2015 - summary

The year nears it end. It's finally time to summarize it. It was a rich year. Rich in trips, photo opportunities and aviation related activity.

I shall start with my personal TOP5 photos of the year. In no special order. I tried to  show a diversified range of shots. Not necessarily top quality, but all of them represent something that might be special to me (like let's say a memory) about it. Choosing just 5 wasn't easy. Sometimes I had to go with the one that has a bigger story behind it.

1. Arriving back home after a short trip to fly a T154. The weather over Warsaw was clearly fantastic giving me an opportunity to see almost my entire city from top with good light. Both airports in sight, downtown and major routes leading in and out. A great summary of the entire trip. Later during the year I luckily managed to repeat it on arrival from ARN. Entry source of the photo.

2. An Iran Air Boeing 747-SP cockpit in Kuala Lumpur after a flight from Tehran. This photo as a summary of the Iran trip in October. A dream come true to fly the plane and see an active cockpit. Entry source.

3. Antonov 225 Mriya. The biggest flying plane there is. Just one active. So seeing it fly is incredible. I decided to go to Ostrava to witness it land over there. The drive was much longer than my stay, but hey! you need some dedication to achieve your goals. Entry source.

4. Paris Air Show 2015 was the spark for a aviation oriented trip to Paris. Spotting both at Orly and Roissy. Three days, all spent at different airports. My first A350 and first visit at PAS. For the entire trip. Entry source.

5. Work being an important part of anyones life takes a lot of time and sometimes gives opportunities. Mine does give me some spotting ones. Like this Eurowings A320 being pushed back with some winterish light and reflections from the water. At first sight - a normal photo - but for me, it may symbolize the working part of my year (maybe, perhaps, I didn't yet get to other photos from work that would fit here better). Entry source. Many photo opportunities (and views) like that (or the El Al 737 at the bottom of the entry) are given to me at work. It does really sooth an eye and is a heavy reason why to keep the job.

And now back to the beginning.

EPWA 2015.11.11

The sky is gray, nothing special happens, work continues the same way it does everyday. Two simple shots from the ground. An El Al Boeing 737 comes into his stand after a flight from Tel Aviv.
Also it coincides that it is our national independence day here in Poland.

4X-EKL

4X-EKL

EPWA 2015.11.18

Another rainy day at work. Just two from the ramp.

SP-EQL

SP-LLE

EPWA 2015.11.19

Just another day at work. There was a slight rainfall during the night, so when the sun came out, the tarmac was wet, and nicely illuminated the area. Most of my attention came to the Eurowings A320 from DUS

D-AIZR

EPWA 2015.09.16 B77F Etihad Cargo & Trade Air F100

Last year we had a Etihad cargo triple seven visiting WAW, this year the story repeated. Twice even, with some horses this time. Coincidentally the day of the Etihad departure a Trade Air Fokker 100 operated a charter to Warsaw. Both arr and dep.

9A-BTD Trade Air F100 departure

A6-DDC departing

LO332 CDG-WAW 2015.06.23

After a short pre-flight spotting at the airport (mostly at T1) came the time to go for the flight. So after over two hours of walking around the entire airport, photographing planes and the interior of the terminals. The construction of T1 is kinda funny. It has a couple of satellites around the main building that you can get to with underground walkways. A cool experience.
The flight itself:

23 June 2015
LO332 (1045-1300) CDG-WAW
SP-LNE Embraer 195

The flight passes quickly without any special events. The sun shines nicely, but clouds block the view of the ground. I'm seating at 18D.

Departing CDG with a A380 waiting for us to pass so it can taxi to its stand.

Paris CDG pre-flight spotting LFPG/CDG 2015.06.23

Yesterday we returned with Robert home pretty late, the night was not going to be very long. Before ending our day we packed our suitcases and checked-in for our flights back home. He was bound to depart in the morning (7am-ish), my flight was 3 hours later. The plan was easy, we drive to the airport, I return the car to the rental service and he goes for his flight. Meanwhile having a couple of hours to spent I decided to walk around the airport and perhaps take some pictures. I couldn't leave my bag anyway before check-in for my flight opened. My conclusions after the morning? Terminal 3 has nearly no spotting opportunities, Terminal 2 is hard and not many spots, Terminal 1 is on the other side pretty nice. Open air, planes very close and so on. Most of the pictures where taken from T1. For more info and pictures of the terminals visit my entry about LO332.

