During an Emirates press conference today held in Seattle, WA, Alaska Airlines announced a mileage partnership with the Dubai based airline. Passengers will be able to earn and redeem miles on either airline, plus miles accumulated while flying on Emirates will [...]]]>

Emirates and Alaska Airlines are now working together with a shared mileage plan.

During an Emirates press conference today held in Seattle, WA, Alaska Airlines announced a mileage partnership with the Dubai based airline. Passengers will be able to earn and redeem miles on either airline, plus miles accumulated while flying on Emirates will count towards Alaska MVP elite level program. From March 1, 2012 to May 31st Alaska will offer double miles on any Emirates flight.

“As part of our commitment to Seattle, we are launching our service by partnering with Seattle’s hometown airline to offer customers the convenience of a frequent flier partnership as well as one-stop check-in and through checked baggage,” said Nigel Page, Emirates Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations for the Americas.

As reported previously, Emirates will start non-stop service from Seattle (SEA) to Dubai (DXB) starting on March 1, 2012. The new flight will help connect the northwest to the Middle East, Africa and India. Emirates new flight (#’s EK229 and EK230) will depart daily from Seattle and Dubai and take 14.5 to 15hrs to complete. Emirates Boeing 777-300ER will we set up in a three class layout and the price for a first class suite will cost $15,279.00, while business will cost $9479.00 and economy will be around $1448.00. With Seattle having so many large companies and a decent demand for people to visit their families in the middle east and India, the airline expects their new route to do quite well.

When asked if Emirates might be interested in upgrading their 777 service to Seattle to an Airbus A380 Nigel stated,  ”As we build the business up we will certainty look at that.” However, he stated that they have not been in talks with the Port of Seattle about bringing the A380 to SEA. Previously, Perry Cooper with the Port of Seattle communications told AirlineReporter.com that, “We can handle the A380 in emergencies, however we do not have facilities for regular use, such as the multiple gate loading ramps, for the aircraft. At this time, if an A380 were to arrive and need to access a gate, safety guidelines would require all traffic to stop until the aircraft stopped at its gate, due to the width of taxiways and safety zones next to the runways.”

Currently, the Airbus A380 is not able to make it from Dubai to Seattle non-stop and Emirates stated that they are working with Airbus to increase the range to handle cities, like Los Angeles non-stop.

Emirates will also be starting service to Dallas starting February 2nd and has voiced interest in expanding to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. The fact the airline has so many aircraft currently on order (70 Airbus A350s, 70 Airbus A380s and 87 Boeing 777s), my guess is all these cities will be seeing Emirates service soon.

Images:
Emirates by Robin Bilgil
Alaska by Leezpics 

Emirates is planning to start flights from Dubai International Airport (DXB ) to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) on March 1, 2012. Being based in Seattle, it is going to be great seeing Emirates Boeing 777-300ER operating out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Really, this is going [...]]]>

A brand new Emirates Boeing 777-300ER at Paine Field.

Emirates is planning to start flights from Dubai International Airport (DXB ) to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) on March 1, 2012. Being based in Seattle, it is going to be great seeing Emirates Boeing 777-300ER operating out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Really, this is going to be huge for Seattle. Emirates will offer a daily non-stop flight which takes only about 14-15hrs. This will be the only non-stop flight from Seattle to Dubai and even the shortest one-stop will take you about 20 hours each way. Even though I have not yet been able to fly on Emirates, I have heard their product and service are pretty darn slick, so the 15hrs should go by quite quickly.

Now is the time to find the best deals. Passengers are able to purchase tickets now, at quite a savings, to fly between March 1 to June 9, 2012. I did a quick search and it is no problem to get a round trip ticket for less than $1200.00 (with fees and taxes) during that time frame. The closest I can find on another airline is $100 more and takes 23.5 hours to get back home (it is also an American “legacy” airline and I would doubt it is as comfy as Emirates anyhow).

“Seattle has always been an important feeder market and we are pleased to develop our relationship with the city,” Nigel Page, Senior Vice President of Emirates Commercial Operations in the Americas explained to AirlineReporter.com. “Not only will the new route help promote Dubai and transit markets to America’s Pacific Northwest, it will also promote tourism, business and leisure travel to the northwest United States from around the world. We are confident this new route will contribute to growth for the City of Seattle and for Dubai.”

