Knoxville's McGhee Tyson Airport is a typical regional airport with a notable exception. Tys' boasts two 9,000 foot runways, so it is capable of handling any aircraft

Miami welcomed its first Airbus A380 arrival and regular service on June 10, 2011 with a big event entitled “Miami Land the A380”. This unusual event included a fly-in by the American Airlines DC-3, the world’s oldest flying DC-3, “The Spirit of Detroit”, the Historic Flight Foundation’s one-of-a-kind Eastern Airlines Douglas DC-7, culminating in flight LH380 from Frankfurt to Miami. In grand style, Miami International Airport put on a massive event and party in the terminal complete with live salsa dancing at the gate, a double water cannon salute, an A380 specially decorated cake, and a multi-media presentation with live cameras covering the action. Miami was the first ICAO Class V airport to welcome the A380. This event also inaugurated the first 3 jetbridge gate at MIA, J17. The airport literally stopped in its tracks to welcome the SuperJumbo. I wrote an article about this special event in the August 2011 edition of “Airways Magazine”.

Images courtesy: Miami Dade Aviation Department

LH’s seven A380s are configured for 8 First Class, 48 Business Class, and 420 economy seats, a 59% increase over the 747. Every airline that introduces an Airbus A380 into service thus far has used the aircraft as a platform to innovate and one-up its competition, especially in the premium cabins: witness Emirate’s showers and Singapore’s private First Class Suites. Lufthansa, renowned for its efficiency, if not service and cabin innovation, used its A380 to remind the world why it the German carrier is considered world class. The German flag carrier’s innovative A380 features include a First Class only boarding lounge (connected via its own jetway) in Frankfurt, the first airliner in the world with a humidified cabin of 25% which reduces the affects of jet lag and fatigue (beating the Dreamliner to the punch), special side-wall and cabin sound insulation making it the quietest First Class cabin in the world, Luxurious First Class lavatories twice the size of typical lavs with washing and changing facilities separate from the washrooms, a new concept in First Class called “Privacy On Demand” with a flexible privacy screen with which first class passengers can determine the amount of privacy they desire, and a new on-demand, and a new interactive IFE in all classes complete with first-to-Lufthansa external cameras. Even economy class boats a new slimmer seat which increases seat pitch by an additional 0’5” feet giving them more legroom at knee level.

Images courtesy: Miami Dade Aviation Department

Deadhorse, Alaska (Prudhoe Bay)

Deadhorse Airport serves the small town of Deadhorse, Alaska and the adjacent oil fields and man camp of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. It is located 400 miles above the Arctic Circle on the tundra. The 6,500 foot runway is built on a 6 foot high gravel pad to prevent it from sinking into the tundra during the brief Summer season. At one time, the runway was just gravel. Alaska, Era, and Frontier Flying provide services to Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Barrow. Shared Services Aviation, a co-venture between ConocoPhillips and BP, is based in Anchorage and provides air travel support between Anchorage, Fairbanks, and the North Slope for employees and contractors of ConocoPhillips and BP in Alaska using one Twin Otter, one CASA 212, and four Boeing 737s – two Dash 200s with gravel kits and two Dash 700s.

Shared Services Aviation, a co-venture between ConocoPhillips and BP, is based in Anchorage and provides air travel support between Anchorage, Fairbanks, and the North Slope for employees and contractors of ConocoPhillips and BP in Alaska using one Twin Otter, one CASA 212, and four Boeing 737s – two Dash 200s with gravel kits and two Dash 700s.

Fairbanks International, FAI, is the second largest airport in Alaska behind Anchorage. FAI opened in 1951 with limited service until the terminal was completed in 1954. There were a number of interesting phases in FAI’s history. First, a surge in passenger and enplaned cargo volumes and corresponding aircraft operations occurred in the years 1974 through 1977, the time when the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System was under construction. Second, traffic at the airport changed in character as international air cargo flights began refueling at Fairbanks in 1979. Japan Airlines and Korean Airlines began service stops on cargo flights in May of that year. Fairbanks became an attractive option because of fuel availability. Use of Boeing 747, McDonnell Douglas DC-10, and McDonnell Douglas DC-8 all-cargo aircraft by these carriers changed the nature of operations at the airport. Scheduled international service was discontinued in the spring of 1984, but regularly scheduled service resumed in September of 1990 with the introduction of Lufthansa Cargo to the airport. Currently German based Condor operates a summer only service. The terminal was expanded in 1984. In May, 2008, a striking new terminal with unusual wood floors and a local architectural feel reminiscent of a lodge opened. It has 6 jetway equipped gates and 2 commuter gates. Alaska, Era, Everets, Wright, and Frontier Flying Service operate year-round. In 2009, the 1970s era terminal was demolished Delta, Frontier, and Condor operate seasonal flights from Fairbanks to Minneapolis/St. Paul, Denver, and Frankfurt respectively.