F-RAJB

9K-AME

EPWA spotting 2015.06.10

Taking a break in a training session. What better way than to go and take a couple of pictures with the sun nicely shining from upfront creating a gold-like feeling.

EPWA spotting 2015.06.08

A short trip to the airport for an attempt to get a couple sunset photos, the sun didn't play exactly as I wanted, but the two last photos are rather ok.

F-GTAJ

Jula private King Air 200 SE-KXM

P4-MGU at EPWA 2015.06.05

Two, quick photos of this A319 ACJ resting, or rather having a sauna, in Warsaw.

P4-MGU
Global Jet Luxembourg
Serial number: 5445

Type: 319-115XCJ
First flight date: 18.02.2013

Lufthansa Cargo Boeing 777F. 2015.03.20-21

Due to a short strike of the Lufthansa crew, we did not see many LH movements in WAW for a couple of days. Presumably they had some cargo laying off in Warsaw that needed to be quickly transported out of Warsaw and the means of the underbelly of the daily rotations with the A320 family planes were not enough to deal with the backlog. Se they decided to send in a one-time cargo only flight to WAW operated by a Lufthansa Cargo Boeing 777. It arrived on Friday the 20th of March 2015 and departed the next day. As I was too lazy to go for some night photos of the beauty while it was resting on PPS12 (today I regret a little bit that laziness) o I did use the photos made by my friends to show you how it looked.
For the departure itself I put my bets on a "into the sun" picture, did it work? I'm not fully satisfied with the effects, I kinda wanted the sun to be tad lower, but hey! that's not up to me.

Night time, photo copyright: Marcin Sikorzak

Paris CDG spotting LFPG/CDG 2015.06.22

Monday came quickly. Three nights in Paris have passed since my arrival. During that time I've been at Le Bourget for the Air Show and at Orly airport for some spotting. This was supposed to be my last day in Paris, after the night I had to catch the flight back home. So we decided, together with my friend, to go for a little spotting at CDG - which is the main airport in the Paris metro area. After planning nearly everything out before arriving to France we knew that the distances were huge and without a car it would be nearly impossible to get some decent results. We did rent a car the day before (it was needed at ORY) and had a schedule of what arrives or departs when so that we could have a chance of catching everything (or at least most of the things) we came here for, which was: Air Tahiti Nui A340, LaCompagnie 757, the Air France 747s and A340s, UA/AA 757s and other plane+livery connections that are usually unavailable in Warsaw. To the "cooler" things we got I could add: FedEx 777s, UIA 767, TK A330, SAS retro jet, Egyptair 777, Air Transat A310 and more! Well, I can't say I am disappointed with the results. Although the weather was from the poor kind, in the morning full overcast, and later during the day rain came so we started spending more and more time in the car :P (of course lets add the trips for food to nearby villages).
Overall, Roissy offers a wide range of pretty good spotting locations, but to get to them easily you need a car transport. There are, more or less, a couple of parking spots in the area of mosts of the spots. If you are interested in a decent guide check this spotterguide out. It did help me out with a couple of problems. And remember about the permit, we did encounter a check during our stay.
Have a look what came out of my camera:

F-HPJD

F-HBLA

Orly spotting and the Concorde; LFPO/ORY 2015.06.21

After a day at Le Bourget I went for a full spotting day at Orly. The second biggest airport in Paris. The highlights I wanted to get were a couple of different charter planes (like Air Caraibes or Corsair), some African airlines (like Air Algerie or Royal Air Maroc) and of course the Cubana Ilyushin 96 and the Open Skies Boeing 757. So before the trip, together with my friend, we did some research about where to spot, about at what time do the planes we wanted to catch land or depart. Apart of those gems, which we did manage finally to catch, there is a tonne of Air France planes (but not as much as at CDG) and Transavia. A pro tip: getting around without a car would be time-consuming and tiring. The distances between spots are not small so if you would decide to spot on foot, you would be rather stuck at one place only for most of the time, or would loose some of the planes during moving from a spot to another. So we did rent one that morning, which was a great thing to do! After a good day we wanted to see the Concorde standing next to the airport. Luck wanted that the man responsible for the complex, which it was part of, saw us and invited us inside. He gave us a private tour around the Concorde, which was, frankly A-MAZ-ING! The complex is called Musée Delta and is currently struggling with some land problems. The museum is open every Wednesday and Saturday between 2pm and 6pm and has a entrance fee of 3€. I strongly recommend visiting it during your stay in Paris! A fantastic place it is!

