London Air Travel

HM Queen Elizabeth II: A Life In Flight

A look at the aircraft and airlines Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II flew with during her 70 year reign.

London Air Travel

Her Majesty The Queen, BOAC — Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II returns to London airport on BOAC, 7 February 1952 (Image Credit: Heathrow)

Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II has died.

During her 70 year reign, The Queen had visited more than 100 countries, with 22 visits to Canada alone. The Queen had also visited members of The Commonwealth 150 times.

Here is a look at the aircraft and airlines The Queen had flown with.

Princess Elizabeth’s First International Visits

The Queen’s first official overseas visit as Princess Elizabeth was in 1947, when she toured Southern Africa.

The Queen celebrated her 21st birthday in South Africa, which was marked by a speech broadcast across the Commonwealth.

On 8 October 1951, Princess Elizabeth and the Duke Of Edinburgh were the first members of the Royal Family to cross the Atlantic ocean by air.

They flew on a British Overseas Airways Corporation (“BOAC”) Stratocruiser aircraft “Canopus” G-AKGK from London airport to Montreal. This was also the first royal tour to start at the airport.

London Air Travel’s Last Monday Briefing For 2022

London Air Travel

British Airways Boeing 747 departs Heathrow airport at sunset with runway signage in the foreground. — BA Boeing 747 Departs Heathrow At Sunset (Image Credit: Heathrow)

It’s a short bulletin this week to say this weekly feature has come to an end for this year.

The site will remain open and new stories will be published, but at a reduced rate. Activity on social media will also be cut back.

This is simply an issue of time due to other projects and commitments over the next few months.

Thank you for reading every week. If you are feeling particularly nostalgic, there are Monday Briefing archives from 2019, 2020, 2021 and this year.

Copyright London Air Travel 2022.

London Air Travel’s Monday Briefing – 29 August 2022

Welcome to London Air Travel’s weekly briefing on air travel around the world, as published every Monday at 06:00 BST.

London Air Travel

British Airways Airbus A380 at London Heathrow at sunset (Image Credit: Heathrow)

Welcome to London Air Travel’s Monday Briefing on this August Bank Holiday for the week beginning 29 August 2022.

The Summer Comes To An End

It’s a public holiday today in England, Wales and Northern Ireland marking the end of summer.

A number of BA summer seasonal routes are now ending for the year.

At Heathrow, Newquay ends this Sunday, 4 September. Of BA’s two routes to The Azores, flights to Terceira Island have ended. Flights to Ponta Delgada end this Saturday, 3 September. Newquay and Terceira Island are not on sale in 2023.

Elsewhere, Pristina ends this Saturday.

Over at London City, a large number of seasonal routes come to an end this weekend. These include Faro, Guernsey, Jersey, Mahon, Quimper, San Sebastián, Santorini, Skiathos, Split and Thessaloniki. These routes resume between May and July next year.

BA’s franchise partner SUN-AIR restarts scheduled flights to Billund for the first time since COVID-19 next Monday, 5 September.

Back to Heathrow, yesterday BA ran a large number of short haul cancellations for November and December.

British Airways Launches Gatwick – Vancouver

British Airways has launched a summer seasonal new route from Gatwick to Vancouver.

London Air Travel

British Airways Lounge - London Gatwick South Terminal — British Airways Lounge – London Gatwick South Terminal (Credit: British Airways)

British Airways has launched a new route from London Gatwick to Vancouver.

BA will fly from Gatwick to Vancouver from Friday 19 May 2023. Flights will operate daily, except on Tuesdays.

This will complement BA’s existing year round service between Heathrow and Vancouver. This normally operates with an Airbus A380 during the peak season, but this has not been scheduled yet for 2023.

British Airways Overnight Bag Drop Changes

Overnight bag drop is now available at both Heathrow Terminals 3 & 5, but only for flights departing before 10:00 the next day.

London Air Travel

London Heathrow Terminal 5 Check-In Concourse (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways has, for many years, offered an overnight bag drop facility at London Gatwick and Heathrow Terminal 5.

This allows passengers to check in and drop off their bags the night before their flight. The service was reinstated post COVID-19.

There have been a few recent changes to the timings of the overnight bag drop facility and rules for checking in bags for passengers not present.

Flybe Launches London Heathrow – Newquay

Flybe will launch a new route from London Heathrow to Newquay on Sunday 30 October 2022.

