Remarks: The life of an airline CEO.....here the famous New York City dancing Rockettes help jetBlue usher in the opening of their new terminal (T5) at JFK, just behind what is still one of the nation's most impressive terminals, the Eero Saarinen TWA terminal.
Remarks: The first Qantas A380 taking off from runway 25L for a short VIP trip to San Francisco. Members on board include actors Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta, whose 707 was parked with the A380 during the day. Everyone wanted a photo (see foreground)!
Remarks: An evening view of the front seats of the "Affaires" or Business Class section on the upper level of Air France's new A380, F-HPJA, where seating is 6 across (2-2-2). Each customer has a variety of side storage compartments, a 15-inch LCD seat back TV screen and a full 2 meter (6 feet) seat when completely flat, in addition to an electrical connection for recharging devices. Notice the deep blue/purple mood lighting.
Remarks: Here's the Business Class bar/lounge on VAustralia's new 777-300, shown today at LAX during its delivery flight. The jetliner has three passenger classes; Business, Premium Economy and Economy, complete with stars and constellations on the ceiling of the cabin. Note the circular colored light overhead, which changes from blue to green to yellow to orange.
Remarks: Air France brings Europe's first A380 to the USA with its press event visit this afternoon at JFK. This is the cultural gallery on the forward upper deck which is available for business class passengers seated in the "Affaires" section of the jet. Passengers can view, discuss and study various images of artwork of all types. Notice the eye fading in on the right-most LCD screen.
Remarks: The western end of runway 04 and the MAT (Marine Air Terminal, below, center w/ orange roof) at LaGuardia Airport. I can almost hear and see the Clipper Flying Boats which crowded the water around this tiny terminal some seven decades ago. Taken from about 900 feet aboard Cessna N3544G (1200x800 pixels).
Remarks: Here are the Premium Economy seats on the Qantas A380, of which there are 32 in an approximate layout of 2-3-2 in the aft upper deck. Many of the same amenities are found here as in Business Class (USB and AC electrical outlets), with a seat pitch of 38 to 42 inches (about a meter) and a 10 inch LCD screen for movies and so on.
Remarks: Closeup of the starboard nose depicting what may be an impact crack in the co-pilot's window as shown (which surely must have startled him if it was). Note some of the additional damage most likely done by the scraping, pushing and hauling of the jet while it was submerged and against a wall at Battery Park City. Also notice radar equipment beneath the nose cone which is normally hidden to us all. Great work by a very talented flight crew.
Remarks: SIA's Economy section in the aft lower deck of 9V-SKK, first flight to JFK through FRA. Not quite as roomy as Suite Class, but still with many amenities most other airlines don't offer in Economy. Of all the 471 possible passengers the Singapore A380 can comfortably seat, 399 of them are in the Economy sections, which are located on both the main and upper rear decks. Each seat features a 19 inch (~0.5 m) wide seat and 32 inches (~ 1 m) of pitch along with personal entertainment systems for each customer. Lower deck has 3-4-3 seating while the upper deck has 2-4-2 seating in Economy Class (1200x800 pixels).
Remarks: Air France brings Europe's first A380 to the USA with its press event visit this afternoon at JFK. Here the aircraft receives a celebratory water cannon salute as it taxis to Terminal 1 where it was greeted by a champagne and hors d’oevres celebration. And yes...the chocolates were delicious!
Remarks: First class seats just prior to boarding.....Lufthansa's first A340-600 flight out of Charlotte to Munich for the summer 2008 season. Take a look at this image showing this aircraft landing at Charlotte;
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and here for the first time this jet pulled into a gate at Charlotte;
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Remarks: Seen sitting alone after today's festitives at LAX is Sir Richard Branson's latest addition to his Virgin airline network, VAustralia's first 777-300 on its delivery flight from Seattle, through LAX, eventually to Sydney. Revenue flights to Sydney will begin in late February with service to Brisbane beginning in early April, with a projected total of seven 777-300 aircraft.....finally giving Qantas some stiff competition!
Remarks: This afternoon, upon arriving at LAX on VH-VOZ straight from the factory in Everett, Washington, billionaire Sir Richard Branson (near center in black jacket) and friends celebrate the delivery of their new 777, soon to be crossing the Pacific and extending the Virgin charisma to more passengers and more countries. It’s not everyday that you get to see people popping champagne bottles *outside* a jet’s fuselage!
Remarks: Here's what it used to look like....lots of sand, no Airbus aircraft at all, and a big hefty 747 from Paris seen from under this palm tree. During the entire week, this same jet flew runs daily between SXM and CDG, and boy were those two lovebird swimmers surprised when this beast paid them a visit while they gave all the passengers a show! Pic is a film scan, sorry if it isn't super clear, but the message is still clear; SXM is awesome.