Image: wings777

It has been announced by All Nippon Airways (ANA) that Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) will be one of the international destinations for their Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Starting in 2012, the airline will offer a non-stop flight from [...]]]>

ANA's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Paine Field. Soon we will see these at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

It has been announced by All Nippon Airways (ANA) that Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) will be one of the international destinations for their Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Starting in 2012, the airline will offer a non-stop flight from Seattle to Narita Airport in Tokyo.

Mr. Shinichiro Ito, ANA Group President and CEO said,”We are very pleased to announce the launch of long-haul international services from Tokyo to Seattle. This city is an important destination on the U.S. West Coast and is home to companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks and, of course, Boeing itself. We are confident that passenger demand to fly to Seattle will be high, not only in Japan but other Asian cities.”

ANA also announced that they will start flights from Narita to San Jose, CA. Not that San Jose getting the 787 is any less exciting, it is just the fact that I am based in Seattle and have been really hoping that ANA would start 787 service here.

Not only will both airports receive service from ANA, but both will also get the Dreamliner for the first time. This is a great example on how the Dreamliner will change how airlines do business; offering point-to-point flights between destinations that might not have the demand for a larger aircraft like the Boeing 777 or 747.

“We are very pleased to announce the launch of further international Dreamliner services to these two new destinations on the west coast of the United States,” Shinichiro Ito, President and CEO of ANA Group stated in a press release.” We will make full use of the efficiencies of the 787 as well as capitalizing on our close relationship with United and Continental Airlines to enhance the competitiveness of our joint ventures with these two Star Alliance partners.”

This was my last leg of my RwandAir adventure. I had already flown from Seattle to Rwanda in a 737 and just completed a 10 hour flight from Kigali, Rwanda to Amsterdam on a KLM A330. I was already [...]]]>

Delta Air Lines Airbus A330 with a KLM Boeing 747-400 in the background in Amsterdam.

This was my last leg of my RwandAir adventure. I had already flown from Seattle to Rwanda in a 737 and just completed a 10 hour flight from Kigali, Rwanda to Amsterdam on a KLM A330. I was already pretty tired and wasn’t sure how my mind, body and spirit would do on another ten hour ride in a different A330. On the positive side, I was looking forward to comparing two international Airbus A330s back-to-back. Overall, I have to say I like the Northwest Delta Air Lines A330 long haul premium economy a bit better than KLM’s.

When arriving into Amsterdam, I had a three hour layover and I was hoping to check out their observation deck. Before plane spotting, I needed to do some charging of my laptop and cell phone, since my last ten hour flight did not have in-seat power and neither would my next one. The classic hunt for an open outlet was on.

I started down the concourse looking from side to side. I kept going and going and… well, going. Seriously? After 45 minutes looking up and down concourses D, E and F, I found an outlet about seven feet up for vending machines, one in the bathroom, one on a fire hose holder and one on a center pillar in a crowded walkway. I choose to deal with the crowds and sat down on the floor (looking like an idiot by the way) by the pillar, plugged in my phone and then… nothing. Sweet, this outlet did not work. Now the debate was did I want to look like even more of an idiot standing in the bathroom charging my phone, climbing on a vending machine or using an outlet on a fire hose that might cause some alarm to go off. I figured my best bet was with the fire hose and luckily it worked. The bad part was it took so long to juice up, that I wasn’t able to check out the observation deck – save it for next time I guess.

Delta Economy Comfort seat on an Airbus A330.

I figured I might as well head to the gate, where I received my first body scan. We had to wait in a small waiting area at the gate for our flight, which had little entertainment before being able to board. I was sitting in Delta Economy Comfort, which gave me four additional inches of seat pitch, 50% more recline, priority boarding and free alcohol. You also sit near the front of the plane, which means you are first to customs after arriving in Seattle. .

Even with the extra four inches, I was unable to fully stretch out my legs since there was a huge in-flight entertainment box under my seat, negating the extra leg room. You would think with a large electrical box like that under your seat, they would at least give you an outlet, but there was none. Reading on SeatGuru.com, it looks like only Business Class has outlets. Good thing I did some charging during my layover.

One nice surprise was seeing an air vent in the overhead bin. I absolutely love my air vents, since I am normally hot and that little breeze can make a huge difference. Sure, most domestic aircraft have air vents, but I am finding more and more long haul Boeing 747, 777, Airbus A330/A330 and the A380 are lacking them.

