British Airways - To Fly To Serve

British Airways is on something of a resurgence.

Its latest advert, shown this week for the first time, is carrying on its predecessors new work in showing BA as a full service carrier, investing in its fleet and product, emphasising Value For Money, not low cost and above all pushing its new slogan To Fly To Serve

To Fly To Serve Advert

BA mainly operate out of London using Heathrow, Gatwick and City Airports, but also Cargo flights out of Stansted are run on a BA liveried B747-8F. BA are park of the ONE World Allicance including major airlines like Cathay Pacific, American Airlines, LATAM, QANTAS and JAL. Their Executive Club rewards can be redeemed on all these carriers. 

After buying bmi last year, the full integration of that carrier has allowed a number of new destinations to be launched such as Leeds-Bradford, Eindhoven, Zagreb and most recently Austin, TX using the newly delivered Boeing 787-8. 

Have a look at some of the best BA images i've taken of British Airways aircraft on the link below. Should you be looking for travel or want to know more about BA, then check out ba.com for pricing and offers.

British Airways Pictures on Plane Sight Images

BA website

An A320 recently arrived at Barcelona

A Boeing triple 7 arrives in Bermuda

During a turnaround in Bermuda this Gatwick based Triple 7 basks in the sunshine

In Innsbruck an A319 awaits de-icing

A Boeing 747-400 in a right turn from runway 09R at Heathrow

American Airlines, a oneworld member, Boeing 777-200 cuts through a contrail leaving Heathrow

A BA 319 leaving Heathrow and an RAF C-17 above

Some friendly crew in Amsterdam

Dreamliner turns into a Nightmare at Oslo-Dear!

For a recent trip to Oslo I managed to combine my work with a desire to try out the Dreamliner. Norwegian.com an airline with a heavy presence in Oslo were using their newly delivered Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner for crew training on their busy Oslo to Gatwick services. For just £49 I managed to get a seat aboard the Gatwick bound service on a Sunday evening. 

A typical line up in Oslo

  Outbound from London that morning I used the SAS service from Heathrow's Terminal 3. At only £110 one way versus in excess of £200 on BA and Norwegian - by combining airlines and being flexible with airports I saved over £100 if I had just booked a straight return flight with any of the 3 carriers flying this route.

Norwegian have brought about a lot of competition for SAS across Scandanavia, using low fares, high frequency, and latterly new aircraft to create a good reliable service. Nowhere more so is this evident than at Oslo's Gardermoen Airport. Norwegian is introducing long Haul services to Bangkok and the US, using the B787 Dreamliner. With all the extra flights, transit passengers, and natural growth in services from Europe to Oslo, the Terminal has become very congested. For my visit, the excitement was tempered by the Long Que at security, then another long Que to get to the Non Schengen departure lounge where the 250 passengers on our flight mixed with another 500 or so passengers going to New York on Norwegian, London on BA & SAS and a Thomas Cook A330-300 with 405 seats preparing for departure in a few hours to Bangkok. In addition the small collection of Cafes, Bars and one fast food outlet were inundated - yet the massive Duty Free shop you are forced to walk through was doing a roaring trade!



Too late by two years, Oslo has started to expand the airside piers of the airport, with a major addition of a 3rd Pier extending outwards. For the next 18 months however passengers will be very frustrated at busy times with Oslo's poor planning. 


The Dreamliner however, was a very good flight, with the extra size of the windows, better lighting and overhead storage creating a sense of space and comfort for all. Norwegian have a small Premium cabin at the front 5 rows, sets in a 2-3-2 configuration. In the Economy section that becomes 3-3-3.

  

For plane spotters keen to spend a day at Norway's Premier airport, then views are limited from the Main terminal area, save for the main 01R/19L Runway, where after mid day from the end of the terminal complex on the departures level, great views of the ramp can be had, along with the runway (albeit subject to heat haze in summer). Those needing elevation can also go to the adjacent car park and go to the top level. Initially you'll be disappointed with the fence that is too high to photograph over, but walk along to the point where the car park re-angles itself and a gap allows views over the Schengen part of the pier, the main pier, as well as anything taxing to or using Runway 01R/19L. For those wishing to see the Domestic, GAT and Cargo area, then views are had from inside the terminal and turning left after security. Or for the more intrepid a walk or bus to the Comfort Hotel near Runway 01L will allow for better views.

For more pictures like the ones shown, or to have a look at other aircraft related images then please click through to my website : Oslo Pictures @ Plane Sight Images

EI-LNA, The first dreamliner for Norweigian.com; arrives from Malaga

SAS continues to battle with Norwegian at Oslo

in flight with the dreamliner in a right turn

Spotting Heathrow Boeing 787-8's

A glimpse of the future today, near back to back Boeing 787's including the delivery of the second British Airways Boeing 787-8, G-ZBJA. A large crowd of spotters had gathered at Myrtle Ave, just to the south of the landing runway today 27L.

Enjoy a selection of the pictures I took today below, however more can be found by clicking on my website at: Plane Sight Images

VT-ANM Air India Boeing 787-8

G-ZBJA British Airways Boeing 787-8 landing - with a nice view of the wing!

Another view of G-ZBJA 

A late running Ethopian Boeing 787 was welcome at LHR operated by ET-AOS

Terror in the Skies - Channel 4, Episode 4

So, today's dose on sensationalized crap, shows a plane struck by lightning. "Stunned onlookers" Basically they had a lightning strike, it overpowered the Circuit Breakers. What I hate is that they just gloss over that the plane lands safely and they say "Everyone Survived". What is the point exactly, what are they trying to say??? They don't mention the fact that there are very few, if any, Lightning strike planes that have crashed, and none in the past 20 years alone!

The China Airlines crash had a lot more factors than the Wind shear alone, the Thomson plane landed safely, the BA plane shook for 10 minutes !!!! All very scary stuff, but surely not enough to draw a conclusion that Aviation and flying is a terrifying event?? Ash forecasting has improved a whole lot more since the BA 747-200 incident south of Indonesia. Yet no more detailed information on ASHTAMS is given. Basically if you want to watch shaky footage of aviation incidents, go on you tube. Its not a basis of a documentary where the title pre-conditions you to feel that 

So please Channel 4 - sod off with your sensationalist crap! Professor Brendon Walker, i'm embarrassed for you

An Austrian Airlines B777-200 cruising high above London - Today!

To Win.... Or Toulouse?

Tomorrow I'm off to Toulouse to find an A350 to take some pics of, so watch this space......

With a bit of luck, there will be some A380's, A330's and ATR's all being readied for delivery!

Will post pics of the trip on www.plane-sight-images.photoshelter.com - please stop by and have a look at the site. Everything is available for purchase on there in every conceivable way it can be printed!

An ATR72 built in Toulouse - seen at Farnborough Airshow 2010

Hopefully there will be a few of these coming and going through the day!

My Chariot to TLS - A British Airways A320

Watching Easterly Heathrow Departures

When the wind blows out the East, Heathrow uses the Southern Runway for departures (known as 09R). This has the effect that to avoid flying over central London, aircraft take off and make a turn to the left over Wembley and follow the M35 to the East, or M1 to the North. Those turning right make a gentle correction and aim for Gatwick and then fly East to Dover. Finally the US bound departures make a 140-160 degree right turn, at low altitude producing some very good opertunities for pictures like below. Have a look at more of these shots on my site at www.plane-sight-images.photshelter.com contained in the Heathrow Winter 2012 folder.