Tag Archives: thai

747s Might Be Fading But Thai Is Still Playing

The passenger 747 fleet is something that is shrinking fast.  US operators have retired theirs but other operators still have fleets in use, some of which (like British Airways) are still fairly large.  However, they are definitely not as common a sight as they used to be and seeing one from a different operator is a nice surprise.  At Haneda I saw a couple of operators.  A Qantas jet was parked on the far side of the field and, while visible, wasn’t much of a shot.  However, a Thai Airways jet was on the gate when I arrived so it seemed like there was a fair chance it would move before I overheated and gave up.

It took a while but eventually it did push back and taxi for the runway I was watching.  It then sat at the hold for what seemed like a ridiculously long time.  It probably wasn’t that long but I was wilting in the heat and begging it to move.  Finally it did line up and got off the ground pretty quickly.  I guess the run to Thailand is not a long one so it wouldn’t have been very heavy.  I wonder whether I shall ever see one of these again?

I Am Liking the A350

When I first saw images of the A350, I did not think much of its looks.  The nose profile seemed odd and I was disappointed.  However, something about it has got to me.  I have been seeing a lot more of them in service recently and something about the jet in person is appealing.  It doesn’t hurt that a few of the airlines I have seen have interesting liveries.

Narita seems to be a popular destination for the type and I got to see examples from Delta, Thai and Vietnam Airlines while I was there.  Deliveries have really ramped up now so it will not be long before I am seeing them regularly.  Asiana has been using it to SeaTac for a while and China Airlines is bringing them in to Vancouver.  Good that I like them since I will be seeing a lot more of them.  Now I need to fly in one to see what it is like as a passenger.

Thai Delivery

Before the time changed, it was possible to get some evening departures from Everett in nice light after work.  I saw that a delivery flight was scheduled for a Thai 787 and a Dreamlifter was due out shortly afterwards.  I figured this was a good one to go for.  The Thai delivery actually slipped a bit from its scheduled time and I was more than happy for it to do so as the light was getting better and better.  By the time the jet started rolling, the light couldn’t have been nicer.  It was also a heavy jet and rotated not far from me so I got a great angle on the takeoff and, as it climbed away, the purple in the livery seemed to glow.