Since I did not venture to any spotting locations away from the terminals, the below should give you a good idea of what you can expect if you want to do some plane spotting at any of the three airports before or after your flight.

Johannesburg Airport Viewing Deck

The first airport in South Africa where I had a chance to do some plane spotting was Johannesburg O. R. Tambo International Airport, the country’s busiest and the continent’s second busiest after Cairo International Airport in Egypt.

I spent about two and a half hours at the “aircraft viewing deck” in the airport’s domestic terminal after visiting the South African Airways Museum. While located behind (not the cleanest) windows, the deck offers good views of a part of the apron, as well as most of the movements, both domestic and international. There seems to be another deck in the international terminal, however, I did not visit that one.

The decks are located landside, i.e., before clearing security and immigration, and so can be used regardless of whether you are flying out of the airport or not.

With this being my first time plane spotting in Africa, essentially every aircraft that passed in front of my eyes was a highlight.

The traffic was dominated by Airlink, which operates a fleet of over 60 Embraers ranging from ERJ-135s and ERJ-140s all the way to E190s and E195s on routes within South Africa and to neighboring countries.

I could also spot a couple of CemAir aircraft during my stay. Similar to Airlink, but smaller, the airline operates domestic and regional flights.

Rather than Embraers, however, it primarily uses Bombardier CRJs of all sizes, including the now-rare CRJ-100s and CRJ-200s. The next time I visit South Africa, I’d love to fly on one of those!

Aircraft operated by other airlines from South Africa were abundant too. Among others, they included Safair, Lift, and, of course, South African Airways.

As far as airlines from other countries are concerned, I was by far the happiest to see a RwandAir 737, which can only be seen in the region. While a bit too small for my liking and lacking full-scale livery, it was also nice to see a FlyNamibia Cessna 425.

Larger aircraft operated by African airlines included an Ethiopian Airlines A350-900 operating a flight from Addis Ababa and a TAAG Angola 777-300ER operating a flight from Luanda.

While far from being unique to Africa, I also spotted a Turkish Airlines 787-9 arriving from Istanbul.

Lastly, there were some aircraft stored in the distance. While taking photos of them was difficult, I at least managed to get a photo of ZS-MFC, a World Cargo preighter A340-600.

Johannesburg Airport from a Bus and a Plane

The day after my “proper” spotting session at Johannesburg Airport, I had a chance to see a few more interesting aircraft at the airport including stored ones from a bus that took my dad and I to the Embraer that we took to Nelspruit and from the aircraft itself after take-off.

Without a doubt the aircraft I was the most excited to see was a Boeing 737-700 wearing a Zambia Airways livery. The aircraft is the airline’s sole aircraft and it wears an Ethiopian registration as it is leased from Ethiopian Airlines.

It was also exciting to see a Lufthansa 747-8 wearing the airline’s new livery up close.

After take-off from runway 21R, it was cool to see four European heavies parked next to each other waiting for their flights back.

What was even more interesting to see, however, were some of the aircraft – A340s in particular – stored at Johannesburg Airport.

Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport: A Quiet Airport in a Beautiful Setting

The second airport in South Africa I did some plane spotting at was Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, also referred to as Nelspruit Airport, which is a short drive away from Kruger National Park.

Airlink connects the airport multiple times a day with Johannesburg using Embraer ERJ-135s and ERJ-140s, and with Cape Town using both the smaller Embraers, as well as the E190. Safair offers two weekly flights to Johannesburg and three weekly flights to Cape Town, making its 737-800s the largest aircraft currently serving the airport. Federal Air offers flights to the national park and to private reserves.

The only international airline serving the airport at the time of my visit was Fastjet Zimbabwe. In the past, however, it was briefly even served by the German Eurowings Discover from Frankfurt via Windhoek. In November 2024, Air Botswana plans to launch flights to the airport.

I only took some photos before my dad and I took our flight back to Johannesburg. The first location I used was the airport’s Bidvest Lounge, which can be accessed using Priority Pass and offers good views of the apron and runway from its terrace, albeit through windows. The second was an are to the right of the terminal that mostly offered view of landing aircraft with excellent scenery in the background.

The Highlight: Eswatini Air in Cape Town

Lastly, I took some photos in Cape Town before we boarded our flight to Addis Ababa.

While the conditions were far from ideal with fairly dirty windows and the lack of nice light, I was still more than happy to be able to capture an Eswatini Air Embraer ERJ-145. The airline only operates two airframes and only serves South Africa and Zimbabwe outside its home country.

Summary

The main purpose of my trip to South Africa was to enjoy safari with my dad. That said, I managed to squeeze in a bit of aviation including flying a number of products I haven’t reviewed before, visiting an aviation museum, and even doing a bit of plane spotting.

While I didn’t spend more than a few hours at any of the airports we visited, I am glad to have been able to see airlines like Air Zambia and Eswatini Air that are more or less impossible to see outside Africa and to have been able to see a lot of Embraer ERJ-135s, ERJ-140s, and ERJ-145s, which are a rare breed nowadays.

The post Airport Terminals of South Africa: Spotting in Johannesburg, Nelspruit, and Cape Town appeared first on KN Aviation.

Continue reading this article to learn more about the museum that is best known for its pair of Boeing 747s but has many other interesting exhibits to see too.

Access, Opening Hours & Entrance Fees

The South African Airways Museum is located on the edge of Rand Airport in Germiston. As with many other places in South Africa, the best way to get there is by car. While in our case, we had our guide take us there, you could also take an Uber or a taxi.

The museum is about a 25-minute drive from Johannesburg Airport.

It’s open between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. (last entry at 2:30 p.m.) every day except for Mondays that are not public holidays, December 25 and 26, and January 1.

The entrance fee is just 50 rands (approximately 3 dollars) for adults and 30 rands for children. In addition to cash, credit cards can be used too.

Exhibits

By far the most interesting exhibits were in “Aircraft Park,” a large outdoor area of the museum. That said, there were also some aircraft to be seen in a small hangar in the outdoor area and some memorabilia items in the building where tickets were sold.

Aircraft Park

The main reason of my visit was to see the two Boeing 747s that are displayed in the museum and, in particular, the Boeing 747SP named “Maluti.”

The aircraft was delivered to South African Airways in 1976 and served with the airline until 2003. It was then ferried from Johannesburg to Rand in 2006, celebrating its last flight with an amazing landing on Rand Airport’s 15-meter wide (one fourth of the 747s 60-meter wingspan) runway.

The other Boeing 747 was a 747-200 that flew under the registration ZS-SAN.

It was delivered brand new to South African Airways in 1971 and ferried to the museum in 2004 making it the first 747 to succeed with landing on the airport’s small runway before the SP followed.

While it was great admiring the Jumbo Jet from the outside, it was even better to be able to step onboard and see the interior that was, in many ways, intact from the time when the aircraft used to be in service. In addition to still sporting the original seats, there were also crew uniforms and some other memorabilia on display in the nose of the aircraft.

Perhaps most interestingly, though, there was a third engine hanging under the aircraft’s port side wing showing what it looked like when the 747 was used to transport a spare engine using its extra pylon.

The third and last jet aircraft on display in the museum was a Boeing 737-200. According to the museum’s website, “She was the first Boeing 737 to land at Rand Airport.”

While the aircraft registered ZS-SMD used to wear a couple of different liveries during its nearly 30-year career, unfortunately, it was on display in an all white livery with a couple of small SAA Museum Society decals.

Aside from the three jets, there were also some propeller aircraft on display in the outdoor exhibit.

The largest of those was a Lockheed L-1649 Starliner. There were also a South African Airways Douglas DC-4, a Protea Airways Vickers VC.1 Viking, and a Piper PA-23.

Hangar

Actual aircraft could, in addition to the outdoor area, also be found inside a small hangar.

In particular, I enjoyed seeing a South African Airways de Havilland DH.104 Dove there. The aircraft was beautifully preserved/restored and reminded me slightly of older generation Japanese bullet trains, both shape- and livery-wise.

