This amazing video of aircraft operations at San Francisco airport was taken by Just Planes.
San Francisco Airport has two sets of parallel runways which lead to some spectacular landing and take-off shots, which are captured in this great video which has a series of highlights.
And if you like this video you are sure to like our nostalgia section.
This incredible video of a Boeing 737 battling severe crosswinds was captured by Aviation Daily.
The location, however, is unknown.
READ: easyJet: How easy and simple can it be?
B737 fighting strong crosswind and made go-around at the last seconds 😳 pic.twitter.com/EIZpmxwXoO
— Aviationdaily✈️الطيران يوميآ (@Aviationdailyy) September 1, 2019
Typically aircraft land and take-off into the wind to decrease the landing or take-off distance.
In some cases aircraft land with a slight downwind component – typically associated with noise-sensitive airports where one runway is preferred over another.
Where a pilot faces a crosswind landing they need to point the aircraft in the direction of the wind while maintaining a straight course toward the runway.
This is called crabbing or yawing.
In strong crosswinds, the pilot may also dip the wing – sideslip – into the direction of the wind.
Just before touchdown pilots apply rudder to bring the plane – and its undercarriage – back so it is aligned straight down the centre line of the runway.
This takes great skill and the results – if not done properly – are often quite spectacular as shown in this video.
LATAM is rolling out superb long-haul upgrades although it has taken nearly a decade for the teams behind Chile’s LAN and Brazil’s TAM to finalise the future passenger experience aboard LATAM’s long-haul fleet.
“LATAM Airlines Brazil’s first renovated Boeing 777 represents the new standard for the group’s long-haul aircraft,” the airline says, and it’s a Thompson Vantage XL staggered seat in a 1-2-1 configuration, as previously shown.
“In the new Premium Business cabin, each custom-designed Thompson seat offers more privacy and direct aisle access, as well as configurations for both individuals and couples,” LATAM notes, highlighting the ‘honeymoon’ pairings in the centre section. “The seats recline 180° into a fully-flat bed, feature the latest generation in-flight entertainment with an 18” Panasonic personal screen and have ample space for personal item[s].”
WATCH: Head to head with an Emirates A380
When LATAM unveiled the product earlier in the year, I was fairly impressed: it’s a decent enough seat, at a good density, and offers a big improvement on the previous generation in its direct aisle access. It’s also beautiful: this is a really great piece of work by designers Priestmangoode, and exactly what’s needed for an airline wanting to offer a premium look and feel to a product that is not, in and of itself, a new seat.
LATAM’s Premium Business seat doesn’t offer a door, however, and that’s interesting to note at a time when a growing number of airlines are using business class mini-suite doors as a way to increase privacy in their premium cabin, but enough of the jury is still out across the industry on the question that I can forgive it.
The one issue — and here’s where I’m surprised that the 777 model doesn’t go some way to fixing it — is the ‘brushpast’ issue for passengers who are seated immediately next to the aisle, rather than on the other side of one of the combination side-table/footwell installations.
The 777’s wider cabin has more than enough space to add an additional shell structure to reduce the impact of the aisle proximity, even if smaller aircraft like the A350 (to an extent) and 787 (to a much greater extent) can’t fit anything else across in the fuselage.
Also of note is that LATAM is taking the opportunity to revamp its soft product, covering onboard dining, at-seat provisions and the way the crew conducts the service.
“Premium Business includes a new gastronomic proposition designed by renowned Chilean and Brazilian chefs Pamela Fidalgo and Aninha that allows passengers to rest well and wake-up revived on long haul flights,” says the airline, and the food concept looks great. It’s (fairly understandably) no Qatar Airways money’s-no-object provision, but it’s elegant in its simplicity. “True to LATAM tradition, the menu will showcase South American ingredients and will also be accompanied by South America’s best wines, hand-selected by Héctor Vergara, the continent’s only master sommelier.”
“In addition,” the carrier says, “LATAM has implemented new service protocols for cabin crew with fewer interruptions.”
This is an increasingly important factor with the growing size — both in terms of numbers of seats and in terms of on-plane footprint — of business class, where passengers paying for the top cabin on the plane seem less inclined to wait for their meal to be served than in previous years.
