Retro A320 in the air. Photo by stevesaviation/Flickr
Aer Lingus retro livery on the ground. Photo by namcys11/Flickr.
Retro airline liveries — who doesn’t love this stuff? Aer Lingus recently unveiled their livery from the 1960’s on an Airbus A320 to celebrate their 75th birthday.
Aer Lingus CEO Christoph Mueller said, “2011 is a very special year for Aer Lingus as it marks the airline’s 75th anniversary. Throughout the 75 years we have carried out our mission of connecting Ireland with the world, transporting millions of customers annually.”
I love this video. Sure, the idea of seeing an entire flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Paris (CDG) is one thing, but to see it done like this and with the northern lights? Yes northern lights which there are no words to describe. This is one rad airline video you must watch.
The creator, Nate Bolt, created a very cool set up (which you can see at the end of the video) on the Airbus A340 Boeing 747-400. He took a photo about once every two minutes and set it to a very catchy song. That added up to a whopping 2459 photos over the 5,576 miles. Cheers to Air France for allowing Nate to take the photos and thanks to Nate for creating the video.
UPDATE: Chris K (in the comments) is correct. This is a Boeing 747-400, not an Airbus A340 as I first thought. The engine gives it away. Although Air France does fly the A340 and B747-400 on their SFO-CDG route.
Yesterday, Virgin America and American Airlines showed off their new Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Aiport (SFO) to select guests. It was a preview for what passengers should expect when the terminal opens to all passengers starting on April 14th.
The $388 million 640,000 square foot terminal makes a wonderful new home for both airlines and is energy efficient to boot. At the time of opening, the terminal will be LEED Gold-certified and will be the only gold-certified terminal in the US. LEED, which stands for “Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design,” is an official green building certification program spearheaded by the US Green Building Council. Locations are given 0-100 points and can either earn, certified, silver, gold or platinum status depending on environmentally friendly they become.
So what makes Terminal 2 so green?
* Use of natural light, which is always good
* Modern ventilation using 20% less energy
* Reclaimed water reuse program
* Water stations to fill your own water bottles
* Serving of local and organic food
* Recycled 90% of construction and demolition materials from the new terminal project
* Preferred parking is given to hybrid cars
* Use of green materials when building
One half of the terminal houses Virgin American with seven gates and on the other half is American Airlines that also houses seven. Then there is also a common gate in between. Of course, the gates are not the best part of the terminal. In the center is a large seating area with unique clear chairs, with table bases that have old images of the airport, which are pretty slick.
Some very comfy seating in the new terminal.
On the Virgin America side, they have living-room themed, high-end seating. For those who have laptops, you will find roomy counter space with plenty of outlets. Add that SFO has free Wi-Fi, there is no worry if you arrive to the airport too early. ’œWe’re proud to unveil a new home that similarly reinvents the travel experience for the modern flier ’“ and that also reflects the innovative, forward-looking spirit of our San Francisco home,’said David Cush, President and Chief Executive Officer of Virgin America.
American Airlines has a wonderful San Fransisco-theme Admirals club, which I will be covering in more detail in a future blog.
The only down side to the terminal, is I kind of like Virgin America being housed in the international terminal, because when I fly them, I get to see all the big birds from around the world. However, for the majority of people that fly, they probably are not going to care too much about that. The city, the airport and both airlines are very proud of this new terminal — and rightfully so. Next time you are going to be at SFO, give yourself a little extra time and check out the new Terminal 2.
United Airlines new Retro Livery. Photo by United.
United Airlines new Retro Livery. Photo by United.
United Airlines new Retro Livery. Photo by United.
United Airlines Retro Livery. Photo by Eric Dunetz
United Retro Livery celebration in Chicago. Photo by Eric Dunetz
United Airlines Retro Livery. Photo by Eric Dunetz
Click on photos for larger.
Today, United Airlines revealed their retro “Friend Ship” livery on an Airbus A320 (N475UA) at Chicaco’s O’Hare International Airport.
Hundreds of United employees showed up to celebrate not only the new retro livery, but also United’s 85th birthday.
United can trace its roots back to 1926 when they carried mail under the “Varney Air Service” name. Then the airline was purchased by William Boeing and merged with his other ventures as “United Aircraft and Transport Corporation.” In 1928, several airlines were combined as “United Air Lines.” Since then, the airline has successfully grown and had many different liveries.
Take a guess. What airport is this Boeing 747 landing at? Click for larger. Photo from Google Maps
You might be an airline nerd if you go searching on Google maps for satellite shots of airlines landing or taking off. I know I have done it more than one time.
This one was emailed to me by reader Ron T and I couldn’t tell which airport this was, even though I should have.
So I pass it on to you — what airport is this? And a little easier, what kind of plane if that. Click the image for a larger version.
