Economy Class & Beyond

Airplane Art – FlyBe Dash-8 Q400 Landing

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It's Sunday again, so it must be time for some more Airplane art. This week, it's a FlyBe Bombardier Dash-8 Q400 landing at East Midlands Airport (near Castle Donnington, Derby and Nottingham) Unlike  last week, I know this is a Bombardier Dash8 Q400 ;) The image is clickable if you want to see a larger version – and yes you can keep them for your … [Read more...]

Air China to increase its fleet

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Air China has announced that it will be growing its fleet with an order from Boeing. This order is a mixed bag, so lets get to the details, with the following on the books: 2 B747-8I's 1 B777-300ER 20 B737-800's 8  B777-200F's (Boeing 777 Freighter) There are a couple of interesting wrinkles in this order that are worth highlighting. Looking at the passenger side, … [Read more...]

Virgin Atlantic prepares to launch… Little Red

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Well Virgin has been making lots of noises about its UK Domestic services - and now we have a brand name "Virgin Atlantic - Little Red" Little Red commences services on the 31st March, with a short expansion to follow. The routes and dates are: London Heathrow <> Manchester - 31st March, 4 times a day London Heathrow <> Edinburgh - 5th April, 6 times a … [Read more...]

European Commission blocks Ryanair takeover of Aer Lingus

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In what is surprising... well... no-one, The European Commission has blocked Ryanair from taking over Aer Lingus. Commision Neelie Kroes states that the takover would "Have led to dramatically reduced choice for consumers and, as a result, the likelihood of lower quality and higher fares. They were in particular not capable of ensuring that other airlines would enter the … [Read more...]

A350 Watch: MSN1 rolls out with wings, ready for testing

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It's time to turn our attention to the other major player in the big airplane game - Airbus - and their upcoming Airbus A350. The First Flying A350 - MSN1 - Images Airbus SAS This first frame now is structurally complete with its wing and winglets, as well as fairing panels and the main landing gear doors. The plane has also completed a series of indoor tests, … [Read more...]

British Airways and Cathay Pacific expand codeshares

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In the wake of the Joint Business Agreement split-up by Qantas and BA, Qantas has gone off with new partner Emirates, whilst British Airways has decided it seems to spend time with Cathay Pacific. As a result, the following routes from/to Hong Kong will have BA flight codes added, and operated by Cathay Pacific. Hong Kong <> Brisbane Hong Kong – Brisbane – Cairns … [Read more...]

Things NOT to do when missing a flight…

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Can be summed up in this Youtube Video: From the YouTube Video: "A Chinese official was caught on video losing his temper after he missed his scheduled flight at Changshui International Airport. A man and his wife were captured on surveillance video preparing to board their flight in China. Although everything starts out routine at first, it doesn't take long for the … [Read more...]

787 Watch: Boeing proposes a fix…

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It's time for another edition of 787 watch, with late breaking news that Boeing is proposing a fix to the 787 issues. The FAA has released a statement Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari, FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta and other FAA officials met with senior executives from The Boeing Company today to discuss the status of ongoing work to address 787 battery … [Read more...]

More operators accept A320’s … with Sharklets!

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The spread of the midlife update of the A320 - the A320E with Sharklets wingtip devices is spreading further. A quick re-cap on what a Sharklet first though - It's a device on the end of a wing that increases the lift generated at the wingtip, whilst reducing the educe the lift-induced drag caused by wingtip vortices, leading to better performance of an aircraft in terms of … [Read more...]