First of all, a Happy New Year to everyone. 2011 was another great year for the blog. Without your [...]]]>

Thumbnail from each of my Flickr photo sets in 2011. Lots of good stuff. SUPER DOOPER bonus if you can tell me what each of these thumbnails represent -- without going to my Flickr page.

First of all, a Happy New Year to everyone. 2011 was another great year for the blog. Without your readership, airlines wouldn’t be willing to let me go on these adventures and share them with you, so I am highly appreciative for all your support.

In 2011, I was able to rack up over 81,000 miles flying for the blog (compared to 50,000 in 2010). Out of all the stories, photos and experiences which were the most popular to me and you? Well, this year it wasn’t so easy. All these “Tops” come directly from the blog at AirlineReporter.com and do not take into account of the readership on the Seattle PI or Reuters (even though are very important as well — but I just don’t have good data from those). Here are Top 5′s in different categories:

Top 5 Viewed Blogs
Rarely does time spent on a story relate directly to the amount of traffic seen. Many times, having access to a few sweet photos or a video and taking three minutes to post it will inevitably see more traffic than a story I work on for weeks. Traffic is traffic of course and it is always interesting seeing the most popular stories. These are the top viewed stories for 2011:
* Airbus A380 wing hits building at Paris Airshow
* Interior photos of ANA’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner
* JAL livery revealed on 787 Dreamliner
* Photo of Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental outside, unpainted
* Taking a look at Delta’s Economy Comfort vs United’s Economy Plus

Top 5 Experiences
Lots of miles and many great experiences this last year, but these are my five favorite (in no particular order):
* Flying on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner for the first time
* Hitching a ride on a Beechcraft Starship
* Experiencing Singapore Airline’s A380 Business Class
* Delivering a RwandAir Boeing 737
* Watching the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental take her first flight

Top 5 Cities Reading the Blog
This is the first year that Seattle (where I am based) moves down to number two in readership behind New York. Also, all five are US cities, where last year London made the list. Here are the cities that read my blog the most in 2011 (in order of most to least):
* New York
* Seattle
* Los Angeles
* Chicago
* San Francisco

I feel lucky that I was able to fly over 81,000 miles for the blog in 2011. Hoping to break the 100k mark for 2012.

Top 5 Photos On The Blog
I am not a professional photographer, nor do I want to be one. I have enjoyed learning a lot about photography in 2011, but being around people who are truly amazing photographers, I won’t ever get to that level — but I am okay with that (less stressful for sure). Sometimes I like what I take, sometimes I do not. These are the Top 5 photos I enjoyed that were taken for the blog. Not saying they will win any awards, but here they are:
* Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 at Narita
* Boeing 747-8I at Boeing Field (taken by Nick Smith for AirlineReporter.com)
* Singapore skyline at night
* Rear view of the Beechcraft Starship. The plane has so many amazing angles, but I really enjoyed this one.
* Inside the Boeing 787 Dreamliner with tinted windows

Top 5 Most Commented Blogs
This year has seen many more comments on my stories and I LOVE IT. Not surprisingly there tend to be more comments on some of my more controversal topics. Here are the top commented stories (in order from most to least) of 2011:
* Received My First Body Scan and I Am Okay With It
* Airline Livery Opinion of the Week: American Airlines Livery Stinks
* PHOTOS: Airbus A380 Wing Hits Building at Paris Air Show
* CONTEST: How Many Boeing 737s Are Still Flying?
* Was United Airline’s Computer Outage That Big of a Deal? I Say Nay.

Previous New Years Posts:
Top 5 of 2010
My 6 favorite blogs of 2009

So what did your airline-related 2011 look like? Fly anywhere cool? Take some good photos? Where are you hoping to go in 2012?

I hope you all have a great holiday season and safe travels. If you end up having an interesting airline story over the holiday — please share!

Original Image from Thomas Becker Photoshopped by AirlineReporter.com

This story was written by John Harrell for NYCAviation and is being re-printed with permission…

SEATTLE—Santa Claus ditched his sleigh Saturday and flew in a 1952 de Havilland Beaver.

The jolly Christmas icon arrived at this city’s Museum of Flight [...]]]>

The Clauses pose before their Beaver floatplane before taking off. (Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren)

This story was written by John Harrell for NYCAviation and is being re-printed with permission…

SEATTLE—Santa Claus ditched his sleigh Saturday and flew in a 1952 de Havilland Beaver.

