netconnector and the tale of the lost airport

7 smart ways to bypass baggage fees

2010-07-11T17:14:00.001+02:00

7 smart ways to bypass baggage fees

Airlines rake in cash from charges, which means they're around to stay

If you need to pay a fee for every piece of hand luggage that you bring onboard, travelling easily becomes a even more expensive business. Read this article for the full story

OSL - CPH - DUS

2009-05-21T09:25:00.002+02:00

Oslo is a nice airport, but it costs you an arm and a leg to buy even the most basic stuff. So better bring your lunch bag.

Endless walkway at OSL airport

We only spent 15 minutes in Copenhagen for transfer on the flight from Oslo to Düsseldorf, but there is always time for a quick photo...

Estonian airliner at CPH Copenhagen Kastrup airport

Olympics Airlines

2008-09-08T11:33:00.003+02:00

Well, you know, I never used Olympics Airlines before. Might be because I am not really that often in Greece. But yesterday I did and I do not know what to think of it. It took the poor check in clerks 1 and a half hour to check us in. We were not really more people than you would usualy expect on a plane. But the just took their pace. So we waited, and waited. The queue was hardly moving at all. Patience is what we needed.

When I arrived at the counter, they told me and the guys waiting behind me there are no seats anymore on the plane. Wait a minute... no seats? Yes, no seats. All blocked. We panicked, and they managed to get us checked in at last. This is not really how you want a flight to start.

The plane itself had something like the "80s are back" flair in it. They used a VCR based entertainment system, and the inflight magazines looked like the just wanted to go back to the 70s. But the legroom was remarkably large, and the food was all right as well. There was that steward (no, they are called flight attendant these days). He was so big that he hardly had enough room to walk down the aisle. I have never seen such a heavy guy serving as a stewardess before. But there is always a first to everything, I assume.

In the end I guess if I can I will avoid Olympics again. Dont know, there are more professional and convenient airlines around that you can use.

LIS - Portela Lisbon Airport

2008-08-25T09:53:00.004+02:00

Getting there was a nightmare. The Brussels Airlines plane was so crowded, it was incredible. There was a felt 15cm space between my chair in Economy and the row in front, which was definitely to less for my knees.

TAP Boeing taxiing at LIS airport

But Lisbon is actually worth the tough ride to get there. Its a great city right at the ocean. Much to beautyful for a business trip...

LIS Lisbon Airport under blue sky,
palm trees at the front door - what elso could you want?

ATH - Athens Eleftherios Venizelos Airport

2008-07-12T13:30:00.000+02:00

Athens is a fantastic city - it has the most beautyful sun when it is raining under grey clouds in Belgium. Simply fantastic and hard to not be in good mood. Also the airport reflects the sunny athmosphere, it is a light and functional architecture with great views on the taxiways under the blue sky.

Definitely worth coming back and spending more time!

ATH Athens International Airport under a perfectly blue sky

ARN - Stockholm Arlanda Airport

2008-04-07T21:20:00.005+02:00

Stockholms airport is a big surprise. It is a quite, clean, friendly airpotr with virtually no crowds. What a contrast to buzzing Heathrow or Frankfurt! At ARN, you feel immediately at home, and start enjoying the great shops right away. Off course, there is not much else to do...

Stockholm is waiting!

Malaysian plane at ARN

Ethiopian plane at ARN. Wonder if they
got a cold as soon as they left the plane...

MAD Madrid Barajas

2008-04-06T13:07:00.003+02:00

When I was about to fly to Madrid, I was afraid of a terrible airport with terrible Iberia staff. Check here for what happened last time we flew Iberia. But is was not like that at all. MAD is a really modern, nice airport with great architecture.

Iberia planes waiting at MAD Madrid Barajas

Great architecture at MAD terminal 4

Iberia airbus about to be boarded

MXP Milano Malpensa

2008-03-09T18:46:00.002+01:00

MXP is a really nice airport. It is beautifully located at the southern rim of the Alps, and rather close to Milano. Not as close as Linate, but close enough. If one has time, and the weather is ok (meaning clear air to see the Alps), the view is marvelous.

Plans at Milano Malpensa with panoramic view on the Alps

Cargo liners at MXP

That was close...