During both legs (KGL to AMS and AMS to SEA), I had window seats. When flying on the KLM A330, I noticed that there was quite a bit of room between the seat and the wall and was wishing the outer arm rest would raise, allowing me access to that extra room. It was too bad that the armrest would not rise on the KLM A330, but it did rise on Delta’s. This gave me an extra three inches or so of seat width and I was starting to get the feeling that this might be a good flight. Unfortunately we ran into some trouble pretty quickly.

Taking off from Amsterdam.

After boarding we were told there would be a delay. It turns out that the amount of fuel that the truck indicated being pumped into the aircraft, didn’t match the A330′s gauges. Delays can be annoying, but I am willing to wait to make sure we have enough fuel — I am old fashioned like that. It took about an hour to determine that the truck had the failure and after all the paperwork was completed, we took off.

When getting my free headphones given by Delta out of their plastic bag I accidently ripped one of the wires. Not a big deal, I figured I could just ring the call button and quickly get a new one. I decided to try something new; time how long it would take for a flight attendant to assist me after ringing the call button. I decided I would make eye contact with a flight attendant walking by, but I would not say anything like “excuse me,” to put them to the test.

I rang the call button and waited. And waited. And holy crap waited some more. At the 10 minute mark I turned off my call light and rang it again. During those ten minutes I had two different flight attendants walk by, but they did not stop… they did not even make eye contact. At the 15 minute mark I turned off my call light and rang it again. Another flight attendant walked by, but still nothing. I could see that my call light was on and the “ding” noise was definitely making its sound.

At about 18 minutes a flight attendant came by for trash. I was waiting for her to ask me about my light, but she didn’t. I decided I really wanted to start watching a movie, so I asked her for another head phone set, which she got right away. I am not normally one who uses the call button and I have never timed it before, but I am pretty certain that 18 minutes and three flight attendants walking by is not okay. It takes a lot to get me annoyed or frustrated on a flight and this definitely did it.

OH YES! The armrest near the window moves, giving me more room.

When trying to relax, the recline of the Economy Comfort was great. However, when the person in front of me was enjoying their extra 50% recline, it was not so great – actually pretty annoying. I am normally one that doesn’t recline my seat, since I do not want to disturb the person behind me, but I really had to recline a bit to open my laptop, even with the extra four inches.

During the flight, I was served two different meals. One was your standard airline pasta, but the second was pizza. Both of them were pretty decent and I thought it was pretty slick having pizza on the plane. I really didn’t get to enjoy all the amenities in the flight, since I slept through most of it. Having the ability to raise my outer armrest really gave me one of my best economy sleeps with someone sitting next to me. I landed in Seattle feeling a lot better than I thought I would after 24 hours of economy flight.

A FEW MORE PHOTOS

Emirates has announced they will start flying non-stop from Dallas and Seattle to Dubai starting early next year. Flights from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) will commence on February 2, 2012 and from Seattle-Tacoma International [...]]]>

This Emirates Boeing 777-300ER is in Seattle, but only because it was built there. Soon one will be based in Seattle.

Emirates has announced they will start flying non-stop from Dallas and Seattle to Dubai starting early next year. Flights from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) will commence on February 2, 2012 and from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) on March 1, 2012. The airline is also looking at possible expansions to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and Washington, DC.

Before 9/11 Emirates had plans to expand in the US, but their plans were put on hold due to lack of demand. Currently, Emirates is the world’s number one airline in international traffic and they feel it is time to increase service to the US.

“We’ve always had fairly ambitious plans for the U.S. and this is part of that,” Emirates President Tim Clark told Bloomberg. “It’s an immense market. There will be more to come, including increased frequencies and bigger planes. We have ideas for the East Coast, the north-south axis in the center and for the west.”

Emirates will operate their new flights from DFW and SEA using Boeing 777s, but the airline is speaking openly about using larger Airbus A380s on future US routes.

“The A380 will be an option for all U.S. operations post- 2013, when the plane will have a higher takeoff weight, so that routes such as Dubai-Los Angeles become a distinct possibility,” he said. “And most U.S. airports are A380- capable or will be.”

Being based in Seattle, it is very exciting to hear that not only will a new airline start operations here, but that they are also contemplating using the Airbus A380 in the future. As of now, no airline operates the A380 to SEA and even with this announcement, it seems it could still take a while.