The jolly Christmas icon arrived at this city’s Museum of Flight aboard a restored single-prop aircraft dubbed “Santa One,” greeting eager children and their parents with Mrs. Claus on a visit from the North Pole.

Santa decided to travel by plane instead of his traditional sleigh because his reindeer are unavailable during daylight hours, he said, and also because they need to rest for next week’s midnight marathon around the world.

“Rudolph and Dancer and Prancer and the rest, they’re resting up because they’ve got a big night” on Christmas Eve, he said. “And it’s daytime, and they can’t fly in the daytime,” he said.

Santa and Mrs. Claus had smooth sailing on approach to runway 13-R at King County International Airport (KBFI, “Boeing Field”), whose tarmac abuts the museum, on a chilly, partly-cloudy morning. The clear air afforded the Christmas couple wide views of the Puget Sound region on their approach past downtown Seattle and the Space Needle.

Santa Claus is familiar with Seattle from the air, since he sees the city from his sleigh once a year. But a mathematical analysis by NYCAviation suggests that his customary airspeed on Christmas Eve is far faster than the Beaver flew en route to the museum, in order to allow him to visit the countless houses of the world in a single night.

Santa One passed by the downtown core at only about 120 miles per hour, according to Douglas DeVries, vice chairman of the board of trustees for the Museum of Flight and the pilot of Santa One. While that’s a minuscule fraction of the average speed of Santa’s sleigh, DeVries called it “rocket-speed for a Beaver.”

The aircraft’s 59-year history has taken it to Hawaii, the Sound region, British Columbia, and points north, said DeVries.

It was badly damaged in Hawaii while a production piece in the 1998 feature film Six Days Seven Nights, said DeVries. The plane’s cockpit was compromised, he said, and its starboard wing had folded back toward the fuselage.

DeVries purchased the aircraft from a wrecking yard in Colorado, he said, and spent six years restoring the plane to airworthiness. He replaced almost all of its fuselage skin, except for one piece of the original, which he retained as a memento of the plane’s former life.

He also gave it its new tail number—registry N67DN—as a tribute to the movie it had helped make, DeVries said.

Santa Claus could almost have hopped aboard the airplane in 2008 when DeVries attempted to fly it to the magnetic north pole. DeVries’ trip was hindered by an iced-over waterway at a refueling stop, which prevented the ski-equipped airplane from landing there. DeVries finished the 12,000-mile arctic trip, but he would have to wait to speak to the North Pole’s chief resident in person.

Such a meeting took place Saturday, with Santa and Mrs. Claus seated in the mid-cabin row aboard DeVries’ restored Beaver. Removing their headsets, the Clauses climbed out of the plane to the welcome of their young admirers, who had turned out in scores for their arrival at the museum.

Santa and Mrs. Claus fly past the Seattle Space Needle. (Photo by John Harrell)

Moments later, the queue to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus inside the museum wrapped around much of the lower-floor exhibit. Elves in bright red and green ushered children forward to meet them beneath the cut-out USAir fuselage that forms part of the museum’s collection.

Santa’s helpers had been dispatched ahead of Santa One on an advance team, said Alexa, a 14-year-old elf, while ushering the long line of children awaiting their turn with Santa.

Alexa’s presence was “part of an elf exchange program,” she said. “I’m sent down here [from the North Pole] to make sure which kids are naughty or nice, and then I report back to Santa.”

She prefers Seattle to the North Pole. “It’s always cold up there,” she said. “Yeah, I like snow, but I don’t like it constantly cold.”

“My favorite part was sitting on Santa’s lap,” said Christopher, 5, of Puyallup, Wash., after his turn visiting Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

News of DeVries’ North Pole attempt in 2008 made its way to the Claus workshop, said DeVries. “Santa heard that we were trying to get to his house three years ago in the Beaver,” which helped inspire the Claus couple’s interest in stopping at the museum, DeVries said.

“What Doug wants for Christmas,” joked wife Robbi DeVries with Santa present, “is his fuel back.”

The fuel, all 2,400 pounds of it, is still waiting to be reclaimed from the unreached stopover point, the pilot said.

Santa Claus did not immediately comment.

Notes: Character actors Clyde Bock and Mary Jane Donaldson contributed significantly to the unfolding of this story.

To view more photos, check out NYCAviation.com

I hope everyone has a safe and great Thanksgiving. Travel safely!

