Re: LH introduces revised livery

I don't know who of Qantas or UTA came up with that Tail design, but it's one of the best ideas I've seen in past decades ( only leapfrogged by TG / LA designs... EY is the last example I can think of doing it differently... ) UTA's predates Qantas's by a good decade - the earliest photo of it here...

Re: A321LR takes to the skies for the first time

Just curious, is boarding still going to be done at L1 or did they switch it around so it could be L2? As far as I know, that decision would depend on the airline. IIRC, DL or AA - or both - won't use L2 as a matter or principle, since it would put a jetway in close proximity to the engines. I'd be...

Re: Alaska Airlines transcon premium product

Their new first class seat from Recaro apparently going in starting later this year. This will bring them in line with standard offerings in First route-wide, nothing like Mint or the new DL offering..but those are limited to select routes. I'd be happy just to get a small foot rest on the seat in ...

Re: American Airlines A330-300 Retirements

What is AA going to replace all those A333 with for their flights from PHL & CLT to Europe ? Do they have enough 777 or 787 just to move them over ? Replacement aircraft in the numbers necessary to retire the 333 (and more urgently, the 763) fleet(s), won't be available for a few more years. Th...

Re: American Airlines A330-300 Retirements

AA seems to have changed plans from when they initially announced they would be retiring the 333s. I believe they'll stay on through this summer now, and will retire starting in 2019. No official source for this though - just what I've managed to glean from various threads on here... There has also...

Re: Hapag Lloyd A310

I am not aware of any retrofitting the -200s with fences, but several of them went on to order -300s, which had fences, so a quick glance at the wingtip would indicate the latter. This makes sense ... until I browsed through the photo database and happened upon this ... 2652812 This is a very early...

Re: Hapag Lloyd A310

Some A310-200s were built without wing fences. Check out the early photos of say KLM. That Hapag-Lloyds A310-200s did have wing fences (including early airframes) would indicate that it was either an option or available as a refit. The A310-200 was envisioned as a short-to-medium-long hauler for Eu...

Re: WestJet and Sunwing 737's clip wing to tail at Toronto Pearson

WestJet flies into a less convenient airport, they don't offer any decent onboard service unless you want to be nickel and dimed all the way across the Atlantic and they cannot seem to get the 767 fleet up to an acceptable level of reliability. I don't want to send this thread off-topic, but while ...

Re: Who flies the A340 to the U.S.

I saw a couple of LH A340-300s in PHL this past week.

Re: When was your last domestic wide body flight?

My last domestic US widebody flight was December 23rd, CLT-PHL on an AA 330-200. I had arrived on an AA A330-300 from PHX, so I experienced back-to-back A330s on a domestic routing. As it was my first ride on a -300 variant, and an older airframe at that (starting life as a Darth Vader with USAirway...

Re: The A330 and A340 Write off - Retirement - Scrapping Thread

American's A330-300s are reaching Golden Oldie status. It's all relative, of course, but they go back to the early oughts, when transat ops with them were a novelty. They also have Pratt engines, which were less popular with that bird. There is talk that the influx of A350s will hasten their AA demi...

Re: CNN: Delta to order 100+ Airbus A321neo Aircraft

https://leehamnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/AFC-fpr-A321neo.png Thanks! Thanks for this. It looks like we're getting several door options. Basic question: what was the purpose of Door 2 in the first place? Was it intended to allow mid-cabin boarding and/or a mid-cabin galley space, or simply ...

Re: The 777 retirement and scrapping thread

Did BA G-ZZZD and ZZZE get scrapped or transfered elsewhere? Both went to Varig, in 02/2004 and 03/2004, respectively. ZZZE became PP-VRD, indicated scrapped above. Stored 04/2006 and flown to ARG 12/2006 for said scrapping. ZZZD left Varig as PP-VRC, 08/2006 in one piece, and was last listed as fl...

Re: The 777 retirement and scrapping thread

Time to publish a list of those planes which are gone, gone soon or which are having little chance to fly again . Sorta odd really. Most such threads on older models, seem to focus on those that are still flying.... EI-UNY (Transaero) was formerly N767UA, one of the earliest deliveries to United 5/...

Re: VS to lease 4 A332's to cover 789 downtime

I've managed to find the seat plan if anyone's interested. Seems like no VS product in upper? Looks the exact same as Air Berlin's A332 to me? https://www.facebook.com/JamesCPortfolio/photos/a.1254526451357999.1073741828.1230050177138960/1254526321358012/?type=3&theater (Apologies I'm not too s...

Re: VS to lease 4 A332's to cover 789 downtime

Possibly I missed it, but what sort of lease period are we talking about here? I do hope the A330-200s will appear in full Virgin livery. The -200 is sporty-looking and we need something new in the trans-at arena. Those A350s are looking so old by now. ;) Sometime back, Virgin picked up a 767-300 on...

Re: Air Canada 737max Inaugural flight

Valid point CFM565A1, somewhat of a trade-off. AC's A320's are extremely old and now very tired looking with the old Thales system so the MAX will seem revolutionary. Just flew and ancient AC 320 from YYC - YVR, the interior was atrocious, old, worn, yellowed. New features of the MAX will likely di...

