A very interesting article in this Sunday’s New York Times. It states that air travel is the highest carbon emission activity a human being can take. A trans-Atlantic (TATL) or Trans-continental (TCON) flight across the US, can generate 2 to 3 tons of Carbon Emissions! I am not an extreme left wing environmentalist by any measure, but I care about the environment. I believe that we owe our future generations a planet that is in shape good enough to live in. This article is disconcerting. Now, I drive a lot, …

I love taking pictures of and flying in wide body aircraft. Sure beats an ERJ anyday! From a travel perspective, it’s all about comfort. The bigger planes are mode spacious, have higher ceilings, larger bins and in upper class, flat seats. Some narrow body aircraft do too, but they are few and far apart. As per taking pictures, I just love these big birds. They are engineering in flight! A marvel to look at, both in the air and on the ground.
Common wide body aircraft one gets to see are:
Boeing …

I was at Washington Dulles (IAD) airport a couple of days ago, ready to board my flight to Houston (IAH). As I walked towards security, I looked out and saw what was most likely an Ethiopian airlines Boeing 787! The swept back wings were distinctive, even from a distance.
I decided to take the mobile lounge instead of the train to see if I could get a closer look. It was a great decision. The bus passed right by the aircraft and I got two great shots ‘Africa’s First’ Dreamliner.

Note the …

More 787 news! After United announced its domestic 787 routes, LOT Airlines of Poland is bringing the Boeing 787 dreamliner to the US. They will start flying the new next-generation jet to Chicago’s O’hare and New York’s JFK airport next year. This is exciting news as LOT is a Star Alliance partner and has also recently announced a partnership with Jetblue. This is great news for loyal passengers of US based Star Alliance members – United and US Airways and those of Jetblue. They can now book flights to Europe …

Yes, this news made my day! United will receive five Boeing 787 Dreamliners this year. They have just announced temporary domestic routes on which they are going these planes till International service starts in January! What an opportunity to fly the new aircraft domestically. United will be hosting the aircraft in it’s Houston hub and will fly domestic routes to each of its hubs. Here are the routes and the dates they will operate for. Remember, these are temporary till the aircraft are placed in their final International routes.

Route

Flight times

Effective …

Its a long weekend. So instead of writing a full post, I am posting a collection of news items from around the web.
United changing plans for 787:
United is saying that it will use the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner it will receive on its Denver – Tokyo (DEN-NRT) route. It’s original announced plan, per-merger, was to fly the 787 from Houston to Aukland (IAH-AKL). Looks like the merger changed their goals.
Air India getting its 787:
Air India is finally getting its 787. It is unique as it is the first 787 built …

What is the retirement age of a airplane after all? The brand new, yet to land at your nearest airport, Boeing 787 already has a plane in retirement! SeattlePi reports that Google Earth has spotted the first 787 running for president of a Florida retirement home . Ok, that was a Sienfeld episode I love. The plane in question was spotted in equally sunny Palmdale, CA. This is the aircraft ZA004 (serial # N7874, according to airliners.net), one of the first 787s used for flight testing and FAA certification. Now …