“We do not have any immediate plans to bring the A380 to Seattle, although this may be something we consider in the future,” Jim Baxter, Vice President North America, Emirates Airline explained to AirlineReporter.com via email. Even if Emirates was ready to operate the A380 to Seattle, the airport is not able to handle scheduled service of the world’s largest airliner.

“We can handle the A380 in emergencies, however we do not have facilities for regular use, such as the multiple gate loading ramps, for the aircraft,” Perry Cooper, SEA’s Media and Public Affairs Manager explained. “At this time, if an A380 were to arrive and need to access a gate, safety guidelines would require all traffic to stop until the aircraft stopped at its gate, due to the width of taxiways and safety zones next to the runways.”

The A380 is so large, that it would currently take up two of SEA’s gate configurations and due to the cost and lack of direct demand, the airport does not “currently have plans to expand to accommodate the A380.”

Image: Rick Schlamp

Recently I had the opportunity to fly from Seattle (SEA) to Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) on a Lufthansa Airbus A330 in Business Class. This was my first Lufthansa A330 flight and figured it is time to do a review. I was [...]]]>

Lufthansa Airbus A330 at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) waiting to go to Frankfurt (FRA).

Recently I had the opportunity to fly from Seattle (SEA) to Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) on a Lufthansa Airbus A330 in Business Class. This was my first Lufthansa A330 flight and figured it is time to do a review. I was flown to Germany by the airline to experience the first Airbus A380 flight from Frankfurt to Miami, but getting there is half the fun.

I felt a lot of pressure to get some rest on the flight over to FRA since I was only spending 24hrs there before heading back to the US. Flying in a premium seat better prepares a passenger to arrive well rested and ready to go — something I needed, but never got. The down side of flying in a premium seat, at least for me, is I want to enjoy the experience and I fight sleeping through it.

On the day of the flight, I decided to leave home early to get to the airport. Although Lufthansa does not have their own lounge at SEA, they share one with British Airways in the S-Terminal. I was able to hang out in the lounge for about three hours with free drinks and snacks until my flight was ready to board — never a bad way to spend an afternoon.

What flight can be complete with out a winglet shot?There are so many business class seats, they go to the wing.

Lufthansa flies from Seattle to Frankfurt daily and is the only flight they operate out of Seattle. The great thing about only operating one flight per day is the aircraft was already sitting at the airport and we boarded and departed right on time. I remember the days when an Airbus A340 flew the route (not exactly sure of the dates) but today they have the A330. Luckily for us aviation nerds you can still catch the Air France A340 that flies to Seattle.

Once you get to cruising altitude on a wide bodied airliner, it is easy to forget you are flying. Most people shut their window (even me, I know, I know) to better view your in-flight entertainment screens . A flight on a wide body airliner is just a different experience, even in economy, allowing less of a closed-in feeling. Half way across the ocean, I couldn’t help but stop and realize how amazing it was traveling from Seattle to Frankfurt in just under ten hours. To think what that trip would have entailed just 100 years ago to accomplish the same task makes me happy that airlines offer a much better solution.

The seats provided quite a bit of room and there was a pretty good selection of entertainment, but I wished there was a bit more privacy between me and the person next to me. I have no problem sleeping in economy in standard seats, but when I am lying flat, I feel a bit more exposed and would enjoy more privacy. I also wish the TV screen was closer, since, when lounging back, the screen got  smaller. I ran out of movies I wanted to watch on the flight over there, but luckily my flight back was on the A380, which had additional options for me to enjoy.

Yum! This was one of three courses. Being served in glasses with the airline's logo is a nice touch. Yes, I was watching a movie with Matt Damon.

Up in Business Class, one has ample choices for food during your long trip. There is an appetizer, entree and desert and for each category, you have three choices. I decided on the, “chilled honey roasted Chicken Breast with water crest salad and cranberries, then Zinfandel braised short ribs with garlic mashed potatoes and baby carrots and finally finished it up with sage derby, gruyere and cambozola cheese.” The food quality is what would be expected from an international business class experience. I only wish there were more offerings of German in nature. If possible, I prefer to have the cuisine of the airline’s home country versus standard fare. Back in economy, they didn’t have it too shabby either. They didn’t have all the choices, but at least they were still getting meals that looked pretty decent for airline food and it was all free (well included in the price of the ticket).

I know this is silly and really not a reason to choose an airline, but Lufthansa’s warm wash cloths that are handed out at the beginning of the flight and before the meal, smelled amazing. I can’t even tell you what the smell was like, but if they made that into an air freshener I would definitely get it.

