Shots of the day: Uncommon visitor

LAX sees Antonov An-124s periodically, but a much less common visitor is the smaller Ilyushin IL-76. This one came in right at sundown one recent evening.

 

Happy Boxing Day!

When I saw this cloud formation, it made me think of a jellyfish. Or the starship Enterprise.

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.

Shot of the day: Load it up!

We see Antonov An-124s occasionally; I caught this one early one morning with both ends opened up for loading. On the topic of freighters, here are a few more:

Lufthansa Cargo has brought MD-11s into LAX for quite some time; this is one of the first of their B777s to be seen here  (thanks to TB for this shot)

Cathay Pacific brings both B747-400s and -800s into LAX; this is an -800. The longer -800 can be distinguished by the lack of winglets as well as the larger engine cowlings; compare to the Air China -400 seen below:

The sharp-eyed among you will notice that while this Air China B747-400 is marked Cargo, it did not begin life as an all-cargo aircraft. The long hump on the fuselage marks a passenger model; compare to the Cathay cargo -800 above.