Original Photo by: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren

Tomorrow is Halloween and to celebrate, here is a corn maze that looks like a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. From Boeing’s Flickr page:

Boone Hall , one of America’s oldest working plantations, unveiled an annual attraction at its sprawling grounds in [...]]]>

Can you see the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in the corn? Photo by Boeing

Tomorrow is Halloween and to celebrate, here is a corn maze that looks like a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. From Boeing’s Flickr page:

Boone Hall , one of America’s oldest working plantations, unveiled an annual attraction at its sprawling grounds in South Carolina: a specially-themed corn maze. This year, the maze was meticulously cut to showcase a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Boeing, which began building the first 787 at its new South Carolina final-assembly facility this year, sponsored the maze. The attraction will be opened to the public through October 31st.

Wouldn’t it be slick to have a post about Air Force One today? Hmm, I swear some site did a story on this last year. Oh right… enjoy.

On a side note: what I find amusing about this photo, is in the comments [...]]]>

Delta plane flying over the Lincoln Memorial. Photo by Teng He.

Wouldn’t it be slick to have a post about Air Force One today? Hmm, I swear some site did a story on this last year. Oh right… enjoy.

On a side note: what I find amusing about this photo, is in the comments on Flickr, the photographer says the plane got in the way of his shot. Heh, it is all about perspectives right? I say the plane makes the shot!

Photos taken in 2010 for the blog

I am not a huge fan of “Top ___” lists nor “Year in Review” stuff, but I was curious how the year went for the blog overall and decided to share. Looking back at my Flickr photos, I am amazed at all the wonderful [...]]]>

Photos taken in 2010 for the blog

I am not a huge fan of “Top ___” lists nor “Year in Review” stuff, but I was curious how the year went for the blog overall and decided to share. Looking back at my Flickr photos, I am amazed at all the wonderful opportunities I have been able to share in 2010. It seems you enjoy seeing and learning, since traffic in December 2010 compared to December 2009 was up almost 200% and traffic from all of 2009 compared to 2010 is up almost 900% — that is very exciting. As I go through the yearly stats here are some interesting ones I wanted to share:

Top 5 Viewed Blogs
It is difficult to get an exact count and I am a bit too lazy to 100% figure it out. With the Seattle PI syndication, email list and RSS feed, they might change these numbers, but this is what I am going with. Here are the top 5 viewed stories read just on AirlineReporter.com (in order of popularity):
1) PICTURES: Boeing 787 Dreamliner Flying With a Boeing 40C
2) Airline Livery of the Week: Full Allegiant Air Livery on Boeing 757
3) PHOTOS: United Airlines Boeing 747 Buzzes Over the Golden Gate Bridge at FleetWeek
4) VIDEO: United Airlines Boeing 777 Painted in New Livery
5) Checking out Air New Zealand’s New Interior on Their First Boeing 777-300ER
Having a story that spikes in traffic is always a good thing. However, it can be frustrating when I can spend time traveling, my own money and work hard to write up a blog and it gets very little traffic. Then I can post some photos or a video that took me 5 minutes and it turns out to be some of my biggest traffic. Eh, I see it as the high traffic blogs support some of the more interesting blogs. United’s new livery has been very popular and there are a few more of those blogs in the Top 10 for the year.

Top 5 Experiences
Sometimes I have great experiences that might not turn into the most read blogs. Picking only five wasn’t easy. This year, I got to ride in helicopters, see the inside of a Starship, tour Delta, trained with AirTran flight attendants, flew up to the San Juans and much more. I chose these five based on giving me the biggest smile when thinking about the experiences. Here are they are (not in any particular order):
1) Hanging Out at Oshkosh AirVenture 2010 with Southwest Airlines: Being able to fly in on a Southwest Boeing 737 in the middle of Oshkosh was quite the experience. Not to mention all the marvelous airplanes and people I got to meet there as well.
2) Touring Haneda Airport’s New International Terminal: Who doesn’t like a trip to Japan with All Nippon Airways to look at a new terminal, tour some lounges and eat wonderful food?
3) Video: Pushing Back a United Airlines Boeing 757: This was not planned at all and just sort of happened, but it was a unique experience and one I will not quickly forget. Hard to believe some people get to do this every day.
4) The Boeing Archives PART 1: Touring the Archives: What an awesome experience to be able to tour the Boeing archives and talk with the Boeing Historian.
5) My Interior Tour of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner: Being one of the first people to check out the interior of the Boeing 787 was surreal. It also opened my eyes to how being a blogger is different than being a member of legacy media.