2008-03-02T18:14:00.003+01:00

Hope these passengers know the difference between well trained Lufthansa pilots and other low cost carriers now. Good for them this happened in a Lufthansa plane. Have a look:

IAD - Washington Dulles Airport

2008-01-10T21:10:00.000+01:00

Actually we only wanted to visit the outpost of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum but we ended up visiting Washington Dulles Airport as well. They had these funny signs indicating a "cell phone area". Have never seen that before, and never again. Guess that means its only allowed to use a cell phone in these areas - but what happens if you get a call elsewhere? Wonder what happens if you call mom from the terminal building - will they kick you out?

Terminal Building at Dulles

Highway to the airport

Boarding passes piling up...

2007-11-01T17:56:00.000+01:00

I could not believe it when I emptied my pockets to look for a receipt I was missing. Having already thrown away most of the boarding passes of the last three months, the remaining ones still piled up. Ok, there is other stuff too. But it looks like I can call airports home again after a very relaxing break in air travel over the past year or so.

Boarding Passes and stuff from my blazer pocket

YUL Montreal Trudeau Airport

2007-06-06T22:31:00.000+02:00

I have never been there but friends brought this picture from the plane that brought them to us: the Air Canada Jazz flight on its way to Newark (EWR)

Air Canada Jazz at YUL Montreal Airport

EWR: Air Jamaica

2007-05-16T04:05:00.000+02:00

After several times at Newark without my camera I finally managed to bring it. It was either in the car or at home or the battery was low... I was waiting for nice and colorful planes to show up, and Air Jamaica came in the nick of time.

Air Jamaica and Alitalia at Newarks Terminal B

FRA Frankfurt Airport (Fraport)

2007-05-10T02:44:00.000+02:00

I really haven't been at FRA a long time. When I was in Germany the last time, I arrived at Düsseldorf's International Airport, or went to Brussels and then by car to Germany. This is why I asked somebody to take some pictures from Frankfurt airport to be posted here. I just felt it is time to have Germany represented here again. This is what I got.

A Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 at a Frankfurt terminal

A Lufthansa Airbus in Frankfurt.
What kind of Airbus is it? An A340?

MCO Orlando International

2007-04-21T13:55:00.000+02:00

When you arrive at Orlando Airport (MCO), you know you are in Florida. There are palm trees between the runways and everything looks neat and clean. The sky is blue and clouds are not to be seen. It is a really nice airport with lots of extraordinary shopping like a NASA store, Universal studios and Disney stores, and many more.

Terminal A ,Orlando International Airport

Unfortunately my cameras memory chip was full (thanks to tons of Disney pictures), so I had to look around for other peoples pictures of the two airlines that seemed to dominate the MCO terminals:

Southwest Boeing, picture taken from www.mrprophead.com

Air Tran plane, picture taken from p.airliners.net

Lake Placid Airport

2007-02-24T03:40:00.000+01:00

Little airfields without scheduled connections have their very own character. Lake Placid (IATA/FAA: LKP) is such an airfield. You hardly ever notice it, especially around this time of the year. Only offering scenic flights, it is even nice to visit and watch Cesna's take off from an all-white snow covered runway.

Lake Placid Airport

The airport is off Route 73, but the small connector from the road to the airport gate even has it's own street name. It's really cool looking...

Airport Lane @ Lake Placid

DELTA story belows consequences

2007-02-01T03:21:00.000+01:00

Belows post was written in first anger. Never do that. But this time it seems there are consequences from high up for this airline...

Check it out ;-)

But in the end, it is not an airline thats doing extraordinarily well financially. It's also not quite appealing how this report seems to show.

DELTA Airline sucks, sucks, SUCKS

2006-11-23T02:47:00.000+01:00

I hope this story really hurts Delta's stock. I could not believe it when I read that a breast-feeding woman was removed form a Freedom Air plane. Freedom Air belongs to Mesa Air Group, who in turn operates this particular connection (and many more) for Delta. Now breast-feeding women protest at airports around the U.S. to seek federal rights and protest this one mom's removal from that Delta flight.

Certainly, I will consider that when booking the next flight privately. When they have such a poor sense of what's healthy, what else can I expect? Maybe Delta's ethics towards customers is poor, too? I won't take chances. I don't book them. Period.