There were also some smaller items like models on display in the hangar.

Simulator & Radio Room

One more small building located in the outdoor exhibit area, the “Simulator & Radio Room,” contained, as its name suggests, a variety of communication, navigation, and simulation equipment.

Separately, there were also two full-scale cockpit simulators on display outside. Those were used for training Airbus A300 and Boeing 747 Classic crews, respectively.

Display Hall

Located in the same building as the ticket office, the display hall that housed hundreds of memorabilia related to South African aviation was, in fact, the first part of the museum that my dad and I looked around.

Items on display included everything from magazines and safety cards through tableware and aircraft models all the way to instruments.

Museum Shop & Other Facilities

The ticket office also served as a small museum shop with a selection of items related to South African aviation specifically, as well as other aviation items, available.

I got myself a sticker of the Boeing 747SP that is on display in the museum and a South African Airways magnet.

Summary

Being home to not one but two Boeing 747 Classics, visiting the South African Airways Museum Society aviation museum at Rand Airport near Johannesburg was on my wishlist for quite a long time. As such, I was very excited to have been able to squeeze it into the itinerary of a trip to South Africa that was not specifically about aviation.

The museum did not disappoint. It was great seeing the Jumbos, but also the other aircraft, up close and being able to “board” the 747-200 and enjoy a bit of a bygone era.

The post South African Airways Museum: Not One But Two Boeing 747s & More appeared first on KN Aviation.

Not having done much research beforehand, I was surprised to find a number of aircraft on display on top of the deck.

Plane Spotting at Stuttgart Airport’s Observation Deck

Like many other airports in Germany, Stuttgart Airport has a rooftop observation deck. It is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. spring through fall and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in winter.

The deck spans the entire width of the main terminal building and offers solid views of some of the parking spots at the terminal and the taxiways leading to them. It also offers distant views of the airport’s sole runway.

Stuttgart Airport’s deck is equipped with some seating, vending machines, as well as a children’s playground.

There are even three aircraft on display. More about those in the next section, though.

Considering the deck’s opening hours and the fact that it is facing south, it is mostly useful photography-wise on summer evenings.

Ranking number seven in the number of passengers served among German airports, Stuttgart Airport is not particularly busy. The airport is also not particularly exciting in terms of traffic with the only long-haul service being seasonal Delta Air Lines flights from Atlanta and a considerable portion of the movements being Eurowings aircraft.

That said, I still enjoyed my time on the deck, in particular once the sun came out.

The personal highlight during my short stay was an ITA Airways Airbus A319 arriving from Rome.

While I had photographed the airline’s A350-900s in Tokyo multiple times before, it was my first time seeing a narrow-body aircraft in the airline’s striking blue livery.

It was also nice to see a United States Air Force Dornier Do-328 (C-146A to be precise), albeit only taxiing in the distance on the other side of the airport after landing.

Other traffic I saw during the one hour or so I spent on the observation deck included a KLM Cityhopper E175 departing to Amsterdam, a Pegasus 737-800 departing to Istanbul, a Vueling A320 arriving from Barcelona, an Aegean A321neo arriving from Athens, a Turkish Airlines A321neo departing to Istanbul, and a Swiss A320 arriving from Zurich.

While none of those is exciting in and of itself in particular, it was still nice to be able to see a decent variety of European airlines given that I do not spend much time plane spotting at European airports these days.

Stuttgart Airport’s Small Aviation Museum

As mentioned above, the observation deck also serves as a mini museum with three aircraft on display.

The largest of those is a PZL-Mielec An-2 (a Poland-manufactured version of the Antonov An-2) wearing a dark blue livery. While in the past the aircraft appears to have worn SP-ANL as its registration, that might not have been the aircraft’s real registration given that there appears to have been another An-2 with the same registration.

The only other fixed-wing aircraft on display in the museum is a single-engine prop North American AT-6A Texan registered D-FOBY.

The last aircraft on display is a PZL-Swidnik Mi-2 Hoplite (a Poland-manufactured version of the Mil Mi-2) helicopter registered SP-SAW.

In addition to actual aircraft being displayed on the observation deck, there also some aircraft components on display in front of the observation deck entrance inside the terminal.

Summary

All in all, if you have a couple of hours to spare at Stuttgart Airport and enjoy watching aircraft then the observation deck is a fun place to stop by.

While the time it is useful for taking photos is limited (unless it is cloudy and the sun’s position doesn’t matter), it is still worth a visit to, if nothing else, see the three aircraft on display.

The post An Hour of Avgeeking at Stuttgart Airport: Plane Spotting and Museum appeared first on KN Aviation.

A smooth bus ride between the two airports left me with a few hours to spare before I had to check in for my flight to Germany. While I was hesitant about going plane spotting due to bad (read cloudy) weather, I decided to go anyways. A decision I certainly did not regret as it turned into a fun two-hour plane spotting session full of special liveries.

How Things Changed Since My First Plane Spotting Visit to Heathrow in 2007

Since runways 27L and 27R were in use, after getting off the bus from Gatwick at Heathrow’s Central Bus Station and buying a snack and a bottle of water at the station’s WHSmith (and being shocked at the 10+ GBP the two combined cost), I made my way to the Tube station to catch the Piccadilly line to Hatton Cross.

With aircraft landing on 27R in the morning, I then walked about ten minutes to a spot on Eastern Perimeter Road where aircraft approaching the runway can be seen.

Getting to the spot, I could not not remember my first plane spotting visit to London Heathrow (and third overall since I transferred at the airport twice as a kid) back in the summer of 2007 (and some of my later visits). So much remained the same. But so much was different.

By far the biggest difference was, of course, the average number of engines per aircraft that I saw.

Back in 2007, both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic operated large 747 fleets, with the latter also operating a good number of A340s. This time, the the British Airways 787s and A350s and Virgin Atlantic 787s, A350s, and A330neos were the most common UK-registered heavies, though, to be fair, there were a couple of British Airways A380s in between.

Most other airlines operating long-haul flights to Heathrow went from sending their quad jets to twin jets. Air India now sends 777s instead of 747s, Malaysia Airlines A350s instead of 747s, Kuwait Airways 777s instead of A340s, and Cathay Pacific A350s instead of A340s to name a few examples.

Other airlines, like Air Mauritius, Air Jamaica, and Olympics Airlines, all of which at some point used to operate their A340s to the airport, disappeared from Heathrow altogether. While the latter two went bust, Air Mauritius continues to fly to London but to Gatwick using A350s.

Yet some airlines, like Qantas and Singapore Airlines, went from once sending their Queens of the Skies to Heathrow every day to now sending the A380.

What I could not stop thinking about the most during my two-hour stay at the airport, though, was how monotonous the overall long-haul fleet composition has gotten worldwide.

Having regularly visited London Heathrow and other major European airports, as well as Tokyo in the late 2000s, there was a fairly clear distinction between the long-haul aircraft that could be seen in Europe versus in Japan, especially those from North America. While Europe was dominated by 767s and other smaller widebodies (and 777s in the case of Heathrow), Japan was dominated by 747s and 777s.

Now things have converged. Plane spotting at London Heathrow, I saw the exact same United, American, and Air Canada 787s, and Delta A330neos that I am used to seeing in Tokyo. Perhaps that’s good for airlines’ economics and the environment but it certainly makes things quite a bit less fun for plane spotters!

Gray But Colorful: Special Livery After Special Livery

In spite of what I wrote above, not all is doom and gloom (although the weather was close to that…). While the number of engines an airliner sports these days is generally two and the variety of types and shapes is nothing like it used to be before, there is still a good variety of both regular and special liveries flying around.

During my two hours at plane spotting at Heathrow, I was especially reminded of the latter.

Looking at FlightRadar24, I was happy to see not one, not two, but five aircraft in special liveries headed my way and arriving before I had to catch the Tube back to the terminal.

