Lufthansa & Boeing 747-8 Video

I love this aircraft.

Boeing Store Free Shipping Coupon

Free shipping at the Boeing Store with coupon code PROFIL14; offer good until Wednesday.

Boeing Products Last, This 737 is from the 80's

Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental For Sale - Brand New

Need a new 747-8 Intercontinental, but don't want to wait in line?  Well you are in luck, a 747-8 purchased for VIP use is for sale, brand new and ready for cabin outfitting.  Lufthansa is the only operator of the passenger 747-8 at the moment and cabin outfitting can take two years or longer, so don't expect to be flying around in a 747-8 without a crane on the tail soon. 

The 747-400 Isn't Very VVIP Anymore

Boeing Store Free Shipping Code

Use the code SYMBOL14 for free shipping at the Boeing Store.  The code expires today.  It's great for small value orders, like 59c luggage tags, $6 party kits, or t-shirts.  The Boeing Store has sales every few weeks.  If you are looking to buy an expensive model, wait for their 20% promotions. It would also be great if the Airbus Shop has free shipping because they ship from Germany.

1:1 Size 737 Model

NTSB Reminds Pilots To Land At The Right Airport

More funny than insightful, the NTSB is warning pilots about "Landing at the Wrong Airport."  Flight crews are recommended to "confirm that [pilots] have correctly identified the destination airport before reporting the airport or runway is in sight."  Sounds pretty basic, but someone thought this bulletin was needed.  Other gems the NTSB could publish include Adding Enough Fuel, What Runways Look Like, or Why Altitude Is Important.

Don't Land at the Wrong Airport

The 747 Looks Great

The 747 is my favorite Boeing product (the Saturn V was a group effort, so I don't count is as a Boeing product) and it looks better than any other airliner moving people today.

Lufthansa 747-400 Top

Sunrise at CLT

I might be the only person who likes to be at an airport before the sun rise. Here's a glimpse of what most people miss.

767 at CLT

Blue1 - Best Looking Birds in the Air

Blue1, a regional carrier owned by SAS, has the best looking airplanes.  The 717 isn't a sexy shape, but the Blue1 paint on it looks outstanding. Too bad it's part of SAS and in a bad financial state. Pluna used to have the best looking planes until they folded last year; I'd hate to see the new best looking airline fold too.

Blue1 Jet in Helsinki

Boeing Airplane List Prices

Ever wonder what a new airliner sells for? I have and found the list prices for Boeing airliners.  The twist is that these planes don't sell for list prices.  I've heard discounts could be up to 50%, but final sale prices are never disclosed.  Like shopping at a car dealer, no one should pay the sticker price.

United Airlines 777-200ER Lists for $258,800,000

Airplane       2012 $ in Millions Average
737 Family
737-700                     74.8
737-800                     89.1
737-900ER                94.6
737 MAX 7                82.0
737 MAX 8                100.5
737 MAX 9                107.3
747 Family
747-8                          351.4
747-8 Freighter         352.0
767 Family
767-200ER               160.2
767-300ER               182.8
767-300 Freighter    185.4
767-400ER               200.8
777 Family
777-200ER               258.8
777-200LR               291.2
777-300ER               315.0
777 Freighter            295.7
787 Family
787-8                         206.8
787-9                         243.6

United Airlines 787 Dreamliner Spotted at Denver

I spotted United's new 787 Dreamliner at DEN last night. It looks slick and a little like a 767. The cockpit windows and nose section really stand out and there were quite a few people stopping to take a look.

United Airlines' New 787

United Airlines' 787 Wingspan Looks Huge

Plane Spotting at FRA

I've on the move today and had a great day of plane spotting from the bus taking me to and from the stand parking at FRA.  I saw my first 787 and caught the 747-800 taxing out.  As a bonus, I found the only Starbucks in Finland.

Lufthansa's New 747-800 at FRA

The ONLY Starbucks in Finland

Air Canada to Europe - A319 & 767

A friend from high school called me up late last month wondering if we could do a trip overseas in July.  My schedule had some flexibility to it so I started finding trips we could do on United MileagePlus miles.  We were able to settle on Barcelona, Vienna, and a half day in London for 60,000 miles; a very good deal. 

Air Canada A319 at Denver

The first leg of the journey was from Denver to Toronto to Barcelona.  My friend was originating in Chicago and we planned to meet at the international Maple Leaf Lounge in Toronto.  I was flying an A319 to Toronto connecting to a Boeing 767 to Barcelona. 

