Economy Class & Beyond

Plans for Thames Estuary airport to be pulled

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The plans for Thames Estuary Airport - or to some, better known as "Boris Island" looks like to be heading to the bin, according to the BBC and the Financial Times (Paywall). Thames Estuary Airport - or Boris Island. Rendering, Foster + Partners. Sir Howard David, who is leading the commission states in its report: "We are not persuaded that a very large airport in the … [Read more...]

Airplane Art Extra – Qatar Airways A350 breaks cover

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It's Monday, and I'm still a few days behind on releases - so its time for some Airplane Art Extra as Qatar Airways and Airbus have released images of the the first Qatar Airways A350 to be delivered to the airline. The first Qatar Airways A350 rolled out of the Toulouse Hanger - Note the missing engines. The Qatar Airways A350 ready to roll out of the paint shop - Image … [Read more...]

Airplane Art – Lufthansa Boeing 747-400

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It's Sunday again - and after muggins having spent most of the day doing car shopping (which is another subject for another day) - it must be time for some more airplane art. This week, taxing out of San Francisco International Airport for the long trip back to Frankfurt, is a Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 looking resplendent in the summer sun. The image is clickable if you want … [Read more...]

Safety Video Saturday – KLM Boeing 747-400

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Its Saturday again, so please stow your luggage in the overhead bin, put away your tray table and bring your seat into the upright position as we go to this weeks safety video. This week, we go back in time a bit as KLM Royal Dutch Airlines demonstrate safety aboard their Boeing 747-400 aircraft with some very classic clothing (something that does tend to date videos a … [Read more...]

COMAC moves ahead with the C919

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At GhettoIFE, we do like looking at new and shiny aircraft - both those in the air, and those in developement. COMAC - The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China - has been working away on its answer to the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families (as well as the impending competition from the Irkut MC-21) - The C919. C919 model, Model COMAC Their aim is deliver a narrow body … [Read more...]

Germanwings strike tommorow (29th August)

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All is not well with Germanwings, with a strike in the offing from the Vereinigung Cockpit Union tomorrow. Germanwings Airbus A319 taxing at Heathrow - Image GhettoIFE The strike is over pilots who want the airline to maintain its current retirement benefits -  where they can retire early at 55 and continue to receive some of their wages. Germanwings owners - Lufthansa - … [Read more...]

Etihad outlines its A380 and Boeing 787 plans

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Etihad Airways is fine-tuning its Airbus A380 and Boeing 787-9 operation plans as these new planes are readied to enter service as the airline announced via Twitter yesterday: From the Eithad Twitter feed The A380 plans call for the superjumbo to operate daily on all three flights between London and Abu Dhabi from May 2015, whilst Sydney will convert to a mixed A380/Boeing … [Read more...]

Changes at GhettoIFE over the next few weeks

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Good afternoon on this Bank Holiday evening gentle reader. Thank you first for bearing with my bad typing, poor grammar over the past few months and years (I'm improving it one post at a time... try being dyslexic - doesn't help, even with all the spell checkers and grammar checkers in the world... it's even more fun when they argue amongst each other). Now, onto the matter … [Read more...]

Airplane Art – Cathay Pacific Airbus A330-300

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It's Sunday again, so it must be time for some more airplane art. This week, it's a bit of a classic (as I found this image in a batch for images for an article I'm writing at the moment), with a Cathay Pacific Airbus A330-300 aircraft returning to its home base of Hong Kong International Airport, as the thrust reversers are deployed to slow the plane as it lands. The image … [Read more...]

Video Saturday – Emirates 50th Airbus A380

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It's Saturday again, so it must be time for another video. This week, the Emirates Airbus A380 fleet grows to fifty aircraft, cementing the airlines position as the lead carrier to operate the type around its world-wide network http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApKBQn9T60s Emirates operate 50 Airbus A380s out of the total worldwide fleet of 138 aircraft, and by far and away the … [Read more...]