Gatwick Airport briefly suspended all outbound flights around 09:00 today (April 13 2012) due to a hot-air balloon straying into its airspace. Gatwick Airport Disruption Reports Incoming planes were not affected and flights quickly resumed as the balloon drifted away. You can see the gap in outbound traffic at LGW using the playback facility on … Continue reading “Gatwick Flight Disruption: A Stray Balloon…”
News
Work on BA’s “superjumbo” fleet gets under way
Work has started on British Airways’ new fleet of Airbus A380s, Travel Weekly reports. The 12 double-decker planes, which “are the largest civil aircraft ever made”, have been commissioned by the carrier to help it realise its goal in offering more long-haul flights. Each “superjumbo” can accommodate 853 passengers and will operate out of Heathrow – though … Continue reading “Work on BA’s “superjumbo” fleet gets under way”
Korean Air flight 027 escorted to Vancouver after bomb threat
A Korean Air Boeing 777 is still in Vancouver after a bomb threat forced it to turn around. Flight 72 (KAL072) left from Vancouver International Airport at 14:30 PT on Tuesday bound for Seoul, South Korea. The aircraft, a Boeing 777-200 tail number HL7734, had only traveled as far as the north coast of British … Continue reading “Korean Air flight 027 escorted to Vancouver after bomb threat”
Southwest Airlines New 737-800’s Begin Service
Southwest Airlines’ two new Boeing 737-800 aircraft began operational service today – April 11 2012. Boeing 737-800 Flight 1717 The first one, Flight 1717, has just taken off and can be seen live on Plane Finder. And not long afterwards below is N8302F (Flight 653) seen departing from Baltimore-Washington International (BWI / KBWI). Boeing 737-800 … Continue reading “Southwest Airlines New 737-800’s Begin Service”
Thomas Cook could sell or lease back aircraft
The Thomas Cook Group has confirmed that it could sell or lease back a number of its aircraft as part of a strategic financial review. According to Reuters, the 170-year-old travel company made the announcement on Monday as it struggles to negotiate “lifeline” loans totalling £1.2 billion. While the company did not confirm the extent … Continue reading “Thomas Cook could sell or lease back aircraft”
Ryanair Cabin Pressure Incident
April 6th, 2012 Passengers are back in the UK after a frightening cabin pressure incident on a Ryanair Flight from Bergamo, Italy to Nottingham, England. The flight was Ryanair Flight FR-1707 / RYR1703 (Callsign RYR8AR) on route from Bergamo (BGY ) to East Midlands Airport (EMA) when cabin pressure suddenly dropped. The incident occurred shortly … Continue reading “Ryanair Cabin Pressure Incident”
Clouds and Weather added to planefinder.net
We’re delighted to announce that you can now view cloud and weather layers on planefinder.net These new features are completely free and are a beautiful and interesting addition to the site. The image below shows the weather patterns and temperatures over Southern Europe. See here for more details on how to add these new layers. … Continue reading “Clouds and Weather added to planefinder.net”
British Airways’ A319s get an Olympic makeover
British Airways has unveiled the first of nine A319s that have been custom-painted with a celebratory London 2012 Olympic design. Brighton-based designer Pascal Anson’s winning dove design took 950 hours to apply, using 500 litres of paint and 10 men for the job, BBC News reports. A number of compromises had to be made for … Continue reading “British Airways’ A319s get an Olympic makeover”
JetBlue captain causes flight to divert!
Earlier today we noticed a flight diverting off its normal course! It is not unusual for this to happen but it turns out that this one is slightly different to normal! JetBlue flight 191 from New York JFK to Las Vegas McCarran airport was forced to land early in Amarillo Texas when the captain caused … Continue reading “JetBlue captain causes flight to divert!”
Qantas-Chinese Eastern Airlines Venture 2013 Launch Date
A joint venture between Qantas and Chinese Eastern Airlines will see a low-budget airline launched in 2013 based in Hong Kong, reports AFP. Jetstar Hong Kong, an extension of Qantas’s budget brand Jetstar, will offer fares at half the prices charged by other carriers in China, according to chief executive Bruce Buchanan. He pointed out … Continue reading “Qantas-Chinese Eastern Airlines Venture 2013 Launch Date”