An Airbus 319 in Nashville giving new meaning to the term ’œRam Jet’. Photo by Andrew Vane.
This week’s airline livery comes from Drew Vane. Here is his story in his own words:
If ever there was an airline livery for animal lovers, it’s Frontier Airlines. If you’ve happened to fly anyplace west of the Mississippi, chances are you’ve seen the wildlife friendly tails.
Every since Frontier Airlines announced the “new” re-branded name after merging with Midwest, the airline has continued to wow passengers with their tails, even if the animals painted on them don’t always have them. Not only are these aircraft beautiful works of art, they’re also all unique to each individual aircraft. Be it a regional jet or turboprop flying under Frontier Express or an Airbus A320 series for the main airline, Frontier has as many liveries as it does aircraft. I suppose you could say its got more liveries than any other airline. They even recently had a voting option for the next tail animal with Polly the Parrot pulling in 39% of the vote.
As a wholly owned subsidiary of Indianapolis based Republic Airways Holdings, Frontier Airlines has rapidly grown in its 18 year history to reach 80 destinations from its hubs in Denver, Milwaukee and Kansas City.
I haven’t had the privilege of flying on Frontier but I did catch a glimpse of some of their fleet in Nashville last month. Airline Reporter featured both the Fox and Bald Eagle in past stories. I think they should do away with the traditional N registration numbers mandated by the FAA and register their aircraft with the mascot’s name. I can just hear the pilots on the radio: ’œFrontier Polly want an approach cracker.’
How many animals have you flown on and what are your thoughts on this livery?
Portland Airport (via the Port of Portland), Emirates Boeing 777 and Lufthansa Boeing 747-8I (via Jeremy Dwyer-Lindren)
This last week and a half has been super busy already for me and it is only going to get a bit crazier (in a good way) for the next week.
I am off to Portland to give a talk on tourism and technology at the GWTTRA Conference. Very excited to share the concept that technology has really improved the experience and I think ushered a new Golden Age of flight. If you have any ideas on tourism, travel, airlines and technology, please share them in the comments and I might be able to add it to my presentation.
Then heading all the way around the world with Emirates on their new non-stop flight from Seattle to Dubai. I am excited to check out Emirates service on their Boeing 777-200LR, as well as seeing what Dubai has to offer.
I will be keeping up on Twitter and Facebook on my aviation themed adventures as always, so please join along.
While on the road, I will be making use of guest blogs and hopefully be able to remotely cover the delivery of Lufthansa’s first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental, which is rumored to be delivered around the 24th of this month (nothing official has been announced from Lufthansa or Boeing).
Southwest Airlines has announced orders for the new Boeing 737 MAX. Image from Boeing.
Not that long ago, Boeing announced that they will make improvements on the 737 NextGen to create a new version; the Boeing 737 MAX. Although I am still not a fan of the new name, I am starting to become a fan of the changes that the MAX will bring to Boeing and their customers.
“The 737 MAX is on-track to deliver substantial fuel-savings to customers starting in 2017,” said Beverly Wyse, vice president and general manager, 737 program. “We’ve made several design decisions that support the performance targets for the MAX and evolve the Next-Generation 737’s design within the scope of the 737 MAX program.”
From Boeing’s press release, those design decisions include:
Aft body aerodynamic improvements: The tail cone will be extended and the section above the elevator thickened to improve steadiness of air flow. This eliminates the need for vortex generators on the tail. These improvements will result in less drag, giving the airplane better performance.
Engine installation: The new CFM International LEAP-1B engines will be integrated with the wing similar to the aerodynamic lines of the 787 Dreamliner engine with its wing. A new pylon and strut, along with an 8-inch nose gear extension, will maintain similar ground clearance to today’s 737 while accommodating the larger engine fan. The nose gear door design is altered to fit with this revision.
Flight control and system updates: The flight controls will include fly-by-wire spoilers, which will save weight by replacing a mechanical system. The MAX also will feature an electronic bleed air system, allowing for increased optimization of the cabin pressurization and ice protection systems, resulting in better fuel burn.
“We also continue to do work in the wind tunnel to affirm the low- and high-speed performance of the 737 MAX design,” said Michael Teal, chief project engineer and deputy program manager, 737 MAX program. “Based on design work and preliminary testing results, we have even more confidence in our ability to give our customers the fuel savings they need while minimizing the development risk on this program.”
Could the 737 MAX have radical winglets like this? Image from Aviation Partners Inc.
It is still uncertain how the new winglet on the 737 will be configured. It could be something very similar to the winglet on the 737NG or as Flight International points out, it could be something more similar to the raked winglets found on the 737-based P-8 Poseidon.
Boeing states that customers should see a 10-12% fuel consumption increase over “today’s’ most fuel efficient single-aisle airplanes,” (aka the 737NG or Airbus A320) and a 7% increase operating cost per-seat advantage, “over tomorrow’s competition,” (aka the Airbus A320NEO).
Already, the 737 MAX has more than 1000 orders and commitments from 16 different airlines and once additional aspects of the aircraft are confirmed, those numbers should continue to increase.
Boeing fills up ANA's 787 Dreamliner with biofuel. Photo from Boeing.
Earlier in the week, Boeing and All Nippon Airways (ANA) made aviation history by flying a 787 Dreamliner using a biofuel blend. There were no passengers on board this delivery flight from Evertt’s Paine Field (KPAE) to Haneda Airport (HND), but there was fuel that was primarly made from used cooking oil that emitted an estimated 10% less CO2 emissions.
’œThe 787 is the most environmentally progressive jetliner flying today, combining fuel efficiency and comfort with reduced carbon emissions,’ said Billy Glover, Commercial Airplanes Vice President of Environment and Aviation Policy.
This is also the first biofuel flight to occur over the pacific ocean.
“Our historic flight using sustainable biofuels across the Pacific Ocean highlights how innovative technology can be used to support our industry’s goal of carbon-neutral growth beyond 2020,’ Osamu Shinobe, ANA senior executive vice president, said.
Although biofuel on airlines is still not a cost effective fuel, with new research and technologies I feel that we will start to see the use of this alternative fuel used more and more, not only on airliners, but also in airport operations.
There are many airline take off videos out there, but not too many that are able to catch a take off head on. Blog reader SpeedbirdHD got this video of a KLM Boeing 747-400 (PH-BFO) taking off from Amsterdam (AMS).
