Time lapse videos are fun. Retro airline liveries are also fun. Put the two together and you have yourself a winner.
This video was created to celebrate LOT’s 85th anniversary. The Embraer E-175 is painted in the livery that the airline used from 1945 to 1973. It took 12 days and almost 53 gallons of paint to get the job done.
The first Virgin America A320 with Sharklets – Photo: Virgin America
This story was written by John Cameron for AirlineReporter…
The 2014 Airline Quality Rating report was released last week and, for the second year in a row, Virgin America was ranked #1 amongst major US carriers. How did the other airlines fare? Who received the dubious distinction of being ranked worst? You’ll have to read on to find out.
But first, a bit of background information.
The Airline Quality Rating (AQR) report has been published annually since 1991. Yes, 24 years. That’s a long, long time in the commercial aviation industry. To put that into perspective, consider that the AQR predates the prohibition of in-flight smoking in the US (1998), the Embraer ERJ family (1995), the Boeing 777 (1994), the Airbus A330 (1992), and even the ubiquitous Bombardier CRJ (which took to the air one month after the inaugural AQR report was released).
Back then, as the 1990s were just dawning, professors Brent Bowen and Dean Headley realized that the majority of existing airline rating systems relied heavily on subjective surveys of customer opinion that were infrequently collected and largely unreliable. What was needed was a timely, objective, and quantitative rating system that could be used to compare airline performance from year to year.
Thus, the Airline Quality Rating was born.
The A350 XWB cabin design ’“ with its smooth curves, flowing lines, innovative lighting, and wide windows ’“ helps create a pleasant and soothing atmosphere for business class travellers – Photo: Airbus
Recently in Germany, Airbus showed off a potential interior for their new Airbus A350 XWB. They shared the second test aircraft, MSN002 with a partial test interior and mock cabin. Even though it looks impressive, at the end of the day, airline customers will be the ones deciding what finishes will go into the aircraft.
Although Airbus decided to show off a 3-3-3 layout in economy, the aircraft could end up seeing a ten-abreast configuration in the future.
Although the interior of MSN002 gives us a preview, Airbus is planning to fit MSN005 with a full interior which might show more of the robust ideas, like a impressive entry way.
Continue reading to see photos of the interior and descriptions from Airbus…
G-FBJH E-175 in the current livery at Birmingham, UK. Notice the Biman DC-10 in the background – Photo: Ken Fielding
FlyBe, based at Exeter, Devon, in the UK is Europe’s largest regional airline. It was born as Jersey European Airways out of a merger between Jersey, Channel Islands-based Intra Airways and Bournemouth, UK-based Express Air Services in November, 1979, and established a network of services out of the Channel Islands, mainly to other UK points.
In June 2000, the airline cheekily renamed itself ’˜British European’, using the ex-British European Airways (BEA – now British Airways) flight prefix code ’˜BE’, rebranding as ’˜FlyBe’ in July, 2002. In November 2006, FlyBe expanded again by buying the British Airways’ regional group, ’˜BA Connect’ (apart from their services out of London City Airport, which are operated by BA CityFlyer), with part of the payment to BA being a 15% stock transfer.
At the start of 2008, FlyBe signed a franchise agreement with Scottish-based airline Loganair. This agreement became effective when their franchise agreement with British Airways was terminated the following October. Loganair’s aircraft now operate in FlyBe’s colors on over 50 routes out of Scottish airports including the ’˜Highlands & Islands’ services.
The current PDX carpet design which has such a cult following – Photo: Port of Portland/PDX
Portland Airport staff in the late 80s would never have imagined that over 20 years later, a cult following would beset their airport; specifically, the carpet. What has surprised the Port of Portland (PDX) and locals alike is how this simple floor covering has turned into a phenomenon.
How does a piece of carpet become so well known? We put out a tweet one afternoon with just a small glimpse of the design and within seconds, numerous people had correctly guessed what it was, and they were not all Portland locals either. What makes this carpet so special?