Tag Archives: Airbus

Lufthansa’s Second Route to Seattle

Lufthansa has long served Seattle from their base in Frankfurt. I have taken advantage of this to photograph their various types over the years we were in Seattle. The airline has a second hub in Munich, and they have been running a service from there recently. I think there may have been a route before the pandemic, but it is back now. It seems to run on days when Frankfurt doesn’t so maybe the winter months allow a coordination of services. Summer might have more overlap. They have been using an A350 on the route as opposed to the A340 for Frankfurt. It also comes in later in the day and departs later accordingly. That makes for better lighting at the end of the day when it heads out like I had on this day.

More Starlux

Seattle Tacoma International has been adding a few new airlines in recent times and one of those is Starlux. A Taiwanese carrier, Starlux is not operating to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle with its new A350-900s. It’s already a plane I like to photograph and the Starlux livery is a cool looking one too. I have seen their planes coming in a few times since they first started service (which had its own post) and usually on nicer days which helps make the images a bit better. It’s always an interesting question when new airlines show up as to how well they will do. We shall see whether Starlux has the business model worked out well or not in due course.

Asiana Really Mixes Up Their Scheduling

Plenty of airlines switch equipment around on routes as the demand ebbs and flows. One that seems to do this more than most when it comes to flights to Seattle is Asiana. Their long-haul fleet includes Boeing 777-200ERs, Airbus A350-900s and Airbus A330-300s and all of them seem to appear.  The A330s are not as regular as they used to be but you never really know whether it is going to be an A350 or a 777 at any point. Here is a selection of images I have got over time of the three types as they arrive and depart from SEA.

Video of Overflying A380

I happened to be out in the parking lot at work when I noticed the approaching contrail of a large jet. Being next to the car, I grabbed the camera with my longest lens and focused on what turned out to be an Emirates A380 heading to California. I grabbed a few shots as it approached but the view through the viewfinder was more interesting as I watched the contrails curl up in the trailing vortices from the wing. The motion of the ice crystals made me think that video was a more appropriate idea. The stabilization of my lens is so good that handholding this video at 800mm was not a problem and the video below is the result.

Heavy Departures from SEA

I have had plenty of chances to shoot the departures from SEA when they are on a northerly flow and the afternoon light provides a good option for the jets.  Previously, I have used the 500mm since it gives good reach but, for the larger jets, as you get the jet abeam your position, it will be too large for 500mm.  The arrival of my 200-800 provided a great new option.  800mm provided a tighter view on the jets after rotation (provided the heat haze is not negating any focal length benefit) and the ability to zoom out means that you can keep the aircraft fully framed throughout the climb out.  I took the lens down when I first had an open afternoon and the right conditions and here are some of the results.  As fall moves towards winter and the heat haze and high sun become less of an issue, this combo should get even better.

Getting the Collection of GlobalX Liveries

GlobalX (also known as Global Crossing Airlines) seems to have a variety of ways in which it paints its airliners.  Not sure what the strategy is with the liveries.  Maybe they are used for different roles or clients or maybe they just can’t make up their minds.  Whatever it is, there are some interesting ways to brand the airline.  Here are the ones that I have seen so far.

Starlux Arrives in Seattle

The increase in air traffic post the pandemic has been significant and international travel has been boosted.  Seattle Tacoma International Airport has been adding to its international destinations with new operators on a pretty regular basis and the most recent new addition has been Starlux.  Starlux is a Taiwanese airline operating services to Taipei with its fleet of new Airbus A350-900s.  I had seen that they were operating to San Francisco and was a little jealous of not getting to see this new fleet but, now they are coming here, I can see them too.  Here is one of their jets on approach to SEA to inaugurate the service.

The Kingfisher is Flying but not a Demo Yet

The introduction of the Kingfisher to Canadian Air Force service has been a bit drawn out and is not yet complete.  This version of the Airbus C295 has some customization which has yet to be fully worked out.  However, there are a number of the aircraft delivered including at Comox AFB on Vancouver Island.  For the air show, there was one on the ramp and another was up and flying in the morning.  It was not performing a demo, but it flew a lot of patterns before the show got underway.  Therefore, I had my first exposure to a flying Kingfisher.  They should be a more regular sight in the Pacific Northwest in due course.

Practicing Angles Before the Westwind Arrives

A previous post covered a recent Westwind arrival at SEA one weekend.  As I mentioned in that post, I was shooting from a new location for me.  Having not shot there before, I didn’t want to make the Westwind the first thing I photographed.  I used some of the preceding airliners to try a couple of spots to see what the angles were like and how much the surrounding trees obscured things.  These shots are from the experimenting.

Welcome Back the Lufthansa 600s

Just when I think I have seen the last of something, I get proved wrong.  The Lufthansa service to Seattle was being provided by A340-300s over the winter but they then switched to A350s.  I thought that might be the last I would see of the A340s but lo and behold, Lufthansa has switched again and this time to the A340-600s.  That was a really pleasant surprise.  At first, I thought it was a short-term change, but they have been in use for some time now.

I went down shortly after they returned to catch some shots.  I didn’t realize that there would be plenty of chances at that point, so I figured I should try and catch them quickly.  With it being midsummer, the heat haze is a significant problem – particularly at the time of day that they depart.  I decided to try and slightly different location that might provide a nicer angle, would be closer but was more problematic with trees getting in the way.

The results are okay, but the conditions are just not conducive to getting the cleanest shots.  Even closer in, the haze issues are apparent.  A while later, I did go back to another favorite spot and shot from there with similar issues regarding the conditions.  I don’t know how long they will remain on this route and whether I will have a chance to try in slightly better times – a nice delay to later in the day would help – but at least they are in the old Lufthansa colors for the most part, so we get a bit more color than is the case for most of the fleet at this point.