The 787 is not quite at Seattle — yet. Image from ANA.
On Wednesday, All Nippon Airways (ANA) started their inaugural service from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) using a Boeing 777-300ER. Now, there is nothing wrong with the 777, but it was supposed to be using the 787 Dreamliner.
In the image above, the most interesting statement is the “Will introduce the Boeing 787 Drealiner on Seattle-Narita when it is ready.” The “it” in that statement is not the route — since it is more than ready for a 787. The “it” is talking about the Dreamliner that has not yet been delivered to ANA. For now, the airline is expecting to use the 777 until October 2012.
Earlier this year, the fifth 787 test aircraft, ZA005, made a quick visit to SEA, preparing the airport to start scheduled service for the Dreamliner.
ANA’s first Boeing 777-300ER arrives to SEA on July 25th to a water cannon salute. Courtesy Port of Seattle/Don Wilson.
When arriving for the first time, ANA’s Boeing 777-300ER was not only greeted by a water cannon salute by the airport’s fire department, but there was also a celebration in the terminal with a children’s taiko drumming group and a ceremonial sake cask-breaking.
’œANA’s decision to be here reinforces Seattle’s status as a global gateway,’ said Port of Seattle Commissioner Rob Holland. ’œOur mission is to create jobs by advancing trade and commerce, which in turn stimulates economic development. ANA will be another driver for this mission for the entire region.’
Port CEO Tay Yoshitani, Port of Seattle Commissioner Rob Holland, Washington State Govenor Christine Gregoire, ANA Senior Executive Vice President Keisuke Okada, ANA Senior Vice President, The Americas Yuji Hirako, General Manager, Seattle Toshio Nomura, all at the inaugural event. Courtesy Port of Seattle/Don Wilson.
ANA flight NH1077 leaves Seattle at 1:15pm each day and arrives to Narita at 3:45pm the next day. Flight NH1078 leaves Narita at 5:25pm and arrives to Seattle at 10:55am the same day (have to love arriving 6.5hrs before you left).
The initial Boeing 777-300ER aircraft is configured with a total of 247 seats (85 business class, 162 economy). ANA will configure their 787 on the route with 158 seats ’“ 46 business class seats and 112 economy.
United Airlines, a Star Alliance partner of ANA, currently operates a daily flight from SEA to NRT using a Boeing 777-200 and it will be interesting to see if both airlines can be successful on the route. Previously, United Airlines has stated that they have, ’œNo changes planned,” for their route.
ADDITIONAL STUFF ON ANA’S FIRST FLIGHT TO SEATTLE:
* Video of the water cannon salute
* B-Roll YouTube video of the event
* Washington Governor Christine Gregoire speaking at the event
Icelandair’s Boeing 757 sits at Seattle, waiting to be towed to its gate. Photo by Ben Whalen / AirlineReporter.com
My friend Ben recently made the trip from Seattle to France and had a number of choices to going. After quite a bit of research (and many questions to me) he decided on trying out Icelandair, which flies from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Keflavàk International Airport (KEF) before changing planes and flying to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). Since I have never flown on Icelandair, I asked him to write a review for me. Here is his Icelandair review in his own words:
ICELANDAIR REVIEW: SEATTLE TO PARIS
I bought the ticket online today, February 2nd, 2012 and the online process was a bit confusing. They first have you select your home airport and then the dates which are all simple enough.
This however is a bit confusing when you are used to the mm/dd/yyyy format, which most people use in the US. Icelandair has theirs in the dd/mm/yyyy format making me have to triple check that I was flying on April 7th not July 4th. Then unlike other websites where you can type in the airport code CDG for example I had to type the city name Paris. Okay, maybe these are not the biggest deals, but first impressions matter.
The rest of the ordering was simple enough. On the flight to Paris, I chose the cheaper economy class and on the way back it was only $47 more for the economy comfort. I figured it was worth the extra money to check out the differences. I was able to choose my seats for all of the legs except one where it showed no seats available, which is always annoying.
The economy class and economy comfort has a 3-3 layout. Photo by Benjamin Whalen / AirlineReporter.com
It is now April 7th, the day of my flight. I show up a few hours early and head to check in. Although they run only one flight per day out of Seattle, the airline had their own ticket counter with three lines: Economy, Comfort and Saga.
