Airways Magazine September/October 2019

SOME YEARS AGO, while taking photographs in Dusseldorf Airport with a friend, I spotted a swan flying near the runway. I couldn’t help joking “See that KLM!”, as the swan had been extensively used in their marketing campaigns back in the 1980s and 1990s. I am sure that some of you remember it, don’t you? Now, coming back to the present, KLM is celebrating its centennial and we are dedicating this special issue to the history of this iconic airline, taking a look at the two pillars on which it relied to succeed: Fokker and Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport. The first lasted from the humble beginnings of the airline, in 1919, until 2017, when the last Fokker 70 left the fleet. The operational expertise was such that the type remained in the…

Dear Airways, I enjoyed the frank and humorous review of the TWA Hotel in the July 2019 issue (and still hope to stay there one day), but I was confused by the tone of the author’s writing. The readers of Airways LOVE airports, airlines, and air travel, and we don’t liken an airport to a visit to the dentist office, or consider it a “high stress, irritating necessity”. Unenlightened others certainly do, but Mr. Hyde clearly didn’t know his audience! Regards, Phil Brooks Indianapolis, IN Hello, Airways, I have been a reader since the very beginning, and have never felt the need to write. However, your June 2019 editorial was way off the mark in comparing the Boeing 737 MAX crashes to the American Airlines (AA) DC-10 accident in Chicago. The MAX crashes seem to be…

The first Boeing 747 landed at Schiphol almost 49 years ago. Let’s imagine what a sight it must have been in those days. The jetliner was bigger than any plane the world had ever seen, and it provided an answer to the ever-increasing popularity of air travel. The 747 could carry from 350 to 490 passengers, plus all their baggage, in a single flight. PHOTO KLM SOCIAL MEDIA airwaysmag 2,209 likes From the MD-80 cockpit, two senior Pilots were in charge of operating the last AA MD-80 flight ever. #Super80Sendoff Tell us, did we make the right choice? Which cover would you have picked? Share your thoughts and have your opinion featured in an upcoming Mailbag.…

1 DELTA AIR LINES BOEING 757-232 N650DL (MSN 24390 · LN 230) Delta Air Lines (DL) allocated one of its Boeing 757-200s to the Rolling Stones for their US and Canada tour. Configured with 72 First Class seats, it wears the standard DL livery plus the name and ‘tongue and lips’ logo of the legendary rock band on the forward section of the fuselage. 2 JSX EMBRAER ERJ135(LR) N252JX (MSN 14500276) JetSuiteX (XE), rebranded as JSX, has launched a new logo and livery. The livery retains the red cheatline atop the fuselage. There are now JSX titles adorning the engine nacelles and next to the boarding door. An enlarged red ‘X’ on the tail now complements the new colors of the airline. 3 ALASKA AIRLINES (HORIZON AIR) EMBRAER E175(LR) N651QX (MSN 17000812) Horizon Air (QX) has applied an ‘Honoring Those Who…

4 LAS CARGO BOEING 737-33V(BCF) HK-5312X (MSN 29334 · LN 3089) Colombia-based LAS Cargo (4L) has received its first Boeing 737-300(F). The 20-year-old converted freighter joins 4L’s fleet of one Boeing 727-100(F) and five Boeing 727-200(F)s for flights in Colombia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The carrier has also ordered two 737-800(BCF)s from Boeing to replace the trijets that now exceed four decades of service. 5 CONVIASA (VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT) BOEING 737-2N1(A) YV3434 (MSN 21167 · LN 442) The Venezuelan Government has applied the colors of the state-owned Conviasa (V0) to this VIP Boeing 737, which served as Venezuela’s presidential aircraft between 1978 and 2001, when an Airbus A319CJ replaced it. The Venezuelan presidential fleet also includes an Embraer Lineage 1000, which also wears the V0 livery. 6 AEROMEXICO BOEING 737-852(WL) XA-AAM (MSN 39944 · LN 4949) Aeromexico (AM) and Sesame Workshop…

7 ALBERT BALLIN (ICELANDAIR) BOEING 757-27B TF-FIW (MSN 24838 · LN 302) Icelandair (FI) is operating one of its Boeing 757s on behalf of Hapag Lloyd Cruises. Named for the founder of the Hamburg-America Line—a predecessor of Hapag-Lloyd—the jetliner is configured as a ‘cruise-jet’ for up to 46 passengers, who will enjoy VIP luxury while flying around the world. 8 HIFLY AIRBUS A330-941 F-WCWI (CS-TKY) (MSN 1929) Portuguese charter operator HiFly (5K) has taken delivery of the first of 10 Airbus A330-900s on order. The aircraft, leased from Air Lease Corporation (ALC), seats 353 in Economy Class and 18 in Business Class. 5K operates an all-Airbus fleet of 20 aircraft, including four A320 Family aircraft, 15 A330/A340 Family aircraft, and one A380. 9 VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRBUS A350-1041 F-WZNU (G-VPOP) (MSN 298) Virgin Atlantic (VS) has taken delivery of its first two…