The 737 concept first hit the drawing boards back in 1964 and is now the world’s most popular aircraft having carried more than 22 billion people since that time. Right now, there is a 737 taking off or landing every one and a half seconds. Boeing handed over the 10,000th Boeing 737 ever made to US Carrier Southwest Airlines (the world’s biggest 737 operator) this week. The event cemented their Guinness World record for the most produced commercial jet, a distinction it has had since 2006: Boeing says there are now about 4,645 of the Boeing…
Aeroplane News (Saturday)
Category Archives for Aeroplane News (Saturday).
Stunning Qantas 787 touches down in Red Centre
Warning: This post includes the names, images and information of deceased people that may cause sadness or distress to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. I acknowledge these elders and their descendants as I type this on the land of the Jagera people. Qantas’ fourth Boeing 787-9 (rego: VH-ZND)has been delivered to the Australian airline. The plane operating as flight QF 6026 departed Seattle on Wednesday February 2018 at 21:15 local time and 15.5 hours later touched down at Alice Springs Airport at 06:21 local time after a 7,000nm flight. It is not the longest…
40 years ago Concorde touched down in New York
One of my never fulfilled dreams was to fly the Concorde from London to New York! One of the most beautiful planes I have ever seen with all of its accompanying mystique and prestige. This week was the anniversary of the first landing of Concorde at John F. Kennedy Airport on 19th October 1977, after a 19-month battle against the jet on the grounds of noise. Scheduled Concorde flights began on 21 January 1976 from London to Bahrain and Paris–Rio de Janeiro (via Dakar) routes. Paris-Caracas route (via Azores) followed on 10th April, 1976. Air France and British Airways both began service to Washington…
Emirates ups the ante with Triple Decker [updated at Midday]
Recently, Tim Clark, the CEO of Emirates hinted at changes to the Emirates fleet (as well as his own position). The airline runs a fleet that is made up of 777s and A380s only. In fact, they are the largest owner of the 380 with 93 flying currently and 42 on order. Today, Emirates announced the launch of the world’s first triple decker. The airline which was the first to have showers on board will be the first with a pool on board. Emirates showers are currently available only to passengers in the 14-berth…
Unveiled! Now, counting down for 787-10 first flight
Despite being in commercial service for almost six years, it was only in the last six months that I finally got to fly on a 787. Now I have flown five flights with four airlines on both the 787-8 and 797-9. There are now 326 of the 787-8 and 186 of the 787-9 flying, an extraordinary delivery schedule since the first delivery. The company is now delivering 12 a month. Boeing has outsourced production of the Dreamliner to speed up the process. Parts of the plane are produced across the globe and assembled in the Everett or South Carolina.…
My 380th Qantas flight will be on a 380 – of course!
I am very nerdish about numbers and number patterns. I like that this week will see the 11th day of the 11th month! I have recorded every flight I have ever been on since my first plane trip almost five decades ago. A couple of years ago, I matched the aircraft with my flights. So my 737th flight was on a Southwest 737. Then my 747th was on a Qantas 747 (pics left and below), 757 on a United 757 and so on. Sadly the timing of the 787 roll out did not allow me to…
The 787 joins the Red Kangaroo
Of the 93 airlines, I have ever flown, one-third of my flights have been with Australian carrier Qantas. I have flown their 747s a total of forty-two times plus 182 of their 737s, multiple 767s and 18 Boeing 717s (although this is really a McDonnell Douglas product). I never flew any Qantas 707s or 727s. [See Comment below] I have been impatiently waiting for their red kangaroo logo to appear on the tail of a 787. In 2012, Qantas canceled 35 Dreamliners and delayed the options they had on 50 more. This week, the airline announced that their…
Goodbye to the Cathay 747
More on Hong Kong! The 747 has long been one of my favourite aircraft since my first flight was in 1971 from Hong Kong to Sydney, Australia with Pan Am. I celebrated my birthday on the flight with a cake. Cathay Pacific flew their first 747 in 1979 and eventually owned 54 of the type. Their 747s have carried over 160 million people across the globe! Of my 96 Jumbo Jet flights, six have been on six Cathay 747 flights of them over that time (see below. NB The Hong Kong to Paris route was flown twice).…
Ethiopian’s 350 takes flight.
On June 29, Ethiopian Airlines collected its first A350XWB becoming the seventh operator of the type after Cathay Pacific Airways, Finnair, LATAM Airlines, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and Vietnam Airlines. They are the first African Airline to take delivery of the A50. It’s first 350 is named Simien Mountains, after the world heritage site Ethiopian mountain range. To celebrate, the airlines achieved the world record of creating the largest ever human image of an aircraft with 350 members of staff standing in formation wearing bright yellow uniforms. The Guinness World Records adjudicators verified the record! Ethiopian’s first…
Booked my first A350 flight with Thai Airways Royal Silk [updated]
UPDATE: December 2016: Sadly, due to issues with Thailand’s air safety authority, Thai has not been given permission to deploy A350s on Australian flights. So I am on a 777 instead. Still looking forward to the flight. I am very excited to have booked a seat on Thai’s new Airbus A350-900 Royal Silk Business Class product from Bangkok, Thailand to Melbourne, Australia later this year! Thanks to the last Avianca deal which gave me a 125% bonus on purchased miles! I was able to use these miles to get a seat at a very good price with Thai…
Recent Comments