After meal service almost everyone in the front of the plane went to sleep. I tried, but it just wasn’t happening. I even took part of a sleeping pill (something I do not usually do while flying), but I never got tired. This was bad news because when we landed it was midnight my time, but 9am local time and I had a full day of events to participate in. I welcomed jet-lag with open arms.

One reason I think I couldn’t sleep was it never got dark outside. The concept was pretty cool, but not getting any sleep wasn’t so cool. Yea, sure, the shades were all down, but mentally, I knew the light was there. Even the eye mask can’t stop the mental sunlight getting in.

When arriving in Frankfurt, we had to take a 10 minute bus ride back to the terminal.

Once we landed I was confused when we started taxiing away from the airport. I had forgotten that Frankfurt has many airline parking spaces where buses take people to and from the terminal. This was a bonus for me, being able to de-plane on the tarmac, then taking a five minute bus ride through the airport, but I could see how that would be a huge annoyance for people who are not into planes. I really wouldn’t want to ride an airplane for 10 hours, then get stuck on an even more crowded bus. You better believe the first class passengers are not riding the bus; many get a private Mercedes or Porsche to take them to the terminal.

Lufthansa also has an arrival lounge at FRA, but I was tired and in need of a shower, so I headed out of the airport and to my hotel. The flight went quick and was a great combination of comfort, high-end service and entertainment. I can’t wait until the next international flight.

CHECK OUT MORE PHOTOS OF THE TRIP

Condor Airlines, a low-frills airline based in Germany, commenced their first Seattle (SEA) to Frankfurt (FRA) flight yesterday using a Boeing 767-300ER (D-ABUB). The first flight, arrived about 4:00pm PST and was greeted by a water canon salute and a celebration [...]]]>
All photos by David Lilienthal / NYCAviation.com – Click any for larger version

Condor Airlines, a low-frills airline based in Germany, commenced their first Seattle (SEA) to Frankfurt (FRA) flight yesterday using a Boeing 767-300ER (D-ABUB). The first flight, arrived about 4:00pm PST and was greeted by a water canon salute and a celebration at the South Terminal.

The new flight will commence twice per week and offer three classes of service: 18 seats in Comfort Class, 35 seats in Premium Economy (with 6 inches additional legroom) and 217 in economy. Condor will provide competition for Lufthansa who currently flies daily between Seattle and Frankfurt.

Seattle becomes Condor’s fifth destination in the US after Anchorage, Fairbanks, Fort Lauderdale and Las Vegas. Seattle has seen 6.7% increase in international traffic this year compared to 2010 and expects to see 23% more seats this summer to Europe versus last. Seattle currently operates flights to 19 foreign destinations that are served by 11 airlines.

“This new airline service will generate local jobs, provide more choices for travelers from Seattle to Europe, and provides capacity for air cargo between Seattle and Europe,” said Mike Ehl, Director of Operations at Seattle Tacoma International Airport. “We welcome Condor Airlines as part of our growth in international traffic.”

Condor Airline’s is Germany’s second largest airline and provides flights from Germany to mostly leisure destinations. The airline operates a fleet of 34 aircraft including the Boeing 757-300, Boeing 767-300ER and Airbus A320.

This story was a joint effort between AirlineReporter.com and NYCAviation.com

The last few years, the more I fly, the more I see body scanners. To date, even though many airports I travel to and from have body scanners,  I have been able to avoid them — and pat-downs as well.

Happy news for Seattle and on-time performance. During April 2011, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) had the most flights departing on-time than any other airport in the US, according to the Puget Sound Business [...]]]>

In April, passengers didn't have to spend a lot of extra time inside Seattle-Tacoma International Airport since many flights were on-time.

Happy news for Seattle and on-time performance. During April 2011, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) had the most flights departing on-time than any other airport in the US, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal.

SEA had 84.97% of their flights leave on time, which puts them at the number one spot. Even when looking at all of North America, SEA comes in second, with Vancouver, BC (just north of Seattle) beating them out with 86.07% of their flights on-time.

Not only did Seattle’s airport do well, but Seattle’s hometown airline, Alaska Airlines did very well too.

Alaska was number 2 in April for most on-time flights with 89%, where Horizon Air (Alaska’s sister carrier) was number three with 86.33%. Not surprisingly, Hawaiian Airlines (which has a history of being the #1 carrier for on-time performance in the US) was first with 92.35% of their flights on-time.

