As promised, this time I'm back to airplanes. This missive is a bunch of photos I've taken within the last couple of weeks. Other than that, there's no particular theme or topic this time around. Enjoy!

I'll start out with a teaser: Who and what is this?
Answer at the end of today's entry (If I remember)

Next, a collection of rarely seen freighters:

This China Cargo is unusual in that it's a 747; they usually bring MD-11's into LAX.
China Cargo, who uses the callsign "Cargo King", has a reputation here for having some of the worst accents and language difficulties.

Another evening freighter shot, even fuzzier: Lufthansa Cargo also operates MD-11's.

The plane that became the MD-11: the DC-10, seen here in World Airways' new livery, which sure beats their old solid-white scheme. Above with a Southwest B737-300, and below with a Qantas A380.

In an earlier entry I mentioned the Star Alliance, an airline marketing group with over twenty affiliated airlines. A competing marketing arrangement is Oneworld, which counts ten major airlines among its membership. Here are two:

A British Airways B747-400 taxis out in the evening.

A Qantas B744 tows in the next morning.

How about a couple more heavy Boeings:

A Malaysia B747-400 in between the 25's, with a Skywest Brasilia on B.

United has been flying some charters for Air Pacific while one of their planes is down for heavy maintenance. Here the plane is being towed from the International Terminal over to United's maintenance ramp.

I thought the tracks left by the sweepers looked kinda neat. This is Terminal 3, shared by Alaska, V Australia, and Virgin America.

And now, the solution to the opening photo quiz:

It's a Northwest A330-300, seen here leaving LAX for the paintshop in Victorville. It will return in a couple of weeks, sporting the new Delta livery. The crew doesn't have to wait that long though - they'll be back the same evening with the plane that went last time. It will then leave the next morning on a scheduled flight to Minneapolis - St. Paul. The Virgin Atlantic in the lower shot is an A340-600, still carrying the old Virgin scheme; the new scheme has more red on the tail and less blue.