Because I was a bit early, there was no line and the front counter lady was extremely nice, checked my passport, and tagged up my luggage. My passport was in a cover and she organized my tickets and baggage claim tickets nicely in the different compartments then could tell by my fresh passport that I likely have not flown from the international terminal recently (wait Ben’¦ ’œrecently’ wasn’t your last international flight like 13yrs ago? ’“ David) and gave me directions.
I go through security and was disappointed that the body scanners weren’t operating; I was hoping to show off. My flight departed from the S-Terminal, so I the short train ride over. When I arrived at the gate the plane was parked across just sitting by itself away from the terminal.
Later, I found out that the flight from Iceland to Seattle lands an hour after the one from Seattle to Iceland leaves so one of their 757s sits on the ground 23 hours every day. About an hour before boarding they towed my aircraft to the gate.
Boarding was pretty painless and typical. They load first class (Saga) first then fill from the back.
Each seat has its own in-flight entertainment system, although I wish there were more options. Photo by Benjamin Whalen / AirlineReporter.com
It was a full flight but I didn’t have any trouble getting my stuff in the overhead bin. Everyone had a pillow and blanket on their seats and the IFE system displayed fun facts about Iceland such as the prime ministers phone number is listed in the phone book and that every Icelander can trace their family back to the original settlers.
As we were taxing, the IFE system started working. You could pay $4 for headphones provided by the airline or use your own. The IFE consists of about 30 movies and 11 TV shows, but they most only showed the pilot episodes. I thought this would be plenty, but after 24 hours in the air (round trip), my choices felt quite limited.
The food service started as soon as we started to level off. Being fairly close to the front of the economy section, I only had to wait about 15 minutes to get my food and beverage. But the food doesn’t come free and everyone must pay, which takes time.
You have to pay for the food, but it isn’t too bad. Photo by Benjamin Whalen / AirlineReporter.com
After choosing the main hot meal and a beer, the flight attendant said it would cost twenty four hundred — uh WHAT? At first she thought I was being cheap but then realized I was just an ignorant American and gave me the cost in US currency — $18. Not too cheap. I noticed that a good majority of people declined a meal and drink.
Upon arrival in Iceland I had 50 minutes before the next leg of my trip to Paris. We were led off the plane through a series of passageways and then we had to go through security again. The downside to this is I had a liter of water in a Nalgene bottle I had filled up in Seattle and it was chug it or lose it. There was no opportunity to dump it out.
Once through security and getting my passport stamped into Iceland, I still had time to check out the gift shop before heading to my gate (thanks for not getting me anything ’“David). Boarding in Iceland was a bit different. The gates were just in the hallways and the flights weren’t announced. Because it was a hallway, people just naturally were lined up and they just started boarding without announcing anything. The remaining leg of the flight was pretty uneventful.
Upon arrival in Paris we disembarked and by the time I made it to the baggage claim I only had to wait two minutes for my bag to arrive.
The signs diving the different classes can be moved to offer quite a bit of versatility. Photo by Benjamin Whalen / AirlineReporter.com
BACK HOME, PARIS TO SEATTLE ON ICELANDAIR
The check-in process was a bit odd in France. The notes on the ticket for comfort Economy stated there would be a separate check-ins, however there was only Economy and Saga check-in. After 20 minutes in line the gate agent was quite abrupt and told me to stop when he was the next free agent. When he finally let me approach and after a minute of looking at my passport he just handed me a ticket and pointed to the security line.
I thought his abruptness may have been a language barrier thing as I am non-French speaker in France but then I heard him speak fine English to the next person asking questions.
When buying my ticket for this leg there were no seat options available. Turns out I got put in seat 4A, which was actually a Saga class seat. I was able to sit in the 2-2 Saga class, but still received Economy Comfort level of service. There were moveable signs on the seat backs marking the separation from Saga and Economy Class seats.
The Saga seats were plush with plenty of leg room the info card said 39″ pitch in first class, 33″ in comfort and 32″ in coach. The only other difference I noted was a much nicer pillow. It was not a bad deal having a Saga Class seat with a lower level of service.
Food in economy comfort is free, except for spirits and champagne. I had the sandwich of the day which was a chicken and a cheese thing, a gull beer, and an Icelandic milk chocolate bar. All of which tasted decent (I say this after spending a week dining on French cuisine).