PS. Yes, the heat haze did some harm to a couple of the pics - sorry for that

Paris Air Show 2015

Every two years a Air Show is held in Paris. To be exact at Le Bourget airport. It is one of the biggest shows and trade days in the industry. Well, more trade days than a show. Anyway. I decided to go for the event in 2015. I visited the venue on Saturday, some machines have already flown away (the Boeings) but anyway being their and seeing all the excitement in the people, the A350 and A380 departing for the dynamic display and performing it was awesome. Apart of that I had the possibility to go into a experimental F100, see the newest baby of Antonov, photograph a ANZ ATR with colorful props and see the A350 for the first time live. Enjoy my little gallery!

LO333 WAW-CDG 2015.06.19

June is the month of the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget. After a couple of years I finally got the possibility of flying for it. As the name says it takes place in Paris, so I had to get there somehow. My money went to LOT Polish Airlines. To Paris Charles de Gaulle with LO333 and the return on LO332 but each flight will have its own entry.

19 June 2015
LO333 (1940-2205) WAW-CDG
SP-LIB Embraer 175

I arrive at the airport as usual, one hour before departure which gives me at this time of the day enough time to drop off my bag, go through security and have a little walk around for some photos. Boarding starts as planned and we arrive with a bus to the plane. Everybody boarded rather quickly and so we managed to depart more or less on time. The flight itself was rather smooth, no special sights or events. Just another great flight on a Embraer with LOT. In Paris we docked at a jetway at Terminal 1 and I proceed on to the baggage claim. The tunnels that take you to them are fantastic. You get a long moving sidewalk which goes both up and down. Later you find yourself in a area with multiple slides going different directions through tubes. After claiming my bag I head for the train that will take me downtown. And so my three days in Paris start. What will they bring? You'll see in the next entries.

Emir of Dubai and his Boeing 747

At the start of June 2015 the Emir of Dubai, the vice president and prime minister of the UAE Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum visited Warsaw for a couple of days. The main reason was business talks. As it frequently happens, together with his arrival, some private jets had to arrive so all the people that needed to come could do so. And so, his highness arrived with a Boeing 747-400 A6-MMM and from the cooler things there was a 737BBJ registered as A6-AIN. He arrived on the 7th of June and departed two days later.

A6-MMM departing from the wet runway

SAS CRJ900

After the one way flight to Geneva I had to get back home somehow. LOT flies nonstop but the OW price was high for my date. After all the best combination was with SAS via Copenhagen. Both flights on the CRJ900 operated by Cimber. First flight in the evening of the same day that I've flown on to GVA and spotted later on at the airport. SK618. Scheduled departure time at 20:10 and a two hour flight time. Second flight the next day in the morning at 08:30 and a 1h20min flight time. Why the sleepover? Well, if all would go according to schedule I should make it for the last flight to WAW that departs at 22:55 from CPH but I needed a backup in case of a delay because the flights were on separate tickets. Luckily for, I ended out being right, my flight to CPH was delayed by over an hour on departure thus I would have no chance to make it for me second flight. But now, back to the flight experience. Overall the CRJ is a small plane with not much space for the passenger. The toilet is cramped, the overhead baggage compartments also are small (in my opinion this is a feature of all Bombardier made airplanes). What makes up for those problems is the friendliness of Cimber crews. As in every plane with tail mounted engines, the more to the front, the quieter. Unluckily the CRJ doesn't give you the opportunity to look into the engine (what is possible on the Fokker or the T134/T154/IL62). More details about the the flight experience, the seat and the interior itself in a video at the end of the entry. What I did like about the two flights is the check-in at Copenhagen where you firstly print your boarding pass (if needed) at a kiosk together with the baggage sticker and later you drop your bag on to the belt by yourself. That was cool! And fast.

