Browsing Tag: Airbus A330

All the different A330 liveries of JFK - Photo: Jason Rabinowitz

All the different A330 liveries of JFK – Photos: Jason Rabinowitz

The Airbus A330 is not typically known for being a beautiful aircraft. It is, however, a workhorse; one that flies thousands of people per day around the world safely and (most of the time) comfortably.

Since I was a child, I have been interested in airline liveries. You might tell from our Airline Livery of the Week and Ultimate Livery Challenges. I was always fascinated by how you can have the exact same aircraft look so different because of the paint on the outside. In one design, the plane might look amazing, but in another, a bit horrid.

To help celebrate the diversity of airline liveries, I wanted to share the above combination of photos showing all of the different liveries that show up at John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Contributor Jason Rabinowitz lives close to the airport and is able to take these shots.

But this begs the question: which ones do you like the most and the least? (be sure to click on the image to see a larger version)

Personally, I have always been a fan of the Aeroflot livery, and have felt that it might be time for Alitalia to update their livery.

OK-YBA basking in the warm spring sun after arrival in Ostrava Photo: Jacob Pfleger | AirlineReporter

OK-YBA basking in the spring sun after arrival in Ostrava – Photo: Jacob Pfleger | AirlineReporter

Czech Airlines (CSA) has one Airbus A330 (with a special interior) and it wanted to show it off. At the end of February, the airline announced a series of three promotional flights on-board their A330-300. The idea of these flights was to showcase the aircraft in Ostrava and Bratislava, which are both key destinations in the Czech Airlines network and provide a substantial amount of connecting traffic for the A330 Seoul service.

The flights were scheduled to take place on the 1st of April. Obviously, the date in question made many think it was a joke, but true to their word the flights did take place as planned. I was fortunate enough to experience all three flights, as well as a media event in Ostrava showcasing the aircraft and network to numerous travel agents and key figures in the region. The routing of the flights was Prague (PRG) – Ostrava (OSR) – Bratislava (BTS) -Prague. All in, the flight time was less than two hours.

An Air Caraîbes Airbus A330 touching down at St. Martin - Photo: Bernie Leighton

An Air Caraîbes Airbus A330 touching down at St. Martin – Photo: Bernie Leighton | AirlineReporter

Air Caraîbes is based at Pointe-à -Pitre International Airport (airport code: PTP) in Guadeloupe. It is a French airline, founded in July of 2000, that mostly flies from Paris to destinations in the Caribbean. In 2012, the airline flew 1.2 millions passengers, 750,000 of which were on long-haul routes.

It operates a fleet of five Airbus A330s (one -200 and four -300s) and three ATR 72s. They currently have six A350s on order (three for the -900 and three for the -1000).

Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330s at the terminal in Honolulu - Photo: Mal Muir | AirlineReporter.com

Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330s at the terminal in Honolulu – Photo: Mal Muir | AirlineReporter.com

Getting to New Zealand from the United States is a very limited affair.  The only way to get there directly is with Air New Zealand and at some times of the year (around Christmas, especially) capacity becomes limited due to operating only three daily flights (two from LAX, one from SFO).

More recently a new choice was offered to New Zealand; Hawaiian Airlines flying from Honolulu (HNL) to Auckland (AKL). The new flights started in March and they fly three times a week between the two cities.

Using their new Airbus A330-200 aircraft, Hawaiian’s service to the south Pacific allows one-stop service from a number of west coast cities (although all cities, apart from Seattle, require an overnight stay in Honolulu when southbound).  After I had flown down to Hawaii from Seattle and spent a brief two hours in the warmth that permeates Honolulu airport, it was time to board another Hawaiian aircraft for my journey to New Zealand.