The first of those was Finnair’s A350 sporting a Moomin decal celebrating the airline’s centenary. In addition to it being a special livery aircraft, it was also nice to see a wide-body aircraft operating a short-haul flight, something common in Asia but not so much in Europe. During my two hours at the spot, an Iberia A330 from Madrid and a Turkish 777 from Istanbul arrived as well.

Another wide-body wearing a special livery was an Air Canada 787-9 in the “2024 Employee Excellence Awards recipients” livery which, in addition to big “CONGRATULATIONS” titles on the rear part of the fuselage also features the names of the recipients on its tail.

The three other aircraft in special liveries were a LOT 737-8 wearing the airline’s “Poland’s Independence” livery; one of Brussels Airlines’ “The Belgian Icon” series aircraft, an A320-200 in the Amare livery promoting the Tomorrowland music festival arriving from Brussels; and an Aer Lingus A320-200 wearing a retro livery arriving from Dublin.

As a side note, LOT also operates a 787-9 in the “Poland’s Independence” livery, which I had a chance to fly twice (from Tokyo to Warsaw and from Budapest to Seoul) during a trip to Europe last Christmas. I was also lucky to fly a different aircraft in “The Belgian Icon” series, the one promoting Tintin, a few years back.

Catching Up on the Non-UK Regulars

In addition to seeing some of the new aircraft operated by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways like the former’s A350-1000s and the latter’s A330neos and A350-1000s, and lucking out with the special liveries mentioned above, I also had a chance to see some regular non-UK liveries, airline-aircraft type combinations, and even one new airline for the first time.

Starting with the last, I caught one of RwandAir’s two A330-200s arriving on one of the airline’s seven weekly flights from Rwanda’s capital Kigali. Interestingly, while the flights operate daily in practice, technically they operate only on four days of the week in the direction to London since three of the week’s seven flights depart at 1:45AM and the remaining four depart at 11:15PM.

I had a chance to see a RwandAir aircraft for the second time, a 737 for change, just a few days later in Johannesburg.

Lastly, four from the former two categories included KM Malta Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines A320neos and Air Lingus and JetBlue A321neos.

Summary

While plane spotting at London Heathrow Airport is nowhere near as exciting as it once used to be, the matter of the fact is that it is still one of the busiest airports in the world and still offers a lot to see.

Despite the cloudy weather, I thoroughly enjoyed the couple of hours I spent next to runway 27R before catching my onward flight. It was great to not only be able to see some of the regular UK and foreign airline-aircraft type combinations I haven’t seen before but also to see a good number of special liveries from Europe and beyond.

The post Gray But Colorful Plane Spotting at London Heathrow & Remembering What Used to Be appeared first on KN Aviation.

The museum, comprising of outdoor exhibits around and indoor exhibits in a stunning, jet engine turbine-shaped building, is a perfect place to spend a couple of hours in if you are arriving at or departing from Seoul Gimpo Airport. It is also a worthwhile destination on its own if you have a couple of days in Seoul.

I visited it twice so far – once briefly during my quick trip to South Korea back in January and once for a longer period of time at the beginning of a trip to Africa I did last month. Continue reading to learn more about the museum.

Access, Opening Hours & Entrance Fees

The easiest way to get to the National Aviation Museum of Korea is from Seoul Gimpo Airport.

It’s just a short five or ten minute walk from the airport’s domestic terminal and the way is well signposted from both the terminal itself, as well as from the airport’s train station, which is located halfway between the international and domestic terminals.

Aside from simulators and other similar experiences I will talk about later, the museum is free to access. It is open every Tuesday through Sunday from 10AM to 6PM. The museum is closed on Mondays, on January 1, and on Lunar New Year’s Day. That said, the museum is open on Mondays that are public holidays and, those weeks, is closed on Tuesdays instead.

Exhibits

The exhibits in the National Aviation Museum of Korea could be found in four places – outside the museum building and on the first three floors of the building itself. Going from the first floor to the third, the latter comprised of the Aviation History Hall, Aviation Industry Hall, and Aviation Life Hall.

Overall, there were not many large-scale exhibits related to airliners. That said, even if commercial rather than general or military aviation is your cup of tea, you will still be able to enjoy the museum thanks to the wide range of airline memorabilia on display among other things.

Outdoor Exhibits

Perhaps the main attraction outside the museum building was a Cessna 560 Citation registered HL7502.

While I am not sure about the reason, the aircraft was behind a black construction mesh fence when I visited. Still, it was possible to get some photos by reaching above the fence. Also, while older photos that can be found online show the aircraft with a Korean Air logo under its cockpit windows, the logo has been removed.

The only other exhibit related to an actual aircraft that could be found outside was a starboard side wing of a Boeing 757-200.

The wing appears to have belonged to a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-200 registered N610DL, which was withdrawn from use in 2014 and scrapped in 2019.

Other outdoor exhibits included a wide range of navigational equipment and a statue of Korean military aviatiors.

Aviation History Hall

The Aviation History Hall, as hinted by its name, was where most of the traditional museum exhibits could be seen. It offered a good balance between old and new, small and large, Korean and global, and military and civil.

Items on display ranged from airplane models and military pilot helmets through airline pilot and flight attendant uniforms all the way to printed items like posters, schedules, tickets, and so on.

The first floor was also home to a KAI T-50 jet trainer, which used to fly for Black Eagles, the display team of the Republic of Korea Air Force.

Additionally, there was a cross section of a Boeing 747-400. Like the 757 wing outside, the 747 from which the cutout was made, N668US, used to fly for Delta Air Lines before being retired. That’s in spite of the fact that the seats placed in the cutout were ex-Korean Air. Next to the cross section was an engine.

Lastly, half a dozen or so small aircraft ranging from props like the Stinson 108-3 Voyager and KAI KC-100 Naraon to jets like the North American F-86F Sabre were hanging from the ceiling along a walkway that led to the museum’s second floor.

Aviation Industry Hall

The Aviation Industry Hall on the museum’s second floor introduced various aspects of modern airport operations. There were mock-ups and exhibits related to everything ranging from check-in through customs all the way to baggage sorting and collection.

Aviation Life Hall

In terms of exhibits, the third floor was home to an area for special temporary exhibits. At the time of my visit, the area was being prepared for the next exhibition – “The Aviator Training Institution: Korea’s First Flight School,” which has since opened and will be available for visitors to see until September 1, 2024.

While there was also an aviation library, it was closed at the time of my visit.

Simulators & Other Experiences

In addition to the wide variety of exhibits I talked about above, there was also an impressive collection of simulators and other experiences that guests could try. Some required advanced booking and all were paid.

Unfortunately, I didn’t try any of them, but there were, among others:

• Air traffic control experience
• Cabin crew training experience where, among other things, guests could slide down an evacuation slide
• Black Eagles experience

Observation Deck, Shops & Other Facilities

While the exhibits and experiences were spread across the museum’s first three floors, the museum had one more floor (two if counting an underground parking garage).

The fourth floor of the museum was home to an observation deck, which offered limited (and distant) views of Seoul Gimpo Airport and some of the residential areas around the airport. The deck was not ideal for plane spotting but it was still a nice place to spend some time watching aircraft take off and land.

Separately from the observation deck, the third floor also had another outdoor terrace. That one had plenty of grass, flowers, and seating to provide a nice space to relax. On the same floor, there was also an indoor seating area where guests could sit down and have a drink or a bite to eat.

Next to the seating area was a self-service convenience store with plenty of drinks and snacks on offer among other things.

Lastly, on the first floor next to the entrance, there was a small museum shop with a limited selection of aircraft models, aviation-themed toys, and so on.

Summary

If you want to see a lot of airliners, or aircraft in general, on display, then the National Aviation Museum of Korea might not be for you. While the museum has some aircraft like the Cessna 560 and the Black Eagles T-50 in its collection, the number of aircraft on display is relatively small.

However, if you are interested in aviation in general and enjoy seeing a wide variety of smaller items related to the industry ranging from vintage posters and tickets all the way to aircraft models, then you should definitely visit the museum if you get a chance.

