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.
Celebrating Aer Lingus’ return to Toronto – Photo: Philip Debski
Back on April 14, 2014, Aer Lingus officially launched its comeback to Canada. That Monday was dark and wet, with pouring rain, when flight ‘Shamrock 1 Mike 9’ (129 in the reservation system) landed for the first time in Toronto (YYZ). The company has returned to the Canadian market after 30 years of absence, last flying to Canada in the 70s and 80s with scheduled flights to Montral’“Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) and rare charter flights to YYZ.
The Dublin – Toronto route is part of the company’s recent transatlantic expansion plans. This is the 4th new launch by the airline.
Being served by their recently-acquired Boeing 757s, the route will be daily during the summer and 4x weekly during the winter. Toronto, for Aer Lingus, is an important business and tourism market, and also home to a growing Irish community.
