I was fortunate enough to be a steward, then a purser on Tridents. Happy days with not an enormous wheelie-bag or chav in sight. We were so very spoiled and fortunate to work for BEA, BOAC and BA. Notice half of the seat rows in the rear cabin on the Trident 2E faced rearward.
Another fabulous video from the golden age of aviation. Several beautiful shots of TWA 707s and 747 from both TWA and Pan Am, but the Solari flip board is the icing on the cake of this vid.
Thanks for the upload - I am from a BEA family and this brought back many happy memories. Recognised a few people as well. However, BEA/BOAC merged shortly after this film was made and the aspects of BEA became merged into the larger and more dominant BOAC operation. I remember my father telling me in 1972 that a merged company was to be formed, and he drew on a piece of paper using my colouring pens, what the new BA logo would look like.
Wow, as a kid in the 60's and 70's I used to plane spot and watch Tridents, Viscounts, Vanguards, BAC 1-11's (e.g. Dan Air, British Midland & Court line in their various shades of colours etc), Dan Air Comets, French Caravelles, Bristol Brittania's (of Monarch Airlines etc) and a whole host of other types coming in and out of Birmingham airport including Aeroflot and Aviogenix Tupolev 154's, various Boeing 727's (Iberia, Varig etc), Boeing 707's (you cannot mistake those engine sounds for anything else), and the 737 100 series (e.g. Brittania Airways and others); in fact you were spoiled for choice and variety at one time. But BEA had the monopoly at Birmingham whereas BOAC used to fly straight into London, but all of these aircraft had 'characters' of their own, not like today where most aircraft are of a very similar design and seem to merge into a 'generic' style and shape irrespective of the manufacturer or model number and certainly not as interesting as they used to be. But i guess we must needs move on in the name of greater efficency and safety.
Those were the days of what flying was always meant to be, not jumbled up and treated like sheep as we are today. I remember the professionalism along with a type of style and glamour that is now aviation history. To have been part of that history is wonderful now that I am in my more mature age. 'Memories, like the corners of your mind'.
That was YZ on her way back from hot and (not so) high trials at Sharjah. RAE sent their Shackleton to some amazing air to air promotional shots over Kyrenia, the Panhandle and the Troodos mountains - think it was ‘71
Narrated by Patrick Allen, whose voice could both chillingly reassure in a film about nuclear armageddon 'Protect and Survive' and excite in commercials about Barratts' Homes. His voice personified the optimism of the early go getting 70s before it all went tits up. Peerless.
Back when Airplanes were beautiful and every one looked different. Great days. The Trident was the fastest airliner in the world and the wing was designed to be extremely efficient at high cruise speeds. In fact every modern wing is basically a derivative of that wing concept. And if you look closely you will see that the front wheel is on one side, again unique and clever.
My Uncle used to work for BEA. Once a year, a few of the dads would take a couple of car loads of the “kids from the street” to join the late night maintenance shift at LHR and they could sit in pilot’s seat and get shown around.
One more comment as a unique experience of mine....(1974) Flying from Heathrow to Edinburgh on my way to my college, AST in Perth-Scone , on a Trident,.....sitting in the aft rows,......during short final , i experienced the INFLIGHT REVERSE.....(scary) Later on , i flew as a crew the 727,....was discussing this feature, that we were unable to do......lol
Info to viewers! I grew up in Cyprus as a member of an expat family, dealing with aviation. Namely my father was a station Engineer there. The shots of Trident Three ,ground and inflight, plus the shot of the test equipment in the cabin, were filmed at Nicosia Airport! The prototype model #3 had arrived from hot weather trials in the Gulf , then BEA , chose the quiet Nicosia airport for some ads and promotion films. An Olympic Airways Allouette Astazou helicopter was leased from Athens, an external cameraman seat was placed on the side, to offer unique scenes (not all of them here). I was a teenager , keen on airplanes, watched the whole thing day by day,...went onboard , saw all these test equipment, the barrels of water to simulate weight etc...... Nice memories , from a now extinct airport since the Turkish invasion of 1974......
Funny thing, On September 73,....left Cyprus to go study in Scotland , aboard a BOAC VC-10, that made a stop at Nicosia , coming from Lusaka , on its way to Heathrow....memories my friend! Parents rented a hotel apartment for 2 months every summer in Famagusta......, my last time summer 73.....
