Monday, January 31, 2011

The one that got away




Earlier this week, a coworker alerted me to the expected arrival of an Air New Zealand Airbus with special livery this weekend. I missed the arrival, but managed to catch this shot just after it parked at the gate. Due to yesterday's lousy weather and a confluence of other things going on at the time, I wasn't able to get any better pictures when it left an hour or so later. So I'm afraid this will have to do.



Here's another A320; this one is the first United Airbus I've seen wearing the Continental colors.

4 comments:

  1. Calling All Plane Spotters
    Posted by Guy Norris at 1/25/2011 6:02 PM CST

    Security clampdowns at airports around the world following September 2001 have made it an extremely tough decade for commercial aviation enthusiasts, photographers and plane spotters.

    Pursuing their hobby in the face of unprecedented security clampdowns and restrictions, this hard-suffering sub-culture (on the U.S. west coast at least) finally has a reason to celebrate at an officially sanctioned airport event. LAX is holding what it bills as the first-ever “Sunday Morning Coffee” for plane spotters, aviation enthusiasts and the general public on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011.

    The event, from 8:30 am to 11 a.m, takes place on the Observation Deck atop “the iconic Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX),” says the airport authority. What is more, they say, it is timed to coincide with some unique flight operations scheduled Sunday morning.


    An Air New Zealand A320 in "All Black" livery will provide an added attraction at LAX this coming weekend.



    Aside from the usual attractions of the Observation Deck’s 360-degree view of LAX’s terminals and airfield, with telescopes installed for free viewing, a portable VHF scanner will be available during the free-coffee period so visitors can listen to radio transmissions between pilots and air traffic controllers.

    But wait, there’s more. “Following the “Sunday Morning Coffee,” the space-age, retro-themed Encounter Restaurant, located directly under the Observation Deck, will offer a “Plane Spotters Lunch Special” from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The restaurant is open until 9 p.m. on Sundays.” For seasoned spotters, however, the big carrot will be a chance for a rare sight of a factory fresh Air New Zealand A320 en-route from Toulouse to New Zealand on its delivery flight. The aircraft will be painted in a special “All Black” livery with the silver fern motif and Koru (Maori for loop) on its tail.

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  2. Perhaps a video that would interest you as well!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxjK-w3w-Z4

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  3. I just realized, I am a little late with this....well I hope it was a blast for those who were there!!!! "late and a dollar short",

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  4. Wow - Somebody's been busy this morning! We noticed that there was an unusual number of people on the observation deck at the spider on Sunday. I'm guessing that there would have been more if the weather had been nicer. The Air New Zealand A320 was only on the ground for an hour or so, and then left for Honolulu on its way to New Zealand.

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