Read the stories:
Will nurse-in protests hurt Delta's stock? (And, should I go?): Blogging Stocks
Mothers stage national nurse-in: Los Angeles Times, CA
Metro moms stage 'nurse-in' protest: DetNews.com
Vermont incident sparks national nurse-in: BurlingtonFreePress.com
Nurse-in doing what's best for babies: OregonLive.com, OR
Mothers Stage "Nurse-In" at Airports Across US: World Hum, CA
Let nursing mothers be: Boston Globe, MA
Nurse In, Nurse Out: Nashville Scene, TN

See all related articles and believe me: DELTA SUCKS!

Air and Space Exhibitions at the Smithsonian

2006-11-12T00:56:00.000+01:00

We all were looking forward to it. No we spend a day at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. That was really great - the Spirit of St.Louis or Space Ship One are indeed very impressing. Check it out.

The NASA X-15 flew 108km high (in the 60's!)- see pictures below. Really cool aircraft:

NASA X-15, displayed at The Smithsonian

NASA X-15, displayed at The Smithsonian

Cool details about X-15

Breitling Orbiter III, the balloon unit who took Bertrand Piccard (did I spell that right?) around the world:

Famous Breitling Orbiter III, displayed at The Smithsonian

Space Ship One, the first private space craft to reache space:

Even more famous Space Ship One, displayed at The Smithsonian

Lufthansa in bad luck

2006-11-01T14:44:00.000+01:00

Ho can that possibly happen? A Lufthansa Boeing 747, headed for Frankfurt am Main, brushed a parking plane on EWR Newark Airport. Check full story at cnn.com.

Airplanes displayed on the USS Intrepid flight deck

2006-09-30T03:36:00.000+02:00

Sometimes planes don't land on airfields but somewhere else instead. For instance on this nice boat in the harbor of Manhattan. The beautyful thing is, the flight deck was loaded with planes. I took more picture than I can show. Awesome.

USS Intrepid

Grumman E-1B Tracer, displayed on USS Intrepid

Israel Aircraft Industries Kfir,
displayed at USS Intrepid

Vought F-8K Crusader, displayed at USS Intrepid

Grumman F11F (F11) Tiger, display at USS Intrepid

McDonnell F3B Demon, displayed at USS Intrepid

Grumman F14 Tomcat, displayed at USS Intrepid

And the best to end this terrific sequence...

The one and only Lockheed A-71 (SR-71) Blackbird,
displayed at USS Intrepid with Manhattans skyline in the background

Niagara Falls Int'l Airport

2006-09-07T02:52:00.000+02:00

I never touched down here, but it is nevertheless worth a picture. Just had to take one from this nice sign.

The right side of the plane

2006-05-20T22:41:00.000+02:00

If you are on the right side of the plane, you can enjoy a pretty good view on Manhattan. If not, you still see NJ ;-)

Manhattan from NJ side

Well, I prefer this side of the plane

Privat Air @ Newark Libert Airport

2006-05-20T22:31:00.000+02:00

I just found these images on my digicam. Looking forward to fly with Privat Air again. Hope it will be in late June.

Privat Air Airbus A319 at Newark Terminal

SAS at Newark Terminal

FedEex cargo liner at Newark Terminal

With Privat Air to Newark EWR

2006-04-16T22:12:00.000+02:00

That was the best business class I ever experienced. On the flight from Düsseldorf DUS to New York - Newark EWR today I used Privat Air, an airline that cooperates with Lufthansa. We were five passengers and five or six crew members. Thus, service was one-to-one, just perfect. Ok, a passenger-crew-relation like this is maybe not the usual one on a flight, but on an Easter sunday it was just right.

Privat Air Airbus A319
Picture taken from Wikipedia

So, the flight over to Newark was really enjoyable, the food was excellent, the movie selection great,and the 8 hours passed by like nothing.

Heathrow Terminal 1

2006-03-26T16:16:00.000+02:00

Honestly, the best thing at Heathrow is the departure display at the airport hotel that shows that you still have time. I wonder how this unorganized airport can be Europes biggest? They do not even have displays or something to indicate the right baggage reclaim belt. You have to actually ask someone (Terminal 1 arrivals).

