Qatar’s oneworld 777 taxis beneath the new pedestrian bridge at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport hosted a “reveal reception” March 3 in preparation for opening its new $986 million International Arrivals Facility, which has been under construction for nearly four years.
The project’s most visible addition to the airport is a 780-foot-long pedestrian bridge over the taxiway that separates Concourses S and A. It’s the longest bridge of its type in the world, and its 85 feet of clearance allows for even the tallest of contemporary aircraft to safely pass beneath, even the behemoth 777x and its 64-foot, 7-inch tail. An airport spokesman said that the design even includes a calculated safety factor in the event a plane’s front landing gear were to collapse while beneath the bridge, which would raise the tail height even further.
A view from the skybridge
The skybridge is wide, with expansive views and a moving walkway. It’s essentially a cable-stayed bridge, and the cables were left visible. It’s this reporter’s guess that there will be much dawdling on the way to customs and immigration on sunny days, when Mount Rainier will be clearly visible from the bridge
Ryan Calkins, president of the Port of Seattle Commission, lauded the facility’s grand views and much-improved service areas as Seattle’s “front porch to the world.” Washington State Governor Jay Inslee talked about how the Seattle area had hosted refugees from Vietnam in the 1970s and from Afghanistan in the 2000s, and the new facility should open in time to greet refugees from the current war in Ukraine.
Northern Pacific’s fresh livery on it’s first 757-200 at the recent rollout event in San Bernardino, Calif.
AvGeeks loooooove liveries. An interesting livery is one of the main reasons we go planespotting – we head to the airport to see either a particular type of aircraft, or to see that aircraft wearing a special or unusual livery.
A lot of time, effort, deliberation, and money go into designing those liveries, both the special ones and the mainline designs. A new multi-part series takes a look at how those liveries are designed. Last time, we looked at Icelandair’s branding and livery refresh. Today, we’ll take a look at Northern Pacific Airways‘ mainline livery.
Edmond Huot, Northern Pacific Airways’ chief creative officer and airline designer, explained that “We were given a clean slate to design the livery, the collateral, and the name. I was given a lot of latitude, for sure, and that is the exception to the rule as projects typically come with a framework and the client might be more hands on.”
For the name of the new airline, Huot said he wanted a name that “had an inherent story to it, and I didn’t want a trendy name.”
“Northern was the first name we came up with, but the legal team came back and said we can’t do northern,” so the name eventually morphed into Northern Pacific Airways.
“The stress for me, in the world of airline design, is that you only get one or two kicks at the can, so I already knew up front we had to nail it – I did a lot of research into the factors that would influence the brand – people, regions, etc.
Naming projects are usually very tricky, and that’s when the pressure started. We actually came up with the idea on a plane flying back from a meeting with a different client.”
He continued that “The idea was to come up with a name that wasn’t typical of a LCC (low-cost carrier).”
How’s this for an AvGeek irony: it’s hard to planespot from a plane. Sure, while you’re on the ground there’s tons of aircraft around. But once you’re in the sky you’re zooming by other planes so rarely — and so quickly — that it’s hard to catch any of them. But one recent flight I took was a fun exception to that rule.
Thanks to a winter wave of employee COVID infections and a high-profile system meltdown, Jetblue had a tough past year from an operational perspective. But they rebounded from those issues, and their onboard economy product still shines strong — especially the free high-speed inflight internet (“Fly-Fi”).
Fly-Fi is one of JetBlue’s major points of differentiation, and they know it
To minimize touch points in the COVID era, you can use your smartphone to control the screen
Fly-Fi is a high-bandwidth satellite-powered system that’s now available across the fleet. It provides gate-to-gate connectivity so you could start using it from the moment you board. On my flight from New York to Mexico I waited to log on since there were great takeoff views to be had.
PLAY currently operates flights between Iceland and Europe using new Airbus A320neo and A321neo jets. Image: PLAY
There has been a surge in international low-cost carrier (LCC) offerings, and in the past few months Northern Pacific, Norse Atlantic, and PLAY have all announced plans to commence service to the United States.
PLAY will launch service between the the north New York City metro area and 22 European destinations via its Reykjavik hub in late June of this year, using a fleet of three new Airbus A321neo and one A320neo aircraft, with five more jets on order from Airbus. Tickets for the new destination went on sale Feb. 1.
PLAY was founded by two former WOW executives in 2019. You’ll remember WOW as the Icelandic LCC that launched in 2012 and ceased operations in 2019 after cash-flow issues and two failed buyout attempts. The WOW legacy has influenced PLAY’s livery and LCC character.
PLAY’s New York metro destination is New York Stewart International Airport located in Newburgh, NY, and is the airline’s third United States destination, following Boston and Baltimore.
PLAY’s billboard titles and bright colors are a carry-over from WOW. Image: PLAY
PLAY CEO Birgir Jónsson explained that the airline launched in 2021 and “has been on a fast growth path. Despite the turbulence of the last year in the travel industry, PLAY is an airline born in a new era of travel and is bringing a modernized approach to the airline industry.”
With flight bookings trending upward and a forecast for increased travel demand, PLAY decided to enter the U.S. market, targeting budget-minded vacationers on both sides of the Atlantic.
Jónsson said that, “even amid a dynamic market and the ongoing factors from COVID-19, PLAY has created opportunity growth, serving 24 locations, as well as securing favorable lease rates for our aircraft that will enable us to keep costs low. PLAY is focused on data-driven decisions about growth to new destinations, and New York is an important market in this expansion to enable both American and European travelers to reach new, iconic destinations at affordable prices.”
PLAY is aiming its services squarely at budget-minded travelers, students, and families, relying on affordable fares, reliable flights, convenience, and flexibility to do so. They’re offering no-frills base fares and an a la carte list of add-ons that either feels like a world of options or being nickel-and-dimed, depending on your point of view regarding airline service models. PLAY hasn’t announced any intention to join airline alliances as yet.
N8733M, a Southwest MAX departs LAX in September, 2021
Did you hear Southwest somewhat recently enriched their A-List perks by adding a long-desired feature? You might not have. I reached out to our friends at Southwest PR and it turns out there was no big announcement or PR campaign. They just sort of rolled it out and let folks discover it on their own. This latest benefit is something I had personally been wanting for years; problem is, now that they’ve rolled it out, I’m not sure that I still want it.
What’s this mysterious new perk? Click through to see for yourself…