When I was a kid my family used to fly BEA from LHR to Belgrade/Zagreb to visit family and friends in the early 70s. I can still remember the flight crew kept the cockpit door open on final approach to BEG on one flight. I recall sitting with my sisters in Terminal 1 waiting for our flight to Yugoslavia watching the PA and TWA arrivals on Runway 28R. We continued to fly to Yugo on BA after '74. By this time they'd switched to BAC 1-11s from Tridents on that route. My last flight on BA from/to Yugo was August '81 on a Trident 2 from Zagreb-LHR.
At a pre base training party in the Silver Wing club he told us (and that included Geoff Brusson, P2 in the clip) that we were basically unadventurous wimps and should drink a bit more … which we then did in Dirty Nellie’s …
4:50 - the crew with young FO and senior captain looks like the sort of scene on the ill fated Staines flight and few years later. All ‘yes sir’, no one dare question the captain in those days.
Not so - one had to and did, raise questions and concerns but in a polite and professional manner. PI was a very sad but unrepresentative day when several holes in the Swiss cheese aligned. BEA’s Monitored Approach was the forerunner of today’s Crew Resource Management (CRM)
On celebrating British Airways 100th year with retro liveries on 3 747s and just 1 A319 in BEA livery, they missed painting up an A319/320 in that lovely Speedjack livery seen on this film.
Great Company with high standards and many innovations. Sadly they come together with BOAC and together the built BA. But the high standards of BEA and BOAC could BA never fullfill, sadly enough.
Hilarious ---but only in very sad way!!! "They were named Trident because(--every one made a DENT -at least 3 times in as many years into 'terra firma'. No doubt the guy "got his rocks off too" I am a retired pilot!
Good humor,....the truth though lies in the fact that BEA made a poll about the name , the Greek stuff , voted for Τριαινα=Triaina = Trident , something similar to the Americans calling the 727 "a three holer"....ahahahaha I am retired myself too!
@@SalisburyPlainAviation You are of course quite correct about BEA/BA European Division not operating 707's. However, in December 1976 when travelling on a BA scheduled service from LHR to LCA we were not happy to find that the flight was operated by a British Airtours 707 with uncomfortable high density seating instead of the expected BA Trident 2.
Nothing beats a clear, well pronounced British accent for narration, so rare nowadays unfotunately.
Great video. I joined BEA as a cabin crew member, Fabulous company to work for.Best years of my life.Truly number 1.
I was fortunate enough to be a steward, then a purser on Tridents. Happy days with not an enormous wheelie-bag or chav in sight. We were so very spoiled and fortunate to work for BEA, BOAC and BA. Notice half of the seat rows in the rear cabin on the Trident 2E faced rearward.
I remember the Trident . You may have flown with my father as well . Great days lots of British aircraft !!
Golden days of aviation. Proper service, uniquely individual aircraft
Another fabulous video from the golden age of aviation. Several beautiful shots of TWA 707s and 747 from both TWA and Pan Am, but the Solari flip board is the icing on the cake of this vid.
Thanks for the upload - I am from a BEA family and this brought back many happy memories. Recognised a few people as well. However, BEA/BOAC merged shortly after this film was made and the aspects of BEA became merged into the larger and more dominant BOAC operation. I remember my father telling me in 1972 that a merged company was to be formed, and he drew on a piece of paper using my colouring pens, what the new BA logo would look like.
When flying was a true occasion!
I love it! You dressed up, not down when you went up in the air! BEA/BA still have the same flight no to/from OSL as they did in the 60s!
Great video. Amazing to think that those computer systems were cutting edge.
That food looks edible too!
HS Trident was a fascinating airliner
Wow, as a kid in the 60's and 70's I used to plane spot and watch Tridents, Viscounts, Vanguards, BAC 1-11's (e.g. Dan Air, British Midland & Court line in their various shades of colours etc), Dan Air Comets, French Caravelles, Bristol Brittania's (of Monarch Airlines etc) and a whole host of other types coming in and out of Birmingham airport including Aeroflot and Aviogenix Tupolev 154's, various Boeing 727's (Iberia, Varig etc), Boeing 707's (you cannot mistake those engine sounds for anything else), and the 737 100 series (e.g. Brittania Airways and others); in fact you were spoiled for choice and variety at one time. But BEA had the monopoly at Birmingham whereas BOAC used to fly straight into London, but all of these aircraft had 'characters' of their own, not like today where most aircraft are of a very similar design and seem to merge into a 'generic' style and shape irrespective of the manufacturer or model number and certainly not as interesting as they used to be. But i guess we must needs move on in the name of greater efficency and safety.
