Tag Archives: asiana

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.

Airliner Vapor In To SEA

If you were to ask people what characteristic Seattle would be known for, I suspect a fair few people would tell you it is rain.  It is true that we have damp winters here but summers (while a little late in starting) are actually rather dry.  However, we can still have some humid conditions which can be good for forming vapor and, if you watch the jets heading in to SEA, you will often see vortices streaming off the flaps and the occasional puffs of moisture above the wings.

Occasionally, the conditions are just right and you get a lot more vapor.  Better still, if this happens in sunny conditions and the planes are slightly backlit, you can get some lovely rainbow effects showing up.  I got lucky with one such day.  Asiana had an A350 coming in at this time so I was treated to some interesting effects.  A Lufthansa 747 and CargoLogic 777F also arrived but I decided to go with video on those to show off the fleeting nature of the vapor is it formed and dissipated.

Asiana A350 As A Quick Test

I made a quick trip to SeaTac one Sunday for another visitor that I was keen to catch and that will have its own post.  I ended up shooting from a sub-optimal location and one that I had never used before.  I didn’t know exactly what I could expect.  Fortunately, prior to the arrival, an Asiana A350 was due in.  It was about 30 minutes ahead of the one I was after so, if things didn’t work out, I had time to try moving to somewhere else.

Fortunately, while heat haze was going to be a problem and the light angle wasn’t great, neither of these were things I could do anything about and the location did provide a reasonable angle on the jet.  There were some lamp poles which I noted to be ready for next time and the jet went behind the trees as it crossed the threshold but it did seem like a usable location for the intended target to come.

Asiana A350

During the summer season, Asiana was flying their new A350s in to SeaTac.  I did get some more distant shots but nothing of significance.  With the introduction of the winter schedule, they changed to a lower capacity type.  However, while I was at SFO, I was able to shoot one of the A350s as they continue to run there in the off season.  The light was quite nice as it came in so I was pleased to get a shot.  They will soon be pretty common but, for now, it was a nice catch.