The Pioneer Air Museum, housed in a large gold-domed building at Alaskaland, chronicles the development of flight in Alaska. It is the farthest North Air Museum in the U.S.A., the Gold Dome is filled with authentic antique aircraft and memorabilia of Alaska's aviation heritage. The stories chronicled here in the interpretive displays focus on solo piloting adventures, as well as the early commercial cargo aircraft that operated in the bush. Of particular interest to airline enthusiasts are exhibits from Wien Air Alaska. It is open Memorial to Labor Day.

The airline began its life as Interior Airways in the late 1940s carrying cargo throughout the state of Alaska. In the late 1960s the airline bought Lockheed L-382 Hercules aircraft to service construction of the Alaska Pipeline. In the 1970s it changed its name to Alaska International Air to reflect its international charter business. In 1982 Alaska International Air bought a regional passenger/cargo airline named Great Northern. In 1984 new colors and the name MarkAir (reportedly named after a newsboy named Mark) were brought to the airline as it inaugurated passenger/cargo service from Anchorage to the Alaska bush communities of Barrow, Bethel, Dillingham, Fairbanks, King Salmon, Kotzebue, Nome, and Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse. The airline had purchased Boeing 737-200 combination cargo/passenger aircraft to operate these services.

In the mid-1980s MarkAir and Alaska Airlines entered into a codesharing agreement with MarkAir operating as Alaska Airlines to the communities of Dillingham, Dutch Harbor, Barrow, Aniak, St. Mary's and Alaska Airlines feeding MarkAir from its routes from Seattle and other "lower 48" destinations. In the late 1980s MarkAir bought several air taxis (airlines operating small six to nine seat aircraft from larger communities such as Bethel to Alaska's Native villages) and purchased several Beechcraft 1900 aircraft; and under the name of MarkAir Express operated new service from Anchorage to Cordova, Aniak, McGrath, Dillingham, King Salmon, Galena, Unalakleet, Kodiak, Kenai, Homer and Valdez. By 1990 MarkAir was the State of Alaska's largest airline.

In 1990, Alaska Airlines abruptly cancelled its codesharing agreement with MarkAir and MarkAir inaugurated service to key Alaska Airlines markets such as Anchorage-Seattle, Anchorage-Juneau-Sitka-Ketchikan-Seattle, Seattle-Los Angeles, Seattle-San Francisco and Seattle-Portland. In 1992 the airline expanded its Lower 48 route network to include Seattle-Chicago/Midway and Denver. However the head-to-head competition with Alaska Airlines caused MarkAir to find itself in bankruptcy by the end of 1992. In 1993 MarkAir restructured itself as a "low fare" carrier and cut most routes out of Seattle with the exception of Seattle-Anchorage and Seattle-Los Angeles. The airline began a hub in Denver and serviced various West Coast, Midwest and Southern cities. In 1994 city and business officials from Denver, Colorado hoped to persuade MarkAir to move its headquarters to Denver.

In 1995 faced with bankruptcy again, the airline cut all jet services within the state of Alaska and concentrated on its Denver hub, the new MarkAir headquarters. MarkAir Express continued services within the State of Alaska taking over all of MarkAir's jet routes. In 1996 MarkAir was forced to shut down. MarkAir Express remained until 1997 and was reorganized into the all-cargo carrier Alaska Central Express.

MarkAir's assets were purchased in bankruptcy by the private equity firm Wexford Capital Management, the majority owners in control of the present day Republic Airways Holdings.

