British Airways’ pilots have selected their top 10 views from the air. Its an interesting list and a few of these must be on the bucket list!
1. Northern Lights – North America
‘If you’re not already asleep this is an amazing sight three to four hours into most long North America flights. Well worth staying up for!’ Captain Dave Willsher, British Airways
2. Central London – Approach into Heathrow
‘Most flights approach Heathrow from the east – a great opportunity to get an unbeatable view of London. A perfect welcome to London.’ Captain Mark Mannering-Smith, British Airways
3. Mont Blanc – Pisa
‘A breathtaking view of the Alps and especially of Mont Blanc that comes around an hour into this two hour flight.’ First Officer Caroline Robinson, British Airways
4. Sydney Harbour – on departure from Sydney
‘When leaving Sydney, sit on the right hand side of the aircraft to get the best views of Sydney Harbour.’ Captain Derek May, British Airways
5. Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and bay – San Francisco
‘Great whichever side of the aircraft you’re on for flights departing San Francisco. You get great views of the bridge on the left hand side of the aircraft, Alcatraz from the right, and the bay from both!’ Captain Simon Scholey, British Airways
6. Greenland – North Atlantic flights
‘Greenland is visually stunning. The tips of mountains can be seen poking through the snow which is over a mile deep. Occasionally you will be able to see icebergs carving off glaciers around the coast.’ Senior First Officer Peter Nye, British Airways
7. Venetian canals – Venice
‘This is especially good on a departure to the North East as you circle back over the city.’ First Officer Joanne Tait, British Airways
8. Cape Town, Table Mountain
‘On early morning arrivals from the North it’s great for Table Mountain and the bay.’ Senior First Officer Kate Laidler, British Airways
9. Dubrovnik
‘A terrific approach into Dubrovnik over the bay to the North East.’ Captain Al Bridger, British Airways
10. Mount Fuji
‘Whether arriving or departing from Tokyo (Narita) you can see Mount Fuji sticking out of the clouds.’ Captain Chris Hanson, British Airways
….and finally the Soyuz 35S space craft!
“While flying to Singapore I had the rare privilege of seeing the Soyuz 35S space craft returning to Earth. I later discovered that in addition to the three astronauts on board, it was also carrying the Olympic torch which had just been taking for a spacewalk for the first time ever!” Captain Simon Wijker, British Airways
And a little plug for BA!
British Airways has a total of 42 787s on order with six already flying services to Newark, Toronto, Austin, Chengdu and Hyderabad. As well as having windows that are 30 per cent larger than other aircraft the 787 gives one of the quietest and smoothest rides of any aircraft.
Photo credits: “Northern Lights” by Timo Newton-Syms is licensed under CC BY 2.0