Its location makes it perfect to visit if you have a flight departing from or arriving at Seoul Gimpo Airport. Even if you do not, however, the museum is well-worth a visit for half a day or even longer given that the airport is easily accessible from central Seoul by train.

The post National Aviation Museum of Korea: A Must-Visit When Traveling via Seoul Gimpo appeared first on KN Aviation.

Over time, all of those, including Delta Air Lines and JAL among others, except for one retired the type. The sole remaining operator of the 767-300 is Asiana Airlines which has one last airframe in its fleet.

Continue reading to learn more about the unique aircraft and to see what flying on it was like.

HL7528: Asiana’s and the World’s Only Remaining 767-300

Based on Airfleets.net data, Asiana Airlines operated 20 different Boeing 767-300 series airframes at one point or another. Today, it is left with two of those: a 767-300F (a freighter based on the 767-300ER) registered HL7507 and a 767-300 registered HL7528. The latter is the world’s last active airframe of the variant.

In the past, the airline operated eight more 767-300s, a few more freighters, as well as some 767-300ERs. Most of those were delivered directly to Asiana Airlines and thus include the airline’s customer code “8E” in their exact type designation (e.g. 767-38E).

The sole remaining 767-300 was delivered to Asiana Airlines at the end of September 1999.

It is equipped with a pair of GE CF6 engines, which are also used on the 747-400 among other types, and flies in an all-economy class configuration with 290 seats spread across 41 rows in a 2-3-2 layout and one row featuring only the three seats in the middle section.

The aircraft currently flies solely on the Seoul Gimpo – Jeju route, which happens to be the world’s busiest air route. The flights can be booked directly on Asiana Airlines’ website, generally for about $50-$70 one way. In the past, the aircraft also used to operate international flights, such as to Osaka Kansai.

OZ8940 from Jeju to Seoul Gimpo: Flying on the World’s Last 767-300

The idea to fly on the Asiana Airlines 767-300 was born when I was planning my January 2024 trip to South Korea. With a full day in Seoul to spare, I could not resist booking a quick roundtrip to Jeju to try Korean Air’s A220 and, more importantly, fly on the Asiana 767.

The flight was my seventh on the non-ER 767-300 overall and my first one on the type since December 2021 when I flew on Air Do Bear Do Hokkaido Jet’s farewell flight.

Boarding at Jeju Airport

After arriving at Jeju, I quickly made my way to the Asiana Lounge where I was hoping to get a photo of the 767’s arrival from Seoul. Unfortunately, I should have instead went to the KAL Lounge which offered a much better view as I found out later.

With that, I went through security (both of the lounges are landside) around 12:25PM. Once airside, I took a few photos of the 767 through large windows just past the security check and then headed to gate 7 where my flight was scheduled to depart from at 12:50PM.

Boarding started at 12:30PM with a passenger on a wheelchair followed by Star Alliance Gold members and others eligible for priority boarding a minute later.

While the economy class line was long (the flight was almost full), the priority line only had three passengers ahead of me.

Onboard, I greeted the cabin crew at the door and turned right into the second aisle. I headed down about three quarters of the aircraft before settling in my right-hand side window seat 40K.

Cabin and Seats

As mentioned earlier, the Asiana Airlines 767-300 is in a high-density all-economy configuration with 290 seats. With only one large cabin rather than multiple smaller cabins separated by bulkheads/galleys, the cabin felt rather spacious.

The well-padded seats, while showing their age, were considerably more comfortable than many of their more modern slimline counterparts. The legroom was decent too.

All in all, being onboard the Asiana 767-300 felt like traveling in time. Even more so than when I flew on the airline’s 747-400 due to the lack of personal entertainment screens on the 767.

Everything from the thickly padded seats, overhead bins, wall design, and window shape, all the way to the overhead panels and (sealed) ashtrays gave the cabin a retro vibe.

Departure from Jeju Airport

At 12:51PM, given that the announcement was only made in Korean, I assume we were welcomed onboard by the captain. A couple of minutes later, the cabin crew closed the aircraft doors in preparation for our departure.

The cabin crew also made a welcome announcement mentioning our expected flight time of 50 minutes. A screening of the safety video on the overhead screens followed.

We were pushed back eight minutes behind schedule, at 12:58. Shortly after, the two GE CF6 engines came to life, resulting in amazing sounds and vibrations.

A steep take-off at 1:16PM followed a few minutes of taxiing and holding short of runway 07.

In-Flight Service

Just six minutes after take off, the seatbelt signs were switched off and the in-flight service started.

With it being just a short sub-one-hour domestic flight, only drinks were offered (I had a cup of orange juice).

I spent the rest of the flight looking out of the window, soaking in the retro atmosphere onboard, and taking a short nap.

Unsurprisingly, there was no in-flight entertainment or onboard wi-fi.

Arrival at Seoul Gimpo

The end of the flight approached when, at 1:44PM, the pilots asked the cabin crew to prepare for landing. By that time, the seatbelt signs were already on as they were switched on due to turbulence about midway through the flight and stayed on since then.

As we approached Seoul, I was surprised to see snow on the ground, which wasn’t there just a couple of hours earlier when I took off bound for Jeju.

At 2:02PM, we landed on Gimpo Airport’s runway 32L.

We came to a full stop at our arrival gate at 2:07PM, seven minutes behind schedule. I waited for the cabin to empty, took a few photos, and then got off the aircraft happy to have logged another flight on a nowadays rare type.

Summary

Over the years, Asiana Airlines operated quite a few Boeing 767 aircraft including -300s, -300ERs, and freighters. Today, however, it is left with only two – one 767-300 and one freighter. The former is special given that it is the world’s last active non-ER 767.

While I do not have the same emotional attachment to the 767 as I do to the 747 or MD-11, over the last couple of years, the type has grown on me. As such, I am happy to have been able to fly on the last active 767-300. If all goes as planned, I should have one more chance to fly on it in June.

The post The Last One in the World: Flying on Asiana’s Non-ER Boeing 767-300 appeared first on KN Aviation.

I had a chance to take the inaugural flight so continue reading to see what it was like and to learn more about the airline.

Toki Air: Japan’s First Locally-Owned Airline in 15 Years

In July 2009, Fuji Dream Airlines launched with two Embraer E170s. The airline has since grown to operate a fleet of 16 aircraft. Multiple other airlines, like ANA’s Peach and JAL’s ZIPAIR, launched since then. No airline unaffiliated with one of the major airlines launched in Japan until today, though.

Toki Air traces its origins back to December 2019 when a preparatory company began work on the airline. Toki Air itself was founded on July 29, 2020, just as the coronavirus pandemic started to bring the travel industry to a standstill. To get started, the company received investment from several Niigata-based companies, as well as 1.16 billion yen (just under 10 million dollars at that time’s exchange rate) from Niigata Prefecture.

In preparation for launch, Toki Air leased two ATR 72-600s from Nordic Aviation Capital. The first aircraft, registered JA01QQ, arrived in Niigata in November 2022. The second aircraft, JA02QQ, touched down at its base for the first time in March 2023.

Toki Air’s first destination is Sapporo Okadama (a closer look at the inaugural flight will follow later in this article. It expects to connect Niigata with Sendai relatively soon, followed by Nagoya Chubu and Kobe at a later point.

Sado, an island that is part of Niigata Prefecture, is on the airline’s radar too. To be able to serve the route, however, the airline will need to take delivery of its first ATR 42-600S, a variant of the turboprop aircraft that is currently under development and that will have STOL (short take-off and landing) capability.

I shared my thoughts on Toki Air’s network plans and what I think about its business plan a couple of months ago here.

A Look Inside a Toki Air ATR 72-600

Toki Air’s ATR 72-600s are in the type’s standard configuration with, as its name suggests, 72 economy class seats. Given the type of routes the aircraft tends to operate, the seats are fairly bare-bones.

