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