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Ted Stevens International Airport – Anchorage, Alaska

Ted Stevens International Airport opened in 1953 and is Alaska’s number one airport in passenger and cargo operations. It was renamed after the late Senator Ted Stevens in 2000. It is noteworthy in many respects: It is Alaska Airlines' second-largest hub, after Seattle. It is also a major cargo hub and, as of 2008, ranked as the fifth busiest airport in the world by cargo traffic, after Memphis, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul and Paris-Charles de Gaulle. Anchorage was a common stopover for passengers flying to East Asia from the 1960s to the 1980s because Chinese and Soviet airspace were off-limits and because the first generation of jets and widebody airliners did not have the range to fly nonstop across the Pacific Ocean. Very few passenger aircraft still stop at Anchorage on flights between Asia and the eastern United States. It is quite unique to see this many 747s in one-place, however, all are freighters. Another major event in the airport’s history was was the opening of the North Slope Oil Fields at Prudhoe Bay and Alaska Pipeline construction beginning in the 1970s and continuing today. ANC adjoins the busiest seaplane base in the world, Lake Hood. ANC has 2 terminals: The 2006 era renovated, very attractive, and functional South Terminal with operations on 2 concourses. It serves Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Sun Country, and US Airways. The North Terminal serves Condor, and international seasonal charter flights. Unsurprisingly, Alaska is far and away the dominant carrier here, with ANC its number 2 hub behind Seattle. Alaska recently opened its “Airport of the Future” check-in facility that it pioneered in Seattle. In addition to these airlines, a few cargo airlines use the north side of the terminal for parking. ANC is used as a stopover and hub for many cargo airlines such as ABX, Aeroflot, Air China, Atlas, Asiana, Cathay, Carglolux, China, EVA, Evergreen, Fed Ex, Northern Air Cargo, Polar, Southern Air, and UPS. ANC has 3 runways of 10,000 feet and longer enabling it to accept aircraft of any size.

Anchorage Ted Stevens International is a major cargo hub and, as of 2008, ranked as the fifth busiest airport in the world by cargo traffic, after Memphis, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul and Paris-Charles de Gaulle. It is used as a stopover and hub for many cargo airlines such as ABX, Aeroflot, Air China, Atlas, Asiana, Cathay, Carglolux, China, EVA, Evergreen, Fed Ex, Northern Air Cargo, Polar, Southern Air, and UPS. ANC has 3 runways of 10,000 feet and longer enabling it to accept aircraft of any size. There are more Boeing 747s freighters, concentrated here than at any U.S. airport I can think of. The number of 747s and MD-11s are evocative of an earlier time when the Tri and Quad-engined Jumbo Jets ruled the transoceanic skies.

Lake Hood is the world's busiest seaplane base, handling an average of 190 flights per day. It is located on Lakes Hood and Spenard, next to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, three miles from downtown Anchorage. Lake Hood Strip has one runway designated 13/31 with a gravel surface measuring 2,200 by 75 feet (671 x 23 m).

For 12-month period ending August 1, 2005, the seaplane base had 69,400 aircraft operations, an average of 190 per day. There are some small air taxi operations in addition to the massive number of private pilots who operate out to the remote communities of Alaska. Airplanes as large as Beech 1900s and King Air’s on pontoons operate here.

de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver

The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, primarily known as a bush plane. It is used for cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application (crop dusting and aerial topdressing), and has been widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft. The United States Army purchased several hundred; nine DHC-2s are still in service with the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary (Civil Air Patrol) for search and rescue. A Royal New Zealand Air Force Beaver supported Sir Edmund Hillary's expedition to the South Pole. Over 1,600 Beavers were produced until 1967 when the original line shut down.

The Alaska Aviation Museum is located at the Lake Hood Seaplane Base adjacent to Ted Stevens International Airport. Commercial enthusiast will enjoy the NAC Air Cargo DC-6 and a rare Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-200 Combi. It is open year-round. More info is at www.alaskaairmuseum.org

