Celebs In The Air

I see Hollywood stars don't limit themselves to the usual transatlantic airlines.

 

Anyone ever spotted/traveled with the rich and famous while flying Biz/First? I suppose it must happen quite a lot, but I tend to walk around with my eyes closed (figuratively...usually). LA to Paris a while ago (Air Tahiti Nui!) there was a couple of obvious model/actress types I got chatting to for a bit, but it I think I was supposed to know who they were, so it seemed a bit rude to ask...

 

Judging by the 'celebs on BA' thread on Flyertalk, their transatlantic route from LA to London is a hotbed for A Listers. In First, of course!

 

We saw Chris Hemsworth (Thor/James Hunt) in the lounge at LHR couple of years ago. Had to remind my wife she was married, and that I was right next to her!

 

Ask for a picture with them, then you can figure out who they are (if anyone) later. Only potential problem here is if they aren't famous and just a couple of pretty young ladies on holiday, then you just look creepy.

 

In the Concorde Room?

 

No, we were slumming it in Club World that day. It was the Galleries lounge in T5B.

 

Haha, no I was playing it cool... or something.

Actually that's clearly a lie now I think about it - My chief memories of that flight are drinking far too much champagne (standard), being repeatedly told by LA lovelies how great my accent is (fairly standard in that part of the world), and eventually crashing out while watching hit DIsney musical 'Frozen' (not standard, I promise. I don't remember singing, so it could have been worse!).

Generally speaking, I have a strict no photos policy when it comes to celebrities, following what should only be described as an unfortunate incident involving Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Bobby Charlton, a small bar in Malta, and my then boss...

 

I had an unfortunate incident with Roger Moore. Not his fault, but it put me off seeking photos.

 

How was your experience on that plane?
hope you have an amazing service out there

 

Agreed. I wasn't going to say...

 

Too-rah, Loo-rah?

 

Just noticed this thread... I've flown or lounged with quite a few VIPs.

Number one was the Queen of Spain! (the old one, while she was still queen) Same J row, other side of aisle on a MAD-BCN. Flight attendant asked me to stay seated so that she could deplane first. Err... of course... it's the freaking Queen!

 

I think that 'wins' so far

 

I travelled on a flight from Irkutsk to Moscow with about 30 of Russia's most famous "thesps". They were on a tour of the provinces, and clearly enjoyed their trip to Irkutsk (not far from Lake Baikal) as they each had a packet on their lap of some of the endemic fish species - considered to be a delicacy in Moscow.

I had two thoughts:

1. If ever a plane was going to crash, it would be one with 30 "Artists of the Russian People."
2. By the time we would reach Moscow, we would have been in a cabin with at least 30 room-temperature 60cm fishes wrapped only in paper....the smell would be so bad that I'd want the plane to crash.

Luckily all was fine. I guess the gradual change of smell was largely unnoticed, although my clothes did smell a bit weird for my next leg to London.

 

Excellent!

Yes, the headline writes itself horribly easily.

What's that part of Russia like?

 

My wife's from Irkutsk, so I've been there quite a few times. I've had -45C in Winter and +40 in summer (so hot that the glue on my rubbish shoes started to melt).

Irkutsk is probably the most significant city in mid-Siberia. It seems to be the one that everyone visits to break their trans-Siberian rail journey. It's a cultured place with multiple universities. There's a good amount of handsome architecture and historical sites; but it also has the 60s/70s era Soviet apartment blocks in vast numbers.

The city sits on the river Angara, less than 50 miles from Lake Baikal...the oldest and deepest lake in the world. Even if you don't like Irkutsk, Baikal is fascinating.