Each seat is equipped with a regular seat pocket, a small compartment at the top of the seatback, and a small tray table. Additionally, there are individual air vents too.

The one thing that I felt like Toki Air missed an opportunity on and could have put a bit of extra effort into were headrest covers. While there was a Toyota rent-a-car ad on the side visible to the passenger sitting in the seat behind, there was no Toki Air branding on the headrest covers’ main part.

Toki Air Inaugural Flight: The Steel Crested Ibis Finally Takes Off

Toki Air operated its inaugural flight on January 31, 2024. The flight, BV101 from Niigata to Sapporo Okadama, was “sold out” within a minute or two after being made available for booking on the morning of January 19, 2024. While I failed to secure a seat then, I was lucky to grab a seat 24 hours later when unpaid reservations expired.

The subsequent flights on the airline’s first day of operations, on the other hand, were nowhere near full. The airline’s first flight from Sapporo to Niigata carried 48 passengers (66.7% load factor), and the second rotation carried 28 and 29 passengers respectively (38.9% and 40.2% load factors).

One More Day to Go

When I arrived at Niigata Airport the evening before the first flight, Toki Air staff was preparing for the next day at the airline’s check-in counters and one of the screens above the counters was counting down the days left until the inaugural flight.

In another part of the airport, one of Toki Air’s captains just finished an interview with the media.

Outside, one of the airline’s two ATR 72-600s, JA01QQ, was waiting for the first flight.

The other ATR, JA02QQ, is currently undergoing maintenance in Tainan, Taiwan.

“This Is Not the Goal But the Start”

The next morning, when I got to the airport around 7AM, Toki Air staff was already hard at work in the central part of the airport’s check-in hall, preparing for an inaugural ceremony celebrating the momentous flight.

Over a dozen guests including the Niigata Prefecture governor, Niigata City mayor, Toki Air representative director, Tokyo Civil Aviation Bureau’s Niigata office head, and heads of Niigata offices of a few different Japanese and foreign airlines including ANA, JAL, Korean Air, and China Southern Airlines joined the event.

Hideyo Hanazumi, the Niigata Prefecture governor who is also the chairman of the Niigata Airport Improvement and Promotion Office, was the first to speak. After thanking everyone involved, he said “Of course, this is not the goal. This is the start,” hinting at the long road that Toki Air has ahead to become a well-recognized and profitable airline.

He also noted that Okadama Airport has different advantages than the larger Sapporo New Chitose Airport including being closer to the city and serving as a hub for JAL’s Hokkaido Air System which offers an extensive network of routes to other destinations around Hokkaido.

Hanazumi was followed by Niigata City’s mayor and Niigata Airport Improvement and Promotion Office’s vice chairman Yaichi Nakahara. Commenting on the route being the first-ever link between Niigata and Okadama Airport, he said he hopes the new flight will increase both business and leisure traffic between Hokkaido and Niigata and help with revitalizing the two regions’ local economies.

He ended his speech quite poetically saying “I hope that Toki Air will fly gracefully and safely like the Crested Ibis of Sado soars in the sky.” Sado, an island that is part of Niigata Prefecture, is well-known for its population of crested ibises (“toki” in Japanese) which gave the name to the new airline.

Toki Air’s representative director Masaki Hasegawa was the third to take the stage. On the brink of tears, he started by thanking all of Toki Air’s staff and their families, as well as everyone else involved in getting Toki Air to the point where it was ready to operate its first flight.

In addition to expressing his hope about Toki Air helping to revitalize Niigata’s local economy, Hasegawa also reminisced about his childhood. Reminiscing about the lack of opportunities he had to fly when he was growing up in Niigata, he said he hopes a lot of young people fly on Toki Air.

The last person to speak at the inaugural ceremony was Yamaguchi Keito, the head of Tokyo Civil Aviation Bureau’s Niigata Airport Office.

He talked about the rigorous airline certification process Toki Air had to go through and the hope he for Toki Air’s growth contributing to the region’s growth and the growth of aviation in Japan in general.

After the speeches, Toki Air’s representative director was presented with flowers. He was also gifted an artwork made by Tokyo Gakkan Niigata High School’s calligraphy club.

At the end of the inaugural ceremony, all of the guests lined up with “yuruchara” characters including Niigata’s Lerch (a character themed after Theodor von Lerch, an Austro-Hungarian general who introduced skiing to Japan) for a photo shoot.

Smooth Check-in Handled by JAL Staff

Once the inaugural ceremony was over, I (once again) headed over to Toki Air’s counters on the far left side of the check-in hall. There, after waiting two or three minutes in a modest line, I was checked in by a friendly agent who printed my boarding pass as soon as she confirmed my reservation number.

While online check-in was possible, I decided to check in at the counter to get a printed boarding pass (which, unfortunately, ended up being about as generic as it gets).

It is worth noting here that all ground handling was done by staff in JAL uniforms (technically employees of Niigata Koku Service, the sole ground handling company at the airport).

We will have to see whether or not that is a sign of a potential larger-scale partnership with JAL (along the lines of Fuji Dream Airlines’) in the future.

One Gate, Two Flights: Boarding Toki Air’s Inaugural Flight

With the inaugural flight boarding pass in my hand, I headed upstairs to the departure floor and went through security. That took a few minutes as a good number of mostly Toki Air passengers was already in the queue.

The boarding pass indicated the flight as departing from gate 1. In reality, it was gate A since Niigata Airport (at least its domestic terminal) uses letters rather than numbers. An Ibex Airlines flight was departing from the same gate just ten minutes before our flight.

At 9:05AM, an announcement was made that boarding would start at 9:10AM, that there was only one lavatory onboard so those that needed to use it should consider going on the ground instead, and that because we would be walking to the aircraft, we might have to wait outside a bit.

Boarding started as announced with passengers seated in rows 1 through 9 invited to board first, while the Ibex flight to Fukuoka was still boarding. Less than five minutes later, the rest of the passengers were invited to board.

In the passage connecting the gate with the stairs leading to the apron, Toki Air staff was handing out gift bags to commemorate the special occasion.

Outside, people were stopping in front of the aircraft to take photos before getting onboard.

Just as I was making my way to the stairs leading to the apron, a Fuji Dream Airlines Embraer E175 arriving from Nagoya landed behind the Toki Air ATR 72 waiting for its first flight to Sapporo, as if to hand over its status of the most recent non-major airline-affiliated airline in Japan to Toki Air.

At Long Last! A Round of Applause and a Couple of Extra Turns

Onboard, I was welcomed by Shumpei, one of the two flight attendants serving the flight (in the air, they were joined by more staff helping with requests to fill out log books and so on). He, like the other crew members, was wearing a pair of white sneakers to go with the rest of the uniform – a style that a few other airlines employ too.

Settled in my seat, 11B (unfortunately, no more window seats were available by the time I got my ticket), I waited for our departure. First, though, around 9:35AM, the cabin crew made an announcement welcoming everyone onboard, which was followed by a round of applause by the passengers.

A manual safety demonstration followed before we taxied out of our parking spot seven minutes behind schedule, at 9:37AM. On the apron, well over a dozen staff members waved to send us off. In a park near runway 28 end, even more people were lined up to see this very special flight’s departure.

At 9:46AM, we took off runway 28. As soon as the wheels left the ground, a round of applause echoed through the cabin.

After take-off, we didn’t make a simple right turn to head toward our destination.

Instead, we first made a 180-degree right turn followed by another 90-degree right turn to fly back toward Niigata Airport and bid it farewell before making a left turn to head toward Sapporo.

A Friendly Onboard Service and A Well-Stocked Gift Bag

Less than five minutes after take-off, the crew made an announcement permitting the use of seat reclining and tray tables. Another five minutes later, the seatbelt signs were switched off.

At 10AM, onboard service started with the friendly crew handing out manju (Japanese sweets). While this service was limited to the airline’s first few flights, going forward the airline will be offering bottled tea and packaged snacks made by Niigata-based companies.

