They rumbled down the runway in perfect formation as if taking part in an audacious international air show.
Which is exactly what it was, as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic temporarily put aside their rivalry to mark the first day British travellers could once again fly to the United States – complete with a synchronised take-off of two Airbus A350s bound for New York from Heathrow.
Crew waved US flags, passengers were given jam doughnuts decorated with the Stars and Stripes, and Anglo-American bunting was hung throughout the cabins, as the planes took to the skies at 8.30am, giving lift off to one of the busiest and most lucrative aviation corridors in the world.
Virgin Atlantic cabin crew staff at London Heathrow Airport's T3 ahead of the departure of Virgin Atlantic flight VS3
Mark Palmer, the Daily Mail's travel editor with British Airways brand ambassadors Elysa Marsden and Eugenia Okwaning before his flight to New York
Performers engage with travellers as they queue to check into Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines flights at Heathrow Airport Terminal 3
Given that it’s more than 600 days since the US travel ban was introduced by former president Donald Trump, there was not a spare seat to be had on either BA flight 001 – the fight number previously reserved for Concorde – or Virgin’s VS3.
One of those seats on the BA plane was occupied by Sean Doyle, the airline’s chairman and chief executive, who assumed the role of a breezy captain as he took to the tannoy and welcomed passengers, hailing the flight as a ‘real moment of celebration’.
Also on the flight with me were Bindiya Patel, 59, and her daughter Bhavna, 31, from Croydon, south London, and both looking forward to meeting the newest member of their family, Kai, who was born last October in Manhattan.
A performer dressed as Elvis Presley engages with travellers as they queue to check into Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines flights at Heathrow Airport Terminal 3
Virgin Atlantic flight VS3 performed a synchronised departure on parallel runways alongside British Airways flight BA001 heading for New York JFK to celebrate the reopening of the transatlantic travel corridor
‘I am so excited about seeing my first grandchild that if they had a dance floor on the plane I would be on it right now,’ said Mrs Patel.
‘We wanted to be at the baby shower and then hoped to be at Kai’s first birthday but we couldn’t. We’ve got a placard to wave with Kai’s name on it when we arrive and I dare say my son and his wife will have one with our names, too.’
No-one was pretending that yesterday’s fanfare matched that of October 4, 1958, when two BOAC planes, each carrying around 45 passengers, also took off simultaneously – albeit one from New York, the other from London – in what is regarded as the first commercial transatlantic jet service – but it came close.
‘The importance of this route can not be over-stated,’ Mr Doyle said. ‘And there’s no way we could claim to be “Global Britain” without travel to and from America.
‘I never thought it would take so long for restrictions to be lifted but it’s still a great day for us and our passengers.’
In 2019, 22million people travelled between the US and UK – and transatlantic flights were worth an estimated £8billion a year.
It’s that pot of gold at the end of the runway that has long attracted ambitious new entrants to the relatively short London to New York hop.
Freddie Laker tried and failed in the 1970s, Norwegian Air gave up on the route last year, and Wow Air went bust in 2019.
Louise Erebara, 52, who emigrated to the US from Manchester 34 years ago was waiting with her family (pictured) for one of the first BA flights to land in New York.
After the sisters embraced (above) Jill Chambers, 57, from Darwen, Lancashire, said: ‘I cannot stop crying. None of us can. I find it so hard to believe we’re finally here.’
Today, transatlantic flights account for 70 per cent of Virgin Atlantic’s revenue.
BA intends to put on 183 flights to various US destinations this week, compared with 316 in 2019.
The resumption of passenger flights to and from the US means Thanksgiving and Christmas are back on for many families.
But there are still various obstacles to overcome before you can order that first glass of celebratory chardonnay and start watching as many movies as you can.
In addition to making you fill out
