While spending the week in Madeira, I had two days where I got sometime do go to the airport for some spotting. Madeira Funchal has a viewing deck which is free to anyone. The deck is split in two, one side being for the public and the other for people departing on flights. The weather was nice the whole time, and I got quite a few aircraft. I deliberately went on days when there was a major traffic mix of German and European flights, Monday was busier- but full of UK Airlines I could easily see at LGW or LTN.
Here is a link to the video I filmed whilst spotting at Madeira on June 30th 2015.
Friday July 3rd came about and we eventually went to the airport to check in and catch our flight. Like last week, it was running nearly an hour late due to the previous flight.
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It turned out to be G-OZBU again. The white-tail Monarch Airlines Airbus A321 that flew us there the week before. On the way out to the plane we stopped by the open doors and I got a brilliant picture of a British Airways Airbus A320 just in from London Gatwick.
We got onto the aircraft. We were all booked into Row 29. Which meant boarding from the rear so I got a good bit of footage of us boarding the plane on an open stairway. Which was brilliant.
We finally pushed back and departed on our 3 1/2 hour flight to London Gatwick. The take off was similar to the experience in Gibraltar on the Monarch Airbus A320. We went out hard and fast. It was like departing an Aircraft Carrier.
We banked out over the Island of Madeira climbing through the clouds. I also flicked through my seat contents.
About 10 minutes into the flight, the flight attendants came down the isle ensuring all the orders for meals were as they were on the booking. The meals arrived about 30 minutes after departure.
This time the meal option was braised beef ale with carrots and dumplings. There were also the Butler's Secret choice of Cheese and Crackers with a wholemeal roll with lurpack butter and a sticky toffee desert. As standard there was a tea or coffee free with the meal, which is £8 when booking your flight. I also paid for a Twix and Orange Juice for later in the flight.
The flight was uneventful. Very smooth. I spent time reading the May & June 2015 editions of Airliner World and listening to my MP3 for most the flight. I went to the on-board facilities once as a means to ask the cabin crew if they could ask the pilots if I could go into the flight deck once we had landed. They said it should be ok. So I only had to hold in my excitement for an hour or so.
An interesting note on this flight for me, this was my first flight to have a female pilot. Which was awesome. A recent report said that 'statistically' a majority of people are uncomfortable with female pilots. I personally didn't have a problem.
We began our decent into London Gatwick over the English Channel. I took some images on our decent of the English countryside as we lined up for London Gatwick.
We arrived smoothly and as we taxied to our stand I noticed we were going two be next to a pair of Boeing 737. One of which was of Iraqi Airways. An airline I had not yet caught in person, I couldn't get a decent image through the aircraft, so after disembarking (via a visit to the flight deck) I caught the Iraqi Boeing 737-800.
All in all a great holiday and flight.