On the inaugural flight, the standard service items – i.e. a bottle of herb tea and a small pack of rice crackers – were included in the gift bag.

The gift bag included a small bag of rice (Niigata Prefecture produces the most rice in Japan) and a box of candies, both in special packaging commemorating Toki Air’s launch.

Additionally, a boarding certificate, a baggage tag, a clear file, a paper model of Toki Air’s ATR, and a magazine were in the bag too. The bag itself was a keepsake too and came with a small storage pouch.

At 10:15AM, the captain welcomed us onboard, mentioning that we were passing over Akita and would then overfly Aomori and Hakodate before arriving at Okadama Airport on time, at 11:10AM. He also thanked us for joining the special flight.

Five minutes later, the cabin crew passed through the cabin offering a variety of reading materials including a local Niigata newspaper and a magazine about Sapporo.

With that, the in-flight service ended.

A Warm Welcome in Cold Sapporo

After a relatively uneventful remainder of the eventful flight, the cabin crew made an announcement saying we would be starting preparations for landing soon and that it was -3 degrees Celsius in Sapporo.

Then, at 10:50AM, the seatbelt signs were switched back on.

Descending over snow-covered Hokkaido, the pilots lowered the landing gear at 11:04AM, three minutes before we landed on Okadama Airport’s runway 14.

From there, it was just another three minutes until we reached our parking spot at 11:10AM, exactly on time.

While taxiing in, a crowd of people welcomed us from the airport’s small observation deck. Inside the terminal, just outside the baggage claim area, we were warmly welcomed by Okadama Airport and Sapporo Chamber of Commerce representatives who were handing out gift bags with small Okadama Airport-themed hand towels.

With that, the inaugural flight was over and so I headed to the observation deck to send off the return flight to Niigata before heading over to Sapporo New Chitose Airport to catch my flight back to Tokyo.

The second Toki Air flight, and the first one from Sapporo Okadama, departed at 12:01PM (11 minutes behind schedule) with, as already mentioned, 48 passengers onboard.

Summary

Toki Air’s inaugural flight went very well – the staff was friendly and professional both on the ground and in the air, the flight arrived on time, and the inaugural ceremony and gift bag were a nice way to make the flight more special than the second flight and beyond.

That said, as the Niigata Prefecture governor said, the inaugural flight was just the start. In the coming months (and hopefully years), Toki Air will need to continue building its route network and, most importantly, brand to increase its load factors and become profitable.

Personally, I think the only viable way for it to do so will be to sign a major partnership with JAL or ANA but we will have to see!

The post Onboard Toki Air’s Inaugural Flight: The Steel Crested Ibis Carries Passengers at Long Last appeared first on KN Aviation.

I mainly write these to have something to return to in the future and remember some of the aviation-related activities I did. That said, I hope you enjoy reading through it, seeing the photos, and checking out some of the articles I wrote earlier in the year that I link out to from here.

Before continuing with the review itself, I’d like to wish you all the best in 2024 and thank you for reading this blog. I’d also like to thank my family and friends for supporting me (not only) in this hobby and in growing KN Aviation.

Miles, Types, Airlines

In 2023, I flew a total of 52,058 miles spread across 40 flights.

While nowhere near the volume of flying I did before the pandemic, it was about 8,000 miles and 9 flights more than I logged in 2022. Also, with COVID-19 in the rearview mirror, it was the first year since 2019 when I didn’t have to take any PCR tests or fill out any COVID-19-related “passenger locator forms.”

Another thing that made 2023 stand out was that almost half of the total distance I flew together with my wife and daughter. That included my daughter’s very first flight at six months old, from then until she was just over a year old, and a trip my wife and I did to Fukuoka to see a play.

With eight flights, ANA was the airline I flew the most in 2023. Air Tindi and EVA Air ranked after ANA with four flights on each. I flew on six airlines for the first time: Aeroexpress Regional, Air Canada Express, EVA Air, Fuji Dream Airlines, TAROM, and WestJet.

As for aircraft types, the most common one in my logbook in 2023 was Boeing 787-9 with nine flights (11 total on the 787 with an additional flight on each the 787-8 and 787-10). The second most common type in my logbook for 2023 was Boeing 737-800 with five flights. Aircraft types I flew for the first time in 2023 included Airbus A320neo, ATR 72-600, Boeing 787-10, de Havilland Canada DHC-7, Embraer EMB120, and E175.

My Daughter’s First Flights

As mentioned in an article I wrote about my favorite flights of 2023, by far the biggest highlight of the year for me was being able to take my daughter on her first flight. My daughter being born last December was life-changing for me and I couldn’t wait to be able to travel with her.

When she turned six months old, we went on a short domestic family trip to Osaka and Kochi. That trip included my daughter’s first three flights – an ANA 777-200ER flight from Tokyo Haneda to Osaka, an ANA Wings Dash 8 Q400 flight on to Kochi, and a Jetstar Japan A320-200 flight back to Tokyo Narita.

Then, in the fall, we went on a month-long trip to Europe, mostly staying at my parents’ house. Needless to say, they were excited about living with their granddaughter for a few weeks. We flew EVA Air from Tokyo Narita to Vienna via Taipei Taoyuan both ways.

Lastly, in December, we visited my family in Slovakia once again, albeit just for a week. We flew LOT from Tokyo to Vienna via Warsaw and back from Budapest to Seoul. Then we took a Jeju Air flight to Shizuoka and went directly to my wife’s parents’ place where we will be staying until the end of this week.

Throughout the 11 flights we took with our daughter, it was great seeing her become better and better at air travel. Even the 14-hour flight from Tokyo to Warsaw went more or less as smoothly as it would have if I was traveling alone or just with my wife.

I was very happy when one of the flight attendants said to me “She’s such a calm and positive baby” when my daughter kept observing and smiling at her during one of the meal services. It was also great being seated around passengers who didn’t seem to mind sitting next to a baby. That culminated in a passenger sitting next to us on the Jeju Air flight who even played peekaboo in Korean with our daughter.

Hunting Rare Prop Aircraft in Canada and Europe

Aviation-wise, the highlight of the year for me was a pair of trips I took to fly and photograph rare propellor aircraft.

The first of those trips took me to Yellowknife in Canada which is home to Buffalo Airways made famous through the Ice Pilots NWT TV show and Air Tindi.

While it is not possible to fly on aircraft of the former, I was able to spend a couple of days on the airline’s ramp photographing (not only) its fleet full of rare props including the Curtiss C-46, Lockheed Electra, and Douglas DC-3. Seeing all of those aircraft in action felt surreal.

I was also fortunate enough to have a chance to take two flights on Air Tindi’s Dash 7 – a quad prop that is very rare nowadays. Flying on the aircraft was exciting but it was even more amazing seeing the crucial role the type plays in bringing supplies to communities accessible only through gravel runways.

The second trip was a quick one-night side trip to Romania during our stay in Europe in the fall. The trip only had one purpose – flying on Aeroexpress Regional’s Embraer EMB-120 flight between Cluj-Napoca and Budapest.

While in the past the EMB-120 was quite common, nowadays it is very rare and so I was happy to be able to finally log it.

Flying on a New Pokemon Jet and Finally Trying Fuji Dream Airlines

In 2023, three Pokemon-themed liveries saw the light of the day. Two of those – a 787-9 and a 777-300ER – operate on ANA’s international flights. One of those – a 737-800 – is in Solaseed Air’s fleet. While I haven’t flown on the two ANA aircraft yet, I had a chance to be on Solaseed Air’s Nassy Jet (Nassy is Japanese for the Pokemon Exeggutor) inaugural flight back in March.

I flew on the aircraft from Tokyo Haneda to Naha via Miyazaki. While the first leg to Miyazaki was the “real” inaugural flight, the second leg from Miyazaki where Solaseed Air is headquartered to Naha was the official inaugural flight.

I took no other inaugural or farewell flights in 2023.