Congrats to all those based in Seattle who work hard to make these results possible!

After 9/11 airlines weren’t doing so hot. When the money was rolling in, airlines made a real effort to take care of their VIP customers. When flying demand goes down, airlines declare bankruptcy, mergers happen and [...]]]>

Invited VIP Delta guests at the Seattle Art Museum. Yes, those are Ford Taurusi hanging from the ceiling.

After 9/11 airlines weren’t doing so hot. When the money was rolling in, airlines made a real effort to take care of their VIP customers. When flying demand goes down, airlines declare bankruptcy, mergers happen and the price of oil goes up, sometimes airlines can become distracted. Many airlines used to make an extra effort for their passengers, but had to cut back due to funding. Now, airlines are starting to make money again, and starting to concentrate more on the customer.

Delta Air Lines is one airline that isn’t doing too shabby right now. After the merger with Northwest Airlines they were the world’s largest airlines, until United and Continental stole that title away. But that didn’t stop Delta from making some decent money in extra fees. Through the end of the third quarter of this year, Delta has made $1.26billion (that is with a “B”) on bag and change fees. Just in the third quarter alone, Delta made $363million overall. Compare that to losing $161million last year. Now that Delta is making money and doesn’t have to concentrate on the merger anymore, they can put their focus back on the most important part of the equation: the customer.

So how does Seattle play into this? Last night Delta held an exclusive Picasso event at the Seattle Arts Museum (called SAM here) for VIP passengers, booking agents and other invited guests. Delta wants to show how important Seattle is to them and how they want to continue to grow loyal customers.

Before the Northwest merger, Delta didn’t have a huge presence. However, adding Northwest’s routes to Asia and having a vast domestic network in the US, provides many Seattle locals and folks flying through with more options. Seattle is a big international hub for Delta. After JFK and Atlanta, Seattle offers the third most international destinations [there is discussion going on right now. It might be fourth with Detroit third] than any other US city that Delta flies. The airline has a staff of 1500 employees based in Seattle and are in the process of remodeling their SkyClub at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).  Delta hopes to have their new SkyClub open to the public sometime during the first quarter of 2011.

Although the speeches by Delta at last night’s event were short, they did make sure to mention their appreciation of Alaska Airlines more than once. While Delta is building a great international presence out of Seattle, they rely heavily on their relationship with Alaska and their domestic, west coast network.

This year, Delta added flights to Osaka and Beijing from Seattle. During the summer they plan to increase non-stop flights to Amsterdam from 10 weekly to 14. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more international flights coming out of Seattle in the future. One thing that Delta knows is an issue is their outdated aircraft interiors on most of their Seattle international flights. Some are flown with Delta’s Boeing 767-300ER’s and others with Northwest Airbus A330′s. Delta assures us that all the interiors will be updated by 2012.

This event will be one of many that Delta hopes to have around the country. They are sponsoring the Picasso exhibit that is currently in Seattle, which eventually will be making other visits around the US. I hope to see more events like this around the country from other airlines as well. I think making those VIP customers feel a bit more VIP is a good way to continue to see loyal customers continue to fly one particular airline.

Ah the joys of body scanners. Costing a fortune, invading our privacy and making people feel safer about flying. I haven’t been a fan of them since the get-go and [...]]]>

A Transportation Security Administration employee demonstrates a backscatter X-ray body scanner, following the directions of a screener, at SEA Photo by Aubrey Cohen/Seattle PI

Ah the joys of body scanners. Costing a fortune, invading our privacy and making people feel safer about flying. I haven’t been a fan of them since the get-go and now my home town airport has them.

Back in August I reported that Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) would start using body scanners in September. However, they got delayed, but now are ready to start scanning. Two of the machines have been installed at the south check point and should be in full use by the end of this week.

Jim Forman with KING5 was at SEA last week and got a first look at the body scanners. Some of the people he interviewed said, “If it keeps us safer on the flights, it’s worth it.” Well, what if it doesn’t keep you safer? Is it worth it then?

Aubrey Cohen with the Seattle PI asked about privacy and health concerns. The TSA explained to him that the machines are not able to  store images, and the screeners in the room may not have any cameras, cell phones or other recording devices. The TSA also applies a “privacy algorithm” that makes the images less explicit. Even though there might be the rule of no cameras or phones, that doesn’t mean all employees across the country will listen to those rules.