Also on offer: “new premium pillows, bed clothes and mattresses with temperature-regulating and pressure-point technology for every flat-bed seat to maximize comfort.”
This kind of addition is really smart, and lifts what is at its base model of seat nothing new into a cabin that looks and feels properly premium. The trick for LATAM, however, will be rolling out both the hard and soft product across its fairly disparate ex-LAN and ex-TAM widebody fleets. The 777s are legacy TAM, now LATAM Brasil, and the airline has a total of ten of them to refurbish, leaving nine to go.
Perhaps the Boeing 787, with its lower pressure altitude and higher humidity, is a time machine.
That is possibly the only explanation as to why a 17-hour non-stop flight from Perth, Australia to London’s Heathrow, passes so quickly.
And it seems no matter who you asked and in what class, the answer is the same “that was much easier – and quicker – than I thought.”
Our flight, QF9 on August 29 was no different.
READ: easyJet. How easy an simple can it be?
It started with some indulgence in the business lounge as our points upgrade had come through from Premium economy the day before.
So, armed with boarding passes 1K and 2K doors opened!
The Qantas premium lounge at T3 is quite outstanding with an outdoor BBQ area giving it a uniquely Australian flavour.
Boarding was no fuss and once seated the British-based crew were all over us with assistance and champagne.
Take-off was effortless and soon the lights of Perth made so famous by John Glenn in 1961 disappeared.
Dinner was served about 90 minutes into the flight after drinks and canape.
The appetizer was a choice of roast pumpkin soup, salad of prawns or pork and shiitake dumplings.
My choice was the prawn salad which came with tomato, corn, jalapeno cabbage with tomatillo, chilli and lime salsa.
Superb!
Wine? No not this time, sparkling water with ice and lemon. The first of many.
The main course was a four-choice affair with a green leaf side salad.
Pan-fried polenta with braised, greens, mushroom ragout and salsa verde, Seared Humpty Doo barramundi, roast chicken or seared beef fillet.
I chose the Humpty Doo barramundi which came with tamarind sauce, gai lan and jasmine rice.
Again, another winner.
Finishing off were the usual cheese selection and / or Maggie Beer’s ice cream.
Another movie or two and time for a little sleep before the Indian monsoons woke me up with a few bumps.
Once clear of those I decided to catch another episode of Line Of Duty and watch the lights of Abu Dhabi and Dubai slip by.
London was only seven hours away.
Sleep beckoned and I was able to get four or so hours before breakfast was on offer. And for entertainment some spectacular thunderstorms over Europe out to our right.
The touchdown was a 4.40am and we were at the terminal at 4.50am – 40 minutes ahead of schedule.
In fact, most flights over the northern summer are arriving about 30 to 45 minutes early
As wound be expected at that time of day the customs area was empty and we sailed through.
There is nothing so nice, after a long flight, as the sight of an empty customs hall.
While we waited for our baggage time to ponder the technology that can deliver one effortlessly from one side of the world to the other without so much as a whimper.
And the 787 does it while burning 34% less fuel per passengers than the A380.
In fact, Qantas has had a remarkable run with the daily 787 operations with only four technical problems in almost 18 months of operations.
Having said that the route was two years in the planning and Boeing and Qantas have worked closely to make the service an outstanding success.
Passengers rate it the best in the Qantas network with the highest satisfaction ratings and that is evidenced in the load factors which are running at 92% per cent overall and 94% in the premium cabin.
And how did we feel a day later?
In great shape with no jet lag at all.
How easy is easyJet?
Well very simple, very slick and easy on the wallet.
We decided to road test easyJet for a flight to Dubrovnik from Gatwick airport.
Check-in was open at 5 am for a 7.10 departure and staying at the North Terminal ‘s Hilton made that a short 5-minute stroll.
We purchased extra baggage weight, speedy boarding and because I am 195cm exit row seats.
WATCH: Head to head with Emirates A380.
All up cost for two passengers with all the frills was EP202.
Speedy boarding got us into a short priority lane for the baggage drop which was very simple and we were away from that area within 5 minutes – it was just that easy.
easyJet ground staff abounded and two came up and asked if we need help.