That said, I finally took the time to fly on an airline that intrigued me for quite a while – Fuji Dream Airlines.

The airline commenced operations in 2009 with routes out of its home airport (Mt. Fuji Shizuoka Airport). Over time, it managed to carve itself out a niche, operating flights out of not only Shizuoka but also Nagoya Komaki and other regional airports using a fleet of 16 E170s and E175s.

On my trip, I flew with Fuji Dream Airlines from Shizuoka to Sapporo Okadama and then from Fukuoka to Shizuoka. I really enjoyed both flights thanks to the airline’s “fun factor” (all of its aircraft are in a different color) and nice service which included green tea and a snack.

I flew with ANA and Starflyer from Sapporo to Fukuoka via Nagoya. That gave me a chance to try some of the relatively new Priority Pass facilities at Nagoya Chubu including an outdoor bath with a view of aircraft.

Trying Some New International Products

In addition to the above, I also had a chance to try and review a number of products I haven’t before. Most of those were economy class, including the below:

• Air Canada 787-9
• Air Canada Express CRJ-900 and Dash 8 Q400
• Austrian A320neo
• EVA Air’s 787-9, 787-10, and A330-300
• TAROM ATR 72 and 737-700
• WestJet 787-9

In addition, I tried WestJet 737-700 domestic business class and Finnair A320 and A350 business class. While I flew on the airline’s A350 in business class before, last year was my first time flying in its new AirLounge seat.

Plane Spotting in Japan

As for plane spotting, I went to Tokyo Haneda a few times throughout the year.

It was great to be able to photograph not only the new (and old) special liveries that make the Japanese skies more colorful like ANA’s Pokemon Jets and JAL’s Disney Jets but to also see increasingly more international airlines returning and launching flights to the airport.

Among others, it was nice to photograph the first Virgin Australia flight from Cairns to Tokyo Haneda. I still cannot believe the airline deployed the 737-700s on the long flights in the beginning. Not that the current 737-8 is much better.

Separately, I was also happy to catch one of Air Canada Cargo’s 767s making a stop at Haneda on its way to get maintenance done.

I didn’t visit the other major Tokyo airport – Narita – nearly as often.

In fact, I only spent a considerable amount of time spotting at the airport on one day. I also took some more photos at Tokyo Narita here and there when I was at the airport to either fly myself or pick someone up.

Without a doubt the highlight for me these days when visiting Narita is the ability to see a decent number of 747, albeit all freighters. I was also happy to photograph LOT Polish Airlines’ 787 in its special “Independence” livery before getting onboard and flying to Warsaw.

Outside Tokyo, I did a day trip to Osaka Itami Airport back in January which gave me one of my last chances to see J-Air’s E190 in the now-gone Universal Studios Japan livery.

I was also able to spend some time spotting at Nagoya Chubu Airport and Fukuoka Airport during my trip to fly Fuji Dream Airlines.

While I didn’t see anything overly exciting at Fukuoka Airport, it was still nice to spend a couple of hours next to the approach path. At Nagoya Chubu Airport, I was lucky to see multiple special liveries including JAL’s 787-9 in oneworld alliance colors, Solaseed Air’s Nassy Jet, and both Japan TransOcean Air Jimbei Jets.

Lastly, I was also able to snap a photo of a J-Air E190 at Miyazaki Airport between the two Solaseed Air Nassy Jet flights I took back to back, and take a few photos at Sapporo New Chitose, Sapporo Okadama, Shizuoka, and Osaka Kansai. I visited the last of those to tour the amazing Orbis MD-10. 

Plane Spotting Around the World

Outside Japan, there were two plane spotting highlights for me.

The first was being able to spend a few days in Yellowknife.

While the main purpose was to, as I already wrote earlier in this article, see Buffalo Airways and Air Tindi aircraft, I was also able to photograph many more interesting ones. Just to mention a few, I was able to see an Air Nolinor 737-200 a number of times throughout my stay, a Northwestern Air Jetstream, and Canadian North 737-400s.

The second highlight was visiting the Slovak International Air Fest (SIAF) airshow at Malacky Air Base in Slovakia.

While I am not too much into military aviation, the Slovak Government did an excellent fly-by (both formation and one-by-one) of its an A319 and a F100. I long wanted to see this performance and was excited to finally check it off my list – especially so given the great weather.

Other than that, I had a chance to spend some time around Calgary Airport’s perimeter before taking my flight to Yellowknife and see some rare aircraft parked there. I also was able to take a photo of a WestJet 737 in Edmonton before catching a flight to Calgary on my way back from Yellowknife.

Lastly, I was able to take a couple of night photos in Warsaw before catching a flight to Vienna. The one that I was happy about the most was an Air France A220. I really like the aircraft’s design!

What Are the Plans for 2024?

First of all, as you might have noticed, in the last couple of months I started more actively posting new content on KN Aviation and also started covering select news again. I hope to continue with this throughout 2024 and beyond.

In terms of travel, I have two trips booked so far:

• A (long) day trip to South Korea: The main goal of this trip is to review the relatively new Delta Sky Club at Tokyo Haneda Airport before catching a Korean Air 737-8 flight to Seoul Incheon. On the way back, I will fly on Korean Air’s A321neo. I am also considering doing a quick trip to Jeju and back to fly on the world’s last non-ER 767-300, which Asiana operates, and to try the A220 for the first time.
• A safari trip with my dad: One of the few non-aviation-related travel bucket list items I have is going on a safari. I finally decided to check that off the list and plan a trip to South Africa together with my dad. I booked us business class tickets on Swiss, South African Airways, and Ethiopian Airlines using ANA miles and domestic flights to and from Nelspruit on Airlink. As we will be starting the trip in Europe, I still need to figure out how to get there. Currently, I am looking at potentially flying MIAT via Ulanbatoor on the way there.

While the above are the trips that I already have booked at least partially, there are a couple more trips I plan to take. Those include a trip or two to Europe together with my daughter and wife, one or two more aviation review trips, and a domestic spotting trip or two.

What exactly the list of trips and flights for 2024 is going to end up looking like, we will have to wait and see.

The post 2023 in Review: Looking Back at My Highlights of Last Year appeared first on KN Aviation.

While I took photos of the type a number of times since that moment, it took me nearly 20 years from seeing the aircraft in the now-defunct SkyEurope Airlines’ livery to getting a chance to fly on one in September 2023. While the Aeroexpress Regional flight from Cluj-Napoca in Romania to Budapest in Hungary was short, it was fun and memorable.

Continue reading to learn more about Aeroexpress Regional and the EMB-120, and to see what the flight was like.

Budapest Air Service: The Company Behind Aeroexpress Regional

Aeroexpress Regional is a relatively new venture. However, rather than being an airline actually operating its flights, Aeroexpress Regional’s flights are operated by one of its shareholders, Budapest Air Service (BASe).

Budapest Air Service has been around since 1991 when it started operations using leased Let L-410. Today, it operates three Embraer EMB-120s. All three of the aircraft were originally delivered to Denmark’s DAT and (with stints with other airlines in between) joined Budapest Air Service in 2005 and 2008.

The three aircraft were built roughly in the middle of the EMB-120’s production run of 357 airframes and include:

• HA-FAI (MSN 123; delivered in 1989 to DAT as OO-DTJ; joined BASe in 2005)
• HA-FAL (MSN 104; delivered in 1988 to DAT as OO-DTH; joined BASe in 2008)
• HA-FAN (MSN 176; delivered in 1990 to DAT as OO-DTL; joined BASe in 2008)

These aircraft are the last EMB-120s flying on scheduled passenger flights in Europe and some of the last few in the world. While “FAN” is still flying in BASe’s basic livery, both “FAI” and “FAL” are wearing Aeroexpress Regional’s livery.

In addition to operating Aeroexpress Regional flights, Budapest Air Service also operates domestic public service obligation (PSO) flights in Finland. Namely, as of the time of writing this article, it connects Helsinki with Pori on behalf of Karhu.aero and Savonlinna on behalf of Norppa.aero.