The Airbus part of my flight was great.  There was plenty of leg room and a FREE video on demand entertainment system.  The system has a great collection of new and classic movies, along with games, a map, and music.  I watched The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly.  It happened to finish just as we were landing and made the flight go very quickly.

Air Canada's Free Video On Demand

The service was friendly too.  The lead flight attendant looked like a jovial lumber jack that could be in tourism commercials.  I also got a kick out of the bilingual announcements, as required by law, not the makeup of the passengers.

After landing it was a quick walk to the transfers desk, stamp in the passport, and a quick walk to the lounge.  To speed the trip, Toronto Pearson Airport has moving walkways that go faster in the middle than at the ends.  It was my first time using them and it was fun to see the clever solution to an engineering puzzle. 

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge YYZ Bar

The Maple Leaf Lounge is on the second level (my friend walked right by it and spent a while looking for me on the departures level) of the international terminal.  This is their flagship lounge and it has plenty of seating broken up into different areas so noise doesn’t travel and to give a more private feel.  It also has free wifi, conference rooms, showers, a business center, and of course self-serve bar and hearty snacks.  The drink spread was very good, but the food was superb.  Air Canada’s lounges have some very good soup offerings and this was no different.  There was also some very tasty pasta available that reminded me of grandma's. 

I left briefly to find my friend and check out the duty free prices.  We were able to locate each other and went to the lounge for a pre-departure toast to our trip.  Our flight had a maintenance delay, so we were able to make a few more toasts before departure.  The aircraft for the trip to BCN was a 767 that Air Canada had not converted to the new business class and video on demand in coach.  The seats also were not very comfortable, so before we pushed back, I knew I was in for a long trip.

Leg Room in Coach on 767, Where's the TV?

The meal service started soon after takeoff and I enjoyed a very tasty chicken dish. The brownie was also very good.  Soon after dinner, I tried to sleep.  It didn’t go well.  I went to the back of the plane to see if any sets of 3 seats were open to lay down on, but enough people already had that idea and I was out of luck.  I wound up taking a set of two free seats, built a pillow fort, and tried to fall asleep.  I don’t know why, but nothing worked.  I might have been out for 30 minutes tops.   After a seemingly endless struggle, I spotted land (Spain looks like the American southwest from the air) and we started our approach.  Landing took us over a few sights and we quickly taxied to the gate, so fast that the crew hadn’t finished the French version of the announcement.  I was soon off the plane, not rested at all, but excited to experience Barcelona.

Tasty Chicken Dinner on Air Canada 767

United Orders New 737's

United ordered (full press release here) 100 of Boeing's new fuel efficient 737 MAX airplanes to start updating the current fleet.  Deliveries will begin in a few years.  United also ordered 50 737-900ER jets to replace some 757's in the fleet with deliveries starting next year.  This is a good move for United to lower operating costs and I bet they got a great price on the planes because Boeing is hurting for narrow body orders.  I prefer the Airbus interior so I'm not jumping for joy on this move.  Also the 757 has 4 more first class seats than the 737-900ER and boarding is done through the middle door, so first class has a very private feel.  

United 737 MAX, photo from United Airlines

Strange that this was not announced at the Farnborough Air Show going on right now.  Airbus loves to announce orders at airshows to show off in front of the press.  Boeing prefers to announce orders as they come, but the timing and order size would make this an air show highlight.  Maybe a missed opportunity by United and Boeing.

Malev Airlines

Malev Airlines had good looking airplanes and I liked how their vehicles were similarly painted, purple nose and all.  That didn't keep them from folding.  It's my blog so I'll post a picture of it just because.

Malev Airline 737

Also, the predictions that Budapest would lose its air service have not come true.  It's still one connection to anywhere in Europe.  It's not a large enough city to support a flag carrier, but it will certainly support many flights from discount and full service carriers.  Nice place to visit too.

KLM Meet and Seat

I would rather have someone interesting sit next to me on a flight than an empty seat, really, even in coach.  Belgians are always good to talk with, Irish too.  I’ve chatted with an Antarctic researcher, pilots, networking contacts, and many frequent travelers.  Every time I’ve had an interesting seat mate, the flight has been memorable and fun.  KLM has a program to help facilitate having an interesting seat mate, KML Meet & Seat.

