Yesterday, I took a rare opportunity to do some tourism in my home-city, London. In my day out, I made a special effort to visit the ‘Emirates Air Line’. The fact that it’s sponsored by Emirates was always bound to help, but every detail in the Emirates Air Line, a cable car running across the River Thames in East London, was tailored to avgeeks. From the announcements about a cruising altitude of 90 metres, and the close proximity to London City airport and great view of the steep approaches, it made me smile.
However by far the most impressive part of the attraction was the Emirates Aviation Experience museum. It featured several interactive displays for learning about the engineering feats required to get an A380 off the ground, as well as a model Rolls Royce jet engine, surround-cinema and my personal favourite: an A380 cockpit. There were also some rows of Economy seating installed at the museum, though I’d question their purpose, apart from reminding you of the dire leg-room for Economy Class passengers these days. In my opinion, installing some Business/First Class seats would make far more sense, to advertise their premium cabins.
Also at the museum were 4 full simulators available for hire at £60 per 30 minutes, two 777s and 2 A380s. The pricing was quite steep in my opinion, so I didn’t partake, especially seeing as professional, realistic moving simulators can be rented at a similar rate. The attraction also had a café and an Emirates-merch shop.
Full Experience passes were available to buy at £10 for adults and £6 for children, which includes a return trip on the cable car and entrance to the museum. Alternatively you can use your Oyster card for travel on the cable car.
Final thoughts
This is a great day out for avgeeks, especially in a family/with the kids. In fact, it will make you feel like a kid again. The Aviation Experience itself isn’t that big, but they cram so much in there that you could easily spend an hour or more looking around, and make a day-trip out of it. The views on the Emirates Air Line are also great if you’re coming to the English capital as a tourist.
