Let’s be honest: window seat views are the best part of flying. We try to include plenty of photos in our stories. But did you know we have a YouTube channel with videos of some great inflight moments?
We’ve got takeoff views! We’ve got landing views! We even let some new airport terminals get a moment in the limelight. All in all we’ve got plenty to keep an AvGeek like you entertained.
In this story we’re compiling some of the more recent highlights from our channel. Those include an upper-deck A380 takeoff in Australia, views from both ends of the world’s longest flight, and a full-length feature on the world’s best planespotting hotel.
Read on for the full list!
Time for takeoff
Between the roar of the engines, the views on climb out, and the feeling that your adventure is just getting started, takeoff is arguably the best part of a flight. Below are some of our favorite recent takeoff videos:
Singapore Airlines A380 upper-deck takeoff view from Melbourne: There are so many factors that make this one special, from our seat in the upper deck, to experiencing Singapore’s excellent business class, to a VERY long takeoff roll. Those of you who have A380 experience know that the plane’s window design can make it challenging to get unobstructed glare-free views. But honestly it’s kinda cool how the window frames the views in this one. We start you off with the taxi portion of the flight, but if you’re interested in a quick look at Singapore’s A380 business class scroll back to the beginning of the video.
That Singapore Airlines A380 flight was one of the best of my life — here’s the full story if you’re interested in reading more about it.
Qatar Airways 777 departing New York JFK: As a New York resident for the past few years I’ve gotten to appreciate how amazing the planespotting scene is at JFK. This video is from the start of a Qsuite flight from New York to Doha. Highlights: @ 1:26 taxiing onto 31L while watching the plane ahead of us lift off, then the entire takeoff roll and great views of JFK’s terminals 1 and 8, and @2:32 the views of the Manhattan skyline. One unique part of this flight was that it was my first time in a rear-facing seat, which you can see at the very end of the video.
Just like the last video, scroll back to the beginning if you want a look at the pre-takeoff highlights like American’s JFK lounge and the Qsuite seat.
The world’s longest flight takes to the skies: Our most recent video (at least as of the time of this story’s publication) is from the world’s longest-distance flight: Singapore Airlines’ direct route connecting New York JFK and Singapore Changi. It was a 11PM departure, and the airport and Long Island glittered at night.
The same route in reverse, with a daytime departure: Two years ago I flew Singapore’s JFK route in the outbound direction. We got a look at the buzzing pre-flight ramp activity before boarding. Our takeoff roll was nearly a full minute long because of the fuel load and also the hot and humid Singapore climate.
JAL 777-300ER takeoff and climb-out: In this JFK takeoff video we depart from runway 4L and get a different view at the JFK terminal layout. The variety of long-haul carriers on display is impressive. It was cloudy out, and @ 1:33 you can see the wing pick up that shroud of condensation you sometimes see on humid days. Busting through the main cloud layer at 2:00 was pretty great too.
We wrote a full story about this JAL flight from JFK to Tokyo Haneda.
Some love for landings
What goes up must come down. And when it does, the views are generally gorgeous.
Sunset descent into New York on a Singapore Airlines A350: This was on the same flight as the Singapore Changi takeoff we showed you earlier … just 17 hours later (it’s the world’s longest flight after all). The entire descent and landing was beautiful since it happened during sunset. But things really get good at 1:20 when we line up with the final approach to JFK 4R just as the sunset showed off its brightest colors. Singapore Airlines aficionados may get a nostalgic kick out of the music they play during landing (@ 2:00). And even though it was just a quick look, the view of the departing aircraft @ 2:48 still lives in my head rent-free.
Cathay Pacific A350-1000 nose cam landing in Hong Kong: There’s only one thing that can take our eyes away from the window during landing. And that thing is an exterior camera view we can watch onscreen. As part of the excellent overall IFE system on Cathay’s A350-1000s, there was a nose cam view that we used to watch the short final approach. You can skip to 0:47 in the video below for that view.
AvGeeking from the ground
Call it counterintuitive, but some of our favorite recent aviation-related videos were about stuff on terra firma.
Is this the world’s best planespotting hotel? We put together a full video report after a stay at Tokyo Haneda’s Excel Hotel, which is renowned as one of the world’s best planespotting hotels.
Excellent views from LaGuardia terminal B’s skybridges: There is a TON to love about LaGuardia’s new Terminal B. But from an AvGeek angle, the winning factor is the over-taxiway skybridge scene. From those vantage points you get an unmatched view of the bustling LGA ramp and runway activity.
And on the topic of improvements to NYC-area airports, we put together a report on Newark’s new terminal A. The video ends with a takeoff view of the new terminal with sunset in the background.
Tell us what you want to see more of!
If you have any thoughts or feedback about our videos — things you like, things you didn’t, or things you’d like to see more of — we’d love to know. The more we know about the content you’re looking for, the better we can deliver.