Re: Eastern @ HVN.............with DC-9 & 727 ! When?

What years did Eastern serve HVN? To where? This airport is surrounded by a neighborhood. I can't imagine the noise level of Dc-9s and 727s !! I researched this once awhile back, so I am going from memory, but EA flew Electras HVN-JFK in the late 60s. At one point there were 727-225s to DCA IIRC (y...

Re: Did Pan Am buy any factory new 747-200’s ?

Very spot-on. And allow me to clarify my reply above about the incompatible DC-10 fleet. I say that in the context that PA had already ordered the L-1011-500, which itself was not a smart decision. The L15 was Pan Am's 'solution' for 707 replacement. In fact, Lockheed was generically marketing the ...

Re: Did Pan Am buy any factory new 747-200’s ?

skipness1E wrote:

CF-CPI wrote:

Pan Am's original 747-121s were fitted with the uprated -200 engines, and designated -121Bs.

How many? I have never seen the -100B designation used this way, the -100B became the B747-SR IIRC?

Re: Did Pan Am buy any factory new 747-200’s ?

Pan Am's original 747-121s were fitted with the uprated -200 engines, and designated -121Bs. As N717TW pointed out, Pan Am experienced something of 747 overload. While twins were not available for long haul, the DC-10-30/40 came along in 1972, and would have alleviated some of the overcapacity. As i...

Re: If the L-1011 had only 2 engines, would it have been a success?

The problem is, there wasn't a sufficiently powerful engine for an L-1011 sized twin-jet in the early 1970s. I seem to recall later on the programme there was a proposal for a "Bistar" but it didn't leave the drawing board. V/F Right. In early 1977, Lockheed proposed the L1011-400 (basica...

Re: KLM 777 wing panel falls off and hits driving car

If the wrong screws were used, how long has it been flying that way? And were any other panels attached with the wrong screws? By the latter I mean both other panels on this aircraft, and other 777s in the fleet. Someone or some people are going to have a bad Monday.

Re: A300/A310 v 767

I have no doubt the A310 was better optimized for Euro-travel in the 80s, if we're talking about FRA-CDG or LHR, for example. The airframe was capable of Europe-Africa, where Sabena used them frequently. By the time ETOPS rolled around, the 767 really got the nod because of its wing being more effic...

Re: Air Canada receives first 737 MAX

During Canadi>n's "Proud Wings" rebranding prior to the AC merger, a dark (forest) green scheme was introduced for the seats...replacing the previous blue/red seats. Not sure how many aircraft got the green seats - I recall being on an AC (ex-CP) 767 a couple of years after the merger (be...

Re: Air Canada receives first 737 MAX

Thank goodness we made it out of the 90s in terms of design and taste. I remember those bright green economy seats were also on the A321s and some A319s and I remeber how uncomfortable I found them compared to the less ugly, but still ugly swamp coloured seats which actually weren’t so bad in terms...

Re: Air Canada receives first 737 MAX

Didn't AC have darker green seats 10-20 years ago? There were various dark/medium greens in the early 2000s, during the dark green tail phase: 0435695 If you want GREEN, the A340-500 just screamed GREEN: 0576968 More from the A340-500, economy, which I would not have wanted to experience from YYZ a...

Re: Boeing targets Bombardier for “price dumping” CSeries

I have always believed a countervailing tariff on C Series would be both legal and appropriate but 200% is likely too high, but I dont know. It certainly does raise eyebrows. It has been said that Bombardier was less than forthcoming with hard data which would allow for accurate assessment of a cou...

Re: Alitalia Files For Bankruptcy

Deadline extended for Alitalia bidders till October 16. http://atwonline.com/airlines/deadline-extended-alitalia-bidders Bidders are encouraged to buy the whole airline (`120 airframes) rather than a subset. The Ryanair offer involves 90 airframes and some tweaking of staff and, most likely compens...

Re: First Air Canada Airbus A330 painted in the new livery

IMHO this scheme suits the A330 very well, but neither the new livery, nor the A330 itself, set my heart aflame in and of themselves. Call me weird, but it's the mid-1990s green tail with autumn leaf that really does it for me. The toothpaste is nice when conditions capture the sparkle, capturing Ca...

A340-600 Overwing Exit Door and Modified Cowling?

A fun fact about the A340-600 regards an overwing exit which apparently was added during the certification process, as the distance between the original doors 2 and 3 was too great. I had never noticed this before, and it seems the prototype F-WWCA can be seen with and without, as evidenced by the p...

Re: New Northeast Airlines?

The Yellowbird was an attractive sight in its time and a creative livery. I suspect the site linked above is simply a fun fantasy site for those who want to envision Northeast as it might exist today if things had been different back in 1972. Historically one of my biggest disappointments is never s...

Re: United's old DC-8 fleet questions

I am surprised that no one has mentioned that the DC-8's windows were much larger than the 707's, when the two airliners were competing. From the passenger point of view, that was the most obvious difference, and a clear win for the 8. Also, the reading light for passengers was not overhead, but in...