N740AS is Alaska’s last 737-200 Combi (short for combination). It was delivered as a new Combi in 1981. It was retired in 2007 and is now displayed at the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum. This particular aircraft was noteworthy for its 1988 and 1989 pioneering “Friendship Flights” from Nome to the then USSR. Alaska used eight Boeing 737-200 Combi/QCs to suit the unique needs of flying in the state of Alaska. These aircraft were valued for their ability to be rapidly reconfigured (hence the moniker QC or "Quick Change") to match the specific cargo and passenger loads for any given flight. In the all-freight configuration, the 737-200 Combis carried up to 6 cargo containers, known as "igloos." The palletized floor allowed for passenger seating to range from 26 with 5 cargo pallets to 111 in the all-passenger configuration. The 737-200s were also gravel-kitted, which allowed them to be used at airports such as Red Dog, Alaska (RDB), which formerly featured a gravel runway. Due to their fuel inefficiency and rising maintenance costs, Alaska decided to phase-out the 737-200s between 2005 and 2007, replacing them with six reconfigured 737-400s. Five feature a cargo/passenger arrangement, and one is a "freighter" carrying only cargo. Unlike the 737-200 Combi, the 737-400 Combis feature a fixed seating capacity of 72 seats. Unlike the Dash 200s, the 400s, are not QC and can’t be converted to all-passenger or all-cargo.

Courtesy: Wikipedia

Northern Air Cargo DC-6

Northern Air Cargo, “NAC”, is an all-cargo airline based in Anchorage with a hub at Fairbanks. It was founded in 1956. Its 13 strong DC-6 fleet was finally retired and replaced by 2 Boeing 737s and 3 Boeing 727s by 2007.

Rust’s Flying Service is a major operator of Alaska flightseeing tours and Alaska day tours based at Lake Hood Seaplane Base. in Anchorage, Alaska. Family-owned and operated since 1963, Rust’s has an excellent safety record. Its crew of Alaska bush pilots fly Cessna Caravans, deHavilland Beavers, and Turbine Otter seaplanes to remote locations and on sightseeing trips.

These rather odd vehicles are a relatively common sight at Lake Hood Seaplane Base. They are used to tow floatplanes across the ramp. The rear of the vehicles are cut off and the trailers are mounted at the front of the truck to facilitate towing.

Cyril King Airport, STT, is the busiest airport in the US Virgin Islands. It was formally known as Harry S. Truman International Airport until it was renamed in 1984 to honor the second governor of the USVI. The current terminal opened in 1990. It has 11 gates and a 7,000 foot runway. Major operators here include Air Canada, American, American Eagle, Cape Air, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, LIAT, Spirit, Sun Country, USAirways, and WestJet.

The airport is known was notoriously known for the April 27, 1967 crash of American Airlines flight 625 which ran off the end of the runway, killing 37 of the 88 on board the aircraft. Following the crash, American Airlines suspended jet service to the airport, using propliners until the runway was rebuilt to its present length.

Photos courtesy: Leslie Frye

Alaska has adorned many of their 737-800 and 900s with Hawaiian lei's to advertise their status as one of the top U.S. carriers to Hawaii. Alaska has only served Hawaii since 2007 but its Hawaiian routes have grown massively, especially with the bankruptcy of Aloha, to become a major contributor of growth at AS. Alaska serves Honolulu nonstop with a 6 hour Boeing 737-800 flight.

United’s new International Premium Configuration on the Boeing 777-200 had 26 out of 41 aircraft converted when these images were taken aboard an LAX to Denver flight in October, 2011. United First boast 8 lie-flat seats with 78” of pitch and 22” of width in a herrinbone configuration. United Business is an unusual cabin with 40 seats 2-4-2 abrest that face each other. This is evocative of British Airways Club World Business Cabin. This configuration enables a generous pitch of 76” and width of 19”. The 218 economy seats have 34” and 31” pitch in Economy Plus and Economy Cabins respectively in a 3-3-3 abreast configuration. The IFE system is pretty close to Best-In-Class for a U.S. airline with 9 video channels and up to 19 channels of audio programming.

These photos were taken onboard ANA Boeing 777-300ER flights between Tokyo Narita and Los Angeles in October 2011 just as the new Inspiration of Japan cabin was being introduced. New York and San Francisco were first with LA due to follow in January 2012. Thus, these images are of the older Business Class configuration. Nevertheless, the service was absolutely impeccable, among the best the Webmaster ever experienced even if the seats were a bit firm and dated in Business. The Inspiration of Japan product is a breathtaking upgrade in terms of cuisine and seating. This particular aircraft has a 4 cabin configuration: 8 Flat bed seats with 77” pitch and 33” width (1-2-1 abreast), 63 Business Class nearly flat seats with 62” pitch and 21” width (2-3-2 abreast), 24 Premium Economy seats with 38” pitch and 18.5” width (3-3-3 abreast), and 138 Standard Economy seats with 31” pitch and 16.5” width (3-3-3 abreast).