OY-KFI

Copenhagen spotting, EKCH/CPH 2015.05.30

During my return trip to Warsaw from Geneva via Copenhagen with SAS (both flights on the CRJ900) I had some time for behind the window spotting at the airport. Mornings are always fun, with a nice sunrise which slowly illuminates the sky and the planes on tarmac. So here is a small set of photos made while waiting for my flight. All the locations may be accessed by every passenger, you just have to find the right spot. From the more "fun" things I saw there was the Danish Air Transport ATR72, Icelandair 757, the 6000th Boeing 737 (flying for Norwegian) and a alsie express ATR72.

Geneva spotting, LSGG/GVA 2015.05.29

After my flight on the Belavia Tupolev 154 from Minsk, I have decided, together with a friend of mine, to go spotting and catch the departure back to Minsk before we go to to city. And so we did. Using the spotterguide for Geneva we directed ourselves to spot #4 which was already had a couple of visitors. The departure itself got delayed by over two hours. All in all it was a good thing. Thanks to the delay we've manged to catch a couple of planes we would surely miss if the plane would have departed on time, like a Islamic Republic of Iran A321, or the 200th Easyjet Airbus. Between them there was a Swiss A319 performing a go-around, a United 767, a Swiss A333, a MEA and Royal Jordanian alliance liveries plus something I've been looking out for a little bit: the Etihad Regional Saab 2000.
Later that day I had to return to the airport to catch my next flight. This time it was to Copenhagen on a SAS CRJ900.

I-PBRA

HB-JXC

Flying the Belavia Tupolev 154

Arrived in Minsk two days earlier just for this day. Early morning wake-up, I take the first train from the center to the airport and am the only passenger on it :) . At the airport I have over two hours to my flight, I check my bag in and go for a short walk around the terminal. There is a couple of old planes in front of the terminal building, a Il-76, a T154, a T134, a An-24, a An-2 and a Yak-40. Later I go through the security and passport control and walk around the interior.

29 May 2015
B2871 (0820-1010) MSQ-GVA
EW-85748 T154

After a short walk around the area of the terminal and one shot of a aircraft standing near the terminal it is time to board. We take the bus to the plane. Total of around 30 people on board (the return flight was full). We are just about to get on board (some even do) but well, the authorities tell us that we can walk around a bit and many do. It looks like if we wouldn't want to fly the T154 and preferred the standing nearby 737. Boarding completed. Engine start-up is accompanied by a majestic hum of the engine. A short taxi to the runway and off we are in the air. Flat climb. 2 hours later we reached Geneva but before that we could experience the plane in all it's majesty. Walk around the cabin, chat. Plenty of room for everybody. There was even a cameraman from a Belarusian TV station making a material about those last commercial flights. Sometime during the flight a meal was served. Cold turkey (or so I think) with  cucumbers, a bun, ketchup and a sweet waffle bar as dessert.
A picturesque approach to Geneva airport with view on the Alps to the left, and a bit to the right. Deboarding, picking-up baggage and together with a fellow traveler we headed to one of many spotting locations in order to catch the departure back to Minsk (which got delayed due to a slot loss due to enthusiasts activity while boarding :D ) and later on to the city for some sightseeing. Later that evening I had my first leg of the return flight back to Warsaw. GVA-CPH with SAS.

Slowly boarding todays ride

Flying the Belavia Boeing 737-300

After a long day spotting I had to quickly get to the airport to catch my flight to Minsk.

27 May 2015
B2896 (1505-1715) WAW-MSQ
EW-407PA B733

I needed to get somehow to Minsk for my flight to Geneva on board the Tupolev 154 so I decided to fly earlier and take the chance to visit the city aswell. The T154 was on Friday, I arrived in Minsk on Wednesday on a Belavia Boeing 737-300 registered as EW-407PA. The plane first took flight in 1996.
First, at the airport, waiting for my flight I made a couple of pictures through the glass walls, as usual. It just is something I do before most of my flights. Boarding was smooth and rather without any special problems. A quick pushback after making sure that everyone is on board and we taxied to runway 29 beside many unusual liveries for Warsaw (they arrived for the UEFA Europa League Final) and departed without stopping and after a couple of turns we directed ourselves north-east towards Belarus. Sometime during the flight service was started. Well, let's say so. Drinks: tea/coffee and a small chocolate was everything in Economy. As a matter of fact I did hope for more. Luckily I ate a snack before the flight so I didn't have to starve.
A regular landing in Minsk. Just nice to see some very eastern planes, the Il76, T154, T134s and more, not forgetting about a cargo 747. Deboarding, bus transfer to the terminal and a quick immigration control. Welcome to Belarus. My bag has arrived after just a couple of minutes and I could proceed for the bus that would take me to the train station where I did catch a train to the city and made to my sleeping place.
To sum up Belavia, a rather regular airline with little arguments to convince fliers to fly them (especially when talking about western people). The fleet is in fact being renewed, but everything else connected with the flight is rather poor. I had no problems with the crew. The catering (I know it was a short flight, but my next flight MSQ-GVA was much longer and had a "meal") is poorish. The only things that would make me choose B2 over, lets say LO is either a big price difference or a better schedule.