KLM Meet and Seat

The premise of KLM Meet & Seat is you can link your Facebook or Linked In profile to a seat map and see other passengers’ profiles.  Find someone interesting, connect with them, and sit next to each other on the flight.  Sounds like a great idea with professional and personal benefits.  KLM allows each person to control the amount of profile information shared.  You can also contact the other person before the flight if you like.  KLM Meet and Seat sounds like a fun and innovate way to create a better flying experience.  If your seat mate doesn’t work out, you can always watch a movie or try to sleep, but those tactics aren’t new.

I also like how they are using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in their images.  It seems I'm not the only one excited about this airplane.

United Airlines 777 Business Class Seat

I had to fly to White Plains, NY, for work last week. And had a full day to travel, so I picked the most interesting flight I could find.  I was able to book an international configuration 777 with the new lie flat beds in business.  My upgrade cleared (I wish I could book business directly) and I was flying 6A to Chicago. 

United Airlines 777 Business Class Flat Seat

The United 777 business class seats are set up with five rows of 2x4x2 seating.  The middle seats don’t have a lot of privacy and the cabin felt a little crowded. 

United Airlines 777 Business Class Flat Seat

United Airlines’ business class seat is one of the best in the air.  It is about six feet long is truly flat (parallel to the floor).  There is a good AVOD system with a great selection of movies, new and old.  I watched Wall-E on my trip and a bit of Toy Story 3.  There is no under seat storage with these seats, so I grabbed my Bose headphones and Economist and tossed my bag in the overhead bin.  The seat controls are easy to understand and there is a myriad of comfortable positions for the seat.  The window seat has a good feeling of privacy, but it is not impossible to have a conversation with your seatmate either. 

United Airlines 777 Business Class Flat Seat

United does not have the best food in the air, usually their good meals can be described as edible.  Breakfast was an egg McMuffin and yogurt.  Not bad, but not filling or exciting either.  Continental has a much better breakfast spread and I hope the new United keeps what Continental serves.  The Bailey’s and coffee was ok, United switched coffees and I am not a fan of the new blend (United Club coffee is unpalatable).  Increasing the ratio of Bailey’s to coffee fixed the taste problem. 

United Airlines Business Class Breakfast

The flight went quickly and the service ended early due to turbulence over Illinois and Wisconsin.  It was a pleasant flight staffed with a senior crew that was very professional and enhanced the experience. 

Rainy day at ORD

It was raining in Chicago and my E170 flight to HPN was canceled.  I lost my first class seat, had an extra three hours at ORD (I wasn’t the only one with an extended stay, there was not a single open seat in the F gates United Club), and was stuck on a CRJ.  Still, could be worse, I could have been in the office.  

Christmas Shopping

There are a few ways to thrill an aviation nerd at Christmas, like a flight to Peru, a stay at the newest W, and airline gear.  Luckily the latter option is in a reasonable price range.  Airlines and manufactures run online stores that sell a wide array of logo gear, models, and other interesting trinkets.  I’ve ordered from Boeing, Airbus, United, and US Airways.

A380 shirt in the A380 cockpit

My favorite item is the custom A380 t-shirt from Airbus.  I ordered a shirt for my first A380 flight, a first class trip on Lufthansa.  It was a great trip and I’ll go into more detail in a future blog post.  I wore the shirt on the flight and the flight crew loved it.  They took pictures with me and I also got to visit the cockpit and meet the captain.  It was a great item and got my trip off to a great start.  Other passengers and lounge attendants also got a kick out of it.  The downside of Airbus’ store is that they ship from Germany and have a rather high minimum order amount. 

The Boeing store operates through Amazon.com and has a wide selection of models and t-shirts.  I picked up a Boeing tee and some of the cartoon airplane stickers.  There is also a retail location in Chicago at the Boeing headquarters; it’s right by the Merta station and worth a look if you are in the area. 

Almost every airline has an online store and most of the products are focused on employees, but they do allow anyone to place an order.  US Airways has a good store with lots of models, posters, and retro tees from brands they have absorbed.  Sign up for their email list, they run good promotions on occasion.  United’s store it outsourced and seems to be closing because everything is on clearance.  They recently ran, without thinking it through all the way, a free shipping promotion with no minimum order.  I picked up some luggage tags, a Ted teddy bear, and a Ted sleep kit all for under $10. 

An airline related gift could be that special and unique thing the you or the airline nerd you know would love of Christmas.  There are quite a few, though not well advertised, options out there so give it a look.  


UPDATE: It appears the United shop has closed.  None of their URLs work any more.