We love that you love (or at least like) what we do! Photo – David Parker Brown | AirlineReporter
Hot damn… how the heck are we at 2,000 posts now? You figure that, on average, we post stories at about 850 words each – that is 1,700,000 words that we have added to the internet collective. Not too shabby.
About the first 1,000 posts or so were just me, doing my thing, trying to keep AirlineReporter going. Now, we have over 15 writers who contribute (some big and some small) to keep the posts flowing.
I think one of the things that still surprises me is which stories are popular. There are times where we will travel halfway across the world, do a great story, and it just doesn’t take off (pun intended). Then another story I think will be a throw-away (aka “omg we have no story ready today, we need to post something”) and it turns out to be quite popular.
That is why we keep trying to do new things and tell new stories to see how they go (as in recently trying to get more into commercial space travel). Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. We are already grateful that you, the readers, are open with us in what you like and don’t like as far as content is concerned.
Not every airline, nor every customer, is wanting to try to go bigger and better, like Singapore’s new Business Class.
I recently ranted about how people get what they pay for when it comes to air travel, but I feel that I have a few more things to say. I have come realize that there is downgrading trend going on in the industry that needs to change. Let me explain.
What if you get to a situation where increasing volumetric efficiency becomes done for reasons other than combating cost? After all, a business is in business in order to make a profit. It’d be irresponsible to not seek greater margins, right? Especially when passengers are already prepared to accept pain in economy class.
What’s sparked my continued rant is that I am starting to worry that European-style business class may be getting a foothold in North America.
Recently, American Airlines said goodbye to their last Boeing 767-200 (kind of). What better way to say farewell than with a video by SpeedbirdHD?
Well, technically, American still has a few, since US Airways is operating eight Boeing 767-200ERs right now. However, it is highly unlikely we will see them in the new livery, as they are to be all retired in 2015.
The last of the 767-200s were replaced by the Airbus A321T used for premium transcon flights, which is a pretty nice upgrade.
No matter, the video is a nice tribute to the aircraft, which served American well.
A kiss welcomes the first Copper River Salmon to Seattle – Photo: David Parker Brown | AirlineReporter
When my alarm went off early this morning, I was actually excited. On paper, the idea of waking up early and driving 45 minutes south to welcome some fish to Seattle might not sound like something worthwhile. But when Alaska Airlines celebrates the arrival of the first Copper River salmon to Seattle, it is worth getting up and joining in on the celebration.
Alaska Airlines brought over the Salmon-30-Salmon, although the salmon flew on a 737-400 Combi
This year is the fifth year that Alaska has done this special event and each year seems to get a bit more exciting. It is just so… well, unique.
The event takes place in the parking lot of Alaska Air Cargo with a bunch of tents, grills, and seats on a Friday morning. There are invited guests, chefs, some famous people, and media all waiting for a fish to come off a plane.
All the different A330 liveries of JFK – Photos: Jason Rabinowitz
The Airbus A330 is not typically known for being a beautiful aircraft. It is, however, a workhorse; one that flies thousands of people per day around the world safely and (most of the time) comfortably.
Since I was a child, I have been interested in airline liveries. You might tell from our Airline Livery of the Week and Ultimate Livery Challenges. I was always fascinated by how you can have the exact same aircraft look so different because of the paint on the outside. In one design, the plane might look amazing, but in another, a bit horrid.
To help celebrate the diversity of airline liveries, I wanted to share the above combination of photos showing all of the different liveries that show up at John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Contributor Jason Rabinowitz lives close to the airport and is able to take these shots.
But this begs the question: which ones do you like the most and the least?(be sure to click on the image to see a larger version)
Personally, I have always been a fan of the Aeroflot livery, and have felt that it might be time for Alitalia to update their livery.
