I first flew in a Bombardier Q400 Dash 8 as a passenger in October 2015 and, less than a year later, I got to co-pilot one! Well, not exactly… Not being a qualified pilot, I am unlikely to fly one any time soon. However, that did not prevent me from experiencing the next best thing: a ride in […]
Last month, I attended an ultimate behind-the-scenes airport tour, courtesy of London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR). LHR’s Digital Communications Manager, Chris Loy, welcomed a select group of aviation publications to showcase its daily operations and on behalf of AirlineReporter I was thrilled to be a part of it.
I always enjoy traveling through LHR, especially Terminal 5 (T5), and revel in what is generally a calm and serene travel experience. This is despite handling more than 75 million passengers and about 1.5 million tons of cargo (the non self-loading variety) per year.
I compare this to the utter chaos that is London’s Luton Airport (LTN) while they undergo extensive construction, or the holiday-maker maelstrom that is Gatwick Airport (LGW) during the summer. That said, I have never transited through LHR. Nor have I ever suffered from any extensive flight delays at the airport.
“Yes, transiting is an operational challenge at Heathrow,” remarks LHR Filming Coordinator and Airside Safety Officer, Joe Audcent. “The airfield is just so big from one end to another.” Chris and Joe would be our intrepid tour guides and I was looking forward to learning more about my hometown airport.
I was very lucky to get a ticket to this year’s Aviation Geek Fest Seattle from April 8th to 10th. As one of the biggest AvGeeks on the planet (or so I wrongly thought…), I had been savoring the prospect of flying to the US west coast to visit Seattle and Boeing’s spiritual home, since the ticket had come through. I opted for a London to Seattle direct flight with one of British Airways’ own Queen of the Skies — the 747. I flew in her her World Traveler Plus (premium economy) cabin and the flight was surprisingly empty, which suited me fine and dandy. It was a peaceful flight and a Thursday lunchtime arrival into SEA, a day and a half before the event, gave me a chance to check out the city.
It is always nice to visit a new place when the sun is shining. I was in luck because the weather was glorious during my journey north from downtown Seattle to Boeing’s Future of Flight in Everett early Saturday morning. I had made all of my track selections and found myself in Group B, preparing to visit the Dreamlifter Operations Center at 10am. Boeing’s “no cameras or phones” rule would be strictly enforced, which was understandable, if not a little disappointing. As one tour guide later said, “you can only take away memories.” They would turn out to be spectacular memories.
Recently, I was delighted get an invite to the Imperial War Museum’s (IWM) inaugural re-opening of its American Air Museum (AAM) at Duxford in Cambridgeshire. The AAM opened to the public on Saturday 19 March 2016, after being closed for 12 months for major redevelopment work. I had the opportunity to get a sneak preview and to talk to some honorary guests, whose legacies form part of the new exhibition. A midweek event meant my trusty photographing sidekick of a son could not join me due to school. Given half a chance, he would probably have skipped to come with me.
The AAM is housed in a concrete semi-conical building with a glass front that faces the airfield and, as you can see from the AAM’s floor plan above, it’s packed full of aircraft that showcase some of the very best in US historical aviation.
Last Wednesday, I attended the London unveiling of “Airspace by Airbus”- the European aircraft maker’s bold strategy to create a distinctive cabin brand that it hopes will represent the pinnacle of passenger comfort and aircraft operational performance. I must confess to being perplexed by what Airbus could possibly display in the tiny Searcys space on the top floor of the Gherkin building, especially on a cold and grey London morning. Luckily, Airbus has quite a bit of colorful things to show off and I was intrigued on what Airspace was all about and when we might start seeing it on actual Airbus aircraft.
Upon arrival, we were whisked up to the 39th floor, offered breakfast canaps, juice and coffee, then ushered to our seats by a friendly Airbus PR team. Following a respectful round of applause in solidarity for the very recent terrorist atrocities in Brussels, Dr Kiran Rao (EVP Strategy and Marketing), Ingo Wuggetzer (VP Cabin Marketing) and Francois Caudron (Senior VP, Marketing) took to the stage to introduce Airspace by Airbus.