Wasn’t it so civilised and fun back then. The crew doing the announcements were so professional. Not posh and stuffy, but friendly and trustworthy.
Was a golden days . Even passengers was different .
Those were the days of what flying was always meant to be, not jumbled up and treated like sheep as we are today. I remember the professionalism along with a type of style and glamour that is now aviation history. To have been part of that history is wonderful now that I am in my more mature age. 'Memories, like the corners of your mind'.
Nice take off to the west of Nicosia, right at the end. I spent hours as a child admiring the Tridents at Nicosia airport
That was YZ on her way back from hot and (not so) high trials at Sharjah. RAE sent their Shackleton to some amazing air to air promotional shots over Kyrenia, the Panhandle and the Troodos mountains - think it was ‘71
Awesome,,, I used to go to Switzerland as a kid mid 70s on Tridents,,,,,saw one at Duxford Museum,,Thanx for a great vid,,,
Narrated by Patrick Allen, whose voice could both chillingly reassure in a film about nuclear armageddon 'Protect and Survive' and excite in commercials about Barratts' Homes. His voice personified the optimism of the early go getting 70s before it all went tits up. Peerless.
Back when Airplanes were beautiful and every one looked different. Great days. The Trident was the fastest airliner in the world and the wing was designed to be extremely efficient at high cruise speeds. In fact every modern wing is basically a derivative of that wing concept. And if you look closely you will see that the front wheel is on one side, again unique and clever.
I flew from Heathrow to Dublin as a boy in 1978 . The aircraft was a Trident , wonderful airliner !
My Uncle used to work for BEA. Once a year, a few of the dads would take a couple of car loads of the “kids from the street” to join the late night maintenance shift at LHR and they could sit in pilot’s seat and get shown around.
One more comment as a unique experience of mine....(1974)
Flying from Heathrow to Edinburgh on my way to my college, AST in Perth-Scone , on a Trident,.....sitting in the aft rows,......during short final , i experienced the INFLIGHT REVERSE.....(scary)
Later on , i flew as a crew the 727,....was discussing this feature, that we were unable to do......lol
Excellent video. I have to say I always preferred the older ‘Red Square’ livery. Nice that the red wings survived into the Speedjack livery though.
Wonderful memories.
Super Film ! Danke !
Info to viewers!
I grew up in Cyprus as a member of an expat family, dealing with aviation. Namely my father was a station Engineer there.
The shots of Trident Three ,ground and inflight, plus the shot of the test equipment in the cabin, were filmed at Nicosia Airport!
The prototype model #3 had arrived from hot weather trials in the Gulf , then BEA , chose the quiet Nicosia airport for some ads and promotion films.
An Olympic Airways Allouette Astazou helicopter was leased from Athens, an external cameraman seat was placed on the side, to offer unique scenes (not all of them here).
I was a teenager , keen on airplanes, watched the whole thing day by day,...went onboard , saw all these test equipment, the barrels of water to simulate weight etc......
Nice memories , from a now extinct airport since the Turkish invasion of 1974......
memories, flew in from Lusaka on Zambia airways DC 8 & had a weeks holiday in Famagusta then flew out with Bea, all gone
Funny thing, On September 73,....left Cyprus to go study in Scotland , aboard a BOAC VC-10, that made a stop at Nicosia , coming from Lusaka , on its way to Heathrow....memories my friend!
Parents rented a hotel apartment for 2 months every summer in Famagusta......, my last time summer 73.....
@@IFLYTOO the similarities, I believe this was July 1973 & the hotel was called the st George in Famagusta
As you said, the similarities!.....and all gone.
Just some pictures, and memories, lots of memories!
@@IFLYTOO have been back a few times but it would appear it's become a Russian holiday destination or is that Limassol?
B E A UTIFUL.
Excellent, great quality video.
When I was a kid my family used to fly BEA from LHR to Belgrade/Zagreb to visit family and friends in the early 70s. I can still remember the flight crew kept the cockpit door open on final approach to BEG on one flight. I recall sitting with my sisters in Terminal 1 waiting for our flight to Yugoslavia watching the PA and TWA arrivals on Runway 28R. We continued to fly to Yugo on BA after '74. By this time they'd switched to BAC 1-11s from Tridents on that route. My last flight on BA from/to Yugo was August '81 on a Trident 2 from Zagreb-LHR.
The trident is absolutely beautiful!
great clip!