Departure schedule on hotel TV

I considered that to be a terminal even worse than the old terminal of Charles de Gaulle at Paris, which already is a benchmark.

With BMI to Heathrow

2006-03-06T20:04:00.000+01:00

BMI is a funny airline. Stewardesses wear funny hats. I guess they have to wear these things. No one would do so voluntarily. Another funny thing is that after the ladies instructued us iun how to use the life jacket, the kept it on when they did the finale headcount before taking of. Looked somehow strange how the stewardesses walked the rows with the yellow life jackets still on. Dont they have trust in the pilots flying capabilities?

Arriving in London, there was no electronic indication of which baggage belt to use whatsoever. We actually were asked to ask at an information desk what belt it would be. Was that only today or does LHR realy does not have an electronic display system indicating baggage claim belts??

Airliners at BCN

2005-11-22T17:24:00.000+01:00

Have a look at these two pictures. Don't they look like illegally parked? When I saw this I got the impression they were somehow forgotten... The UK airline from EasyJet looks like its parking on the car parking area. Iberia is ------ anyway.

EasyJet at BCN airport

Iberia at BCN airport

Good old Lufthansa on the contrary is orderly attached to the bridge. Why can't the others be? Ok, maybe I am a bit too much of a German ;-)

Lufthansa at BCN airport

Barcelona BCN airport

2005-11-15T17:19:00.000+01:00

I already complained about IBERIA, which really sucks. But BCN Barcelona airport is not too bad after all. Its sometimes pretty overcrowded - especially at the IBERIA counters ... I had 7 (!) people in front of me in the queue and it took the IBERIA clerk almost an hour to proceed these 7 people. Its simply unbelievable.

Ok, I stop that now... ;-)

But at the same time you can really enjoy Spanish coffee and pastries. And Spanish coffee is really good stuff. Also the shops are superb. This way, waiting is not as bad as it is at other airports.

BCN airport

BCN airport

Big and small birds

2005-11-10T13:12:00.000+01:00

Big and small birdsat BRU
(in the background:
Lufthansa and SN Brussels)

If that is not a nice picture that has a compelling drive to make you contemplating about quetsions like "Why on earth does a plane fly?"

Imagine that little bird in the lower part of the photo keeps flying without all that fancy technical stuff, without technicians caring of his wings, without expesive-as-hell gasoline...

I wonder if that bird was following a "Follow Me" car in order to end up at this airplane parking lot?

As we moved (and I guess it was tremedously noisy outside the plane just below the turbines), the bird did not move, he just watched us leaving. Don't birds have ears??

Brussels from above

2005-11-09T08:50:00.000+01:00

Brussels from above
Picture is taken Oct 30, 2005

IBERIA - what an experience...

2005-11-07T16:04:00.000+01:00

Barcelona is kind of nice. The climate is just great, the city beautyful. But getting there is funny. The airport is spanish. Its crowded and full. Check-in stuff is amongst the slowest I have ever seen. Never fly Iberia if you are American or German, they drive you crazy. Is there something nice about Iberia as well? Hm, lets think... Yes - the painting of the planes could be worse.

IBERIA plane at Barcelona BCN airport

IBERIA plane at Brussels BRU airport

SWISS

2005-10-29T16:23:00.000+02:00

SWISS fleet at ZRH

It is only three weeks until I depart to Zurich the next time but I start to miss the Swiss planes already today. Fortunately, on the image only "real" planes are shown. Last week I returned with a Brasilian Embraer 145 jet. That was a pain. So tiny.

The tiniest plane in the world: HB-JAY
(not my photo...)

Düsseldorf Terminal

2005-10-25T15:26:00.000+02:00

Somehow you get used to an airport if you travel a lot. Nothing surprises you anymore. Except - an empty airport. That certainly is something exceptional.

Empty DUS Schengen terminal

But DUS not only has a nice interieur, also the outside is quite handsome, dont you think? I admit, its none of my photos. But its a great shot.

Outside of new DUS terminal

Swissair lets its plane rott at Mojave airfield, too?

