Contrails15 From United States of America, joined Oct 2008, 1181 posts, RR: 0 Posted (3 years 9 months 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 7802 times:
Okay, so leaving work today on the airtrain going back to the employee lot I saw a Virgin Atlantic 747 taxing with a flag out the flightdeck window. Couldn't see what the flag was, if I had to guess I would say it was the English Flag but its just a guess. Did they start new service today or was it maybe a VIP coming into town for the goings on at the UN this week.
Slinky09 From United Kingdom, joined Jun 2009, 621 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (3 years 9 months 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 7784 times:
I don't know for sure, but the UN general assembly / G20 is about to kick off in New York and Virgin recently tendered lower to get the contract for UK government intercontinental charters. Could it be related to Mr Brown et al heading to New York?
Contrails15 From United States of America, joined Oct 2008, 1181 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (3 years 9 months 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 7738 times:
Quoting Slinky09 (Reply 1): I don't know for sure, but the UN general assembly / G20 is about to kick off in New York and Virgin recently tendered lower to get the contract for UK government intercontinental charters. Could it be related to Mr Brown et al heading to New York?
Thats what I'm think because it was taxing in the direction of the General Aviation building where I know many VIP's go to when flying into JFK.
On a side note, both times the President came in this month, they parked not only the support planes by the triple hangers but AF1 also. Now, I've only been working at JFK for 7 years now, but this is the first time I've seen them park it over there. kinda a pain because all taxi traffic and road traffic by there gets haulted until he's off airport grounds.
Euclid From South Africa, joined Apr 2005, 372 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (3 years 9 months 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 7747 times:
Quoting Contrails15 (Thread starter): Okay, so leaving work today on the airtrain going back to the employee lot I saw a Virgin Atlantic 747 taxing with a flag out the flightdeck window.
Uhm, sorry, not possible. No flightdeck windows on a 747 can be opened.
Contrails15 From United States of America, joined Oct 2008, 1181 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (3 years 9 months 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 7730 times:
Quoting Euclid (Reply 3): Uhm, sorry, not possible. No flightdeck windows on a 747 can be opened.
I know what I saw. The train that I was on was crawling when we past by the plane so I had ample time to see the plane.
Euclid From South Africa, joined Apr 2005, 372 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (3 years 9 months 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 7731 times:
Yes, thought about the cockpit escape hatch, but that's very far from any windows, as you would surely know. It would then obviously be sticking out of the roof, not a window.
WILCO737 From Greenland, joined Jun 2004, 8542 posts, RR: 78 Reply 7, posted (3 years 9 months 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 7697 times:
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Quoting Euclid (Reply 6): Yes, thought about the cockpit escape hatch, but that's very far from any windows, as you would surely know. It would then obviously be sticking out of the roof, not a window.
Quoting Contrails15 (Reply 5): I know what I saw. The train that I was on was crawling when we past by the plane so I had ample time to see the plane.
Difficult to say. I guess he really saw some kind of flag there. Maybe it was from the escape hatch... We haven't been there
Euclid From South Africa, joined Apr 2005, 372 posts, RR: 0 Reply 8, posted (3 years 9 months 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 7662 times:
Quoting Contrails15 (Reply 5): I know what I saw. The train that I was on was crawling when we past by the plane so I had ample time to see the plane.
Quoting WILCO737 (Reply 7): Difficult to say. I guess he really saw some kind of flag there. Maybe it was from the escape hatch... We haven't been there
Not saying he didn't see a flag, just saying it could not have been waved through a cockpit window, but through the roof, yes.
Contrails15 From United States of America, joined Oct 2008, 1181 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (3 years 9 months 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 7648 times:
That could very well be it. I was almost 1/4 mile away so it could have been like the pic above but look to me like it was coming out of the window. However it look like it was coming out the window to me.
Quoting Contrails15 (Reply 10): That could very well be it. I was almost 1/4 mile away so it could have been like the pic above but look to me like it was coming out of the window. However it look like it was coming out the window to me.
There you go. From the roof. As said by Euclid, the windows in the 747 cannot be opened.
Contrails15 From United States of America, joined Oct 2008, 1181 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (3 years 9 months 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 7618 times:
Alphaomega From United States of America, joined Aug 2005, 533 posts, RR: 0 Reply 13, posted (3 years 9 months 1 day 7 hours ago) and read 7331 times:
As for an answer to the original question, VS now has the MoD contract including transport for the Prime Minister, etc and the VS 744 is going LHR-JFK-PIT-LHR for the UN and then G20.
I hope someone got a picture of the VS 744 at JFK - it was parked right next to AF1!
FlyDeltaJets From United States of America, joined Feb 2006, 1631 posts, RR: 3 Reply 15, posted (3 years 9 months 1 day 2 hours ago) and read 7086 times:
Quoting Alphaomega (Reply 13): I hope someone got a picture of the VS 744 at JFK - it was parked right next to AF1!
I was actually trying but PAPD was ancy last night and didnt let me get a good view to take pics. All of my friends in the port were off.