Aeroexpress Regional: BASE’s Venture Connecting Hungary and Romania

Interestingly, Aeroexpress was founded by Daniel Somogyi-Toth – the head of Aeropark, an amazing aviation museum with a collection of Soviet-era airlines including the Tu-134 and Tu-154. The museum is located right next to Budapest Airport and is well worth a visit if you have some time in the city.

As mentioned earlier, Budapest Air Service owns a part of the airline.

Aeroexpress Regional launched its first and so far only route a few months ahead of its initial plan, Budapest – Cluj-Napoca, on December 16, 2022. The route is currently operated three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with two rotations on some of the days. The flights are easily bookable on the airline’s website.

At between $60 and $80 one-way, the flights give people wanting to travel between the two cities a very affordable way to cut their travel time from more than a 5-hour-long drive to less than an hour-long flight. The flights also give aviation enthusiasts based in Europe a very affordable way to fly on the elusive EMB-120.

Whether and how the network of Aeroexpress Regional will expand remains to be seen. Potential other connections between Hungary and Romania including between Debrecen and Târgu Mureș were hinted at by the airline in the past.

Onboard an Aeroexpress Regional Embraer EMB-120

The Aeroexpress Regional Embraer EMB-120s seat a total of 30 passengers in an all-economy class configuration.

As with other aircraft with similar cross-sections including Embraer’s ERJ-145, the seats are in a “1-2” layout. In other words, there is a row of single seats on the left side of the fuselage and a row of pairs of seats on the right side of the fuselage. In the case of Budapest Air Service aircraft, the left side are “A” seats while the right side are “D” and “F” seats.

The seats, while showing their age, were comfortable enough for the short flight that I took. The legroom was sufficient too and the extra privacy that the single “A” seats provided was nice to have given that I was traveling on my own.

What I found interesting about the aircraft were the tray tables – both the regular ones, as well as the one mounted on the bulkhead at the front of the aircraft jointly serving passengers in seats 2D and 2F.

The former had metal supports holding it in position while the latter looked more like a diaper-changing table than a tray table. While there was no one in the seats during my flight, I can imagine the awkward situation of 2D and 2F being occupied by passengers who do not know each other and one wanting to use the tray table.

The aircraft’s overhead panels with large red rectangular flight attendant call buttons and reading light switches were a good reminder of the era in which the aircraft entered into service. Individual air vents were nice to have.

Interestingly, in addition to English and Hungarian, the emergency exit signs also featured French. That was likely a remainder from the time the aircraft operated for Regional, a French regional airline.

Flying on Aeroexpress Regional from Cluj-Napoca to Budapest

When planning the trip on the EMB-120, I was sure that I wanted to fly it. That said, it took me a while to figure out the best way to fit it into the schedule of my month-long family trip to Europe. Ultimately, rather than flying on the flight from Budapest to Cluj-Napoca, I settled on a flight in the other direction.

Check-in at a Lone Desk & Boarding

I could select my seat and check-in online the day before. That said, after arriving in Cluj-Napoca from Bucharest on TAROM’s 737-700 retro jet and waiting in the terminal a bit, I still decided to look for Aeroexpress Regional’s check-in counters to get a proper boarding pass.

Walking almost the entire length of the fairly small terminal, I reached the airline’s sole check-in desk, desk number 14. A bit less than two hours before the scheduled departure time, I approached the agent who, after confirming I had no checked baggage, printed my boarding pass.

There was one other passenger who came to the desk shortly after me, but otherwise, it was deserted. Presumably, most passengers either checked in online or arrived at the airport closer to the departure time. The rest of the check-in hall was deserted too.

That said, there was a pigeon walking around. Maybe he got tired of having to flap his wings and decided to catch a flight on a jet instead…

With a boarding pass in my hand, I went through security and immigration both of which were a breeze.

My flight was departing from gate B2 which was in a temporary building connected to the main terminal part of which was being reconstructed. Since I still had some time before boarding would start, I went to Cluj-Napoca’s sole and aptly named international Business Lounge.

I left the lounge around 10AM and headed to the temporary building which, surprisingly, had not only seating and toilets but also a number of different shops.

While waiting for boarding to start, I watched the EMB-120 that would be operating my flight (reg. HA-FAI) arrive from Budapest through a narrow window.

Around 10:15AM – half an hour before the scheduled departure time – the same agent that was handling check-in came to the gate and started preparing for boarding.

Boarding started about 20 minutes before the scheduled departure time when a bus arrived to pick us up.

A few minutes and a short bus ride later, I found myself in front of the aircraft, excited to be taking my first ride on the EMB-120.

Before climbing the short airstairs, I waited for other passengers to board so that  I could take a photo of the aircraft without people in front of it. While doing so, one of the airport’s ground staff approached me and offered to take a photo of me – thank you!

Flight RP571 Departure: Not a “Goodbye”

Stepping onboard, I was welcomed by the friendly flight attendant serving the flight and headed down the aisle to my seat 4A. Soon after, the captain welcomed us onboard through the PA and mentioned that we would be flying for 55 minutes and that the weather in Budapest was roughly the same as in Cluj.

Then, at 10:41AM, the flight attendant closed the aircraft door and we were ready to go.

At that point, most of the seats on the plane were taken. The cockpit jumpseat was taken too which meant the cockpit door couldn’t be closed. Unfortunately, there was still a curtain which made it impossible to see inside the cockpit.

Not long after that, the engines were started one after the other and, at 10:50AM (five minutes behind schedule), we taxied out of our parking spot.

Once on Cluj-Napoca Airport’s sole runway, we backtracked a bit to reach its 25 end.

At 10:55AM, we took off, accompanied by a great buzzing sound and vibrations.

A Free Drink and Snack Service

Just five minutes after take-off, the seatbelt signs were switched off.

Not long after that, the flight attendant started the onboard service. It was great to see Aeroexpress Hungary offering free service even though the flight was less than an hour long. That’s not something one sees every day in 2023.

The service consisted of a snack run followed by a drink run.

Two types of brownies and salty sticks were available in the snack basket. I went with the salty sticks which are one of my favorite snacks overall.

Drinks offered included water, coffee, and tea. I found it especially nice that both still and sparkling water were offered. Not feeling like having a hot drink, I enjoyed a cup of sparkling water.

About fifteen minutes after the snacks and drinks were served, the flight attendant passed through the cabin to collect trash.

Arrival at Aeroexpress Regional’s Base

The rest of the short flight, I enjoyed the views, looked in the seat pocket (there were just a safety card and a waste bag), and took some photos of the cabin.

Then, at 10:35AM Hungary time (11:35AM Romania time), the seatbelt signs were switched back on.

A 180-degree turn above the outskirts of Budapest and 10 minutes of descending later, the landing gear was lowered.

Another three minutes later, at 10:48AM, we landed on Budapest Airport’s runway 13L.

We then taxied to our remote parking stop where we stopped at 10:54AM – 16 minutes ahead of schedule.

Before disembarking, I took a couple of photos of the cabin and then headed down the stairs onto the apron and the bus that was waiting to take us to the terminal.

I got off the bus around 11AM. In the terminal, I went through immigration and then drove back home, to Slovakia, bringing this great aviation-filled side trip to an end.

Summary

Aeroexpress Regional, together with Budapest Air Service, provides an opportunity to fly on the now-rare Embraer EMB-120 turboprop on scheduled flights within Europe. Whether you choose to fly the former’s flights between Hungary and Romania or the latter’s PSO flights within Finland, I am sure you will have a good time.

I thoroughly enjoyed the hour-long flight between Cluj-Napoca and Budapest. I did so not only because it gave me a chance to fly on the EMB-120 but also because of the friendly and, for 2023, generous service that Aeroexpress Regional provided.

The post Catching the Elusive EMB-120: A Short But Fun Aeroexpress Regional Flight appeared first on KN Aviation.