Shot of the day: Bird watching

Or perhaps the title should have been Bird washing:

And now, for more sport

I've been wanting to catch the Qantas World Cup B747 for some time now, so even though it was really hazy last week, I grabbed this photo from the catwalk. I believe the Virgin America Airbus in the lower shot is the same one that sported a mustache last season:

And now, for sport

Wow -- two posts in one weekend. Clearly somebody needs a social life. Meanwhile, there was recently in Brazil a little get-together about some ball games. Excuse me, matches. While I didn't follow the World Cup closely, I did hear about it hear and there. A couple of B747s might have clued me in.

A little closer to home, San Francisco has a baseball team:

Merry Christmas!

Here's a first: The first American Airbus A321 seen at LAX. We saw an American A319 pass through a few months ago, but there was no opportunity for me to grab a photo. In the opening shot, the A321 is seen with an American B737-800; my understanding is that American intends to operate both types. We've heard that the A321s will be seen at LAX on the JFK flights, which are currently operated almost exclusively with B767-200s.

The A321 is a direct competitor to the B737-900. Here they are seen together on Taxiway Bravo; the B739 is in United colors.

I wasn't able to get the A321 with a B762, but here's the next-best thing: A United B739 takes off as an American B762 taxis out. I apologize for the poor quality of the shots in today's entry; the A321 taxied out shortly after noon on a hazy day. Nevertheless, thanks to RI for helping to make these shots happen.

Old to New

Yesterday's pictures of the retro paint jobs got me thinking about a theme that could be continued, so here goes:

We'll start with US Airways, which is currently transitioning from the dark scheme seen on this Airbus 321 to the white scheme on the B757. This is part of the merger with America West. The dark-topped scheme, which although it appears black is really a very dark blue, was part of the rebranding from "US Air" to "US Airways" in the mid-1990's. These two aircraft models are easy to mistake for one another when seen alone; seeing them here together makes the distinctions easier to pick out. While the A321 is the largest of the narrow-body Airbuses, the B757 is larger still. Other detail differences: the shapes of the noses and tailcones; the winglets (all of the small Airbuses have the same vestigial winglets, while Boeings will either have none at all or great big ones as seen here); and the main landing gear (Airbuses have single-axle main gear, while the B757's have dual-axle units). Sadly, the Boeings are gradually being replaced by the Airbuses.

As I mentioned yesterday, this was America West's last scheme prior to the merger with US Air. This scheme appeared after America West's bankruptcy in the early 1990's.

US Airways has some of its Airbus A319's painted in heritage schemes: This one is the original America West scheme.

Another heritage scheme: US Air acquired Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) in 1987.

One more heritage scheme: The airline was originally named Allegheny before rebranding itself as US Air in the late 1970's.

As I mentioned yesterday, Northwest is now part of Delta, and the aircraft will be repainted accordingly. Before Northwest's current silver scheme was the red-topped scheme; a few of these are still around. Here are new and old schemes seen on Airbus A320's.

Delta has gone through several schemes since I started controlling airplanes in the early 1990's. Sadly, I don't have any shots of the original widget scheme they used all through the 1970's, 1980's and early 1990's. The B757 in this picture shows the scheme that replaced it in 1997 only to be quickly replaced itself in 2000 by the tricolor scheme seen on the B737. The last of these 'old new' schemes was repainted in the summer of 2008, while I continue to see the tricolor scheme (my favorite of all the Delta schemes I've known) daily.

Here are all three Delta schemes together. Unfortunately the airport's physical plant is just west of the tower, and thus the steam that obscures this shot.

In 2007, following Delta's bankruptcy, the latest 'lazy widget' scheme appeared, seen here on a trio of B757's with the former tricolor scheme on a B767.

One more before and after: After several decades of their original mustard brown/gold paint scheme, Southwest updated their livery to 'canyon blue' in 2001, with slightly adjusted lines. Even though this started nearly a decade ago, there are still aircraft with the 'classic' paint around.

Recent Happenings

I apologize for the dearth of recent entries; traffic's been slow and we're having a resurgence of summer temperatures; the two combined have pretty much sapped my inspiration.

There has been a bit of recent aviation news. The first item comes from Allentown, PA, where a Mesa airlines CRJ700, operating for United, narrowly missed a Cessna that had just landed but missed its assigned exit. The controller apparently didn't hear the Cessna pilot say that he had missed his exit and was going to take the next one, and cleared the RJ for takeoff. After starting their departure roll, the RJ pilots saw the Cessna and aborted - from 120 knots. Reports are that the aircraft missed each other by about ten feet. There were no injuries reported, but the Mesa flight was cancelled. NATCA, the controllers' union, claims that the two controllers on duty were both trainees, with no 'adult' supervision. While this sounds unlikely to me, I'll concede the possibility. The timing was great for NATCA though, as the House Aviation Subcommittee was scheduled to meet two days later - to discuss runway safety. NATCA has maintained for some time now that the nation has been facing a growing controller shortage, and (naturally) lays the blame on FAA managements' ineptitude.

