Nothing beats being able to stand in between several active runways to take photos
Every year in the late summer, SEA invites a group of local AvGeeks to what it calls “SEA Airport AV Geeks Airfield Day.” And, what a day it was.
There were roughly a dozen of us, and after a safety briefing in the airport’s offices, we were assigned to our escorts and headed out to a couple of vans.
Even in the van, the views were great
The day started out quite overcast, but by the time we got out on the field in the early afternoon, most of the clouds had lifted and even Mount Rainier (always referred to as simply “the mountain” in these parts) had started to make an appearance to the southeast.
Time for a 787 closeupThis Asiana livery will soon be replaced by new owner Korean AirA Lufthansa A350 waits for a gate on a ramp at SEA with Mount Rainier visible in the distance
I’ve been lucky enough to get airside at quite a few airports over the years, but SEA remains one of my very favorites, as all three runways are clearly visible, and the mountain views can’t be beat.
Views? We’ve got ’em!
What was it like being out there on the edges of an access road between the active runways for several hours? It was bliss. Noisy bliss. Yes, we all had hearing protection. And we all seemed to agree that the smell of jet-A is also quite fine.
When Flexjet recently reached out asking if I would like to tour their first Gulfstream G500 (N200FX), how could I refuse? I tried to act cool, but of course I was giddy to have the opportunity to check out one of the most premium private jets on the market today (I guess the cool kids are calling them “PJs”).
N200FX sitting on the tarmac at King County International Airport (aka Boeing Field)
You can see the color change paint from orange to green
I met up with the Flexjet representatives at the FBO at King County International Airport (KBFI) and we walked out to the tarmac where N200FX awaited us. Of course there was no security, no lines, we just walked out to the plane when we were ready to go. I have to say that Flexjet has a beautiful livery and the fact that part of its paint design has “chameleon” paint that changes color depending on the sun’s angle, made it all that more special.
After spending some quality time with the outside of the G500, I was delighted to board and check out the interior firsthand!
Watching an China Eastern A330 land — feels like you could reach out and touch it!
What is Dorkfest, you might ask? It’s a fabulous event created by our friend Brett Snyder (aka Cranky Flier), where a bunch of AvGeeks get together at the In-N-Out by LAX to look at airplanes, eat some chow, win airport/airline giveaways, and be around a great group of people. Sound interesting? Here are the deets:
There is no registration required for the main shindig, but if you want to be in the raffle to win awesome aviation-themed prizes or take a possible ramp tour of LAX, you will need to pre-register for those. To learn more about Dorkfest or sign up for the extras (as of publishing, the RSVPs are not yet open), then head to the main Dorkfest page.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) recently unveiled a $399 million, 145,000-square-foot expansion of the C Concourse and I had the opportunity to explore the space. I think passengers will be impressed and there is one new addition that AvGeeks will love!
Way back in 2017 we wrote about United’s next-gen premium cabin product called Polaris. Early in Polaris’ rollout I tried it on a shiny new 787-10 on a transcon route, but in all the time since then I haven’t flown it on a true international flight. I finally managed to work long-haul Polaris into my travels. And the timing was perfect because it’s been a newsworthy period for United’s onboard product in the past few months.
Back when it unveiled Polaris, United highlighted key features like direct aisle access, seat consistency across the fleet, improved onboard service elements, a strong focus on sleep, and a potentially best-in-class set of airport lounges. And so during this flight from Newark to London I was paying close attention to how well Polaris was delivering on those promises nearly a decade after its rollout.
Read on for the full scoop on whether this flight delivered on the Polaris promise — plus plenty of the usual photos and window-seat-view videos. We’ll also walk you through some major announcements that United just made about its short-haul and long-haul fleets, including the next generation of its flagship business class experience.