London Air Travel

Flybe Bombardier Q400 Aircraft, Cornwall Airport Newquay (Image Credit: Cornwall Airport Newquay)

Flybe is to launch a new route from London Heathrow to Newquay from Sunday 30 October 2022.

The airline will fly between Heathrow and Newquay twice daily on weekdays and daily on weekends.

The previous incarnation of Flybe flew between Heathrow and Newquay as a Public Service Obligation (“PSO”) route with funding from Central Government and Cornwall Council.

After its collapse Eastern Airways secured the PSO route – it now serves Newquay up to three times daily from Gatwick.

BA also serves Newquay on a summer seasonal basis from Heathrow, but there are currently no plans for this to return in 2023.

London Air Travel’s Monday Briefing – 22 August 2022

Welcome to London Air Travel’s weekly briefing on air travel around the world, as published every Monday at 06:00 BST.

London Air Travel

Picture of Tracey Emin's installation "I Want My Time With You" at London St Pancras International. — “I Want My Time With You” By Tracey Emin, London St Pancras International (Image Credit: London Air Travel)

Welcome to London Air Travel’s Monday Briefing for the week beginning 22 August 2022.

Alan Joyce Faces Calls To Quit

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce faces renewed calls to resign from the airline.

Yesterday, Qantas offered AU$50 discounts on flights and added frequent flyer benefits as an apology for its operational performance.

Alan Joyce also appeared, sans a high vis jacket, in a video apology:

British Airways Suspends London City – Luxembourg

BA has suspended London City – Luxembourg from 30 October 2022.

London Air Travel

British Airways Embraer E190 Aircraft G-LCYY, London City Airport (Image Credit: London City Airport)

British Airways has suspended its route from London City to Luxembourg.

The route, which only launched in March of this year, is suspended from Sunday 30 October 2022.

All flights have been taken off sale from this date.

BA will continue to serve Luxembourg from London Heathrow.

Passengers whose flights are cancelled can be rebooked on to BA services between Heathrow and Luxembourg. Alternatively, you are entitled to a full refund.

IAG Acquires 20% Stake In Air Europa

IAG has acquired a 20% stake in Air Europa, nearly three years after it first attempted to buy the airline.

London Air Travel

Air Europa Boeing 787 Dreamliner Aircraft (Image Credit: Air Europa)

International Airlines Group has acquired a 20% stake in Air Europa.

This is the latest instalment in a long running attempt by IAG to buy Air Europa from Globalia.

It was nearly three years ago IAG agreed to buy Air Europa for €1 billion in cash.

This was framed as a “transformational” deal intended to boost IAG’s presence in Madrid and make the airport a hub to rival Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris.

Much of course has happened since then. The original deal was first renegotiated post COVID-19. It was then torn up after competition regulators in the UK & EU made it clear they would demand significant concessions. This was both due to the number of overlapping routes and reduction of choice for passengers connecting to long haul routes via Madrid.

London Air Travel’s Monday Briefing – 15 August 2022

Welcome to London Air Travel’s weekly briefing on air travel around the world, as published every Monday at 06:00 BST.

London Air Travel

Loganair Saab 340B Aircraft “Spirit of Caithness” (Image Credit: Loganair)

Welcome to London Air Travel’s Monday Briefing for the week beginning 15 August 2022.

“Sky High Club: Scotland and Beyond”

BBC Scotland goes behind the scenes with the staff of Loganair in a new ten part TV series “Sky High Club: Scotland and Beyond” starting today.

Like similar series there is a focus on human interest stories and a cast of recurring characters. Here’s a precise of tonight’s episode:

Robbie is the youngest pilot to become a captain in the UK. Now 25, he has the dream job, and Kirsten, his dream girl – but there’s one small problem: he lives in Edinburgh and she lives on the remote island of Shetland as part of the customer service team.

Luckily for him, crew members and good pals Shannon and Karolina are on hand to organise a team day out, and offer some solid advice on long-distance relationships.

Moroccan-born Omar has moved from the Canary Islands to start a new life in Scotland. He’s training to become a member of the cabin crew, and having made the big move to Aberdeen for a career with the airline, the pressure’s on to pass gruelling exams or risk having to take off again to another location.

All 10 episodes should “drop” on BBC iPlayer from today. This will be shown across the UK on BBC Three from this Thursday. A full episode guide is available from the BBC.