he invited me to stay with them for a change of scenery, and when my family agreed, I remember being absolutely thrilled. But what excited me most was the fact that I would be flyin g for the first time. We lived just five minutes from Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport. But back then, the
me, just to complete the look!The flight itself was only an hour long, but it felt like it passed in a heartbeat. When I landed in Izmir, my uncle was there waiting for me. They lived in a small town, and word quickly spread that they had a guest from Istanbul who had arrived by plane, no less. I
board an aircraft in my life. We flew from Istanbul to London first, and after a short layover (spent in the First Class lounge) a private door opened directly from the lounge, leading us straight to the Concorde. The aircraft had a single cabin layout with just 100 seats, arranged in a 2+2
terminal was very small. There were no jet bridges or apron bus services, aircraft would park close to the gate, and passengers would walk across the tarmac and climb the stairs to board the plane.As the day of the flight approached, my excitement grew. I had seen so many glamorous scenes in movies, and I imagined myself in one of them. I think Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn had left a deep impression on me at the time. And since my mother was a fashion designer, I was always surrounded by fabrics and patterns. Naturally, the most important question for me was: what would I wear on the plane? Together, my mother and I decided on a chic orange dress. And believe it or not, as a young girl, I also carried a little red makeup bag with
became quite the center of attention. It made a huge impression on me, and to this day, that memory remains vivid and special. Jean-Emmanuel Hay: What is your best memory associated with flying? And your worst? Ferzan Unlusoy: My best memory? During my years at British Airways, we frequently organized fam trips for travel agencies.These trips were often in collaboration with the British Tourist Authority, so most of them involved exploring different regions across Great Britain. But one of them was truly extraordinary, a two-day trip to New York aboard the legendary Concorde. I don’t think I’ve ever been that excited to
configuration. I was lucky to have a window seat. There were two unforgettable sensations for me. The first was the sheer power of takeoff, the moment the wheels left the ground, I remember feeling pressed firmly into my seat as we climbed rapidly to cruising altitude. The second was more subtle: when I placed my hand on the interior cabin wall, I could feel how warm the surface had become due to the friction outside at supersonic speed. I felt the same thrill again on the return flight. One of the iconic gestures of flying Concorde was receiving a certificate signed by the captain, presented in an elegant grey leather folder. I still have both the certificate and the case carefully stored in my personal library, a small but
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BORN TO BE A BIRD BY CLASS & RELAX
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