When asked about heath concerns, Jeanette Parker, deputy federal security director at SEA told Cohen,”This technology is safe, it meets national health and safety standards. Backscatter technology was evaluated by independent third parties. Studies have shown a single scan with backscatter imaging technology is equivalent to two minutes of flight at altitude.”

Even though the scanners are only at the south check point, additional scanners will be installed at the north check point soon. It will be closed for two weeks while they reconfigure the check point for the new body scanners. The TSA does not expect there to be any delays since they will open all the stations at the other three check points.

As more and more airports get these scanner I wonder why do we continue to spend millions of dollars to give the impression of flight safety. They do not make us safer, they cost us money and they take away our privacy.

Well, time to go take a look at them first hand. I am on my way to SEA, since I am flying this morning. I will head over to the south terminal to check them out.

Remember, no matter what airport you are at, you have the right to opt out of being scanned.

Check out additional photos from the Seattle PI.

Back at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. I was looking forward to seeing the new body scanners here, but there weren’t any in my security line…I am going [...]]]>

It is too dark and rainy to get a good photo of my plane today. But this is the Delta 767 that took me to Atlanta last year.

Back at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. I was looking forward to seeing the new body scanners here, but there weren’t any in my security line…I am going to have to look into that.

I am on my way to Atlanta, GA to hang out with Delta Air Lines for the day. I am going to check out how they operate and talk to some folks to find out what their game plan is for the future.

Delta is currently the largest airline in the world. How does such a large airline manage 160 million passengers per year, 354 destinations in 65 countries, 75,000 employees and a fleet of more than 725 aircraft ranging from 34 passenger Saab 340B to the 403 passenger Boeing 747-400? I am not quite sure, but I am sure as heck excited to find out.

Today, I will be flying on a Boeing 767-300 and I have the privilege of testing out Delta’s domestic first class. This is great, since last year I flew on the exact same route in economy.

Do you have any questions for Delta you would like answered? Leave them in the comments or email me at david@airlinereporter.com and I will see what I can do.

UPDATE: I couldn’t see the reg number at the gate, but now know it is N136DL. Airliners.net has some pics of her in the old Delta livery.

Back to Seattle Tacoma International Airport probably the last time before they install body scanners. Waiting for my United Express flight down to LAX for a special event [...]]]>

What a beautiful morning to fly. United Express (with white nose - N708SK) CRJ-700 with a United Boeing 757 and moon in the background at SEA.

Back to Seattle Tacoma International Airport probably the last time before they install body scanners. Waiting for my United Express flight down to LAX for a special event that United holds for all their VIP passengers to connect and get feedback. Be sure to follow me on Twitter (what’s Twitter?) to see all the action.

I am excited to check out one of these events and also for the flight down to LAX. This will be my first flight on a Canadair Regional Jet 700. Being based in Seattle, there just aren’t that many regional jets that fly out of here and most of my connections with-in the US have been on larger aircraft.

I enjoyed flying on the ERJ-145 with its 2:1 layout and interested to check out this CRJ-700 with mostly 2:2 layout. The United Express flight is being flown by Skywest and according to SeatGuru.com, this plane should have First Class and United Economy Plus seats. I ended up with seat 6D which should be economy plus and I didn’t have to pay a dime more to get it. Should be a good flight.

Here they come folks! Body scanners are on their way to my home town here in Seattle. I like to think of Seattle as a pretty progressive town and I was hoping that they wouldn’t make their way to my hometown airport. But as the [...]]]>

Seattle's Airport will be getting body scanners soon.

Here they come folks! Body scanners are on their way to my home town here in Seattle. I like to think of Seattle as a pretty progressive town and I was hoping that they wouldn’t make their way to my hometown airport. But as the Seattle Times is reporting, they will start to be used in September at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).

The TSA hopes to install 450 of the $130,000 to $170,000 machines this year and 500 more the next. Someone is definitely getting rich off all this added security.

Yesterday, our local NPR station KUOW was talking about this subject on The Conversation with Ross Renyolds and I got to put in my two cents on the air. You can listen to the whole discussion here (I come in at about 12:50), which includes an interview with Dwayne Baird, a spokesperson for the TSA.

Remember, you have the option to opt-out of the body scanners and get a full pat down if you choose. I won’t re-hash my love (that is sarcastic) for these machines.