Saturday, August 29, 2015

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.



Friday, August 14, 2015

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

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

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