I recently had the opportunity to welcome some VIP fish from Alaska to the lower 48. Did I enjoy the experience because of the Copper River salmon? Yes, it was quite entertaining seeing all the people wanting to kiss a 34 pounder at 8am in the morning (I typically don’t kiss fish before noon). For me it was more about having an excuse to get back on the tarmac at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and hang out with Alaska Cargo up close and personal.
My combi ride back in 2016The fishing boats in Cordova
A while back, I took a milk run up to Cordova, AK and watched as fishing boats brought the first salmon to shore. Then I flew with the fish in the middle of the night on a combi back to Seattle. You can read more about the fish, the economic impact, and my little adventure there. For this story, I am just going to share some of my photos and let them speak for themselves.
To everyone who gave up hope for New York’s airports, I can see why you did. For way too long, JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark were congested outdated disasters. But at long last the powers-that-be are investing in massive renovations. We wrote about JFK’s New Terminal One project, which broke ground a few months ago. But without a doubt, LaGuardia is the airport that is furthest along in its makeover. And the results so far look amazing.
What surprised me most is how great the new Terminal B is for planespotting. Thanks to its design as an unusually vertical airport, including skybridges over busy taxiways, the views are excellent.
Read on for a photo and video walkthrough around the gorgeous Terminal B, with plenty of amazing views of the ramp and runways.
Living in the greater Seattle area has its advantages. Being able to go pretty much any time and drive around Paine Field Airport (KPAE) is for sure one of them. Plus, if you book yourself a night at the Hilton Garden Inn, you are very likely to get a room that looks over the airport. Heck, you can even spot from your room and/or car and have yourself a bit of an AvGeek hootenanny. I recently did just that and my pal Jeremy joined me. Although this story might mostly be photos, I am likely to add a snarky comment here or there.
I decided to do a little blast from the past and use my “real” DSLR camera instead of my iPhone. It is amazing for the close-ups, but I think I might need a refresher course. Jeremy ended up taking a few of the photos, but I was too lazy to label them properly. Just assume if one looks like someone with talent took the picture, it was him. Here we go…
Sometimes it’s hard to beat a classic. Japan Airlines’ 777-300ERs are the heavy lifter of their long-haul fleet. And although the current premium cabins have been flying for around ten years, they’re still a fan favorite.
I had my first chance to fly JAL’s Sky Suite business class on a flagship route from New York JFK to Tokyo Haneda – now I completely understand why it’s so popular. As an added bonus the window seat views were pretty amazing, since it was nothing but daylight for the full 15 hours from boarding to deplaning.
Read on for more photos, videos, and highlights from this classic long-haul route.
April 2nd Author’s Note : we hope everyone appreciated this April Fool’s joke (or at least realized it was a joke by the third line in). Fake news is a problem, so to make sure nobody gets confused, we wanted to drop this disclaimer to make it clear that this is not a real story. Thanks for reading!
Elon Musk announced he will purchase a 51% stake in American Airlines. This continues his recent pattern of acquiring companies that play central roles in American society and infrastructure.
He announced the news on Twitter and in a press conference. When asked about his interest in American Airlines, Musk stated “I realized that I simply enjoy buying companies with birds on their logos. And when I have such an obscene amount of money why should I try to fight those urges?”
Elon Musk making his announcement
Later in the press conference Mr. Musk outlined a series of major changes he plans for the airline’s operations. Effective immediately, American will accept dogecoin for ticket purchases, and in coming years will transition to a completely blockchain-based payment system. The airline will start charging flyers a nominal fee of $10 for passengers to display their TSA PreCheck status on their boarding passes.
Major changes are in store for American’s workforce as well. All employees will be required to work in-office at corporate headquarters. This may prove challenging for the airline’s pilots and flight attendants, who are accustomed to working on aircraft, but Mr. Musk expects them to rise to the challenge. In line with his views about free speech, Mr. Musk wants the Twitter handle @AmericanAir to take controversial political stances and to share conspiracy theories. To maximize profits, Mr. Musk plans to lay off around a third of the airline’s workers. However analysts expect that move to be followed by frantic attempts to rehire most of the furloughed employees shortly thereafter.
American Airlines aircraft at Miami International Airport
Some industry experts also expressed excitement that Mr. Musk’s family of companies could offer multimodal transport itineraries. For example, passengers could hire a Tesla-operated rideshare to the airport, fly an American Airlines flight, then connect to a SpaceX moon rocket that may or may not explode on landing. Said SpaceX employee April Phules, “after experiencing the inside of a Falcon 9 rocket, I think American Airlines passengers will be a little more forgiving about the airline’s economy class legroom.”
While some passengers seem worried about the impact Musk’s takeover will have on the airline, others approved of the move. “As a proud owner of three Teslas I enjoy feeling better than other people,” said Bay Area resident Hugh Jassol. “I look forward to experiencing that same sense of superiority when flying American Airlines too.”
American’s MD-80s are likely glad they retired before all this went down
American Airlines shareholders readied themselves for extreme volatility in the airline’s stock price in the weeks ahead. When asked for comment, SEC Chair Gary Gensler simply burst into tears.
Note from the editor: This story is not real. Elon if you are reading this PLEASE DO NOT ACTUALLY BUY AMERICAN AIRLINES.