We have also purchased Gatwick Premium priority screening and in 10 minutes we had sailed through that area as well.
As part of that package, we added in the Aspire Lounge for early morning breakfast and chill out.
Again, another good move.
At 6.10am as advised up came our gate for the Dubrovnik flight which was EZY8517 (Aug 30) an Airbus A319.
This gate was one of the many remote ones and the airline handled the speedy boarders by calling us first for the bus and we were instructed to stand at the front of the multi doored bus as that front door would be the only one that was opened once we were at the aircraft.
Indeed, it was and boarding was a breeze.
The cabin crew were superb – it was if Easyjet hand picked the best they had just for our flight.
Nothing was too much trouble and they approached their roles with energy and enthusiasm.
Top marks!
And the exit row afforded enough room for my lanky legs.
Talking of the exit row the crew safety briefing was thorough abd professional.
The captain, who was the non-flying pilot, kept us informed on the ground and in the air.
Slight delay for take-off, which is normal for Gatwick and a smooth flight – which it was.
Once airborne for the two-hour twenty-minute flight the cabin crew were on their feet serving, then cleaning up.
Our pre-ordered snack of chips, water, and a ham and cheese toasty were delivered ahead of the cabin service and we followed up later with coffee which cost EP2.50 each.
Very tasty and hit the mark.
Before we knew it, the Captain was announcing our let down into Dubrovnik followed by a silky-smooth landing.
Not in easyJet’s control, but the on-ground experience at Dubrovnik airport was also silky-smooth.
All in all, a premium experience from a low-cost carrier and that takes class and effort.
This is a spectacular video of going head to head with an Emirates A380, which goes past just 300m above the “camera” aircraft.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1165354684787437568
Aircraft flying in the same direction are separated by 2000ft while aircraft flying in the opposite direction, the same separation, but at even altitudes, thus aircraft flying in the opposite direction to each other are just 1000ft apart.
WATCH: Amazing skill of a Boeing 757 crew landing in strong cross winds.
Separations of just 1000ft are standard today for suitably equipped jets with the sophistication of autopilots and cockpit automation as well as satellites.
Suitability equipped jets are described as Reduced Vertical Separation Minima (RVSM).
Within RVSM airspace (between FL290 and FL410 inclusive) the vertical separation minimum is:
United Airlines has launched premium-high, luxury, 767s into Europe.
Flights from the United States to secondary European markets — and from secondary US markets to primary European destinations — are bellwethers for a substantial part of the industry.
They’re often seasonal and the first to be withdrawn in economic downturns cost upticks or an aircraft availability squeeze. They’re arguably driving much of the development of Boeing’s middle-of-market aircraft.
WATCH: Stunning colour video of the 707 that started the jetset.
And now, with United’s latest high-premium Boeing 767-300ER deployment, they’re a way to target high-yield premium passengers: firstly those largely leisure passengers flying nonstop to secondary markets in a way that hasn’t been done before, and secondly supplementing premium capacity to primary destinations and Star Alliance hubs.
These 767s have incredibly high premium seating proportions, driven by a number of factors. 46 seats in business, 22 in premium economy, 43 in extra-legroom economy and 56 in regular economy — this is a high-end configuration and no mistake.
To start with, 46 Safran Optima seats branded as United Polaris stretch over halfway down the aircraft, in a 1-1-1 configuration.
This is a huge number of business class seats on a 767-300ER, up from 30 seats on United’s previous configuration of the aircraft, stretching around a third of the way down the cabin.
READ: United’s Patterson a giant of the industry in colour.
The actual Polaris seat — not to be confused with “Fauxlaris”, the ongoing situation where the decade-old Collins Diamond seat is furnished with the latest soft product — is remarkably good, and indeed to my mind surpasses anything that United’s Star Alliance stablemates operate between the US and Europe, with the exception of Singapore Airlines’ JFK-Frankfurt leg.
Also driving the premiumisation of the aircraft is the premium economy section, which United brands as Premium Plus, which on this aircraft comprises 22 seats in a 2-2-2 layout.
