P2-MCK on the ground at Goroka in the New Guinea Highlands – Photo: Bernie Leighton | AirlineReporter
This is part of a series about visiting Papua New Guinea. In part one, Bernie reviewed flying Air Niugini. In part two, he visited (New) Ireland and (New) Britain via a Q400. In part three, he checked out remnants of war and got a tower visit. This is the final installment.
I have now flown Air Niugini (airline code: PX) more than most Americans ever will. The thing is, no one I knew remotely well enough at the time worked for the airline, which is rare for me. I did, however, know plenty of people who work for their fiercest competitor – Airlines PNG (airline code: CG). Clearly, something I needed to take a flight!
After a week of in-country planning, I had finally selected a destination – Goroka, a small town in the highlands of Central PNG. It is one of the highest airports in the country at 5,200 feet. It was also a reasonable airfare and a crew of people who were extremely friendly to an American journalist.
S2-ACR in the darkness of Birmingham after arriving late from Kuwait City – Photo: Bernie Leighton | AirlineReporter
This is the second part of a three-part series documenting the DC-1o’s final passenger flights. Click here for Part 1 (flying from Dhaka to Kuwait City).
Flying on the first leg to Kuwait on our way to Birmingham on the last DC-10 passengers flight was surreal, yet exciting. Landing in Kuwait seemed like a good almost-final stop for the DC-10, since I love old airliners landing in interesting places.
I have to say that ground handling in Kuwait was less than ideal. First, we had to hold on a taxiway just to the south of the main terminal for approximately twenty minutes. Then, we had to taxi to a hardstand adjacent some private jets. Kuwait Airport is the first I’ve have seen that actually offers fixed sunshades to keep your VIP aircraft from melting under the relentless Arabian Gulf sun.
An example of the executive jet verandas at Kuwait International Airport – Photo: Bernie Leighton |AirlineReporter
Finally, the engines were shut down and a ground services truck appeared. Since the flight was double-catered out of Bangladesh, it was merely the aircraft groomers.
These were groomers who had no idea how many lavs there were on a DC-10-30, or where the galleys all were. It was at this time I also learned that, while there was no in-seat power, there were a couple of power points located around the aircraft. I almost tripped over someone’s battery charger in the number four lav!
Delta Boeing 747-400 tail seen from a Dreamliner – Photo: David Parker Brown
THE DETAILS
This week, Delta Air Lines announced a major change to their Skymiles frequent flier program, while many in the industry speculated was coming. The changes to the Skymiles program will see an end to their current (and, some would say, traditional) points earning process, to now be a revenue-based model.
Similar to airlines like Jetblue, Southwest, or Virgin America, it no longer comes down to how far you fly, but rather how much you spend.
As of January 2015, Delta will move from a ’œ1 mile flown = 1 point earned’ model, to a new revenue-based system where for every dollar you spend on your airfare you will receive 5 points (though they are still using the term ’œmile’ for some reason). As with the current program, the higher your elite status, the more miles you get as a reward. By using a co-branded Delta credit card, you can earn yourself a few extra points as well.
But we wanted to share our opinions from both the perspective of a miles and points junkie (Mal) and someone who doesn’t really care about miles (David).
Noses of a Boeing 747 and 727 – Photo: Caleb Howell | Flickr CC
This guest post was written by Andrew Vane (@pipelinedrew) for AirlineReporter.
Recently I saw that someone posted pictures of old Northwest 727s and DC-10s in North Carolina and I became curious. This is my home turf and I was not aware of any tri-holers “enjoying” their retirement years nearby.
I quickly started looking up Google Earth images and was able to confirm that, sure enough, there was what was left of some vintage aircraft stored in an out-of-the-way airfield somewhere in my home state. Now, how to get out there to see them.
Laurinburg-Maxton Airport (KMEB) is nestled in the pine barrens of the south-central part of North Carolina, off of US Highway 74 about halfway between Charlotte and Wilmington. Originally a U.S. Army Air base for glider training during World War II, this small airport currently is the home to the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team, has a nice local Fixed Base Operator (FBO) for civil air service, and also holds something not often seen in the eastern U.S.; a commercial airliner salvage yard.
When you normally think of aircraft storage, the first airports that come to mind are Victorville, California and Tucson, Arizona. Now add KMEB to that list.
A Lufthansa 747-8 Intercontinental inside the Boeing Factory – Photo: David Parker Brown | AirlineReporter
When I first started this blog about five and a half years ago, the word “AvGeek” did not exist. The people still existed, fans of aviation, but we didn’t get the attention that we enjoy today. Now, we are seeing more and more “legacy,” media covering who we are and what makes us tick. I am honored and thrilled that Thom Patterson, who writes for CNN, not only took the time to come to Aviation Geek Fest, but he also wrote a story talking about who we are. I wanted to share his story and here is an excerpt with a link to the full story – David
Everett, Washington (CNN) — Sprawled out before us sits the exterior of the world’s biggest building by volume. They make airliners here. Big ones.
“Let’s go see some airplanes!” says our Boeing VIP tour guide.
I remind myself: This doesn’t happen very often.
Yeah yeah yeah, Boeing offers public tours of this 98.3-acre airliner factory north of Seattle every day. This ain’t that. This is special.
As part of a convention of aviation fans called Aviation Geek Fest, we’re gaining ultra-exclusive access to the factory FLOOR. The public tour is limited to the balcony. We’re about to walk knee-deep where Boeing gives birth to some of the world’s biggest and most advanced airliners, including the 747-8 Intercontinental, the 777 Worldliner and the 787 Dreamliner.
Read the rest of Thom’s story on CNN…
