An EA-18G Growler sits at NAS Whidbey. Photo by Alex Jossi.
I grew up knowing the Navy’s EA-6B Prowler very well — my father flew them for about 20 years. The aircraft was made tough, but all planes need to be replaced sooner or later. Recently, the Navy has started the transition from the EA-6B Prowler to the FA-18 based EA-18G Growler. Reader Alex Jossi had the opportunity to do some photography of the new Growler and was willing to write up a story on the aircraft. Here is his story in his own words:
Thanks to a friend and local aviation photographer, a handful of us guys were able to take photos at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. It was a treat to get some of the CAG birds, many of which have already been retired in the five weeks since we made the trek up north from the Portland area. I have it on pretty good hunch that they had us photograph those particular Prowlers for a reason. It was like saying goodbye to an old friend. But all good things eventually come to an end. For those of you who may not know, CAG birds are aircraft for a unit with special paint jobs, either on the entire aircraft itself or a special design on the tail. Typically, but not always, these aircraft are flown by the commander of the unit for which the aircraft belongs to. Similar terms for CAG birds include: ’œShow Bird’, ’œEaster Egg’, ’œBoss Machine’, and ’œHead Nuts’.
An older EA-6B that is being phased out. Photo by Alex Jossi.
The United States Navy is slowly phasing out the EA-6B Prowlers in favor of the newer and more advanced EA-18G Growlers. The Prowler’s initial deployment was in 1972 in Asia. It also saw combat later during Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom. In 1994, it was selected to become the sole tactical radar support jammer for all services. Today, Prowler aircraft are a high-demand, low density military asset used quite heavily in the war on terrorism.
The new ICAP III System, first delivered in 2005, has performed beyond expectations in its combat deployments during Iraqi Freedom. However, the four-crew electronic attack aircraft (one pilot, three electronic countermeasures officers) are aging, and are less fuel economic than the newer Growlers. They can’t keep getting repaired; therefore, it is necessary and feasible that they be replaced.
As capable as the Prowler is, the Growler is much newer and much more capable. The EA-18G Growler’s ALQ-218 wideband receiver and ALQ-99 tactical jamming system will be more effective in preventing ground-to-air attacks. Its Modular ALQ-227 Communication Countermeasure Set enables it to counter a wider range of communication systems and can readily adapt to current threats.
Reaching initial operational capability in 2009, the EA-18G Growler program leverages proven processes developed through the Super Hornet Program (the EA-18G Growler is a variant of the F/A-18F Super Hornet) and is recognized as an aircraft that will ensure a low-risk executable program that will remain on schedule, under weight, and an aircraft that will provide significant cost savings.
EA-18G Growler for VAQ-135. Photo by Alex Jossi.
That being said, there is still a sense of nostalgia surrounding the Prowlers that will never go away. Those who view retired aircraft of the past with admiration, know what I’m talking about. The Prowler will soon be one of those many ’œold friends’ that we will never get to see again in the same capacity that they can be seen now. It is one of those aircraft joining the ranks of ’œget them while you can’ that will soon be just another ’œairplane on a pole’ as so many aircraft have before.
Check out Alex’s 14 photos and five videos on the EA-18G Growler, a nice close up of the Growler and 23 photos and one video of the EA-6B Prowler.
The Club International Lounge is located in the South Terminal at SEA.
Recently, Delta Air Lines upgraded to a newer lounge at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), which left their old location available. The airport decided to renovate it and offer it to airlines that might not have the capacity to have their own lounge, nor are using one of the other lounges already at the airport. Emirates, which started service from Seattle to Dubai on March 1st, is currently the only airline that is making use of the lounge, but that should change in the future.
The lounge provides nice views to aircraft outside.
“We refurbished the old one and are making it available for airlines who do not have enough flights to warrant a full one of their own or do not share with another airline,” Perry Cooper, Airport Media and Public Affairs Manager with SEA explained to AirlineReporter.com. “Emirates uses it when they began on March 1st. We are looking to attract some of the other international airlines to use it as well. ”
Cooper also stated that currently the airport is not offering day passes to other passengers who are not flying on Emirates business or first class.
It might be small, but right now there is not a huge demand.
The Club International lounge has a modern atmosphere with many of the amenities one would come to expect. There are not many food options, but that they have the standard snack-type foods found in many other lounges. The club does not have its own Wi-Fi, which is fine, since the entire SEA airport has free Wi-Fi that you are able to access in the lounge.