Europa League Final 2015

Wednesday, the 27th day of May 2015. In the evening a football game is going to be played at the National Stadium in Warsaw. Not any game. It is going to be the Europa League Final clash between Sevilla and Dnipro Dniepropetrowsk. For the occasion thousands of supporters had to arrive somehow to Warsaw. Tens of charters have been scheduled for the day. From small private jets to Boeings 747s. Most of the planes were 737s and A320s (many from Vueling) with the stars of the day being: 2xB744 from Wamos, a UIA B763, a Air Europa A333 and some of the traditional traffic like the Emirates A332 or LOT B787 and for me the LOT B737. Nevertheless the day was going to be a nice one. Why? The airport organized a entry for a group of spotters to one one the roads located near the active runway giving us a rare opportunity to spot from a very close distance with almost no obstacles on our way. Part of the group can be seen on one of the photos although I was part of it. It is because wanting to catch all the planes I decided to shoot the first 747 and the UIA 767 from a known location due to the slowly moving queue at the entrance to the airport.
Standing near the runway gave me also a different view on regularly operating planes, like the Embraers and Dreamliners belonging to LOT which made a photo or two of them worth the time :P
Big thanks to the airport authorities for organizing the entry and I sincerely hope for more similar events soon.
Apart of all that spotting, I had a Belavia flight to catch shortly after the second 747 landed.

EI-FFW

UIA Boeing 767 touching down at runway 33 UR-GEB

Belgrade Aviation Museum

During my stopover in Belgrade on the way back to Poland from the UAE after sightseeing in the city center I have planned to visit the Belgrade Aviation Museum before the final flight. The museum is located near the airport. During shorter stopovers (~4h) you can easily go out of the terminal, visit the museum and return back on time for your next flight. All the details about prices and opening hours can be found on the website of the museum. The place itself isn't very big but has a lot of planes both inside and outside the building. Including shot down fighters from the past. There is also a section dedicated to JAT, the national airline of Yugoslavia and later Serbia. Historical routes, photos, information, plane models and more. In a different part you can find the history of Belgrade Airport together with a small model of it.
From the trip, see also the flights with Air Serbia and spotting in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Air Serbia experience

Back in January I flew with Air Serbia from Warsaw to Abu Dhabi via Belgrade. Why? A couple of reasons. New places to see, new airline to fly and more. 4 flights on the Airbus A319, 3 of them Air Serbia and one Etihad but operated by Air Serbia so it counts as Air Serbia as well. The routing was very simple. A round trip WAW-BEG-AUH-BEG-WAW. On the short flights (to and from Warsaw) the service was modest. A bag with a sandwich, a cookie, a little bottle of water and tissues was handed to every passenger. On the longer flights we had a full meal, we could even choose :P Most of the flights were during night hours. We had sun shining only for the landing in Abu Dhabi. This is the reason for not so many pictures from the flights. This and the fact that those have been simple A319s, so photographing every detail made no sense.
My opinion about Air Serbia? Why not. The service is of decent quality, planes have been rather clean, crew made no problems. The food might not be of highest quality but it is eatable so ok. As you can see the sandwiches were pretty poor. I'd surely prefer to pay a little bit more and get a properly made bun. Transiting in Belgrade is easy and as JU has good connections from WAW to AUH. I might use them again on that route. One thing that might bother some passengers is that you fly a A319/A320 for a long time, and on the night flights you've got to sleep on it. Well, in business class there are proper seats (if anyone is interested) but in economy it's nothing special.
During my stay I also had an occasion to go for spotting both in Abu Dhabi and in Dubai and visited the aviation museum in Belgrade. Check the links for more. There is a seat review video at the end of the entry.

