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A United Airlines Boeing 777 in new livery lands.
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A United Airlines Boeing 747-400 lands.
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Two United and one American aircraft find parking.
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A United Boeing 747-400 and American Airlines Boeing 777 sit while other aircraft start to line up.
These four photos were sent to me of different US Airlines being diverted to Yokota Air Base which were bound for Narita in Tokyo Japan. The airbase took 11 inbound flights and over 500 passengers. Col. Otto Feather, commander of the 374th Airlift Wing at the base, told NextGov.com that the, “entire Yokota community — including the Red Cross and the Boy Scouts — turned out to care for the stranded passengers from United and Delta airlines, among others.” Check out a video of the air base helping all their short-term guests.
According to the Wall Street Journal, all All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) flights are canceled at least through Saturday.
I am in the process of trying to find out who took these photos to give proper credit.
Oh noes! Will AvGeeks be safe taking Laviator photos in the future? Taken on Air New Zealands Boeing 777-300ER
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to remove the oxygen tanks located in lavatories in 6000 aircraft across the United States. The FAA determined that someone could use the oxygen tanks to start a fire or to create a bomb. The Air Worthiness Directive 2011-04-09 stated that airlines had to comply over a 21-day period, ending on March 4th. The entire process was kept a secret to the general public, since the FAA did not want someone to use the information for evil doing.
This means that if cabin pressure is lost mid-flight, there would be no oxygen mask for a passenger in the bathroom. This has some people very upset (and afraid), but really flight attendants are trained to take care of you and although some people think depressurization happens all the time it is a very rare situation — especially when you think about how many flight hours are completed in the US on a daily basis. I would rather take the risk of being in the bathroom during decompression versus someone using the oxygen container for something bad.
So why have the bathroom oxygen tanks been removed, but not the others in the main cabin? I suspect the ones in the lavatories were targeted since passengers have a pretty high level of privacy and could barricade themselves in. The airlines and aircraft manufactures are working on a better solution (I am thinking an alarm to access the oxygen tank?), but there is no word when oxygen will be re-activated in the lavatories.
To learn more, check out my story on AOL Travel News (http://aol.it/ex6xq5).
Delta Air Lines MD-90 (N908DA) in older livery with Mt. Rainier in the background.
Delta Air Lines has a very diverse fleet of aircraft. Delta currently flies the Boeing 737-700 and -800, the Airbus A319 and A320, the DC-9, MD-88 and has been adding additional MD-90s — which all compete with each other. A while back Delta announced they would be replacing their older DC-9s with newer aircraft and at first I assumed it might be with Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s in a move to simplify their fleet by getting rid of the entire DC-9/MD-80 family, but it looks like they are going to upgrade it. Why would Delta buy MD-90s instead of Boeing 737s or Airbus A320s? I think there are a few reasons.
The biggest is cost. To pick up a Boeing 737 or Airbus A320 it is going to cost a heck of a lot more than purchasing a used MD-90. Yes, Delta will have to pay to re-do the interiors and the planes won’t be as fuel efficient as a brand new model, but the over all costs will still remain lower. Delta has a huge maintenance facility in Atlanta and would most likely continue to work on DC-9/MD-80 aircraft from other airlines, even if they got rid of their own fleet.
The MD-90s allows Delta to back fill the DC-9s and save additional time before completing an entire fleet renewal program. Delta just announced buying nine MD-90s from Japan Airlines (JAL) and they hope to find more in the future. Delta’s President Ed Bastian stated at a December investor presentation that Delta hopes to purchase about 50 MD-90 aircraft over the next two years.
Since Delta is looking to get so many MD-90 aircraft, could it make sense to purchase some Boeing 717s which are based off the MD-90? Maybe. Recently Southwest purchased AirTran, which has over 85 Boeing 717s. Currently, Southwest only has a fleet of Boeing 737s, it could be possibly they would want to be rid of the 717s. The problem is that Southwest is locked into a contract with Boeing for the aircraft and it is unlikely Boeing would want to let them out. If Delta plans to purchase a significant amount of new Boeing aircraft in the future, it could be negotiated to let Southwest out of their contract early (with Southwest’s approval, of course), allowing Delta to take control of the 717s.
“The MD-90 is a cost-effective aircraft that helps us more efficiently maintain our flying levels as we retire regional jets and DC-9s, so the additions won’t increase our capacity.” Delta spokesperson Trebor Banstetter told AirlineReporter.com. “We’ll continue to look for opportunities to acquire used MD-90s in the future as we retire DC-9s and smaller jets.”
Either way, I like the ‘ol MD-80 maddog family. I hear so many people complain about the aircraft and sure if you are sitting in the back by the engines, they can be a bit annoying. However, I love that 2-3 layout and the sound of their engines at full throttle during takeoff. I am glad to see an American airline will be keeping the maddog alive for years to come.
Image: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren
Boeing 787 Dreamliner ZA003 and a 2012 McLaren MP4-12C at Paine Field. Yea, I will take two of each, thanks.
As a fan of airplanes and cars, I got very excited seeing a 2012 McLaren MP4-12C with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in my most recent Road and Track magazine. Looks like the magazine had the car at Paine Field and over to the Future of Flight for some photos.
They also had a great interview with Mike Sinnett who is the Vice President, 787 Chief Project Engineer at Boeing. The magazine asks Sinnett about the carbon fiber used in the Dreamlinrer. Head on over the RoadandTrack.com for the full interview.
A computer mock up for what the Air China Boeing 747-8I will look like. Want bigger? Click for a 3500 x 2800 version. Photo from Boeing.
Boeing announced today that they have signed a contract with Air China for the purchase of five Boeing 747-8 Intercontinentals. This is the third passenger airline, after Lufthansa and Korean Air to purchase the passenger version of the new Boeing 747-8I.
“Air China has been operating 747s since the 1980s,” said He Li, vice president of Air China. “The new, high capacity Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental will deliver exceptional economics and a great flying experience to our customers.”