There are free adult beverages offered and even a menu with locally inspired mixed.
Have to love the coffee machine. I used it twice.
The strange thing about the lounge is that behind the front desk, is a walled off glass area. Since it was not well labeled, I was not sure if it was a quiet area or what. I had to ask and I was informed that it was the first class section.
I understand that some first class folks don’t want to mingle with the business class, but it just seemed weird — almost zoo like. There really isn’t anything else in the glassed off area except a secondary snack area and additional seating. I guess some people just want to feel special and if that is what they are wanting, it is good to give it to them.
On Saturday April 22nd, Japan Airline (JAL) started their first flight using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Flight JAL008 lifted off from Narita, Tokyo (NRT) and then were met with a crowd at Boston Logan (BOS). Not only is this the first route, using the 787 Dreamliner, to the US, it is also the first time the aircraft has been put on a brand new route.
JAL’s first Boston flight was 100% booked and about 98% filled for the rest of April, showing positive demand for the new route.
JAL's 787 at Boston. Image from JAL.
“We are honored to see the 787 Dreamliner begin its first commercial service to the U.S. with the launch of JAL’s Tokyo to Boston route,” said Boeing Japan president Mike Denton, who was on the flight. “The 787 brings new levels of flexibility to airlines in their network development, and this is exactly the kind of long-haul point-to-point route the 787 was designed to fly. Congratulations to JAL and all their passengers participating in this exciting, pioneering flight.”
JAL took delivery of their first two 787 Dreamliners on March 26th and have announced their plans to operate the aircraft also from Narita to San Diego.
According to Bloomberg, the airline is also looking at using the Dreamliner on flights to Madrid, Berlin and Dusseldorf. JAL is also considering the possibility of re-opening routes using the 787 that were not profitable with the larger Boeing 777 from Nagoya and Osaka’s Kansai airports.
JetBlue Airbus A320. Image by Jeremy-Dwyer Lindgren
There are many stories out there about how experiences with airlines can be negative. Luckily that is not always the case and many times people can have a positive experience. Recently reader Russell Christensen had a positive experience with JetBlue and wanted to share. Here is his story in his own words:
Back in February I was traveling to Long Beach Airport (LGB) to attend my brother’s wedding via Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) on JetBlue. I was traveling with my wife, brother, and sister and we had a really early flight at 6:00am, but seeing how SLC is typically not the busiest airport I have been to, I figured that it would be ok to show up at 5:15am to check in and be to the gate right as we needed to board.
This idea was perpetuated by the fact that I had to drive from Idaho the night before and we didn’t get into Salt Lake till about 1:00am, so I wanted to sleep a little (which didn’t happen actually; I couldn’t fall asleep for the life of me). So, my wife, sister, and I drove to the airport and parked in the long term parking, thinking all was in order. We were making perfect time and were on track to get checked in and through security.
However, on the shuttle ride from the parking lot to the main terminal, my sister discovered that she had left her I.D. at the house we had spent the night at and a return drive that would take 30 minutes. Needless to say, if we returned for the I.D., we’d miss our flight. We decided that the best thing to do was to talk to the JetBlue ticketing agent to try and get booked on the next flight out (despite it throwing off our plans pretty severely) and hoping that we wouldn’t be charged a change fee.
Upon talking to the agent, she pleasantly told us that it was no big deal, that there are many people who forget their I.D. and that she thinks we should be able to get on the flight with no issue. Recognizing that we didn’t have a lot of time to get to the gate because we still had to deal with the TSA, she also made a note on our boarding passes that we could take the Business Priority Line through security. This made my day.
She proceeded to tell us that if we did miss the flight, to go back to her and she would simply book us on the next flight, no extra charge, yet another wonderful gesture on behalf of JetBlue. Her giving us access to the priority lane turned out to be a blessing because for 5:00am in SLC, the security line was enormous. I have flown out of SLC for years and have never seen security this long, ever.
My wife and I were able to get through security without an issue because we had our I.D.s, but my sister had to go through an intense screening where some office in D.C. was called and they asked her about personal info that only she would know (which is scary to know that the TSA has access to such private and intimate information).
Needless to say that we made it just in time to get to our gate and we made our flight to LGB. Were it not for such a flexible and hardworking ticketing agent who got us through the priority security line, we never would have made it in time. This reinforced my belief that when agents do their job–help passengers–the experience turns from nightmare to a wonderful experience.
Thank you JetBlue and SLC ticket agent from Feb. 16, 2012!
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?
