OK, I got to see the planes yesterday, and the news is (mostly) pretty good. The jumbos European Aviation Ltd have acquired (and chartered to Travel City) are former BA stock that was auctioned off after Sept 11. They are 747-200s (actually, the variant is a 256 for anoraks, a BA specification) and will have been completely refurbished by the time they start duty on Saturday (June 29). They boast extremely smart new paintwork (in EAL colours), but the interiors still look BA-ish. The economy cabin is just as you find on a BA flight of two years ago - no seat-back TVs but a decent 31/32" of knee room, and there will be 16 flight attendants for every flight (all trained up by EAL, who also trained the ATA staff who have worked for Travel City in the past, so a pretty decent standard). The Sunshine Cabin, which is 32 economy seats on their own upstairs, should be quite interesting, as it will have its own dedicated cabin staff, an upgraded menu and a fairly quiet style (they won't accept children in this cabin except for peak periods). The Sunshine First cabin right at the front of the plane has business-class seats that recline to a very generous degree and have acres of knee room, plus individual TV screens that fold out of the seat (with a choice of 7 or 8 films at a time, they think). It holds just 22 people and has been very popular, with all the early flights fully booked for this cabin. Overall, this looks like being one of the best charter options available (provided the service is up to scratch). All meals, drinks and headsets are free of charge, too.
Simon
Jessie
