A Philippine Airlines 777 received a water-canon salute upon it’s inaugural arrival as flight PR124 at SEA
On Oct. 2, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport added yet another international carrier and city to its service roster: Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) via Philippine Airlines (PAL).
The jet arrived after dark, allowing for some unusual and fun photo opportunities.
The 777’s red strobes made some great lighting effects as the jet passed beneath the crossed streams of water
Washington State is home to the United States’ fourth-largest Filipino population, and the route has been long-requested by travelers, according to SEA airport officials.
There were plenty of media and influencers invited to the inaugural event
For belly cargo on the new route, the flights will add up to 60 tons of cargo capacity every week to regional trade.
The now-current Philippine Airlines SEA schedule.
Seattle is PAL’s eighth destination in North America. The carrier already operates 46 weekly flights to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York, Toronto, Honolulu and Guam.
A nighttime water cannon salute is a relatively rare occurrence
Philippine will use Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on the MNL-SEA route, with lie-flat seats in Business Class and meal service featuring Filipino and Western specialties.
Passengers and airport staff crowded the terminal windows as the jet arrived at its gate
The airline has nine Airbus A350-1000 jets on order, and airline officials have discussed hopes to further its US route expansion by adding Chicago, Houston, and Las Vegas in future years.
It’s always a treat to be up close to the giant 777 on the ramp
The new SEA flight provides connectivity via Manila to PAL’s extensive domestic and regional international network, including cities such as Cebu, Davao, Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Kuala Lumpur.
The arrival gate had bannersAnd an area for an arrival celebration and welcome speechesThe obligatory landing-gear photo
Qatar Airways is best known for its Qsuite long-haul business class. But if you’re thinking of flying Qatar, remember that the airline operates a diverse fleet with multiple seat styles. So it’s important to be a smart shopper and know what you’re getting when you book.
We recently wrote about Qatar’s A320 business class, and we’ll be back later with a dive into Qsuite. But in this story we’re featuring one of Qatar’s other long-haul business class seats, which we flew on an Airbus A350-900 flight from Cape Town to Doha.
Read on for the full details. For those of you considering Qatar Airways for your future travel plans we outline how this seat stacks up against Qsuite. And for those of you just AvGeeking from the comfort of your homes we have all the window seat views and videos you could ask for.
As a US-based flyer, when I think of the big Middle Eastern airlines I think of epic long-haul flights on 777s, A380s, and other big planes. But can those airlines deliver a great experience on smaller single-aisle aircraft?
We got to find out on an A320 flight from Doha to Zanzibar on Qatar Airways, Skytrax’s best airline in the world for 2024. Over the course of the six-hour flight we got a close look at the airline’s narrowbody business class seat and “medium-haul” service style.
So what should you expect onboard a Qatar A320 compared with their 777s, 787s, A350s, or A380s? Read on to find out. And as usual we have some window seat views for you to enjoy along the way.
Photo by Bob Hines/NASA – flickr.com, Public Domain
A misconception has been circulating in news and on social media for weeks that the NASA astronauts who flew the Boeing Starliner -named Calypso- to the International Space Station are “stranded in space”. It’s easy to make comparisons with airline passengers stranded mid-itinerary in unfamiliar airport terminals.
STARLUX Airlines’ inaugural flight from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) received a traditional water-cannon salute as it taxied to the gate
STARLUX Airlines added Seattle as its third North American destination on Aug. 16, 2024, following Los Angeles and San Francisco, which saw service starts in 2023.
The fledgling Taiwan-based airline was launched in 2018, with its first services from Taipei to Macau, Penang, and Da Nang having started in 2020. The carrier positions itself as a luxury airline, with four service classes on each of its 23 aircraft. STARLUX’s Airbus 350-900s feature 306 seats, spread across four cabins: four first-class suites, 26 business-class pods, 36 premium economy recliners, and 240 economy seats.
Airline staff waited to greet the inbound planeSEA has an automated airside docking systemThe A-359 approaching the gate
The airline also serves 23 Asian destinations via its all-Airbus fleet of A321neo, A330neo, and A350 aircraft.
Starlux and Alaska Airlines are codeshare partners
Alaska Airlines signed a strategic partnership with STARLUX in 2023, allowing each airline’s loyalty program members to earn points on one another’s flights. The partnership will allow customers of both airlines to book connecting flights on a single ticket.
STARLUX will serve SEA three times a week
The current flight schedule calls for three flights a week, with plans in place to increase the frequency to daily service in early 2025.
Even the cargo containers were shiny and newThe plane is powered by the impressive Rolls Royce XWBNosing up to the gateA fine-looking set of landing gear
It’s always an absolute joy to get rampside access for the arrival of a big jet.
STARLUX CEO Glenn Chai (left) and Port of Seattle Commissioner Sam Cho exchanged welcoming giftsA welcome ceremony inside the airport’s reception area featured traditional drummers… and the traditional ribbon cutting
With this new route, SEA now hosts 53 nonstop international services on 27 different airlines. We’re hoping to provide you with more STARLUX coverage in the future.
