20: London City
to Shannon (LCY-SNN)
Chosen by Captain
Dave Wallsworth
'London is an amazing city to fly over. Taking off from London City, the plane points directly towards Canary Wharf and the Docklands. As soon as you're airborne you get an excellent view straight down the River Thames. You pass just west of the Olympic Village, then head towards the Severn Bridge and south Wales. Flying into Ireland on a nice day you can see why it's called the Emerald Isle, as it's bright green. The journey to Shannon is scenic with plenty of hills and rivers along the way.'
21: Buenos Aires to Santiago (EZE-SCL)
Chosen by Captain Sean O'Callaghan
'Short of flying over Antarctica at low level, flying down the spine of the Andes is probably the most scenic flight you can do. When you begin the flight, the landscape is brown and red, which contrasts with the brilliant white of the snow as you reach the mountains. The Andes is the second highest range of mountains in the world and you get to pass by the Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Americas. On the approach to Santiago you have to fly between two mountains into a valley: it's really quite exciting.'
18: London Heathrow to Leipzig Halle, Germany (LHR-LEJ)
Chosen by Captain
Graeme Hindhaugh
'This was my most memorable flight because I was flying into East Germany before reunification for the first time. We only had permission to fly there once a year for an annual trade fair. The day of the flight the weather was overcast, as you might expect in a spy movie set in Eastern Europe. Landing, I was struck by how grey it was, but flying to Leipzig in the following years you could see the city transform as its economy developed.'
17: London Heathrow to Barbados (LHR-BGI)
Chosen by Captain Paul Griffin
'I flew the last scheduled commercial Concorde flight from Heathrow to Barbados. Crossing the Atlantic we travelled at 60,000ft. At that height, thunderstorms and weather systems take place far below you — and flying over huge storms allows you to get a sense of the power of nature. In Concorde, you flew very high to avoid releasing sonic boom over land, so we didn't get views of the Caribbean islands, other than Barbados. Our arrival blocked all the roads around the airport because people were lining the beaches to see us land.'
16: London Gatwick to Jersey (LGW-JER)
Chosen by Senior First Officer
James Blanch
'My lasting memory from this route is flying over the Channel on a beautiful summer's day. I flew in from the east, straight over 200ft cliffs. Looking down over Jersey's coastline I could see people surfing and flying kites. Jersey is quite unusual in that you can see the whole island as you land, so you get some great views. Any 30-minute flight poses certain challenges, but this route is nevertheless enjoyable.'
Interviews: Ianthe Butt. Missed any previous instalments? Catch up on entries 30-26, 25-21, 15-11, 10-6 and 5-1 which include trips to Zambia, Gibraltar and Sydney.
Plan your Perfect Day in London or the Caribbean at facebook.com/BritishAirways.