2005-10-02T11:19:00.000+02:00

To see these two fotos shocked me. I knew there is that Mojave airfield in the deserts of Nevada where airlines let their old planes rott in order to avoid recycling costs. But I never had thought that Swissair behaves like this as well. But these pictures prove the opposite. One can clearly see the swiss cross at the tail of two planes and the painting saying "Swissair Asia" on another plane.

The Swiss cross rotting at Mojave airfield

Swissair Asia airliner at Mojave airfield

Well, its business, is it not? Sadly enough, if the environment suffers as a result. But hey, its just a bunch of metal...

Unbelivable

2005-09-30T20:04:00.000+02:00

Travelling in the air a lot, an ad like that caught my attention immediately. Its about a new law in Florida, effective October 1st. The law allows you to shoot somebody if you feel threatened. Right, you just have to feel that way - and bang. And its about to get rid of such things like prohibition of selling automatic rifles and such killer toys. I can not belive they allow potential killers to buy their weapons legally but it looks like they really do.

Brady Campaign Ad

If you can't believe this either, get yourself informed at the Brady Campaign website.

Departures, the architectural way

2005-09-27T11:53:00.000+02:00

Simply...great.
Zurich Kloten airport main departure hall. I have no idea who designed that hall but it seems to be done by an able architect. It is really a spacy feeling walking that hall.

Zurich airport architecture

Edelweiss

2005-09-26T11:51:00.000+02:00

Isn't that a great painting on these Edelweiss airplanes. I wish other airlines would paint their planes like that...
That is what I call corporate idendity transfered to a recognizable paint job.

Edelweiss airplane

ZRH one more time

2005-09-24T11:48:00.000+02:00

Now I am commuting weekly to Zurich, which brings a certain lack of new airports. Its just ZRH, every single week. That means we stick with pictures from Zurich Kloten airport for a while. But maybe we can bring some color into the matter ;-)

ZRH terminal

ZRH Terminal

2005-08-18T20:38:00.000+02:00

Wow. I never ever really had ZRH on my "fancy-airport-map". That was a mistake. Its a bright and modern-looking airport and has plenty of shopping possibilities. And if the sun is shining through the windows, its even more perfect to stroll through the airport.

ZRH terminal

But what the ... is that open door on the wrong side of the plane supposed to be? Is that something like a "bad-pilot-drop"?

Swiss Sun at ZRH

Helvetica at ZRH

2005-08-08T20:02:00.000+02:00

It is amazing, how many airlines started to paint their planes with their website addresses. Helvetic.com - seen at Zurich Kloten airport in Switzerland - is just an example. There are many more. Actually, there is hardly any European airport without these hlx.com, germanwings.de, virgin.com's anymore.

Helvetic at ZRH

Condor & Thomas Cook

2005-08-02T17:58:00.000+02:00

Aren't they somehow typical for holiday charter planes? Most people connect "Condor" with the image of beaches, palmtrees and fantastic sunsets. Founded as the holiday carrier of Germanys Lufthansa, Condor indeed has brought a lot of happy travelers to Europes beaches.

German Condor jet

Thomas Cook jet with Belgian immatriculation

The excitement of an airport

2005-07-30T21:57:00.000+02:00

What is more exciting than an airport?

A place that connects you with the world, with remote destinations, or - with home.

Flying home

IBZ Eivissa Airport

2005-07-29T17:55:00.000+02:00

Who is not dreaming of going on holiday these days? Even the folks who have been recently want to escape the offices and hit the beaches again. Well, if they do, chances are high that they will see this nice airport on th Spanish island of Ibiza.

IBZ Eivissa Terminal

But nothing lasts for ever... So these folks better get used to that entrance as well:

IBZ Eivissa Departure Entrance

ZRH Zurich Kloten Airport

2005-07-27T09:36:00.000+02:00

It's nice to travel around in the Schengen area but that does not mean airports out of the Schengen scope are not quite as fantastic. Travelling to Zurich, located in the very heart of Europe (geographically ;-), means flying ex-Schengen as well. This, off course, includes 4 times passport control for a round trip. Nothing bad about that, but it seems like travelling to a remote destination if you are used to EU domestic flights.

Jet starting at ZRH Zurich Kloten

Nevertheless, ZRH has its pros: the Duty Free area ia rather extensive, the whole airport looks very swiss. A fact, that makes using ZRH feel good and convenient. I am looking forward to the next visits at ZRH...

