OK, I’ll admit it. I’m the one who arrives at the airport hours early. But I’m not worried about missing my flight, since I checked in online and know that it’s only going to take me a few minutes if I go through security on the mezzanine level at YYZ. No, I’m here because I love airports, aircraft and the process of travel. I’m a prepared passenger. I know my airport codes and airline abbreviations, and where in the plane I’ll be sitting.
AvGeeks and Plane Spotters wait for the British Airways A380 inaugural at YVR.
Written for the Airline Passenger Experience Association – APEX.aero
How do #AvGeeks show their love of aviation? Our regular contributor […]
“Mr. Slutsken, would you and your wife please join us in the lounge at the back of the cabin?” asked the Purser, our flight's senior cabin representative. She had a big smile on her face as she stood beside my business class seat in the Emirates A380 on our flight from Dubai (DXB) to Rome (FCO). I looked back at my wife; we both wanted to be right beside a window, so I was in seat 9K and Karen was in 11K on the remarkably quiet upper deck of the Airbus.
Since November 2014, passengers flying from Frankfurt Airport on Lufthansa’s Boeing 737s have been the first in the world to experience an innovative technology without, perhaps, even realizing it. The airplanes have been pushing back from the gate and taxiing to the runway as usual. But on these flights, the 737s have been rolling from the ramp to the runway without the use of the aircraft engines. Under the control of the pilots, the jets are being towed by a semi-autonomous aircraft tractor called TaxiBot.
The Airbus Perlan Mission II is a major step closer to the goal of sustained, piloted flight at 90,000ft following the successful first flight of the Perlan 2 experimental glider. Launching early in the morning 23 September from the Redmond Municipal Airport in Redmond, Oregon, chief pilot Jim Payne and team pilot and project manager Morgan Sandercock were towed aloft by a Piper Pawnee towplane.
Brian Losito might just have the best airline job, ever. For the past 26 years, Losito has been Air Canada’s Corporate Photographer. He’s travelled throughout the airline’s network, taking photos of people, places and planes in support of Air Canada’s publicity, marketing and advertising efforts. Without a doubt, Losito’s favorite assignment is being airborne, getting amazing air-to-air photos and video of Air Canada’s newest airliners. “We’ve done shoots of the Airbus A340 and the Boeing 777. Then last June, Air Canada took delivery of its first Boeing 787-8,” says Losito.
Earlier this year at the Paris Air Show, Boeing test pilots put a 787-9 through its paces in a spectacular aerial demonstration. The new Dreamliner was decked out in the blue and gold livery of Vietnam Airlines, but the people attending the airshow weren’t the only ones to see the amazing maneuverability of the latest version of the 787. Prior to the show, when the pilots practiced their routine at the Moses Lake WA’s airport, Boeing had a high-definition video of the session shot and produced.
At Mock Air, APEX’s unofficial carrier, we’re all about the #PaxEx. At least we would be, if we were an actual airline with real aircraft. But one can never be too prepared, so we recently spent a morning at Boeing’s “Dreamliner Gallery,” to think about fitting out the interiors of our fictional fleet of 787s. The 54,000 square foot facility has been open for eight years, and was a “paradigm shift in our interaction with our customers,” says Dan Olson, Dreamliner Gallery Manager.
In the midst of the many challenges facing the industry, some of Canada’s helicopters operators are finding a bright spot. Fueled by tourists looking for a new perspective of the Great White North’s fabulous landscapes and skylines, the heli-sightseeing and heli-tourism sector is seeing growth. And with the Canadian dollar’s continued weakness against the U.S. dollar, the tourism industry north of the border is set to receive a serious boost from those looking to take advantage of the generous conversion rate.
It all starts with the winter weather in Antarctica. Glider pilots around the world regularly climb to altitudes above 20,000, or even 30,000 feet, flying in the strong lift found in mountain wave conditions. But for Perlan 2 to reach 90,000 feet, the pilots will need to jump into an express elevator in the Andes, romantically named the Stratospheric Polar Night Jet.