I was able to sit in Saga Class, which has a 2-2 layout, but still received Economy Comfort service. Photo by Benjamin Whalen / AirlineReporter.com
After landing back in Iceland, I had 90minutes and was excited to check out the lounge that you have access to with an upgraded ticket. We were guided out of the plane and directed through passport control after which I could easily locate my gate however could not find the lounge.
The airport at KEF looks very simple and clean with hardwood and glass everywhere. The challenging part is there is not much seating at the gates which are long hallways so people are standing around crowded a bit.
This time I was in an actual comfort class seat it is an economy seat with an inch more leg room and the center seat has a tray folded down. I got lucky with my seat being 9C because it was by the loading door and gave me an extra four feet of leg room. If you get this seat, I suggest boarding last, since I had the whole plane squeezing by me as they boarded.
The seven hour flight from Iceland to Seattle was pretty uneventful, which I prefer on a flight. We landed on time even after taking off a few minutes later than scheduled.
Overall I would recommend Iceland air when traveling to Europe. They seem to have the scheduling down for very short layovers. Their whole fleet is 757s which seems to take less time to load. If you choose economy either plan to pay for the food or pack your own. The only other downside is their IFE is quite limited I watched all the tv shows and most of the movies. If the ticket is not much more, I wold suggest springing for economy comfort. It gets you much better service more legroom and not having to fight over the shared armrest.
iPhone photo I was able to take of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 and the fallen soldier baggage cart at the airline's maintenance facility in Seattle during a special Veteran's event in November 2011.
Today is Memorial Day, where hopefully most people are able to at least take a moment and think about those who have given the ultimate sacrifice serving our country. It is a day where it shouldn’t matter if you support war or even what political party you vote for. It should be a day where we remember those men and women who have been killed while serving in the armed forces.
When a solider dies while serving, it is a delicate process to bring their body back home. There are special military protocols that airlines must follow when transporting the remains of a fallen solider, but some airlines don’t want to do the bare minimum. Each body must have a volunteer escort that follows the fallen solider from the mortuary to their final resting place.
About a year ago, Alaska Airlines technicians realized that the process of transporting a fallen solider was lacking and they looked to improve it.
“We noticed a lot of violations of military protocols due to a lack of awareness and training,” said Brian Bowden, an Alaska Airlines line aircraft technician. “Our goal is to show respect by ensuring the proper standards are followed.”
Bowden and 13 other technicians created a new “Fallen Solider” program to, “seamlessly transfer the remains of soldiers killed in action through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.” Part of that program was creating a special baggage cart that would only be used to transport fallen soldiers. The cart was refurbished with carpet and has a retractable American flag curtain with plaques representing the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.
The program gives details on how to properly load and unload a soldier’s remains, as well as taking care of the escort or families. “These brave men and women sacrificed their lives for you and me,” line aircraft technician Tony Sander stated. “Often, their families are traveling alongside the fallen soldier. Mishandlings are embarrassing and unacceptable.”
Escorts will fly in the main cabin, while the fallen soldier will fly in the cargo hold. During layovers, escorts need to stay with the fallen soldier at all times and that can be challenging. Alaska has gone out of their way to provide escorts or others travelling with the remains, a working station at the airline’s maintenance facility. Airline crew will also make sure that the escort is well fed during any down time and cater to any of their other needs.
Many of the technicians who worked on the program are veterans themselves and take great pride in taking care of their own. “The technicians wanted ownership. The group has many passionate ex-military members who re-designed the process completely on their own time,” said Paul Taylor, director of line maintenance. “They took decisive action and lived up to their word.”
The program has been so successful that it has spread beyond Seattle and to other airports. “This process needs to reach all the airports we serve. Training at our other sites would spread a deeper respect for all the fallen soldiers of our armed forces,” technician Bowden said.
An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 coming in for a landing. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren.
A big cheers to Alaska Airlines and the technicians who took the initiative to do the right thing.
On top of the Fallen Soldiers program, Alaska has a 100 person Employee Military Resource Group whose sole focus is to hire, retain and promote military employees.
Alaska has also recently started a new apprentice program, aimed directly at military experience and the transition to civilian/corporate work. Alaska proudly employees veterans who work in all capacities from maintenance to flying to the executive offices.
The Copper River Salmon has arrived to Seattle on a Boeing 737-400 Combi.