We don't have Mesa flying for United here at LAX, although they do operate here for USAir. Instead, the United RJ's at LAX are operated by Skywest, and here are a few photos:

We rarely have Cessnas at LAX, so to give you some idea of the size difference, here's a shot of one at a local general aviation airport.

The congress has passed a bill last week that allows the FAA to continue to operate in the absence of an actual budget. Thanks to the very muddled budget process for the last couple of years, the FAA has actually been operating under various continuing resolutions that allow the agency to keep going under the assumption that funding will be unchanged from what was last approved. This process has been rather frustrating for NATCA, who has been trying to get congress to force a change in the FAA's current way of dealing with controllers (just a quick recap: the nation's air traffic controllers have been working without a contract under imposed work rules since summer of 2006). The preferred way to make this happen is to attach an amendment to the FAA budget or some other 'must pass' legislation. The continuing resolutions have so far made this an ineffectual strategy. Meanwhile, AOPA, the aircraft owners and pilots association, has declared the current funding bill as a temporary victory in their on-going fight against user fees.

Three airlines operating at LAX are each receiving $600,000 grants to install safety equipment that will provide pilots with their location on the airport and alert them when they're about to enter or cross a runway. Southwest, Skywest, and US Airways will each install the equipment in 20 aircraft by next May as part of a study on the system's effectiveness. An FAA study indicated that over 40% of nation-wide pilot-error runway incursions between 2004 and 2008 could have been prevented by this equipment.

A pair of SWA B737's. The blue one is a 737-500, while the brown one is a -700.
The irony here is that the new paint scheme is on the old airplane.

A Southwest 737-300 departs runway 24 left in the background, and a Westjet 737-700 taxis in the foreground. Sandwiched in between is a US Air A321 - easily mistaken for a B757.

A US Air comparison shot: a B737 in the foreground and an Airbus A320 in the background. New controllers often have a hard time distinguishing the A320-series aircraft from the B737's. This photo is one I use to help my trainees learn to recognize some of the differences. In particular, look at the shapes of the tail cones and the noses. Winglets are another clue: the Airbuses all have vestigial winglets, while the Boeings either have none at all or great big ones;
look at the winglets on the Westjet and brown Southwest above.

Lots of Southwests and US Airs: LAX Terminal One, as seen from the tower.

A pair of Skywests: A CRJ-200 in the new United colors takes the runway. while an E-120 Brasilia in Skywest's own markings waits its turn.

Scheduled A380 flights at LAX will begin next month when Qantas initiates A380 service from the Tom Bradley International Terminal on October 20th. We're also supposed to get Emirates in October, although I've heard that they're going to initiate service to Dubai using B777's.

Seein' the Blues

In this, the third installment of my series looking at blue airline paint schemes, wraps up by looking at schemes that have more than just the tail in blue. But first, some unfinished business:

The newest US Air paint scheme has a dark blue tail - so dark that it doesn't always show in pictures. The slightly lighter stripes help, but still the light has to hit it just right. This shot shows a 757, although US Air mostly operates Airbuses. In the foreground, another view of the Sun Country scheme I like, on a 737-800.

Previously, I mentioned the amount of white space around the eskimo's head on the Alaska 737's; a much better example would have been the MD80 (MD-83) tail. Alaska is rapidly phasing out their MD80's - they're expected to all be gone by the end of the summer.

Of the mostly- or solid-blue schemes, the most commonly seen at LAX is Southwest. I've heard them call this 'periwinkle'; we usually just call it a 'blue top'. There are still a modest number of the original 'corndog' Southwest jets around too. It occurred to me after the fact that teal is a more up-to-date name for the color on the AirTran aircraft.

Earlier, I showed you a Korean passenger 747; here's one of their freighters.

While everyone else has a white-topped fuselage with color on the belly and tail,
KLM has just the opposite.

One more big blue heavy, this time an Air Tahiti A340-300.

A Midwest B717 pulling into gate 36. Midwest also operates MD88's- see below.

Two attempts to show you the Air Canada very pale eggshell blue paint scheme, both on Airbus 320's, although Air Canada also brings in 319's and 321's: the top shot also shows a Midwest MD88; you can where the "Midwest Express" has been painted out. In the lower shot, a Southwest corndog sits at the gate.

Another color negative is this Alaska 737. Here you can see that this eskimo head is outlined in teal. It is on the white planes too, but very hard to see except up close.

Another trio, this time of Alaska Disney specials:

And that's it - I've had enough of the blues for a while!

Blue Tails, part Deux

As I mentioned before, I've been surprised at the number of paint schemes that feature blue on the tail. There are also a modest variety of all-blue or nearly all-blue paint schemes; you'll see a few this time, but that'll be the subject of yet another future post.

Delta had the same basic paint scheme for most of the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Then in the 90's, they went through two changes. Now, post-bankruptcy, they're changing again. I don't have any shots of the original scheme, and the first change is pretty rare these days. The shot above shows the two 90's schemes: Change one, in the background, which is fairly reminiscent of the original 'widget' design, and change two (flying flag) in front. The shot below illustrates the flying flag in the background, with the latest leaning widget design in front.