Top 5 Cities Reading the Blog
Being based in Seattle, I definitely have a lot of great readers here. But there are also readers from other places in the world. Some of these surprised me (this is just based on my website, not other feeds):
1) Seattle, WA
2) New York, NY
3) London, England
4) Los Angeles
5) San Fransisco
I also want to give a shout out to Sydney, since they are #6. Readership in Australia and New Zealand has grown a lot over the year and is highly appreciated — G’day and Kia Ora. The blog is truly world wide. I have gotten at least one visitor from each country of the world, except from North Korea.

Top 5 Most Commented Blogs
One of the nice things in 2010 is the increase of comments. I always love it when people give an opinion on something or a conversation starts up. Here is a list of the blogs with the most comments  (# of comments as of posting):
1) PHOTOshop: Boeing 747-400 in New United Airlines Livery (50 comments)
2) CONTEST: How many flowers does it take to lei an Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330? (47 comments)
3) My First Experience with Body Scanners Gets Me in Trouble with the TSA (43 comments)
4) We Do NOT Have All the Same Body Parts and Body Scanners Violates Your Privacy (42 comments)
5) Should Airlines Refund Tickets in Cases of Death, Illness or Running Late? I Say Nay! (41 comments)
I find it interesting there is no overlap with the blogs with the most traffic and those with the most comments.

Honestly, I can’t believe how great this year has been. I flew almost 50,000 miles for the blog, which is a good thing — hope it to be higher for next year.It has been challenging working an almost full-time job (30hrs/week) on top of the blog, but it is all worth it.

A huge thank you to all the readers, because without eyeballs reading what I write, airlines wouldn’t be willing to work with me to provide unique content. I already have a few things planned for 2011, but I can’t wait to see what happens.

I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels.

Although travel during the holidays can be a real pain, just remember what it was like for the first pilgrims to arrive to Plymouth Rock.

The Mayflower left England and took 66 days and had two [...]]]>

I'd rather fly than take the Mayflower.

I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels.

Although travel during the holidays can be a real pain, just remember what it was like for the first pilgrims to arrive to Plymouth Rock.

The Mayflower left England and took 66 days and had two deaths before reaching Massachusetts. Today, you can make the same journey in a few hours. Maybe that little delay and stale peanuts don’t seem so bad after all. Airline travel truly is amazing.

A very happy labor day to everyone! According to the United States of labor, this day “is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It [...]]]>

The Boeing factory in Everett has lots of hard working people making some amazing airplanes. Photo by Boeing

A very happy labor day to everyone! According to the United States of labor, this day “is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”

Although the holiday has become a reminder it is the end of summer and start of the football season, I try to remember the reasoning behind it. Depending on what you currently think of unions now, our current working conditions would most likely be very different if unions did not fight hard for the working rights of Americans.

A very safe holiday for those who are celebrating and sorry to those that have to work today!

A very special Mother’s Day to my mom and all the mom’s out there. My mom has been wonderfully supportive of my blog (even writing a few blogs herself)!

THANKS MOM!

I hope that everyone has a fun and safe St. Patrick’s day. I know it is kind of cheap to go with Aer Lingus for the post, but I didn’t want to do another Ryanair one . I did create a special Twitter icon for the holiday, something I haven’t [...]]]>

Four Aer Lingus tails

I hope that everyone has a fun and safe St. Patrick’s day. I know it is kind of cheap to go with Aer Lingus for the post, but I didn’t want to do another Ryanair one . I did create a special Twitter icon for the holiday, something I haven’t done before:

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Happy President’s Day! I figured this would be a good excuse to take a look at the aircraft that have been used to fly the President of the United States around the world since 1943.

First off, I realize that any US Air [...]]]>

Air Force One (a modified Boeing 747-200), visiting Paris in 2008

Happy President’s Day! I figured this would be a good excuse to take a look at the aircraft that have been used to fly the President of the United States around the world since 1943.

First off, I realize that any US Air Force aircraft the president is in, is called “Air Force One.” For the sake of this post, when I will be talking about the aircraft whose sole mission is to safely fly the President of the United States to his destination, I will refer to this particular aircraft as “Air Force One.”

The first Air Force One has its roots in 1943, when Franklin D Roosevelt was the first president to fly while in office. He flew on a Pan-Am Boeing 314 5,500 miles to Morocco. Previously presidents did not fly, because airplanes were not well equipped with communication devices. That changed for Roosevelt, when the threat of German U-Boats made him think twice about going via boat.