Fingerdock at ZRH Zurich Kloten

EDQS: Goldlauter airfield

2005-07-21T15:50:00.000+02:00

Little airfields have a special flair if you travel a lot and if you are used to and know the big ones like JFK, CDG, FRA, etc. They have grass airstrips, everything looks kind of tiny, you can be very close to the planes, its fun. In the GDR this was different. This pictures shows a postcard from EDQS airfield in Goldlauter, which was used to get potential fighter pilots used to the air in general and to flying in particular. All this was called a sport activity and officially organized in the GST (Gesellschaft für Sport und Technik, translates somewhat to 'society for sport and technics'). Today we would classify that a para-military brainwash operation.

Goldlauter airfield back in the 80s in the GDR

The airfield does still exist. If you want to have a look: www.fscs.de

Eurowings waiting

2005-07-20T17:04:00.000+02:00

Eurowings is not a bad carrier. Service is ok and I did never see a plane come done involuntarily. Which is not a bad thing either. What I particularly like is the fact, that one travels whith these small business jets. They are convenient because it does not take ages to board and they are usually just as fast in the air.

Eurowings waiting at DUS Düsseldorf Airport

Eurowings waiting at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport

Satelite 6 at CDG

2005-07-15T17:02:00.000+02:00

Actually, it is a pitty that one day CDG will be operated from new terminals only. What happens whith that old ugly terminal which has these funky satellites? Hope it will remain in use somehow. I like these morbide looks in the satellites with the 60's furnitures (maybe 70's but it certainly does not look any younger). Every time I use this subwalkway all the way below the taxiways to the satellites I think the structure will crash down every second. It really looks somehow old, to be very polite.

"Satelite 6" at Paris CDG Airport

Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport

Air China at CDG

2005-07-01T17:01:00.000+02:00

China seems far away... But not if your are on an airport. Where will this plane go to? Peking? Shanghai? Hong Kong? I am not particularly interested in China itself, but a plane like this from far away always makes me dream about long distance travelling to fancy destinations... ;-)

Air China at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport

TNT

2005-06-27T21:27:00.000+02:00

TNT is not only dynamite... Ok, that joke is pretty old. But who cares. Definitely nobody in Liege (Lüttich, Luik). They do not understand much English anyway.

Airplanes parking at
Liege Bierset Airport

TNT Cargo Plane at
Liege Bierset Airport

Paris Heliport

2005-06-25T17:05:00.000+02:00

There are as well airports which predominantly deal NOT with airplanes. Yes, happens. For example in Paris. Ok, everything is a bit different in France, but this airport fits in the picture. Its a Heliport, to be honest, and quite a busy one. Right next to the Paris Porte de Sèvre Sofitel at the edge of Issy-les-Molineaux, its a spectacular view. And a spectacular noise ;-)

Paris Heliport

Paris Heliport at Porte de Sèvre
(Issy-les-Molineaux)

Crossair HB-JAN

2005-06-10T21:29:00.000+02:00

Isn't that nice of Crossair? To name a plane after my little self...
I guess I am going to switch my travel plans in order to try Crossair (which I never tried before). That is the by far most beautyful name a plane can have: HB-JAN ;-)

Crossair HB-JAN in total

HB-JAN

Kiebitz at Liege Bierset

2005-06-09T21:28:00.000+02:00

Well, actually it was a Helimeeting at Liege Bierset Airbase. So I am supposed to show all the fancy helicopters here. But, there were much more exciting flying objects attending. Such as this oldtimer "Kiebitz". They really were kind of an attraction and they look damn good, don't they?

I am a Kiebitz - what are you?

Helimeeting Liege Bierset

2005-06-07T21:21:00.000+02:00

Usualy you would expect to see helicopters at 2005 Liege Bierset Helimeeting. Well, no problem, just go to their great website and have a look.
THIS YEAR, however, it was even more exciting than just watching helicopters doing loopings in midair. This year, there were French Mirage, Belgian F-16, and other much more exciting stuff exhibited.

Kids testing a Belgian Airforce F-16's structural integrity

And the kids really had their fun looking at all the fighter jets, oldtimer planes, and helicopters. And - honestly - I have never touched a F-16 in my live either. Doesnt it look innocent, this cute plane. It never crosses your mind how many people have already been killed with that kind of jet...

