TK 332. Smooth flight on a busy flight. IFE not bad, and food good as usual. It was Turkish victory day, with many announcements about this. Long, long taxi in Istanbul.
Istanbul - Kabul - TK 332. I have done quite a number of connections at Istanbul, always involving long walks. For the first time ever, I arrived at the gate adjacent to my departure gate. Win-win. Empty flight on the retro liveried frame. Poor man's business class down the back and I slept most of the way. Lovely views in the morning on the way into Kabul. Immigration was smooth and the airport has in general got better over the years (painted over all the bullet holes from 2021). The new road from airport roundabout to Jalalabad road is a game changer. The usual 45 minute grind is now just 15 minutes.
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Impressive!
TravelDream
Member
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- 7 Aug 2016
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- 1,159
Agree with @GRALISTAIR above. Incredibly impressive.
My flights are oh so vanilla in comparison. What's it like traveling to Afghanistan now?
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Great flight today but interesting. First time I have flown Jet2. Manchester to Madeira. It was scheduled to be an A321 and I documented as such in flightmemory.com but captain told us the plane was stuck in Italy and to avoid incurring a very heavy delay used an available 737. This to me implies Jet2 crews are cross trained or they just used another crew. Anyway, new airport for me and thus new route (MAN-FNC) and new airline
Photo of the airport from the plane attached
Photo of the airport from the plane attached
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How was the landing at Funchal? Lively?
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Westerly approach then banked around to south and landed on normal runway. I thought the landing was excellent. Not too windy and not a rough landing. I suggest it was manual and not autopilot.
A good friend went with him Mrs last year, and she’s a nervous flyer. Got there ok, but whilst waiting for their return flight they saw their plane come in, and do a go-around from almost 0 feet. Didn’t fill her with confidence!
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
My daughter’s relatively new father in law (and he and I now share a granddaughter) was a captain for Monarch for 27 years and he said FNC was definitely a challenge!
Spamcan81
Established Member
20/08/2026 Heathrow T5 to Arlanda T2 with BA. Straightforward flight but a 90 minutes faff getting through immigration on arrival
24/08/2026 Arlanda T2 to Heathrow T5, again with BA. An excellent steak for lunch prior to another straightforward flight. Early arrival and through border control in a flash. Bit of a long wait for luggage though.
24/08/2026 Arlanda T2 to Heathrow T5, again with BA. An excellent steak for lunch prior to another straightforward flight. Early arrival and through border control in a flash. Bit of a long wait for luggage though.
Larcombius
New Member
Only airport I have ever been on a plane that did an aborted take off. BA A321, lined up at the runway start, full power, and started accelerating but then just didn't get very fast and slowed down and pulled off at the far end. Captain said it was paperwork issue but I have a feeling that was something said to not worry passengers!
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
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