JU635 (2045-2225)
WAW-BEG
YU-APJ A319

The food bag

Dubai spotting, OMDB/DXB 2015.01.20

During my short visit in the United Arab Emirates I did spend a couple of days in Dubai. Of course I had to go to the airport to take some pictures. I decided to go to the parking near the Emirates headquarters. Also, because of temperatures and plans that I've made for the day I chose do go rather in the morning than the evening. As a matter of fact, because it was quite windy, the heat haze continued quickly to arise I decided to get back to the city and continue with my preplanned itinerary.
See also spotting in Abu Dhabi and my flights to/from the UAE with Air Serbia.

Abu Dhabi spotting, OMAA/AUH 2015.01.18

Back in January I've paid a visit to the United Arab Emirates. Flying via BEG to AUH with Air Serbia. During my stay in the capital city of Abu Dhabi I had little time for some airplane photography. All of the photos (with the exception of the five last ones) are taken from the top floor (which is also the pool floor) of the Premier Inn situated near the airport (which I do highly recommend). For pictures from inside the terminal visit the Air Serbia post.
As spotting wasn't my primary motivation for the trip, photos are only from a period during which I've been at the hotel or in general near the airport that is either early morning or before sunset. Unluckily the traffic wasn't high.
See also photos from spotting in Dubai.

A6-EIH

A6-BLA and the new tower

Spotting guide for Warsaw Chopin Airport

For some time now I had the idea to create a spotting guide for Warsaw Chopin Airport. I know that it isn't an airport that comes as a first to mind when we think of a place that we would like to spot at. Nevertheless, maybe someone does feel the need.
WAW/EPWA is located near the city center and is very easy to get around. To most spots you can easily arrive by public transport. The guide currently consists 18 spots (there is a map with the location). Each spot is described with the information: where, when, what, with what and has (if needed) advice about what to do or what not to do.
I attach the map to this post. For the full entry visit the Warsaw Chopin spotterguide.

Viewing terrace and a "new" terminal. 2015.05.23

After more than two years of construction work, the "new" terminal has been opened on the 22nd of May 2015. Or rather reopened. Now the entire airport area is one. No longer do parts dramatically differ from each other. It is clean, spacious with lots of chairs to sit or lay on. The opening added baggage belts to the 5 existing ones at the arrivals level and also check-in counters, stores and shops for departing passengers. A McDonald has been opened both air- and land-side for the first time in Warsaw Airport history. You can still see the decorations (mostly balloons) which accompanied the opening ceremony. Together with the grand opening a new website for the airport has been officially launched and some changes have been made in the organization of car movements at the terminal (detailed maps at the bottom).
Also, a viewing terrace has been reopened. Although in a different form than before and in a slightly different spot it is good news for families and people who just want to simply have a look at the planes. The terrace has a glass wall, but you still are a bit on fresh air because the wall isn't connected with the roof. The glass surely will be a problem when photo-shooting, it will get dirty, it will reflect other lights, it will get greasy and it is at an angle to the floor. Heat haze will be disturbing for those wanting a quality photo or two. The location has been also moved away from the tarmac so you are unable to see planes standing near the terminal. The only things you'll be able to photograph in a way are: planes landing and departing, planes taxiing and planes standing at apron 5B. For the thirsty ones there is a bar and a souvenir shop located beside the terrace. Also, for your convenience there are screens with the timetable and a screen with the radar situation around the airport.
The entrance is located near the exit from the railway station. There is no direct passage to the terminal itself.

