Anoraks?
We have a common saying at the moment, and that is triggered by a visual cue. That is a vapour trail, 2 or four of them depending on how many engines are producing them, resulting in the phrase
Plane in the sky!
And more recently we have been waving at the pilots, like the train drivers, but from 37,000 feet it's a bit difficult for them to see or be seen.
This has triggered us into looking for cheap flights. Where? Anywhere. But first option was to Luton to see the Leathams, but we have quickly discovered that there is no such thing as a cheap airline. I knew the "taxes" these so-called airlines add on are nothing more than reducing the headline fare by adding more in as "tax", which HM Treasury does not get, but the extent to which is unbelievable. So we are struggling to find a decent option to fly.
But that doesn't stop the aspirations. Or the waving at the pilots.
Now Daddy has his moments, and driving past EDI this afternoon was one of them. We had no time constraints, nowhere to be, nobody to see. So we pulled off the A8 and into the Royal Highland Showground's car park, right next to the perimeter fence of the airfield, alongside three other cars there for the spotting.
Our timing was fantastic. There was almost a queue building up for take-off. Within the 20 minutes or so we were there we had around 10 flights - skewed slightly towards departures than arrivals.
And we waved at every one.
None waved back. Except one. The first plane that passed us, too. On taxi towards the end of the runway both pilot and co-pilot waved back at our little plane spotter. I still haven't worked out who was most chuffed about it - any one of 3 of us I guess!
So in our quest to find a flight, we have made a decision on airline:
Plane on the taxi
Wave to the pilot
- Globespan - only arriving, two non-wavers
- BMI - only arriving, one non-waver
- EasyJet - Both arriving and departing, all non-wavers
- Jet2 - Miserbale Yorkshiremen wi t' monk on
- BMI Baby - only one departing - all wavers!
So in this deep recession, where competition for any business is fierce, we hereby declare that our next flight will be with BMI Baby as their flight decks are manned by real human beings who know that their arms aren't just for pressing buttons and doing pre-flight checklists, or flicking through flight charts or calling for trolley dolly service, but for raising them up and remembering their spotting fans just at the other side of the fence.
And with no better reason than that, our boy's happy!