Thinking that commercial air travel was not reliable enough to transport the President of the US, the Air Force converted a Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express to be used to transport Roosevelt on international flights. However, the C-87 was not known for a stellar safety record and the Secret Service refused to let Roosevelt fly on the aircraft. Instead, a Douglas C-54 Skymaster (DC-4) was converted to fly the president around the world. Roosevelt flew on the C-54 Skymaster, called “Sacred Cow”, only once before his death in the spring of 1945. In 1947 Harry S Truman replaced the C-54 with a modified VC-118 Liftmaster (DC-6).

Before an incident in 1953, the president’s aircraft all had standard flight numbers, like any commercial airline flight. The Dwight D Eisenhower administration changed that, when he was flying on Air Force Flight 8610 and an Eastern Airlines flight with the same number received similar orders and got too close to the president’s aircraft. After that, any flight that held the president would be called “Air Force One.”

Eisenhower added the Lockheed C-121 Constellations to the presidential fleet in the mid 50′s and then the Boeing 707 was added in 1958. In 1962, the John F Kennedy administration created the first aircraft used exclusively for presidential travel. The modified Boeing 707-353B (referred to as SAM 26000) had its livery designed by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the familiar blue, silver and white design.

Eisenhower added the Lockheed Constellation to the Presidential Fleet

During the Reagan administration, a new plane was requested for the president. They wanted a minimum of three engines, wide-bodied and a range of at least 6,000 miles. Boeing proposed the Boeing 747 and McDonnell Douglas pushed the DC-10. Boeing won the proposal and the US government ordered two identical Boeing 747-200′s.

The Boeing 747-200′s (VC-25A) were delivered in 1990 to sitting president, George HW Bush and still remain in service today. The VC-25A’s have been retrofitted and interiors re-done multiple times since 1990. The US Air Force Air Mobility Command (USAF MC) is currently looking at a replacement for the aging Boeing 747′s.

In January 2009, the USAF MC stated they would start flying a new Air Force One by 2017. Shortly after the announcement, Airbus stated it would not be bidding on the contract, leaving only Boeing. It is most likely the Boeing 747-8 will be the replacement, however there is talk the Boeing 787 could be the replacement.

What is your favorite Air Force One aircraft or which would be the best one to use in the future?

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Images: B747 from Three Forty | Constellation from Wikipedia

Hope everyone has a great Valentine’s day!

This Condor livery works perfectly for today. Here is a little big of information on Condor Airlines, whose 50th anniversary livery is shown in the photo:

Condor Airlines was founded in 1955 and is a no-frills airline based [...]]]>

A Condor Boeing 757-300 (D-ABON) in 50th Anniversary Livery

Hope everyone has a great Valentine’s day!

This Condor livery works perfectly for today. Here is a little big of information on Condor Airlines, whose 50th anniversary livery is shown in the photo:

Condor Airlines was founded in 1955 and is a no-frills airline based in Germany. In 2003 the airline’s name was changed to “Thomas Cook”, but then changed back to it original name in 2004.

The airline has a fleet of just over 30 aircraft, made up of Airbus A320-200′s, Boeing 757-300′s and Boeing 767-300ER’s.

Condor Airlines flies to over 70 destinations on five continents around the world.

connect | web | twitter | facebook |

This year has been amazing. 2009 brought some interesting blogs, a name change, syndication with the Seattle PI, coverage from multiple media outlets, some wonderful friends in aviation, travel around the country and much more.

I started this blog about a [...]]]>

Me, in the engine of a Boeing 777 at the Future of Flight

This year has been amazing. 2009 brought some interesting blogs, a name change, syndication with the Seattle PI, coverage from multiple media outlets, some wonderful friends in aviation, travel around the country and much more.

I started this blog about a year and a half ago just to share my passion of commercial aviation with others. I started with only a few readers and now have thousands everyday. I have enjoyed the wonderful comments on my blog, syndication, and of course Twitter.

Looking back, in January 2009 I only wrote three blogs for the whole month and now, I work very hard trying to get one up daily. The task is not easy; I work a full-time job, own a house, have a wonderful girlfriend, and try to keep a decent social life. But I love following the airline industry and it seems some of you enjoy my perspective, so it motivates me to keep it up!

