ARJ21-700 Roll Out in Shanghai December 21, 2007 from Flight Blogger
Since the Chinese-made ARJ21 was announced I have wondered if it would ever make it to production. Although there have been quite a few delays (it was supposed to go into service in early 2007), the plane (which is heavily based on the MD-80) is still on track to succeed.
China has been making aircraft for quite sometime, but only sold them to countries with lax safety regulations. This week the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is going to be checking Civil Aviation Administration of China’s (CAAC) ability to certify the ARJ21.
If the FAA certifies CAAC and CAAC certifies the ARJ21, then the ARJ21 can be sold globally. Currently there are three ARJ21’s in the test fleet, but they are only about 150 flight hours into the 2000 flight hours required to get Chinese certification. They were hoping to have Chinese certification of the aircraft done by the end of 2010, but it looks unlikely that will happen.
Would any US or European start-up airlines would be willing to try out using an all-ARJ21 fleet in the future? Right now I would guess no, but things can change.
It is hard to believe it has been over a year since US Airways flight 1549 hit a flock or birds and successfully landed in the Hudson River. Now a time-lapsed video has been posted showing the Airbus A320 being taken out of the river. The video was taken by David Martin, who lives right above where the plane was extracted (check out his blog for photos and more information).
Now the plane is waiting to find a new home and if you have enough money you can place a bid on it. It is being sold “as is” and most likely won’t be flying anytime soon.
A new and exciting concept has popped up at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Those who fly regularly on a particular airline or have no problem paying for the First Class ticket get to experience the VIP airline lounges often.
Now, you don’t have to have thousands of miles or thousands of dollars to be treated like a VIP. A new pay-by-the-hour lounge at LAX gives you ability to get VIP treatment at an economy-seat price.
For only $10 for an hour, $25 for three, $35 for five or $50 for the entire day, you can hang out at reLAX Lounge. The lounge has top-notch amenities, free wi-fi, free refreshments, some snacks and amazing views of airlines outside the window. It is located before the security check points, so if you are flying out, have a layover, or waiting for an arriving flight, you can enjoy the amenities.
I asked Walter Vergara, the creator and marketing director, about how business was doing. “Business is doing well better than expected, there is a real need for this product specially when so many business class travelers are flying economy due to the economy and companies cutting back,” Vergara said. He also told me they were looking at opening additional locations at other airports by the end of 2010 or early 2011.
I asked about what the space reLAX is currently taking up was going to be used for. Vergara told me originally the airport was going to use the space for public concessions, but while LAX was building their mutli-million dollar VIP lounges they used the reLAX space for a temporary airline lounge. After the airlines moved to their new homes, reLAX was created and opened December 4, 2008.
Harriet Baskas, who is a columnist for USA Today and MSNBC and writes her own blog, was recently at LAX and took a look at what reLAX offers. She was welcomed to view the reLAX Lounge without having to pay the $10. However she told me, “I would, however, be willing to pay that $10 for the first hour another time – for the Wi-Fi, the great view, the comfy chairs, and especially the snacks. I paid more than that for a lot less out in the food court.”
The new Skycouch on Air New Zealand earn an Awesome Medal
Taking Economy Class to the next level, Air New Zealand announced their “Skycouch” for Economy Class on their Boeing 777-300 aircraft.
The new seat allows passengers to choose to extend the bottom cushion of their seats to the seats in front of them providing an amble bed to sleep on. This will work great if you are flying with a significant other, but might be a little awkward if with a complete stranger.
22 sets of the SkyCouch seats will be available and will cost about the same as two and a half non-Skycouch seats.
You might notice the window shapes in the background of the videos look very similar to the Boeing 787’s. That is because Air New Zealand was hoping to introduce the new seats on the 787, but went ahead with the 777 due to the Dreamliner’s delays.
Air New Zealand will start flying the new seats at the end of the year between Auckland and Los Angeles and hopes to expand into other markets in 2011 and 2012.
I think these seats are pretty awesome. So awesome that I am giving the seats my AWESOME MEDAL!
Other things Air New Zealand will be upgrading:
* New oven technology to cook food from scratch rather than just reheating
* Extensive new in-flight entertainment system using touch screens
* Wine tasting and destination seminars
* Slip-on pillows for headrests to remove need for neck cushions (economy)
* Flight Planner to know when meals, drinks etc will be served, lights dimmed etc.
* Shared-meal experiences such as pizza for two (Premier economy)
* On-demand food and beverage service (business class)
This Saturday I was at KPAE (where the Boeing 747-8 is built) and saw one of the jets with its strobes on, doing testing.
To most, seeing two jets sit there and only one with strobes on might not be the most exciting thing, but to me it was awesome. It is a great sign for the things to come, hopefully very shortly.
Matzelle also caught a picture of Boeing re-painting registration numbers on one of the Boeing 747-8’s. Boeing had accidentally painted the same registration number (N747EX) on both aircraft. Hey if that is the only thing that goes wrong — I am ok with that!
Flight Blogger points out the Boeing 747-8 to fly first (RC501) is the 1420th 747 that Boeing has built since 1966. Hopefully we will see RC501 completing taxi tests later this week and a having her first flight as early as January 31st.
