Orlando FL to New York/JFK to London Heathrow✈: 24.4.2002

Описание: Orlando to New York/JFK heading to London Heathrow✈: 24.4.2002
After an amazing 3 weeks in the US

Delta DL#2376 B737-300 (N304WA) boarding at Gate 74 Terminal B
Flight 2 hours: 6 min

N304WA leased to Delta in 1987 withdrawn from service in 2011 and stored in Moscow Vnukovo.

I checked out of Four Points Hotel at 151E Washington Street and was picked up by my shuttle to Orlando International Airport taking the Interstate 4 South until we reached the 528 onto Exit 11 dropping off at Delta departures at the main terminal building. I passed through the security checkpoint fairly quickly and caught the monorail running through picturesque landscape to the gates just before boarding started and settled into row 18A window seat. We taxiied to Rwy 17L and took off to the south, before turning east and made left turn to the north and followed the coast all the way up to New York. The crew were very kind - snacks and drinks were served half-way through the flight.

We started our slow descent, broke through the clouds and were soon on our final approach to JFK, flaps retracted coming over Atlantic Ocean/Long Beach area heading northwest over Inwood Country Club, Head of Bay Basin, hovering above Rwy 4R then 4L alongside Jamaica Bay before touching down on Rwy 31L as the Pratt & Whitney JT8 ‘clam shell’ thrust reversers deployed to slow down the aircraft. Manhattan skyline can be seen in the background as we turned right and taxied to T3; on the way we spotted Air France Concorde, Singapore Airlines B747-400 and Alitalia MD-II parked at Terminal 1, eased past Delta B767 and docked at Gate C66 Worldport aka Flying Saucer rebranded Terminal 3 for Delta.

After deplaning, it was great to see SAA B747-400 Flight #SA204 at the apron bound for Johannesburg, the iconic 320 feet high ATC Tower behind it. From here I walked to baggage claim and Ground Transportation where i boarded a free shuttle bus to Terminal 7, five hours before my connecting flight, from where British Airways operated announcing stops over the intercom to drop off passengers at different terminals along the way guiding you to your airline and in time time to see my plane from London arrive.

New York/JFK to London Heathrow/LHR✈️
Always a pleasure touching down at Heathrow

Speedbird Flight BA 175 B747-400 (G-CIVU) sporting Utopia ethnic ‘Wings tail livery (just love it, but not every Brit’s cup of tea)* boarding at Gate 3, Terminal 7
Flight 7 hours: 10 min

Boarding was on schedule and after a warm welcomed by the crew; i settled in Row 45K, a comfortable seat with 32’’ of legroom and 6.5-inch seatback IFE touchscreen.

The safety video came on as we pushed back; once engine start up was complete, we taxied onto Taxiway Alpha, past T1, T2, T3 and lined up for 20 min to get to the eastern side for 13R takeoff. Positioned and cleared by ATC, the engines roared into life as we rolled away alongside Jamaica Bay and were airborne over 4R as we turned left in an easterly direction, fast climbing into the glorious night sky following the Great Circle Route over the Atlantic, Eastern Canada, Greenland and Iceland.

Once we reached 38,000 feet, the cabin lights came on and the IFE came back to life as i watched ‘The Bourne Identity’. The crew began serving drinks and taking dinner orders. I watched BBC News as Pope John Paul II confronted the US clergy sex abuse scandal head on. I had dinner halfhour later as we passed Nova Scotia: braised British beef in chasseur sauce with rice, bread roll, salad and cheesecake for desert. The food tasted good - i couldn’t have asked for more from an amazing BA crew. After dinner I watched another movie and caught some sleep.

Day was breaking when the cabin lights were turned up, and a light breakfast of orange juice, sliced fruit, yogurt and coffee was served an hour before landing as we crossed the Irish coast, my eyes glued on ‘Spy Game’Game’ in which Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays the assistant to a retiring CIA veteran portrayed by Robert Redford on a mission to rescue his former protégé, Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt). After the cabin was cleared, we broke through the clouds as the plane began its descent over Bristol, whilst watching ‘Ali’ on the life of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali played by Will Smith, when pre-landing cockpit announcement interrupted the IFE; soon after the seatback map indicated we were 22km to destination.

The crew vectored the plane for a 270-degree ‘big turn’ over South London to align it with 27R along the River Thames on our final approach as we touched down and taxied to a remote stand. We deplaned through Club World and i had a peep in ‘First’ before disembarking onto the tarmac, the auxiliary power unit on and the 4 Rolls-Royce RB-211-524H2 engines in close-up view, as we boarded a shuttle bus to T4.

I cleared immigration, walked outside the terminal and headed back to the underground station to catch a tube to Central London #PiccadillyLine🚇 getting off at Earl's Court.