Next year is already looking great. I am currently working with a few airlines on some pretty cool projects I plan to take on early next year. I will also have a close relationship with the Future of Flight which has already inspired some of my blogs and allowed me to have VIP viewing of the Boeing 787 first flight. I also ask you, my readers, to think of interesting blogs you would like to see!

Now, to my top Airline Reporter blogs of this year. It was hard to choose just five of my favorite blogs, so I changed it to my top six (hey, this is my blog, I can do what I want ). They might not have been the most read, but they are special to me for different reasons. Here they are in no particular order and why they are my favorite:

#1 AirTran’s Big News (part 4): Every AirTran Airways plane will get Wi-Fi

Back in May 2009 I was invited by AirTran to fly from Seattle to Baltimore to go on their special Wi-Fi media flight. This was still at a time where being an aviation blogger was new, I didn’t have a solid direction my blog was going and I had never had an experience like this previously. This event really opened my eyes to the potential of my blog. I was lucky enough to meet Benet Wilson with Aviation Weekly, Ben Mutzabaugh with USA Today, Joe Sharky aviation legend, and many others who are very inspiring writers.  The trip really started me thinking big and motivated me to aspire for bigger and original blogs.

#2 Pics and Video of Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s First Flight

What can I say about this? Being there in person on the Strato Deck at the Future of Flight, seeing the Boeing 787 take flight for the first time was absolutely amazing. 10 years from now, I am certain this post will make my “Top 5 blogs in the last 10 years.” Seeing this gorgeous plane lift off, while Boeing employees cheered them on, I felt so lucky to be there. I also got to meet the famous Flight Blogger Jon Ostrower to boot!

#3 Row 13: Why some airlines have it and others do not

I have wondered about row 13 for over 15 years. When I started to think about writing a blog on it in May, it took me five months to complete the write up (and posted it on Friday the 13th). When I started the research, I had no idea where it would lead me. Some airlines had no row 13 because of luck, another because of a canceled Boeing order. It was neat to make connections with many airlines and the fine folks at SeatGuru.com during my research.

#4 Mom Tells How Flying Used To Be

It is awesome that my mom has written a few blogs for me.  This one was my favorite where she took a look back at what flying used to be like. She didn’t just blame the airlines for treating people like cattle, but realizes that airlines have just been meeting passenger demand for cheaper flying.  Her story got put on the front page of the Seattle PI and got quite a bit of attention (something I was a little jealous about). People have really enjoyed reading her blogs and she is working on a few more for 2010!

#5 Putting Alaska Airlines 25 Minute Bag Guarantee to the Test

This one was just fun. I had just bought a car that was in Phoenix and a friend and I were flying down on Alaska Airlines to drive it back to Seattle (it was a great trip). I had just read that Alaska  started charging for checked bags, but was giving passengers a guarantee — your checked bag will be at baggage claim 25min or less after the plane reaches the gate or you get a $25 discount on a future flight or 2500 bonus miles. This was a  genius idea and I knew I wanted to cover it! It was perfect timing, since I already had booked my ticket on Alaska and I could put them to the test. I started my timer right as the plane stopped at the gate. It took us 15min 18sec to get from row 26 on the plane to baggage claim and the bag was already on the carousel. Good job Alaska Airlines! When I wrote the blog, they were planning to end the promotion at the end of the year, but since it has gone so well, they are extending it until at least July 31, 2010.

#6 Blogging on Ryanair

Ok, this is kind of cheating because it is not just one blog, but I just love blogging about Ryanair. I know that Ryanair says crazy stuff to get free media attention, but heck, I see it as win-win situation. In July I also gave out my “More Crazy Than Ryanair” medal (which I have more recently changed to “Crazier Than Ryanair”). Oddly I haven’t been able to give it out much since few airlines are crazier than Ryanair. I truly hope they can keep up the good (and crazy) times in 2010.

I wish everyone a wonderful and safe New Year!

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Ryanair Boeing 737-200 with a nice big bow and Santa on the tail.

Ryanair always loves making waves. Hitting Santa will do it.

Santa's face on the nose of a Ryanair Boeing [...]]]> Keeping with my Ryanair holiday love, I am going to share some xmas liveries from Ryanair of the past:

Ryanair Boeing 737-200 with a nice big bow and Santa on the tail.

Ryanair always loves making waves. Hitting Santa will do it.

Santa's face on the nose of a Ryanair Boeing 737-200

No matter if you celebrate Christmas, or whatever, I wish you the best travels and just Happy December 25th! Click on the pictures for where I found them.

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