Bongodog1964 From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2006, 3046 posts, RR: 2 Reply 17, posted (3 years 9 months 23 hours ago) and read 6901 times:
The media today report a government source as saying "VS came in at 20 - 30% less, we felt that BA had been overcharging us for years"
The question needs to be asked, if they felt they were being overcharged, why didn't they look elsewhere earlier ?
Of course they did, when Tony Blair suffered the embarrassment of having his DC8 going tech.
If the logical conclusion is that they then decided to use UK airlines exclusively, and at the time only BA had the capacity, thus they weren't overcharged.
Feroze From India, joined Dec 2004, 794 posts, RR: 3 Reply 18, posted (3 years 9 months 23 hours ago) and read 6845 times:
Quoting Bongodog1964 (Reply 17): he media today report a government source as saying "VS came in at 20 - 30% less, we felt that BA had been overcharging us for years"
The question needs to be asked, if they felt they were being overcharged, why didn't they look elsewhere earlier ?
The way I read that statement is "[Because] VS came in at 20 - 30% less, we felt that BA had been overcharging us for years".
The "overcharging" was only realised after the tendering process for the new contract.
Bongodog1964 From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2006, 3046 posts, RR: 2 Reply 20, posted (3 years 9 months 22 hours ago) and read 6808 times:
Quoting Feroze (Reply 18):
The way I read that statement is "[Because] VS came in at 20 - 30% less, we felt that BA had been overcharging us for years".
The "overcharging" was only realised after the tendering process for the new contract.
I could be wrong....!
Your interpretation may well be right, if it is, further questions arise, how was the contract negotiated in the past, and why didn't it reveal this overcharge years ago.
Logically, either the government were wasteful of taxpayers money by not seeking alternative quotes, or at the time only BA was in a position to provide the required service. In the 1st example it would be the governments fault, and in the 2nd no ones.
Either way its not BA's
Soon7x7 From United States of America, joined May 2006, 2819 posts, RR: 14 Reply 21, posted (3 years 9 months 19 hours ago) and read 6169 times:
Yesterday I saw a 707 flying west up the center of Long Island to JFK 2's. Could not see any markings but probably from Egypt or some region like that...anyone know who's aircraft that was?
KL911 From Ireland, joined Jul 2003, 4994 posts, RR: 13 Reply 22, posted (3 years 9 months 19 hours ago) and read 5726 times:
Quoting Soon7x7 (Reply 21): Yesterday I saw a 707 flying west up the center of Long Island to JFK 2's. Could not see any markings but probably from Egypt or some region like that...anyone know who's aircraft that was?
Manfredj From United States of America, joined Mar 2007, 1132 posts, RR: 0 Reply 23, posted (3 years 9 months 18 hours ago) and read 5655 times:
Quoting Bongodog1964 (Reply 17): The media today report a government source as saying "VS came in at 20 - 30% less, we felt that BA had been overcharging us for years"
The question needs to be asked, if they felt they were being overcharged, why didn't they look elsewhere earlier ?
Of course they did, when Tony Blair suffered the embarrassment of having his DC8 going tech.
If the logical conclusion is that they then decided to use UK airlines exclusively, and at the time only BA had the capacity, thus they weren't overcharged.
I think it's quite simply an eccentric millionaire wanting the PM contract so bad he was willing to lose money to get it. After all there has been controversy between these two carriers in the past.
Why doesn't the PM have his own airplane? I wonder how many years they must go under contract until it would have paid for a nice L1011 or something like that
Mtb555 From United States of America, joined Oct 2005, 102 posts, RR: 0 Reply 24, posted (3 years 9 months 16 hours ago) and read 4717 times:
Quoting Soon7x7 (Reply 21): Yesterday I saw a 707 flying west up the center of Long Island to JFK 2's. Could not see any markings but probably from Egypt or some region like that...anyone know who's aircraft that was?
I saw it come in, too. Landed on 22L. It was escorted (actually guided by a PA truck and with a truck on each wing) on its taxi off to its parking area. I didn't catch a full registration, but remember N###L.
25 Bristolflyer: His correction wasn't half as aggressive as your 'I know what I saw' comment.
26 Euclid: Thanks Bristolflyer. I actually typed up a reply last night that would have probably gotten me banned. Contrails15, all I did was point out that the
27 N1120A: Union Flag. Apparently only the Union Jack on a ship. Other than the DC8 fiasco, the main reasoning was the de facto advantage BA has in allsuch thin
28 Contrails15: What are you kidding me. How would you respond when someone says "Um Sorry, not possible". Someone with mannors would of responded something like The
29 Bristolflyer: Well if I was wanting to keep it on a friendly basis I certainly wouldn't have responded the way you did. Euclid's response could have been less conf
30 Avroarrow: Now that we are all hopefully getting along in here, I had a question run through my mind. When the crew secure the emergency escape hatch in the cock
31 Euclid: It can probably just be closed and latched. There's even a photo or 2 in the database of a guy standing partway through the escape hatch while pourin
32 Mtb555: Enough of this banter. Seriously. 2 days already and the thread is still going off topic. Based on how the inside of the door looks, there's a locking
33 Bongodog1964: What "defacto advantage" and what "status quo" ? Until the past few years it was quite usual for the PM to fly on an RAF plane. BA have only provided
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