LO336 CDG-WAW 2016.05.05

May, the month when the weather isn't too hot yet, but ain't too cold either. A great month for traveling around western Europe. This year the plan was for a quick visit in Paris, as a tourist, and even quicker visits in Prague and Amsterdam, as a spotter.

05 May 2016
LO336 (1940-2150) CDG-WAW
SP-LNC Embraer 195

After arriving at the airport train station I head for another train that will get me to Terminal 1. There I briefly drop my baggage of and head for a tour outside around the terminal. After a couple pictures I return inside and head for my satellite. A ride through the tunnel, the security control and there I am, still having time until boarding. Nothing interesting that could be easily photographed from here so there's nothing else to do but wait for boarding to start. On board I take my seat in row 12. All is ready for departure on my side. We taxi next to a Boeing 757 from TACV, a nice goodbye to the apron it is. A smooth rotation and off we go up with a view on fields in the area. A beautiful mix of yellow, green and brown all over the place.
The flight proceeds smoothly and after an hour or so we dive into the night. Landing in Warsaw is on-time and I don't have to wait too long for the bags to arrive.
Once again there is nothing bad that I could say about my flight with LOT. The crew on board was fantastic, it was a sheer pleasure to be there with them.

LO331 WAW-CDG 2016.05.02

May, the month when the weather isn't too hot yet, but ain't too cold either. A great month for traveling around western Europe. This year the plan was for a quick visit in Paris, as a tourist, and even quicker visits in Prague and Amsterdam, as a spotter.

02 May 2016
LO331 (0730-0955) WAW-CDG
SP-LNB Embraer 195

The morning flight with LOT was the one I chose to get with to Paris. The weather that morning in Warsaw was gray. Cloudy with a slight breeze. At the check-in area there is no queue to the bag drop, so I quickly get rid of my bag over there and head over to the security control. The worst part of a journey from Warsaw... But well, one must get over the poor and rude treatment they get and move on, to the gate! Having a lot of time I catch up with some friends and when boarding is at it's end, board the plane. Today SP-LNB, seat 25D. The forecast for the flight is good, the sky in Paris is clear.
After almost two hours we finally begin our approach to Charles de Gaulle airport. Smooth touchdown and after a couple of minutes deboarding commences. The bags arrive rather quick, but as it is in Paris, not in the right order...
All in all, another very pleasant flight with LOT.

Someone here got priority for takeoff

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!