Alaska's navy blue eskimo design looked bigger on the older 737-400's; the newer -700's, -800's and -900's have a taller tail with more white space above the logo. Last time I showed a new Sun Country scheme; here's the more commonly seen blue and orange sunburst scheme, which I prefer - I like lots of color. Alaska: boring (at least this design); Sun Country: good.

Here's a better illustration of the old and new United paint schemes. That's a 757 in the new 'white top' scheme on the runway, while a 767 in the previous scheme waits in sequence.

Another view of Continental's blue tail with the golden globe on a 737 just airborne off of runway 25 right. Looming in the background is the new Airbus A380, on a publicity visit last November. We're supposed to start seeing the 380 in scheduled service here later this year; Singapore, Qantas, and Emirates have all announced intentions to bring the A380 to LAX.

Two big Boeings: A Korean 747-400 on departure roll and an All Nippon 777-300 taxiing out. The 777-300 is longer than the 747; in fact it's so long that it can't hold between the 24's on the most popular exit (taxiway AA) - a restriction that also applies to the Airbus 340-600. When either of these lands on runway 24 right, it has to be started across runway 24 left before the next arrival for 24 right crosses the threshhold. We actually had an operational error last month because an All Nippon 777-300 showed up with a new identifier (B77W) that we hadn't been briefed on; another aircraft landed behind it and rolled to the end of the runway while the B777 was holding on AA. Afterwards, it was determined that the 777 was sticking nearly ten feet into the safety zone for the runway - the incident was classified as a minor runway incursion.

All Nippon's cargo operation is Nippon Cargo, seen here rolling out on runway 25 left - you can tell that it's on landing roll because the thrust reversers are engaged: see the open slots in the engine nacelles compared to the previous picture.

More cargo, in this case a Fedex MD-11 just lifting off runway 25 left.

Another oddball: An Antonov AN-124 climbs away off the south complex. We don't see these too often thankfully, as they sit on the runway for three or four minutes before starting their takeoff roll. I have no idea what they need that long in position for, and none of their crews speak sufficient English to explain it.

A TACA A320 at Terminal 2, sandwiched between an Aviacsa 737-200 and an Air Canada Embraer 190. As I mentioned before, we haven't seen Aviacsa in a while. TACA and LACSA share the same paint scheme (like Lan Chile and Lan Peru), but they do label their aircraft with "TACA" or "LACSA" on the front of the fuselage. It's hard to tell in this picture, but the Air Canada paint scheme is all-over eggshell blue, with a bit more blue shading on the tail around the maple leaf. The Air Canada blue is even lighter than the Korean Air blue seen above. Air Canada also has a version that has a white fuselage with the same blue tail.

Big and bigger, again: An Air France 777-300 and an Air New Zealand 767-300. Air France used to bring in 747's, but nowadays they bring in 777's (-200's and -300's) and Airbus 340-300's.
New Zealand brings in 747's, 767's, and 777's.

Not quite blue, but close enough: Like Air New Zealand, AirTran (callsign: Citrus) has aqua-colored tails, except more so. The engine nacelles on this 737-700 are definitely blue. AirTran, which started out as ValuJet, also operates B717's (nee MD-95's), but they don't bring them here anymore. I did see them daily when I was in Memphis.

ATA is now defunct, but they had a variety of blue-tailed paint schemes, two of which are seen here on a couple of 757's. The upper shot is a 757-300; the lower a 757-200. Midwest (formerly Midwest Express) is another of the solid-blue contingent.

Another extinct operator: Champion had a small fleet of 727's; this was the last one we saw at LAX.

An AeroMexico trio: A better shot of the bare-metal scheme (it's hard to get a good picture of a bare-metal airplane), followed by the all-over paint scheme and a better shot of the AeroMexico Connect ERJ. The pink tail in the first shot belongs to Delta's Breast Cancer Awareness 757.

Alternative paint schemes: The Star Alliance was a international group of airlines that were code sharing and cross marketing. Lufthansa and United were among the members. Here, a Lufthansa 747 touches down on runway 24 right. This paint scheme could be confusing for controllers, as it was hard to tell who the airline was by looking out the window. Fortunately, I think it's being phased out.

I seem to recall that this North American 757 was somebody's presidential campaign visiting LA last December, but I don't remember whose it was.

A corporate 767-200 about to touch down on runway 24 right.

Another corporate airliner, but this one is 'just' a 737. Those stripes on the tail make my eyes hurt!

Another Memphis flashback: I shot this Baron on the Signature ramp about three years ago. It was operated by AirNet Express (callsign: Star Check), who was primarily a check hauler for the Federal Reserve. There used to be a big business flying checks at night, but as the banks transition over to entirely electronic systems, this segment of aviation is fading away. AirNet has diversified by also handling small packages, particularly lab samples. Not all of their planes have blue tails; ala Braniff, they also have red tails and yellow tails. That control tower in the background is the Fedex Ramp Tower.