From Victoria to St Kitts: lucky commuter bags free British Airways tickets in station flight simulator competition

 
Winner: Peter Newlands edged it after getting his eye in the previous day
Robin de Peyer8 May 2014

It's not the scene most people would imagine when they picture flying into the Caribbean.

But Victoria Station has been transformed into a Mecca for sun seekers as they try to land a seat on a free flight to the white sands of St Kitts.

Punters are queuing up in their dozens to try their hand at a temporary British Airways flight simulator installed at one of London's busiest commuter hubs.

A set of handsets and screens greets them at the front of the line, and they are given a quick-fire virtual training session before being let loose at the wheel of a computer-generated jumbo jet.

'Pilots' then navigate a series of obstacles, scoring points for how well they negotiate the course.

They then land in sunny St Lucia and wait for their scores to show on the leaderboard.

Each person to come out on top during a short period then sees their name and 'flight card' photograph flash up on Victoria's big screen and collect the paperwork for their winning airline ticket - as well as one for a friend.

Organisers say they are expecting thousands of people to turn out to take advantage of the offer, with flight destinations varying from day to day.

Other getaways up for grabs - as well as St Kitts on Thursday - include Barbados and St Lucia.

Peter Newlands, a 29-year-old civil servant, got lucky for the second year in a row after winning a free trip to Sri Lanka last year. He's now planning to take his girlfriend, Becky.

"I came down yesterday and had a go and I was terrible. But today I sneaked in ahead of another guy with 17 seconds spare! I felt a bit sorry for him..." he admitted.

After being handed a goody bag to get him in the mood for his trip, he added: "I'll probably go in the winter; it's nice to get out of London and spend a bit of time in the sun!"

Other winners, Mike Cobb and Victor Mellors, both 25, said they had made a pact that they would go together if they came out on top of the leaderboard.

'Not the real thing but bags of fun'

I didn't imagine my first stab at piloting a plane would be in the busy concourse of Victoria Station - but it is in fairness the closest I'm ever likely to come to the real thing.

The flight couldn't quite be labelled long-haul, clocking in at just a couple of minutes - but twisting and turning through a series of aerial obstacles was nonetheless fun.

Sadly for me, I was a million miles from the winning score. Even so, I might just be tempted to go back for a second go now I've got my eye in.

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