The celebrity's choice

The Scouts had a very rare opportunity to visit one of the most prestigious charter airlines in the World. Bookajet is a relatively new company which had only just settled in the new facility at Southampton Airport after expanding from Farnborough and this was the first organised visit to the company by an outside organisation.

Bookajet is the choice airlines for many celebrities including the Beckhams. Its luxurious private jets and first class service are used to ship these people to their appointments all over the world.

 A selection of Bookajet's fleet

Behind the scenes

The trip gave everyone a fascinating insight into both aircraft engineering and the operation of such an executive company. The day was led by the Security Manager who introduced everyone, and made sure we all kept to the strict rules. He then showed us an airport security training video, which gave an insight into the precautions that are taken at airports and within airlines.

Everyone was then in for a shock when they saw security training aids. These were the things that people look for to prevent terrorism, disasters, crime and promote the safety of others.

 One of the Hawker 125s

Looking under the hood

This was followed by a very educational talk by the Chief Engineer. He gave great answers to all the questions thrown at him. We looked at how an engine and wings work. As well as getting to look around a plane that was being dismantled for parts. He even showed us some samples from air accidents like a propeller that was bent (they have these for training purposes).

Looking at the structure of a section of aircraft wing

Looking inside a modern jet engine

Sitting in the hotseat

We got to look around four different kinds of aircraft. From the small Jetstream, a Hawker 125-700, a Hawker 125-800, as well as a Embrear 135. This even included what was provided for the customer, such as the crystal glass, the expensive champagne, bone china and all the silver laid out for everyone to see, but not to touch!

The fine china - a bit different to Ryanair!

An expensive selection from the onboard bar

The Chief Pilot and the Chief of Avionics explained all about the controls of an aircraft and how the electrics work. This involved sitting in the cockpit and seeing all the different instruments and learning what they are all for.

The huge amount of controls inside the cockpit

The unseen crew

After lunch and a brief birthday celebration, we went on a tour of the rest of the building. We met the staff of the operations department for the day, who gave us an insight into flight planning and the mountains of paper work behind each flight. Then we carried on round through the offices. Every door you go through is locked and coded. At the end of the building we were by the side of the runway in the executive departure lounge. They opened up the hangar doors for us all to look outside and watch the aircraft take off and land.

On the apron viewing the airfield

A photo opportunity with Beckham! Not in person unfortunately, but a signed giant photograph.

With some of the staff (Engineering Manager & Chief Pilot)