Captain Gilman's biography "From Croydon to Concorde" is a great read.
At a pre base training party in the Silver Wing club he told us (and that included Geoff Brusson, P2 in the clip) that we were basically unadventurous wimps and should drink a bit more … which we then did in Dirty Nellie’s …
3.55. Great shot of QANTAS V jet 707. QANTAS turns 100 this year !
4:50 - the crew with young FO and senior captain looks like the sort of scene on the ill fated Staines flight and few years later. All ‘yes sir’, no one dare question the captain in those days.
I wonder what that captain shown on the flight deck thought of Capt. Stanley Key? He most certainly knew the infamous training pilot,...
Not so - one had to and did, raise questions and concerns but in a polite and professional manner. PI was a very sad but unrepresentative day when several holes in the Swiss cheese aligned. BEA’s Monitored Approach was the forerunner of today’s Crew Resource Management (CRM)
This upload was a delight to watch,,,
flew in a bea trident from Nicosia to Heathrow in the early 70's just before Cyprus split
read my comment!
Wartime pilots wore their medal ribbons. M.
Wonderful stuff. Thanks for posting.
I started flying in 1989 and I remember lots of the senior girls had started many years earlier on BEA
People were just totally different then. How the world and its standards have changed. What a shame.
Incidentally I purchased some Trident and Vickers VC-10 from British Airways,,,yep they look great,,,
12:24 the oxygen mask behind that lady just fall down
Indeed, you are correct! Sharp eyes..., so much for that "enjoyable trip". :)
Well spotted. The shadow can be seen too. M.
This is a good thing. It proves that it is not stuck in the up position.
After all that booze, they'll need the 02 to refresh before landing in Athens. Opa! :)
They're to pissed to care Lolololo
Fun fact, I wore leather jeans to Athens in 1999. The only boy to do so in my drama class on a school trip lol.
Why isn’t BA CityFlyer called BEA? With the old colours too... it would be great
I was surprised by John Cunningham's statement (17:09) "The Trident entered service with B.E.A. in 1965" when, in actual fact, it was 1964.
Amazing!
They barely knew they would stop existing three years later...
The first regular passenger London to Paris service was by Handley Page Airways in 1920s.
Patrick Alan Met him in Portugal in 19 71
I am serving the little girl
On celebrating British Airways 100th year with retro liveries on 3 747s and just 1 A319 in BEA livery, they missed painting up an A319/320 in that lovely Speedjack livery seen on this film.
I had thought it was called Trident because of three engines.
Yes , because the trident has 3 spikes ,the one Neptune carried...
“Oh Stewerdess, I speak Jive.”
golly
British European Airways serving flights within Europe but for example London to Paris that's still considered an overseas flight.
The narrator same voice is captain star from tugs
Great Company with high standards and many innovations. Sadly they come together with BOAC and together the built BA. But the high standards of BEA and BOAC could BA never fullfill, sadly enough.
did not know they were about to get the tristar
Looks like the Athens flight took off as Trident 3, yet taxied at destination as Trident 2?!
My wife's uncle was a captain on the trident for BEA sadly his plane crashed on take off very sad
Captain Stanley Key?
BEACON was ICL not IBM operating system
Otherwise brilliant video
My Dad at 13:50
7:58
I wonder how much a flight to Paris cost in the early 1970s, adjusted for inflation??
What is Britain proud of these days?.
Mass immigration?
Tridents has backward facing seats? 7:10
Just two rows
Then along came easyJet.
Hilarious ---but only in very sad way!!! "They were named Trident because(--every one made a DENT -at least 3 times in as many years into 'terra firma'. No doubt the guy "got his rocks off too" I am a retired pilot!
Good humor,....the truth though lies in the fact that BEA made a poll about the name , the Greek stuff , voted for Τριαινα=Triaina = Trident , something similar to the Americans calling the 727 "a three holer"....ahahahaha
I am retired myself too!
I don’t think BEA operated the B707
BEA Airtours operated 707s on IT charters from Gatwick. But you are right, BEA didn't use them.
@@SalisburyPlainAviation You are of course quite correct about BEA/BA European Division not operating 707's. However, in December 1976 when travelling on a BA scheduled service from LHR to LCA we were not happy to find that the flight was operated by a British Airtours 707 with uncomfortable high density seating instead of the expected BA Trident 2.
It means moody captains who will crash their airplanes by moving the droops in too early.
Search: 'RED ONE TO LONDON' Thames Television Documentary 1973 Restored 2024