It has become a yearly tradition to wake up before it gets light and head on down to Alaska Air Cargo at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to welcome the season’s first Copper River Salmon. When that alarm goes off early in the morning, it is easy to question why would one get up so early to welcome
some fish?
Well, this is not just any fish, but many say one of the best in the world. There was huge fanfare as airline employees, media and guests welcomed the VIP salmon to Seattle.
That is one big fish. Judges, pilots and chefs show off the 55 pound salmon.
“We’re proud to be the first to bring wild and sustainable Copper River salmon to seafood lovers across the country, in many cases within 24 hours after the fish is caught,” said Torque Zubeck, managing director of Alaska Air Cargo. “With enhanced food quality procedures and additional flights to support the Alaska seafood industry, we are going the extra mile to deliver seafood that’s as fresh as possible.”
The captain has the privilege to grab the largest fish and take it off the aircraft. This year, he was able to find a whopper — 55 pounds.
Cooking salmon in the outdoors early in the morning at an airport -- what more does one need?
It is not just about welcoming some fish, but also to have an epic Alaska Air Cargo’s “Copper Chef Cook-off.” This year executive chef Pat Donahue from Anthony’s Restaurant, Jason Wilson of CRUSH and Wayne A Johnson of Ray’s Boathouse competed to make the best Copper River Salmon dish in just 30 minutes.
The large fish was taken to be filet, divided up and given to the chefs. Each restaurant has their own outdoor cooking station and are able to do their thing.
The judges have the hard job of eating salmon, drinking wine and making the big decision for the winner.
During the 30 minute cook time, guests were entertained by local celebrity Jon Curley. He interacted with the cooks, judges and guests who each donated 75,000 miles to Make A Wish Foundation to earn a ticket to the event. A total of 1.2 million miles were donated for the enve.
After the meals were prepared a panel of judges voted on the best. The judges consisted of Jay Buhner, Seattle Mariners Hall of Famer; Joanne Dunham, co-owner of Dunham Cellars; Gary Horner, senior winemaker at Erath Winery; and Bill Ayer, chairman of Alaska Air Group.
Pat Donahue from Anthony's Restaurant celebrates this victory for the third year in a row. Former Mariner Jay Buhner hands out the awards.
When everything was said and done the winner, for the third year in a row was Anthony’s Restaurant.
This is the third year that Alaska Cargo has celebrated the salmon and each year it seems to be a bit better. (See the events in 2011 and 2010)
Alaska Airlines flew nearly 25 million pounds of fresh Alaska seafood to the Lower 48 states and beyond last year, including nearly 1.8 million pounds of Copper River salmon. The airline flies a total of 115 million pounds of cargo annually.
View all 18 photos from the event this morning or check out all three recipes made this morning.
Being based in Seattle, this is such a beautiful photo. Can't until this is a common sight. Photo by Don Wilson / Port of Seattle. Click for larger.
On Monday, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner (ZA005) made a special visit to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). The visit was to help prepare the airport and ground crews for future Dreamliner operations.
ZA005 was at SEA for about two hours completing a gate check, making sure the grew could operate the jet bridge, load cargo, plug in the aircraft and more.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) will be the first airline to start Dreamliner operations to and from Seattle later this fiscal year. Before then, they have announced their intention to start the flight to Narita (NRT) a bit earlier with a Boeing 777.
“We are delighted that we will be soon launching the Seattle-Tokyo service, our 7th gateway in the US,” ANA Seattle Office General Manager Toshio Nomura told AirlineReporter.com. “Originally, we had planned to operate this route with the Boeing 787 starting later this year, but felt that it is significant for us to come here, the home of Dreamliner, sooner and capture the summer demand. Because of that, we plan to use a 777 and transition to the 787 later in the year. ANA looks forward to having you on board to experience the high quality service we thrive upon.”
ZA005 taxis at Sea-Tac. Photo by Don Wilson / Port of Seattle. Click for larger.
Ground crew welcome the 787 to Sea-Tac. Photo by Don Wilson / Port of Seattle. Click for larger.
Ground crew practice loading cargo onto ZA005. Photo by Don Wilson / Port of Seattle. Click for larger.
N787FT sits at S-Terminal at SEA. Photo by Don Wilson / Port of Seattle. Click for larger.
Soon, it will be a common site seeing a Boeing 787 Dreamliner taking off from SEA. Photo by Don Wilson / Port of Seattle. Click for larger.
