Recently, Edelweiss celebrated their inaugural flight from Zurich to Seattle using an Airbus A340 (4 engines 4 long haul). I was double excited not only to see a new international carrier start service at my home airport, but they are also using an AvGeek favorite: the A340. Francis Zera (our Editor-At-Large and Director of Photography) and I tag teamed the event and I would say we had a pretty good time.
Covering an inaugural arrival has become pretty routine: Decorations at the gate (check), you get to go on the tarmac and watch the plane arrive (check), you get to enjoy a water cannon salute (check), there are VIPs who speak at the gate (check), there is a ribbon cutting (check), and there are some sweet snacks to enjoy (check). Not to say inaugurals aren’t exciting, but with this one, I got to experience something new that I was not expecting.
Not long before the Edelweiss inaugural to Seattle, I edited and published Francis’ SAS inaugural story. In his piece he described how he got a bit wet from the water cannon salute due to the wind shifting. I was entertained and even laughed, but brushed it off. When we were told where to stand for the Edelweiss’ Airbus A340’s arrival, I went as far as I could towards the runways… which was also very close to one of the fire trucks. I had a fleeting thought about Francis’ water experience, but I figured worst case it might be a little misty. Nope.
