| [OTD] 25th September 1977 - Launch of Skytrain Posted by grahame at 08:34, 25th September 2026 |     |
Launch of Skytrain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laker_Airways
Lisa and I actually met Freddie Laker, who's later Laker Airways ran a Fort Lauderdale to Gatwick service in 1996/7/8. Lisa was living in Naples, Florida, I was living in Wiltshire and had been over there for a holiday / to spend time together and she had driven me to across Alligator Alley to catch my flight home which boarded and then sat on the gate while a technical issue was being addressed.
In those days, people seeing you off could go to the gate area, and Lisa was there and waited ... and when it was obvious the delay was not short, asked if the crew could get me off to spend a few minutes longer together. Made out it was a special occasion / day. And they did let me get off. Freddie Laker, who was based in an office at the airport had come down to support his team and customers at the gate, was there and as I recall we exchanged a few friendly works. One of the two most memorable partings around that time ... the other was at Reading station after our very first meeting, at a time we thought we would probably never meet again. As the doors of a 165 (or was it a 166?) closed. Funny how things happily transpire.
| Re: [OTD] 25th September 1977 - Launch of Skytrain Posted by Oxonhutch at 09:07, 25th September 2026 | |
Flew myself with Laker Airways in 1979: London to Los Angeles for £99. Ate my own sandwiches on board before clearing US immigration at Bangor, Maine which was about the halfway point. Landed at LAX and unloaded miles away from the terminal - just some wheeled steps and the luggage unloaded onto the tarmac. I left through a back gate to the airport to meet my US hosts.
| Re: [OTD] 25th September 1977 - Launch of Skytrain Posted by Bob_Blakey at 10:00, 26th September 2026 | |
One return trip on the Laker Skytrain DC-10 in late 1982 LGW > LAX. A work trip involving the testing of some new oil industry subsurface measurement equipment using the Wilmington Oilfield (Long Beach) artificial island boreholes.
My abiding memory of the (outbound) flight was the very unpleasant odour of atmospheric pollution in the cabin approaching Los Angeles.
| Re: [OTD] 25th September 1977 - Launch of Skytrain Posted by GBM at 12:08, 26th September 2026 | |
Oh yes, Skytrain.
We were booked with them (via travel company Cosmos) for a two week tour of the far West (Coast of America) for our honeymoon.
Laker Airways went bust around a month before we were due to fly.
Subsequently booked both ways with Delta Airlines.
The film "On Golden Pond" was shown on the screen both ways (in the days when the film was projected on the front cabin wall).
