Heathrow Queen’s Building – part 2
Aviation is a fast-paced business. Airlines come and go, liveries change, aircraft types enter service – or are retired. Following on from my previous article on the Heathrow Queen’s Building, here are a few more aircraft, airlines and liveries from yesteryear. BOEING 747 CLASSICS It’s the 50th anniversary year of the Boeing 747 and back […]
Bromma to Arlanda: Scandinavia part two
Bromma to Arlanda. This article completes my January visit to Scandinavia – part one is here. Stockholm Bromma airport was the main airport for the city until Arlanda was opened in the early 1960s. It is still Sweden’s third busiest airport. Like many early airports the surrounding land has been built on and further expansion is […]
RAF Tornado final flypast
Get set for the Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado final fly past. Across three days, 19 to 21 February 2019, the RAF will say goodbye to its Panavia Tornado fleet with a series of flypasts across the United Kingdom. Tornados returned to RAF Marham, Norfolk earlier this month marking their final return to the UK […]
Boeing 747 vs Airbus A380
Boeing 747 vs Airbus A380. It’s been the battle of the giants since Airbus first launched its A380 model in December 2000. A battle between the ‘Queen of the Skies’ and the new upstart. And today, Valentines Day 2019, Airbus conceded defeat. First announced as a project at the Farnborough Airshow in 1990, Airbus wanted […]
LATAM Business Class: Madrid to Frankfurt
How many modes of transport can you fit into a day? And all to arrive back at the same place. This little adventure started out when I found that LAN (now LATAM) operated a Boeing 787 between Madrid and Frankfurt – and had some very competitive business class fares on the route. So, the chance […]
When will passenger Boeing 747s finally retire?
When will passenger Boeing 747s finally retire? The “Queen of the Skies” is in her twilight years. Boeing has built over 1,500 Jumbo Jets since the type’s first flight in 1969, but now fewer than 200 remain in passenger service. And that number is set to dwindle rapidly over the next few years as older […]
When will the Boeing KC-46 enter service?
When will the Boeing KC-46 enter service? Boeing yesterday handed over the first Boeing KC-46 Pegasus air-to-air refuelling aircraft to the United States Air Force (USAF). However, the USAF is withholding full payment due to ongoing issues with the new aircraft. These include problems associated with refuelling the Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II, the air force’s […]
Air France closing “difficult to understand” subsidiary Joon
Air France is closing its “difficult to understand” subsidiary Joon. First rule when creating a new product is probably “know your market”. When Air France launched Joon in 2017 it said the airline’s name was a take on “jeune”, French for “young”. Its target base was supposed to be millennials and it seemed deliberately designed […]
British Airways retro jet and £100 flight offer
Many aircraft enthusiasts have been hoping for a British Airways retro jet and as part of its 100th anniversary this year, BA is finally going to make that dream come true. There is also a limited time special GBP100 flight offer. The flight offer only runs from 21-24 January, so I’ll deal with that first. […]
A visit to Oslo Gardermoen airport and the SAS Museum
Brrrr. There are probably better times of the year to visit Oslo Gardermoen airport and the SAS Museum, but I chose to go in early January. It was only -10 Celsius. And there was just a few feet of snow on the ground. So, what brought me here at an inhospitable time of year? A […]