Re: United's old DC-8 fleet questions

By September 12, 1995, United would have also had the 777 entering their fleet (started coming online in June 1995). I'm not saying they used a 777 for ORD-LHR, but I wouldn't doubt it. Again, I don't recollect them ever using the DC10s on TATL. They did use them on Pacific routes, but even there i...

Re: Badly Named (Or Branded) Airlines.

Turdus Airways? Missed that one. It pays to run names past an international committee these days.

With apologies to you readers, this reminds me of Delsey airlines (updated name for VG, out of Brussels). I was waiting for them to start a low cost subsidiary called Charmin.

Re: United's old DC-8 fleet questions

Bit of trivia for you on UA's DC-8's. When UA acquired the LHR routes, which at the time were on the wishlist of every airline, the the issue became what equipment to fly ORD-LHR. The airline was really stretched thin at the time with no spares available, and if I recall correctly Pan Am aircraft w...

Re: Alitalia--- What If?

There's been much talk over the last year or so about the fate of the beleaguered Italian Carrier, with Etihad now making a non-binding offer to take sole control of the airline. I'm resurrecting the Etihad/AZ thing in light of Etihad's recent huge loss >$1 billion, as reported in another thread. W...

Re: Delta "security incident" - passenger attempts to enter cockpit

I suppose I should ask the overwhelming anutter question ...... does anyone have the reg?

76W (in theory) is a -332ER with a large forward cabin.

Re: All MH 777-200ER stored

@juliuswong contributions confirmed for Air Zimbabwe/Zimbabwe Airways, so you think it will be 4 planes?. I have heard rumors of 2. 4 will be quite a challenge for them to have routes. Information remains tight lip for now, will ask my friend if there is another one going to Zimbabwe Airways. There...

Re: Air Canada named best airline in North America

This discussion came up recently, and I was trying to remember the airline that did this first ... we couldn't decide between Air New Zealand or Emirates ... (both very well respected airlines). Any thoughts? As far as I know, it was Emirates first. They were fairly early with the 777, and installe...

Re: L1011-500/MD-11 Flight Characteristics

The L1011-500 is my all time favorite aircraft. I was thinking the L1011 being a three holler, would it have similar flight characteristics as the MD-11? Both wing areas are about the same (MD-11 3,648sq ft. vs L1011 3,456sq ft.) as well as wing span. I've read though that the MD-11 during landing ...

Re: Hypothetical: The US Mergers Didn't Happen

US was days from going under in winter of 2005 or 6. They had a week or two left. They would have never made it to the AA merger had outside parties not intervened The US situation is fascinating. In the late 80s they had gobbled up both PSA and Piedmont. PI was doing fairly well at the time, and t...

Re: BA's "World Images" Tailfins - 20 Years On

Hey guys, At the time I hated the World Tails, but now I love them! I collect 1/400 scale diecast aircraft and the BA World Tails is my #1 theme (of many). I have models of 16 of the 28 'main' designs - with some designs on multiple models. Any time I'm out at a model shop and spot one of the World...

Re: Unusual 747 galley configuration

Continental Micronesia had similar galleys in some DC-10s. I specifically remember picture of overhead bins in the galley too. Right. These were basically CO DC-10-10s. In CO domestic service, by the early 80s, the longitudinal galley was set up, and on the other side was a large version of the Pub...

Re: Etihad to deepen its ties with Alitalia

If I personally had any stake in Etihad, I would insist on labor concessions and cost savings - in writing - before throwing more money at AZ. If the bankruptcy can lead to that, then there may be some hope. So far, the AZ staff has been reluctant to face the music.

Re: Why are Airbus Windows so Small

Airbus windows are definitely noticeably smaller than Boeing.....I've not yet flown on the A350 of course.....but the A320/330/340 and 380 all have smaller windows compared to the corresponding Boeing models...its very noticeable....also, the gap between two windows is slightly more and that furthe...

Re: Why are Airbus Windows so Small

Airbus windows are definitely noticeably smaller than Boeing.....I've not yet flown on the A350 of course.....but the A320/330/340 and 380 all have smaller windows compared to the corresponding Boeing models...its very noticeable....also, the gap between two windows is slightly more and that furthe...

Re: Aircraft design & specs that were heavily influenced by an airline?

Long ago, at the time of the 777's first flight, I read that United had a very heavy hand in it's overall specifications, driven by UA's mission needs. I do not recall every word of that article I had read in either the New York Times or WSJ (If memory serves) but I do recall well the essence of it...

Re: Aircraft design & specs that were heavily influenced by an airline?

The VC-10, possibly the most graceful airliner ever designed, was horribly expensive to operate, even in the days of a few pennies a barrel of oil. I remember seeing a BBC documentary where, a propos of BOAC not getting any more VC-10s, the then airline chairman was asked why he did not love the VC...

Re: Air Canada's A330-300 Replacement

I can't imagine loading up with more 777s, and the 787-10 likely has some very good fuel/economics numbers on some existing 777 routes, especially if that would free up some 777s for where they are really needed (long range, tons of cargo). I think the 777 itself really rocks, but at 10-across it no...