Planes, Trains & Automobiles - Lufthansa 747-400 Upper Deck & A Drive around Scotland

[yflyer]

Final approach...



Over Nicoll Drive...



On the ground, thrust reversers deployed...



It was great to be back home!



We taxi'ed past the Changi sign on the way to our gate. What a familiar and welcome sight!



We were at our gate and of the plane a few minutes later.



One last look at the Queen of the Skies...

[yflyer]

There are very few opportunities to fly on a 747 these days. While Lufthansa, Air China and Korean AIr still operate fleets of 747-8's for passenger service, LH is the only airline still flying the 747-400, and these are slated for retirement by the end of 2027.

To me, the 747 is an absolutely special aircraft to fly on. The 747-400 was the first aircraft able to fly nonstop between Singapore and London, and for me personally, many of my most memorable trips over the years have been on 744, whether on SQ to London or San Francisco (via Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport), or QF to and from Australia, not to mention flights on other airlines' 747, where at one time in the not so distant past, almost every major airline flew the 747 as their flagship aircraft type..=

In that context, to say I enjoyed the flight LH780 FRA-SIN on the upper deck would be a big understatement. I had an absolutely wonderful flight. Questions about whether the LH 744 J seat is competitive with more modern seat products fade into irrelevance. The seat was fine, the experience was priceless. There's nothing like the 747, and nothing like a long haul flight on the 747 upper deck. I was very happy to be able to share this experience with Mrs yflyer and also Miss yflyer no.2, who hopefully now has a better understanding of why her father has such an obsession with airplanes and commercial aviation.

[yflyer]

As for Scotland and the UK -- we had a wonderful vacation. We were very lucky with the weather on our trip. The weather was mild and sunny for most of our trip, with just a couple of days where the mercury got a little high, into the low 30's. It was a great time of year to be in Scotland and the UK, with long daylight hours and lots of sunshine.

Full credit to Mrs yflyer who did the research and planning for our itinerary, hotel stays, restaurants as well as how to get around the country. We were very happy with our the chosen hotels, and our car rental and train journeys went without a hitch.

Highlights included our stay on Islay, as well as Staffa and Fingal's Cave (I still owe it to Miss yflyer no.2 to plan a trip somewhere to see puffins, which we missed on Staffa). Heading between Fort William/Edinburgh and London by train was also something I would recommend, especially the Caledonian Sleeper between Fort William and London.

From an aviation perspective, if you are into military aviation and history, IWM Duxford is a must visit.

With airfares being what they are these days, I think it will be a while before we take such a long and farflung vacation. Till then, we have memories of this trip to happily recollect.

Thanks for reading!

[SQ218]

That's quite an epic trip, yflyer. Thanks for sharing.

[yflyer]

That's quite an epic trip, yflyer. Thanks for sharing.

It was certainly very memorable! We really enjoyed ourselves. Thank you for reading, SQ218!