As a result, the Economy Plus extra-legroom economy section is pushed back almost all the way to the rear of the aircraft, with these 34-inch-pitched seats on the outboard pairs of the 767’s 2-3-2 configuration all the way to the fifth row from the rear of the plane.
Just 56 regular economy seats at 31” pitch span most of the centre section, behind the bulkhead row. This itself is a fascinating change: it’s unusual for airlines to so dramatically mix their market segments, with most preferring to keep extra-legroom economy as a separate product offering. I wonder whether this is the result of the additional segmentation offered by the proper premium economy cabin now offered.
Compared with the ex-Continental 767-300ER configuration of 30 in business, 49 in extra-legroom economy and 135 in regular economy, it’s hugely premium.
The destinations vary interestingly too. Newark to Nice is at least partially driven by the Cannes film festival: rather a different reason for putting the high-premium 767 on that route compared with additional flights from United’s New York area hub to Frankfurt and, although the Dutch capital has a strong tourism draw, Amsterdam.
Chicago to Zurich is another hub-to-hub Star Alliance implementation, and like Newark-Frankfurt I’m wondering how much the airline’s frequent flyer programme, which like most US loyalty schemes doles out upgrades on the airline’s own metal, is driving the deployment of these high-premium upgrades. It feels somewhat odd to suggest, but it will be fascinating to see the extent to which the airline opens up substantial points redemption and upgrade opportunities on these routes compared with reserving seats for passengers buying into the cabin directly.
Says International Network Vice President Patrick Quayle, “United’s global network is a tremendous source of pride for our employees and loyal customers – we’re always looking for ways to grow and expand our network to connect our customers to more destinations around the world. These new additions help position United as the airline of choice for customers planning their business or leisure travel.”
Virgin Australia is to conduct a sweeping review of its operations, layoff staff and streamline its various divisions to return to the airline to profitability after reporting an Underlying Loss Before Tax of A$71.2 million and a statutory loss after tax of A$315.4 million for the 12 months ended 30 June 2019.
The Underlying Loss Before Tax of $71.2 million, compared to an Underlying Profit Before Tax of $64.4 million for the prior year, was a decline of $135.6 million.
However, despite the loss, the Group continues to focus on strengthening its balance sheet, increasing its cash position to $1.7 billion at 30 June 2019, a $324.5 million improvement on the prior corresponding period.
WATCH a stunning colour video of the Boeing 707 that started the jetset.
The Virgin Group is made up of: Virgin Domestic, Virgin International, Tigerair and Velocity.
The airline said that the result was driven by “subdued trading conditions in the second half of the financial year, combined with fuel and foreign exchange headwinds and increased operational costs.”
The Group reported an increase in total revenue of 7.6 per cent to $5.8 billion for the full year, including a 2.1 per cent improvement in Revenue Per Available Seat Kilometre (RASK).
However, market demand moderated in the second half of the financial year, impacted by the timing of the Easter holiday period and the Federal Election, which saw both the corporate and leisure travel sectors soften the airline said.
The airline said that the challenging trading environment in H2 FY19 was “compounded by increasing costs including fuel and foreign exchange headwinds of $158.8 million and a $15.0 million investment in Trans-Tasman routes following the cessation of the Air New Zealand alliance.”
Group Cost per Available Seat Kilometre (CASK), excluding fuel and foreign exchange, rose by 4.0 per cent for the 12 months to 30 June 2019.
Virgin said that the statutory loss after tax of $315.4 million was impacted by $223.2 million in restructure costs. This result was impacted by major accounting adjustments following a review of the Group’s asset values in accordance with accounting standards.
The Group is responding to these challenges with a series of immediate improvement initiatives to streamline operations and reduce costs. These include a simplified organizational structure, organizational rightsizing program, fleet and network capacity review and a Group-wide review of supplier contracts. These initiatives are being implemented whilst the Group’s ongoing strategic review is undertaken to improve business performance.
Virgin Australia Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Paul Scurrah, said in a statement that “today’s results were disappointing and underscored the need for change.”
