Our newest newest Dreamliner

It was just a week ago that I showed you pictures of what was, at the time, the latest B787 operator at LAX. But that's now old news, as we have an even more recent addition to the stable of B787 users at LAX: AeroMexico brought in a Dreamliner for the first time this weekend, beginning daily B787 service between Los Angeles and Mexico City. AeroMexico is the first carrier to park a Dreamliner at Terminal Two. The shot below shows that first B787 being towed onto the gate on Sunday while airport and airline personnel monitor to ensure that it fits without complications.

Our first AeroMexico B787 gets towed onto Gate 24, between an AeroMexico B737-800 at Gate 22 and an Air Canada B767-300 at Gate 26.

I don't think I've ever shown you a Dreamliner from this perspective

The obligatory 'airplane with a truck for size perspective' shot

The two Mexican carriers at LAX; we used to have more (Mexicana, Aero California, and Aviacsa come to mind)

Speaking of carriers we've lost, this shot and the next both show something that is about to disappear from the scene at LAX. The SkyWest E120 Brasilias are in their final days at LAX; they're expected to be gone sometime next month.

This Mesa CRJ9 wears the US Airways Express livery; US Air will cease to be in another day or two. Although many of the aircraft have yet to be repainted in American or American Eagle colors, the mainline Cactus callsign will be discontinued on Wednesday or Thursday.

Dreamliner comparo

This line-up of departures waiting for runway 24 Left seemed like a perfect opportunity to show the Dreamliner's size in relation to other common airliners. From the left: United B757-300; Virgin America A319; United B787-8; Southwest B737-700 (about to touch down on Runway 24 Left); Delta B767-300; Delta (Compass) E170 (pulled up to the runway); Virgin America A320 (on the concrete pad). Meanwhile, in the foreground at Terminal Two, from the lower left: AeroMexico  Connect (Costera) E145 at gate 22; Volaris A320 at 24A; TACA A321 at 26; Air China B777-300 at gate 25; WestJet B737-700 at gate 21. Over at Terminal One, the two Southwest jets on gates 12 and 14 both appear to be B737-700s. This shot is also kinda neat in that it has a representative of each of the Boeing commercial twin-jet families: B737, B757, B767, B777, B787. And no, I didn't forget the B717, I just don't consider it a Boeing product. It's an MD95 with a Boeing nametag, and we don't get any of them here anymore anyway.

Speaking of Boeing twin-jets, here's another shot that shows all the heavy Boeing twins:

Our newest Dreamliner

As of mid-March, LAX has another carrier bringing the Dreamliner to Los Angeles. Japan Airlines has introduced the B787 on a new (for them) route that restores passenger service between LAX and Osaka's Kansai airport. Prior to this, the only service between Los Angeles and Osaka was a daily cargo flight operated by China Airlines (callsign: Dynasty). Some time back, EVA Air offered passenger service to Kansai, but that was at least four or five years ago. Coincidentally, both China Airlines and EVA Air are both Taiwanese carriers. Kansai airport is on an artificial island in Osaka Bay; nominal flight time from LAX is just under twelve hours. Japan Air's Dreamliners are noteworthy for their comparatively low seating capacity: each of the other B787 operators at LAX have their B787-8s configured for well over 200 passengers, while Japan Air's aircraft seat 186.

Boeing pix

This is for all of you who believe that I can only take pictures of A380s. I grant that recent posts would lead one to that conclusion, so today's post will be exclusively Boeing products. The opening features an AeroMexico B737-800 with the new split scimitar winglets developed by Aviation Partners. United was the first carrier to put these on their planes; I also have seen them on Alaska, Southwest, and WestJet.

Kalitta Air (callsign: Connie) is a regular at LAX, but rarely seen during daylight hours. I got lucky last week when they showed up -- not only during the day -- but also on Runway 24 Left:

Next, we have another arrival:

Now that FedEx has retired their B727s, the B757 is the smallest FedEx airplane we see at LAX. At the moment, I believe we get two per day; the remainder of the FedEx flights are A300s, DC-10s, and MD-11s. 

United is the first carrier to bring the stretched B787-9 to LAX. The shot above shows a B787-9 getting towed onto the gate, while a "normal" B787-8 rolls for departure. Below, a B777-200 passes behind in a shot taken slightly earlier.