Are you sitting down? Okay… How would you like to win two tickets on one of ANA’s site seeing Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights in Japan? Oh heck yes you would! Now, stop sitting and get ready to start taking photos.
That’s right folks, All Nippon Airways is holding a contest where you send them a photo of you smiling and incorporate “787” creatively in your photo, then you will be considered for two tickets from an ANA city to Japan to take part in one of their 787 flights currently scheduled for sometime in October.
The contest starts now and your entry needs to be in by September 5th. Feel free to use any of my almost 500 787 Dreamliner photos (just please give me credit) and ANA has given you a few as well. Of course, you don’t necessarily need the actual plane in your photo. Even if you do not get 1st place, the top 9 runner ups will get a free 787 model.
Now, I have promoted quite a few contests I thought were pretty cool, but never heard from any of you that you entered. Now, this has got to be probably the most epic airline contest ever and I would be disappointed if none of you give this a shot. If you end up entering, throw me a line to let me know (da***@ai*************.com). I might feature your entry on a future blog (remember these will be voted on).
So, stop reading this, get creative and start taking some photos!
What airline or charter company or private person does this orange livery belong to? Photo by JL Johnson. Click for larger.
I have a mystery for you. Who owns/owned this orange Boeing 737 that was sitting in Wichita Kansas on August 6th? This was taken and sent by reader JL Johnson who was hoping I could help, but I am not familiar with the livery and we didn’t get any hits via Twitter. From JL:
“What we did see was a KC-135 running touch-and-go maneuvers and these three unidentified planes. As best I can tell they are on the Spirit tarmac although it is possible they may be on Boeing or even McConnell AFB property. To be honest I’m not sure where one ends and the other begins. In any case these were on the east side of Oliver street. Google and other searches yield no results for any of the planes listed. We were particularly interested in the tan 737 because of its unique livery. It appears that it has an N-number that begins with a 2 followed by what might be 9. The pictures were taken on August 6 just before 4 PM local time as indicated by the exif.”
I am hoping you fine folks can give us a hand. Yes, the photo isn’t going to win any awards, but this was the best angle to get the shot. Any ideas or information, please leave in the comments.
If you ever run across an airline livery you are not sure of, let me know and if I am not sure what it is, we can work together to find out!
Here is N29SW in better days with a bright orange livery. Photo by Paul Kanagie.
UPDATE: Although many folks have helped track down this plane, I have to give uber kudos to @t0eknee who got the answer in a matter of minutes. This plane is N29SW, a Boeing 737-200 that was first with Southwest Airlines, then sold to Ryan International Airlines. At one time the aircraft actually had a very bright orange livery, but today it is a bit more faded. The 737-200 now belongs to the Kansas Aviation Museum, where 80% of the original plane was built.
UPDATE2: Got an email from Jim Armstrong giving a bit more information on the other two planes: “The shiny one toward the left is a Boeing B-47E model, one of a very few left in existence. The tall dark tail aircraft toward the right is a Boeing B-52, probably a “D” model. Having grown up in Wichita from 1950 to 1962, I’m pretty familiar with both aircraft.”
Screen shot of Boeing's Explore 737 page highlighting the 360 view of a United Boeing 737-900ER (N36444). Click the image to be taken to the interactive view.
The Boeing 737 is the bestselling airliner in the world and for good reason. The first flew on April 9, 1967 and even though the aircraft has changed quite a bit over its 42 year history, it is still easily recognizable. Recently, a brand spanking new United 737-900ER had one heck of a 360 view created in its honor. I had the opportunity to speak with Anthony Ponton, 737 Brand Manager, via the phone to learn a bit more about the process it took to create such a unique image.
Ponton explained how it was actually quite difficult for Boeing to get their hands on a completed aircraft. Normally they are built and handed over to the airline quickly. If the plane is sitting on the ground, it isn’t making any money — for anyone. This 737 (N36444) ended up having a week free, so United allowed Boeing to take it down to Victorville, CA (KVCV) to do the photo-shoot. Well, the word “photo-shoot” really does not give this project justice. The crew spent almost an entire day (8:30am-3:30pm) taking photos (guessing the number of photos taken is the contest — see below) from about 150′ away to create the 360 view.
This is truly a one of a kind project that uses Microsoft’s Silverlight technology. The Boeing 737 360 view has even been submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest giga-pixel image of a single object — impressive. Boeing created this not only for their airline customers, but also to share with airline fans. They wanted to use a high-technology method to highlight the technology used on the current 737 family.
The view really let’s you explore the 737 in great detail. You can zoom all the way in to see rivets or read the safety messages on the aircraft’s doors. When asked if Boeing might do this with other aircraft types, Ponton was not so sure. He explained how completing this 360 on Boeing’s smallest aircraft was already a challenge and a larger aircraft would only be more difficult. Of course, that is not to say that Boeing might not be up to the challenge.
CONTEST: How many photos did Boeing use to make this 360 view possible?
Boeing spent a long time taking all the photos needed to make this impressive view and I am holding a contest to see who can come closest to how many it took. I have been told the official number by Mr. Ponton and whomever gets closest will get a fun prize. I am not sure exactly what the prize will be, but if you keep your expectations low, you won’t be disappointed. You will have until 5pm PT on Tuesday August 2nd, 2011. You can either leave a comment or send an email to da***@ai*************.com with your answer. Good luck!
Inside YVR.
For some this might not seem like a prize for a contest, but for many who love the airline business, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is holding a contest, where the winner will live in YVR for 80 days.
Do not worry, you won’t have to sleep there – a nice free room awaits you in a hotel, but during the day time hours, you are on. There will be no “average day” during your 80-day stint. “Each day, he/she will be shooting a story, editing it and posting it to the Live@YVR site,” Rebecca Catley, Director of Communications for the airport explained via email. “They will be meeting people, researching stories, socializing with YVR employees, and checking out all the airport has to offer. They will be using Twitter and Facebook, writing a daily blog, and some days, turning the camera on themselves as part of their video diary. There will be lots they will want and need to do and lots for them to explore.”
The idea is to show how YVR is a city with-in a city. Many passengers just see the airport as one unwelcome step to the travel experience, but they can be part of the experience. There are over 23,000 employees and 400 businesses at the YVR to explore, which is similar to many other airports.
Now, the biggest restriction for the contest is you must be a British Columbia resident, but you do not need to be a Canadian citizen. Probably one of the strictist requirements, according to their site, is you must be “generally awesome,” a very important quality. If you meet the requirements and have a great idea, post your video to their contest page and good luck!
Image: roaming-the-planet
Qatar Boeing 777-200LR (A7-BBD) at Paine Field.
First off, who the heck is Qatar Airways? They have been around since 1993, but have really been growing rapidly into North America in the past few years. They are based (can you take a guess) in Qatar at Doha International Airport. They already have a fleet of 95 aircraft and 182 additional on order. Now, that is growth.
And we aren’t talking small planes either. They have 80 Airbus A350s, 60 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 29 Boeing 777s and five Airbus A380s all on order (also 8 Airbus A321s, but those aren’t too big).
Anyhow, Qatar Airways is celebrating their 100th destination and they want to give away 100 free tickets.
Between now and April 16th you can sign up on their website for a chance to win a pair of economy class tickets to anywhere they fly. The beauty is there are no essays, no videos, no creative photos needed to win this contest. Just you filling out a quick form and hope to get lucky. Game on!
Image: Drewski2112