“There is no doubt that we are operating in a tough economic climate with high fuel, a low Australian dollar, and subdued trading conditions. However, today’s results show that we must improve our financial performance. While we have continued to grow revenue and have a strong loyal customer base, we need to make changes to our costs to ensure we see financial benefit from the growth in our business,” he said.
“Today, we have announced a number of changes to help drive business improvement. This includes a restructure of our leadership team to take in group-wide accountability across all brands, a reduction of 750 roles from our workforce, a review of all supplier contracts and agreements, and a fleet and network review which will see a tight focus on capacity management going forward.
“It’s important to note that we have already addressed a number of other business priorities including the restructure of our Boeing 737 MAX order, which deferred a significant amount of capital expenditure.
“Regarding the reduction of our workforce, I am acutely aware of the impact this has on our team members. However, if we are to position the business for the future, create new opportunities, improve competitiveness, and continue to deliver for our customers, we need to make tough but important decisions that are in the long-term interests of the Group.
“These are just some of the strategic decisions that have been made to help in the short-term. However, there’s more work we need to do on the long-term focus and positioning of the business. We will be focused on being the best value airline for both the corporate and leisure traveller, offering the strong and unique Virgin experience and proposition that we know will appeal to all market segments.
“As I’ve said previously, key to our success is ensuring we strike the right balance between the interests of our team members, customers and our shareholders. We’ll be focused on delivering for all three groups.”
This video captures the amazing pilot skills of a Boeing 757 crew battling high winds at Funchal’s Madeira Airport.
Crosswind landings can be a major challenge for pilots and occur when the wind is across the runway, not head-on.
WATCH: How tough is an Emirates A380?
This airport is located right on the ocean and is incredibly exposed and from one end the pilots are required to do a curved approach as well.
✈️ SCARY LANDING Boeing 757 at Funchal
🎥 WATCH Funchal Wild Approaches 🔛 https://t.co/xu8Jh3aqRr#avgeek #boeing #boeing757 #funchalairport #landing #planes pic.twitter.com/SQcFJdfCLh— Just Planes (@justplanes) August 24, 2019
Typically aircraft land and take-off into the wind to decrease the landing or take-off distance.
In some cases aircraft land with a slight downwind component – typically associated with noise-sensitive airports where one runway is preferred over another.
Where a pilot faces a crosswind landing they need to point the aircraft in the direction of the wind while maintaining a straight course toward the runway.
This is called crabbing or yawing.
In strong crosswinds, the pilot may also dip the wing – sideslip – into the direction of the wind.
Just before touchdown pilots apply rudder to bring the plane – and its undercarriage – back so it is aligned straight down the centre line of the runway.
This takes great skill and the results – if not done properly – are often quite spectacular as shown in this video.
The proposed new Perth to Bali service is in limbo after Citilink blocked the flight on its website.
The service was due to start from October 28 and was available a week ago but the airline then moved to block every service stating they are FULL.
There has been no response for an explanation, although insiders suggest that the service may be delayed until early next year.
WATCH: How tough is an Emirates A380?
The one-way fare in November was showing on its website at US$107 or A$165.
But in December, and into next year, the fare jumped to $US263 (A$404) one way.
However, the website was confusing in that it states that baggage is extra but a red headline statement announces that the fare includes everything.
At those fare levels, Citilink could be more expensive than Indonesia AirAsia which is quoting A$140 one way to Bali in November rising to $440 at the very peak of the Christmas period but quickly dropping back to A$140 in January.
However, with Indonesia Air Asia, there are add-ons.
The proposed Citilink flight QG542 leaves Denpasar at 1.10am and arrives in Perth at 4.50am, while the flight back to Bali departs at 9.50am and arrives at 1.30pm…. perfect for check-in.
Citilink is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Garuda Indonesia in much the same way as Qantas and Jetstar.
The airline serves 30 destinations in Indonesia with a fleet of 57 aircraft as well as Phnom Penh in Cambodia, Kunming in China, Penang in Malaysia and Dili in East Timor.
Later this year the airline is expanding to Frankfurt and Kuala Lumpur.
Citilink will do battle with Jetstar, Batik Air, its owner Garuda, and Indonesia Air Asia on the Perth route.
