Where else would l care to celebrate my 75th birthday other than cruising at 37,000ft onboard a Qantas, double-decked, Airbus A380 aircraft operating as the QF2, the daily London-Sydney service. I came to this realisation as we were overhead Delhi on the subcontinent of India on my way home from my extraordinary 3-months, extended vacation in England & Scotland.
Who ever would have thought that l would even make this milestone in my life?
I arrived home here in Sydney only 48-hours ago, after a 24-hour flight from Heathrow International Airport. As everybody knows, I am a retired Qantas 'Trolly-Dolly', having flown Internationally for the company for 34-glorious years.
So what happens with me when I book a ticket to fly from point A to point B through the Qantas network? There is no guarantee that I will be on that aircraft. I will only be permitted to board the flight if there is space available. That means I travel on a stand-by basis & usually never knowing that you will be on that flight until the last moments.
Needless to say the last hour before the aircraft is due to depart is a very anxious period not knowing weather you will be on board or not. This is the penalty you pay for a reduced airfare of which l should not bitch about.
Anyway, to cut a long story short & (as you know my stories are usually long), the powers to be were on my side out of London’s Heathrow International Airport on the eve of my 75th birthday on Monday 29th August ‘22.
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(Above) My photo of the Qantas in-flight moving map as we make our way down over the Indian subcontinent.
I was fortunate enough that there was a spare seat for me on my return flight back to Sydney, not only that l was upgraded to Premium Economy of which l was very grateful for on that first leg from LHR-SIN.
Due to a technical fault with the aircraft, we were delayed for 1-hour on our departure from LHR, l really didn’t mind the delay as long as l was on board the aircraft. Hopefully the Technical Crew would make up some for the delay because the flying time from LHR-SIN was 13-hours.
After the aircraft departed LHR, the cabin crew served a bar & meal service, that usually takes approximately 2-hours to complete. Once the bar & meal service was completed l decided to introduce myself to the operating cabin crew to have a chat as l usually do on a flight being a retired cabin crew member.
(Above) Where else would l want to celebrate my 75th birthday than at 37,000ft onboard a Qantas Airbus A380 aircraft, traveling as the daily QF2, as we flew overhead Delhi of the Sub-Continent of India on my way home from my extraordinary 3-month's vacation in England & Scotland.
One thing led to another & l mentioned that it just happened to be my 75th birthday & that l was a retired Qantas 'Trolly-Dolly' of 34-years service & would like to have a photograph taken with one of the female flight attendants just as a keepsake & memories of my flight.
Almost immediately, one of the young ladies put her hand up & agreed with my request, her name is Greta Musso, a London-based Qantas flight attendant, she wasn’t even born when l started flying in 1974. (see photo of Greta & myself in the galley).
This crew do the leg from LHR-SIN, Greta was such a darling & could not do enough for me. By now the crew & l were on first names basis that made me feel that l was still flying even though l have been retired for 15-years.
This crew do the leg from LHR-SIN, Greta was such a darling & could not do enough for me. By now the crew & l were on first names basis that made me feel that l was still flying even though l have been retired for 15-years.
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(Above) My view as we transited over numerous countries on my birthday 'day' travelling at 925 k/mh.
During the flight l decided to take some photos of the onboard navigation map that is displayed on the seat-back screen in front of you that lets you know exactly where you are at any given moment of your journey.
Before our descent into Singapore, I decided that l should go back to the Galley to thank the crew for looking after me so well on my 75th birthday. To my surprise as l walked into the Galley all the crew sang happy birthday to me & Greta said that she had made up a birthday present for me out of the First Class goodies. (see photo).
As you can see in the photo below, the gift consisted of a pair of First Class pyjamas, a First Class Toiletries pack, & she had used a First Class Menu as my birthday card.
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(Above) My birthday gift from Greta and the Qantas Cabin Crew.
I was completely humbled by their generosity & rest assured I will never ever forget my 75th birthday onboard QF2, LHR-SIN on 30th August ‘22. I was quickly bought back down to earth on the final sector from SIN-SYD.
As l mentioned earlier, you only have a seat on space available basis, because the flight was almost completely full l was down-graded to economy class for the journey to Sydney, l managed to get the last seat onboard. Thank heavens.
The sector from SIN-SYD is only 8-hours, so l just thanked my lucky stars that l got the last seat on the aircraft & we arrived at Sydney International Airport on schedule at 05:10am on the 31st August.
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(Above) After over 24-hours of continuous flying, with only 1-stop in Singapore, we are finally on our descent into Sydney.
What a fantastic job the Tech Crew had done to make up that hour's delay out of London to arrive on time into Sydney at 05:10am. My son Nathaniel was waiting patiently in the arrival hall to pick me up & take me home to the glorious Sutherland Shire (of postcode 2230).
That my friends is the fabulous story of my journey home from the 'Old Dart' onboard the QF2, a Qantas Airbus A380 aircraft, a perfect ending to cap off my 3-month extended vacation in England & the Scottish Highlands.
Cheers
Warbo
Footnote: Just to let you all know that l haven’t finished with you all as yet. In my next Blog post, l am going to tell you an unbelievable yarn about one of the male flight attendants that was operating my flight from LHR-SIN. The chances of what happened would be millions to one, trust me. So stay tuned you will love this coincidence that is truly unbelievable.
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