Entrance overview

Austrian 767 experience

OS64 (1125LT-1550LT)
22nd September 2014, the alarm goes off (well, a 777  flies by to be exact), I have around five hours to my flight. The weather outside is bad, foggy (or smoggy), little sun. While laying in bed a couple of rare planes (and liveries) land just outside my window but I was too lazy to grab my camera. With Clint Eastwood talking in the TV I finish packing my bags. Check out. A bus to the terminal and a scoop of ice-cream for a goodbye. As I have checked in for my flight on-line I don't have to stand in the long queue, always spares me a lot of hassle. A couple of photos of the terminal, security check, emigration, a train to the gates and woah, the terminal seems empty, I've been prepared for a lot more people. A quick round around the gates to see what is there to photograph, not much as a matter of fact (some of it may be found in the post about spotting in Beijing). A little shopping (breakfast was desired) and with two new bags in my hand boarding for my flight has commenced. It only is a matter of time when I get on the plane, find my seat and install all electronic devices. First impression of the interior? Quite nice, I like the composition of colors. The seat is alright, the PTV works great. Soon push-back has started and after a while, with some stopping in line for departure, we taxied onto runway 01. Full thrust and we are airborne. Well, it would be more fun if you could see something through the windows. a couple of minutes flying through smog and clouds when finally we get to see the sun and a sea of fluffy clouds which goes on all the way to Mongolia. The flight goes on pretty smoothly, overflying cities like Kyzyl, Nizhny Novgorod and Warsaw (under clouds) time flies pretty fast. The main, a chicken, was good, 4/6 is what I'd give it. An hour before landing we get a hot sandwich with ham and cheese. Landing on time, in some post-rain weather. Good to be back in Europe and at an airport that I really like flying to. A visit to the cockpit and a chat with the friendly crew summed up the flight. Now all I have, after the very smooth immigration control, is to wait around 3 hours for my flight back home. Luckily I found a fantastic, quiet spot.

Overall the combination of Austrian Airlines and the Boeing 767 is really fantastic and I do recommend it to everyone. Videos between the photos. Flight review video at the end.

Beijing Capital Airport spotting; ZBAA/PEK 21.09.2014

Both before departing to North Korea and after arriving back to China I have had a couple of opportunities to spot a bit at Beijing Capital Airport. I can divide them into 4 parts where part 1: before departure from PEK for FNJ; part 2: after landing in PEK from FNJ; part 3: the main spotting part; part 4: before departure from PEK to VIE. Part 1 and 4 feature photos mainly made from the terminal area while part 3 is the more standard "beside the fence" spotting.
During my stay winds were mostly southernly thus runway 36L, 36R and 01 in use. Unfortunately I would not say that the weather was great. I'd rather say it was more of a typical Beijing aura with smog around.
For some detailed information about spotting locations in Beijing visit spotterguide

An Air China A330 landing at 36R (B-6079)

Queue from both sides to depart from 36R

Air Koryo Tupolev 204

This entry will be a two part one (divided in itself). The first part is getting to North Korea and the second one leaving it. Both of the flights I've done on the Tupolev 204-100 operated by Air Koryo. The -300 is just a bit shorter and apart of that doesn't differ much inside.

JS152
13.09.2014 PEK-FNJ
1255-1600
I got to the airport around 10am by the train that rides between the center and both terminal areas at the airport. There I met up with part of the group and later we passed through security prior to getting to our check-in area. Some unusually sized luggage could be seen checked-in. After getting my boarding pass with what looked like a good seat (10F) I proceeded on the yet another security check and the immigration counters. Airside, after localizing our departure gate I moved on to looking for a place to spot at, windows gave a couple good shots at aircraft that have been docked and one, in the "corner" had an overview on the main taxiway and one of the three runways at PEK. There many of my trip mates gathered. We spent the hour prior to boarding here taking pictures, notes and laughing together. We had to bond at least a bit, a full week with the company of us and only us was ahead.
It was boarding time, still before entering the jetway most of us made a slight detour for a photo of the 204. On board we were greeted by the friendly crew of todays flight. Just after a couple of minutes push-back commenced, engines have been fired up and taxiing started. A long one, with some stops due to traffic. Finally we were in the air.
In flight service was rather poor. The "Kim Burger" we got was rather a 1/10 than something you would like to eat. Fortunately the soft drink was kinda good!
Maybe it was just me, or it was the airplane or the way the pilots flew but I could feel practically every turn, something that usually doesn't happen in the "western world". One strange situation also happened. A slight bank right turned into a steep one, than the pilot suddenly over-banked left, tried to level it off and again banked right before finally leveling off. Someone even screamed at the back.
Finally after 1h 22min we touchdowned at Pyongyang Sunan airport, deboarded the plane and boarded a bus and traveled towards the terminal for our customs and immigration control. All of it did take some time and finally after around 8-9 hours we've arrived at our hotel.

In the tunnel from the train to the terminal

Landside in the T2, pre customs check