Cancun International Airport (CUN) is Mexico's second busiest airport, after Mexico City International Airport, but it is the biggest in Mexico and Latin America for International passengers owing to its tourist trade. CUN has 3 terminals: Terminal 1 is closed for remodeling but has an adjacent executive FBO.

Terminal 2 has 22 gates evenly split between a main and satellite concourse with a very unusual gate configuration with shops and restaurants interspersed between gates in a rotunda. It is used by airlines such as Aeroflot, Aerolineas Argentina, Aeromexico, Air Canada, Air Transat, AirTran (Southwest), Avianca, British Airways, CanJet, Copa, Cubana, Edelweiss, Finnair, InterJet, JetBlue, Taca, Monarch, Viva Aerobus, WestJet, and XL Airways. The newer, but smaller Terminal 3 has 15 gates and is most utilized by North American carriers such as American, Delta, Frontier, United, Spirit, Sun Country, and Virgin America with additional service provided by Air France, Thomas Cook, and Air Europa. CUN has 2 parallel runways 12/30LR of 9,186 and 11,483 feet.

VivaAerobus

VivaAerobus.com is a Mexican regional and ultra-low cost airline part-owned by the founders of Europe's biggest low-cost carrier, Ryanair and the biggest bus company group in Mexico, IAMS. As of November, 2011 it has a fleet of 17 second-hand Boeing 737-300s. Viva Aerobus serves Mexico City, Monterrey, and Veracruz from Cancun's Terminal 2.

Albuquerque International Sunport

Albuquerque International Sunport, ABQ, is the largest commercial airport, by far, in New Mexico. Albuquerque International Sunport has a single terminal, last updated in 1996, with 25 gates in three concourses, including a concourse for commuter airline gates. Concourse A’s 13 gates are used exclusively by dominant carrier Southwest. Concourse B’s 9 gates, American Airlines, American Eagle, Continental Express, Delta, Delta Connection, Frontier, United Airlines, United Express, and USAirways Express. Concourse E has 2 gates and is used by Great Lakes Airlines and New Mexico Airlines. Concourse C consisted of three gates, and was mostly used by TWA, by was closed in the early 2000s. It has mostly been converted to office space. Concourse D was a ground-level commuter aircraft concourse that was used by Great Plains Airlines and Rio Grande Air. It was closed in 2004 after Great Plains Airlines liquidated due to insolvency. The present terminal was constructed in 1965 on a site just east of the original terminal. It has since been expanded twice, first in the late 1980s and most recently in 1996. There are plans to build a new terminal later in the decade, adding capacity to the original terminal. Phoenix, Denver, and DFW are the busiest destinations to/from ABQ. ABQ has 4 runways: 3/21 is 10,000 feet long, 8/26 is 13,793 feet long, 17/135 is 10,000 feet long, and 12/30 is 6,000 feet long but is only rarely used. Currently, UPS A300s are the largest airplanes in use but owing to extensive maintenance hangers, hot and high testing, and the home base of Eclipse Aviation the runways are made to handle aircraft of any size. The airport is also noteworthy for its extensive collection of specially commissioned artwork both in and around the terminal and on surrounding airport grounds.

Images courtesy: David Zaccaria, photographer extraordinaire

ABQ is the home and final assembly planet of the Eclipse 500 is a small six-seat business jet aircraft manufactured by Eclipse Aviation.

Eclipse 500 became the first of a new class of Very Light Jet when it was delivered in late 2006. The aircraft is powered by two lightweight Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F turbofan engines in aft fuselage-mounted nacelles.

Production of the Eclipse 500 was halted in mid-2008 due to lack of funding and the company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 25 November 2008. The company was then entered Chapter 7 liquidation on 24 February 2009. After lengthy Chapter 7 procedure, Eclipse Aerospace was confirmed as the new owner of the assets of the former Eclipse Aviation on 20 August 2009 and opened for business on 1 September 2009. In October 2011 Eclipse Aerospace announced that they will put a new version of the aircraft, to be called the Eclipse 550, into production with deliveries starting in 2013.

Images courtesy: David Zaccaria, photographer extraordinaire

Description courtesy: Wikipedia