The Yakutat Coastal Airlines de Havilland Otter – Photo: David Delagarza
Having recently embarked on a fair number of adventures around the world, one of the questions I sometimes get asked is what my favorite airline is. No one expects the answer: Yakutat Coastal Airlines.
Never heard of them? I’d be surprised if you had. Their fleet is pretty limited, at two aircraft, and they only have one full-time pilot, Hans Munich. The passenger experience is a bit different as well. The seats are uncomfortable. There is no food or drink available on board. You even have to load your own luggage into the hold. But you’re not going to find many others operating the charter routes they do, and the in-flight views couldn’t be any better.
Our flight was the culmination of a grand adventure my wife and I took, along with a small group of friends, in the summer of 2012. The main reason for the trip was a twelve-day whitewater rafting trip on the Tatshenshini and Alsek rivers through Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska), Kluane National Park and Preserve (Yukon Territory), and Tatshenshini-Alsek Park (British Columbia.)
Just getting to the starting point of the rafting trip was a logistical adventure in and of itself. It all started with a Southwest Airlines flight from Denver to Seattle, followed by an Alaska Airlines flight to Juneau, Alaska. Then, we hopped on the Alaska State Ferry for a spectacular four-hour trip up the Lynn canal to the small town of Haines.
In Haines, we stocked up on food, rented rafts and other gear, and hired transport for the final 100-mile drive to to the north. Our launch point into the wilderness was at the end of a rough road in Yukon Territory, at a place called Dalton Post. We spent 12 days on the Tatshenshini and Alsek rivers running rapids, watching Bald Eagles soar overhead, embarking on some magnificent hikes, and trying to avoid grizzly bears.
The last few days of the trip brought us over the international boundary and into Glacier Bay National Park, where we had the opportunity to get up close and personal with glaciers. The highlight of the river trip was floating on Alsek Lake, surrounded by dozens of towering icebergs. Once we reached the end of the river trip at Dry Bay, there was no road to greet us – a grass landing strip was our only connection back to civilization.
Two U.S. pilots stepping off the first 787-9 at Boeing Field – Photo: Bernie Leighton | AirlineReporter
With the Emirates Milan saga, where US & Italian airlines are backing a play to force the Gulf carrier off the Fifth Freedom New York route, it led me to look into similar instances that have happened over the last few months that perhaps lead to a deeper situation.
It seems that US-based airlines and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) are trying their hand at stopping outsider airlines from getting to the United States rather than just expanding themselves.
Let’s take a closer look.
Qatar Airways’ first A380 took off on its maiden flight to Hamburg, where the aircraft is being readied for delivery to QR.
Qatar Airways has now set the date for their inaugural service for the newest aircraft in the fleet, the Airbus A380. Qatar has previously been very tight-lipped about their newest aircraft, giving just small glimpses of the on-board environment or a tease of their intended destinations (London & Paris). When they released information on the first class seats at the ITB event in Berlin in March, this was our first glimpse into the gulf carrier’s plans for the whale jet.
Delta Boeing 757 in retro livery and DC-9-50 in its retirement livery – Photo: Delta Air Lines
An excerpt from the Delta Flight Museum Blog by Tiffany Meng…
It’s not very often we add new aircraft to the Museum’s fleet, so yesterday was a special day. With the help of a great Delta and DOT group, Ship 608, a Boeing 757-200 painted in its original livery, and Ship 9880, a DC-9-50 wearing its retirement livery, were brought over to the Museum from the Technical Operations Center across the airport.
Ship 608 being towed – Photo: Delta Air Lines
In the 1940s, the Museum’s Historic Hangars 1 & 2 were Delta’s regular maintenance hangars and were on Atlanta Airport property. Over the years, the airport has moved a few times, staying within the general area. In the 1980s, Woolman Place road was built and that severed the hangars from airport property. Therefore, moving Museum aircraft to and from the airport is never easy. It takes a lot of coordination between Delta, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Homeland Security, Landmark Aviation, DHL, and FedEx.
See additional photos and continue reading this story at the Delta Fight Museum Blog…
Couldn’t have a better place to celebrate – at the Museum of Flight – Photo: David Parker Brown | AirlineReporter
I am admittedly not a frequent flyer guy. I love flying and do it quite often, but I am not one that goes and chases miles either in the air or on the ground via rewards programs. Before a few months ago I had heard things about the Freddie Awards, but didn’t really know what it was or what it celebrated. When I am not familiar with things related to travel and airlines, I like to dive head first and learn, so I signed up to attend the 2014 Freddie Awards, being held in Seattle, WA.
I wanted to learn a bit more about rewards, points, miles, and those companies who are doing things right. Oh, did I forget to mention, the event was at the Museum of Flight? I had a full steak/salmon dinner under the SR-71 (okay, it really is the M-21 Blackbird, but most people have no idea what that means) and an open bar? Oh yes, this was going to be a good time.
