A cargo pallet is lowered away from the opened nose of an SIA Cargo 744F.
Dedicated cargo aircraft normally operate out of sight of the traveling public. Cargo terminals are typically located away from passenger terminals to ease airport congestion and allow better access for trucks.
A Singapore Airlines Cargo 747-400F being unloaded at LAX.
Singapore Airlines Cargo recently allowed us to tour their cargo facility at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), where we got to check out one of their Boeing 747-400 Freighters.
Watching an China Eastern A330 land at #Dorkfest
What is more exciting than watching an airplane land? Watching it with about 100 other AvGeeks, of course! Last Saturday, many of us made our way to our way to the IN-N-OUT next to LAX to enjoy Dorkfest 2017, hosted by the great Brett Snyder (aka Cranky Flier).
A British Airways A380 coming in for landing
Dorks, geeks, nerds, cool dudes (or dudettes) – whatever. What you call this group does not matter. It is all about coming together to share a passion for aviation! Plus… burgers, fries, and shakes.
The Korean Air A380 readies for departure at LAX – Photo: Kevin P Horn
This summer, my partner Natalie and I decided that we wanted to visit one or two cities in Asia during the short window that we had off. I researched the airlines, routes, and cities that we were interested in flying to and ended up choosing Seoul and Tokyo for stops. I had accrued about 200,000 points through Chase credit cards and started looking through redemption options. A friend of mine pointed me towards Korean Air, since they were partnered with Chase for 1-1 transfers and had an excellent 62,500 mile redemption (63,000 since I could only transfer in 1000 point increments) for business class to Asia one-way. These flights had the option to select a multi-day stopover in Seoul, so it precisely lined up with our travel goals.
I booked two one-way flights to Tokyo Narita (NRT) in Korean Air Prestige class with a five-day stopover in Seoul (ICN). I ended up booking a return with United Airlines on an Economy Saver redemption for 35,000 miles. But I’m not writing this to talk about United economy; flying on the upper deck of both an A380 and Queen of the Skies 747-400 is much more interesting.
A bunch of awesome dorks watching airplanes land at LAX
One of the best parts of this gig, is being able to hang out with like-minded people. Those who can go on and on about airplanes and airliners and no one rolls their eyes and everyone smiles. The group that cuts a conversation half way through to watch a plane land and no one minds. If this sounds familiar, you probably should come to Dorkfest and hang out in September.
See that park below? And the IN-N-OUT? That could be you. Well, you wouldn’t be the park and restaurant, but you could be there, which is even cooler! Photo – Bernie Leighton
Brett Snyder, the guy behind Cranky Flier, has put together this event/non-event for quite a few years now. It is quite simple. 1) Show up at the IN-N-OUT by LAX anytime between 11a-1p on September 23rd. 2) Watch airplanes. Talk airplanes. Eat food at food place. No tickets, no reservations, no scheduled activities — simple. Plus, if you want to go super legit, you can also participate in the 4th Annual PHXSpotters- NYCAviation Spotters Event at LAX.
No matter what, it is going to be a grand time. A few of us from AR will be there (including myself), so hope to see you there!
Etihad has strength in branding; this lounge could be anywhere. This entrance is the new LAX lounge, though. – Photo: Bernie Leighton | AirlineReporter
It’s no secret that Etihad knows how to build a lounge. They have been very busy. Late last year, they opened their fabulous New York lounge. This year it was followed by a new lounge in Melbourne and their new First Class lounge in Abu Dhabi’s terminal 3. Before their efforts go to maximum on finishing the gorgeous new midfield terminal back home, they had one more lounge up their sleeve; Los Angeles. In the two years they’ve been serving LAX, they have transported more than a quarter million guests. The premium guests were using the lovely Star Alliance lounge next door until this facility opened earlier this week. The Star Alliance lounge, however, did not say Etihad.
James Hogan, in presence of the CEO of LAWA and other Etihad executives opening the LAX lounge – Photo: Bernie Leighton | AirlineReporter
While this lounge does not have a Residence nook, yet, it does have a VIP area that could easily serve the purpose should the A380 ever grace the west coast. The public premium area, however, is fantastic.
