Meet the BA super fans

What do you collect?
We’ve always taken home bits and pieces from aircraft we’ve flown on – menus, amenity kits, that kind of thing. We also have framed fuselage skin cuts from various 747s and individual seat number signs that mean something to us. I love our magazine rack, an old 747 relic that is now stuffed with our food menus, ticket wallets and boarding passes – nice memories of the times we’ve flown in Club and First.

Do you have a favourite piece?
Our crowning glory is our seat belt and no smoking and lavatory signs – as bought from the last British Airways 747 we ever flew on: the G-CIVY 747-436. My husband David, ever the creative engineer, wired it up to our downstairs loo, so when the door closes, the ‘Occupied’ sign lights up – a party favourite in our house that sparks laughter and admiration from all who visit.  

How long have you been interested in aviation? 
Before meeting David – a man whose passion for aviation was shaped by his childhood travels on British Airways aircraft – I actually had very little interest in airplanes beyond their practical function. He’d had the aviation bug since a trip on the TriStar to the Middle East, aged six, and (albeit many years later) the bug inevitably came for me, too. Soon, our travel plans became less about the destinations themselves and more about aircraft types, routes and seating arrangements. The upper deck of the British Airways 747 – ‘the bubble’ as it was often called – quickly became my favourite place in the world.

And why do you guys collect 747 memorabilia specifically? 
She’s the Queen of the Skies for a reason! The thrill of ascending to the upper deck and the sense of wonder those journeys evoked was unparalleled. Phrases such as “Does the 747 fly that route?” became common in my and David’s everyday conversations. As retirements of the 747 accelerated, our collecting passion notched up a gear, with us scrambling for as many pieces of its legacy as we could find. 

Is there anything on your memorabilia bucket list?
Our collection is still very much ongoing as we continue to fly with British Airways, but also because there are still two items we dream of owning. First, a whole 747 window cut-out that we could frame. And second, one of British Airways’ server trolleys that we can transform into a fancy drinks cabinet.

What do you collect? 
I started collecting British Airways memorabilia about five years ago when I came across Plane Reclaimers. From then on, I was addicted. It started off with small things such as skin cuts (10cm squares of fuselage skin from my favourite aircraft) then moved up to crew seats. Then I progressed to whole window cuts of various planes – mainly British Airways’ Boeing 747s, my favourite aircraft – one of which I have in the form of a cool wall clock. What can I say? It’s a very addictive hobby!

Do you have a favourite piece?
It has to be the centrepiece of my collection: a Boeing 747 wheel coffee table. I just find it fascinating that this wheel has been all around the world to so many different countries and right now it’s sitting in my living room. Every time I look at it, I just imagine all the places it will have been to, how many runways it’s landed on. And now, it’s home to my cup of tea!

How long have you been interested in aviation? 
My interest in aviation began as a boy when I used to go to Birmingham airport to wave off my dad, since he worked all around the world. From seeing that first plane take off I was hooked – I used to spend hours and hours watching them. Even now, it’s still as fascinating to me as it was back then – watching these mighty machines get off the ground.

Is there anything on your memorabilia bucket list?
I know I’ll never own it, but I would have loved a pod at the bottom of the garden made out of a section of British Airways aircraft fuselage, with the curved top and windows on the side. Think of it like a small garden summerhouse, but with a glorious aviation twist.  

What do you collect?
During the 1980s, British Airways started operating Concorde charter flights all over the world and official stamp covers were issued for each new destination. I have hundreds of them, including for the very first to Bahrain in 1976 and the final ever flight to the Filton Museum in 2003. The airline used to give Concorde passengers a free gift on board and over the years I’ve added most of these to my collection: key rings, diaries, hip flasks, tankards, pens, chinaware, luggage tags, drinks mats, photograph frames, wallets… Most were made by high-end brands such as Royal Doulton and Cross. Since discovering online auction sites, I now have plates, mugs, bookmarks, postcards, stickers, thimbles, glassware, ashtrays, paperweights and models. I also have a large collection of Concorde menus.

Do you have a favourite piece?
A pair of passenger seats I recently purchased from another collector. In 1999, a company called Factory Design was commissioned to design new seats for the fleet, working with Terence Conran. In the end, due to the retirement, these had only been fitted to five of the seven Concordes. Made from carbon fibre, titanium and aluminium, and covered in blue Connolly leather, the seats were made by Britax Aircraft Interiors at £14,000 a pair! I had long wanted them and they now take pride of place in my living room: sleek and stylish, reminding me of my two flights for the rest of my life. If only I could afford the caviar and Champagne! 

What was your first piece of BA memorabilia? 
I’ve worked at British Airways for 25 years (currently as an airside driver for IAG Cargo), but it wasn’t until October 2003 that I started collecting – when Concorde was withdrawn from service. The staff magazine we received that month included an advert for a final day stamp cover signed by the pilots to commemorate the retirement. I wanted something to mark my two Concorde flights: a solo day trip to New York in 2002, and then aboard one of the final flights from New York to London with my brothers and mother – we’d managed to keep the Concorde flight a secret from her and she burst into tears at JFK! This was the start. 

How long have you been interested in aviation?
My interest started around aged eight when my grandmother took me to Heathrow during the school summer holidays to see my uncle, who worked for Scandinavian Airlines at the time. We spent the day on the roof of the Queens Building, which housed the observation deck, watching the planes come and go. This is where I saw Concorde for the first time. I've been hooked ever since. I’ve travelled all around the world visiting air shows, air bases, museums and airports and have flown in lots of different types of aircraft, everything from a DC-3 Dakota over the Colombian rainforests to a WWII Spitfire over Kent.

Is there anything on your memorabilia bucket list?
The one thing that would complete my collection would be a Concorde nosecone. With its amazing droop design for take-off and landing, the nose was one of the things that made Concorde stand out from all the other planes. There is one on display in the Concorde Room at Heathrow’s Terminal 5. If BA ever wants to get rid of it, I can give it a good home!

Are you a BA super-fan? Email us at theclub@omc.com for a chance to be featured in a future issue.