French Airforce Mirage jets at Liege Bierset

Got ya!

2005-05-21T17:13:00.000+02:00

What is the other jet doing over there? Is he just curiously looking for something? I'd like to see the picture taken from the other jet ;-)
What a great shot!!

Got ya!

Good bye Berlin

2005-05-16T20:38:00.000+02:00

Time to say good bye to Berlin and Hello to the Lufthansa Cityliner Canadair 100 again. One hour later Brussel International Airport in Berlgium will welcome us.

Good Bye Berlin

Berlin

2005-05-11T22:53:00.000+02:00

Oh, how I love Berlin! Every stone breaths history. Especially in a week like this when the Holocaust Memorial is opened to the public. Berlin is a perfect place to take a stroll on a mild may evening. And it is an exciting experience to touch down at Berlins city airport Tegel with a tiny Canadair 200 which brought us here from Brussels today. Not too big, in the middle of the city (poor people living in the neighborhood). And walking on Potsdamer Platz, Branderburg Gate, etc. its just amazing. Great city!

Signs at Berlin Tegel

Lufthansa CityLiner Canadair 200 Jet

Brandenburger Tor at 60. WW II anniversary

Dont mess with Swiss pilots

2005-05-09T17:11:00.000+02:00

Thomas, how do you come so close to a Swiss jet fighter?

Dont forget to close the window

Aachen Merzbrück airfield

2005-05-06T09:07:00.000+02:00

Wow - the rain stopped and the sun came out...
What a great day it eventually became to go outdoor and do some biking with friends. Guess what, off course we headed towards Aachen Merzbrück airfield, where some training in little Cessnas was going on. Funny watching, especially for the kids.

Flying student approaches airfield

WWII oldtimer is about to start
great roaring ;-)

Aachen Merzbrück airfield

Schaffen-Diest Airfield

2005-05-05T08:06:00.000+02:00

Its a national holiday in almost al major european countries today. But Fortuna is still sound asleep - it is raining cats and dogs. No chance to go to the coast or do something else outdoors. All that remains is to remember the great airshow we went to last year at the Schaffen-Diest airfield in Flanderen close to Hasselt. Great for the kids, great for us. I never saw that beautiful flying oldtimers before. Hope we will have a chance to go there this year as well...

Flying oldtimer at Schaffen-Diest airfield

The sign in the window reads "TE KOOP" - for sale.

Rainy Airfield

2005-05-03T09:48:00.000+02:00

Just a nice airfield in the rain. There is nothing more comfortable than sitting in a plane with hot coffee, watching the rain outside spraying people without hot coffee...

without words...

Swiss Formation

2005-05-01T17:08:00.000+02:00

Again, what a great shot Thomas provided us with! To take this kind of picture, you have to have some connections. But look at the sky, the planes, the formation they are flying. Just great! This really promotes flying in the open sky...

Great swiss skies

upper vs lower wing

2005-04-29T09:50:00.000+02:00

After some 70 flights in the past 9 months or so I start building up preferences for certain airplanes. I have always enjoyed sitting in a nice and cousy Airbus, looking out of the window and gaze at the open and endless sky. Preferably in an Austrian plane, due to their awsome service and politeness.

Typical Austrian Airbus
Well, one can not always have the best. Alternatives are rare but available. My recent experience with SN Brussels Airline shows that a certain level of service can be reached even by other airlines but the planes... I guess an top wing Avro RJ85 has its advantages. There must be some. But well hidden. Now I was so lucky to get an window seat for the second time, only to have that funny roaring engine again 2 meters next to my ears. No walkmen could ever match up with that.

Typical SN Brussels Regioiner
There is almost no chance at all to avoid having that engine in the range of view. Looking at the alps over there? Must be somewhere behind the engine...

Blocked view at Avro RJ85 airplane

A380 is flying

2005-04-27T23:59:00.000+02:00

A380 is flying!!
Picture taken from Spiegel-Online

SN Brussels Avro RJ85

2005-04-27T11:22:00.000+02:00

Sabena. Does that ring a bell? There was something. Yes, the former Belgian airline that went bancrupt some years ago... Nowadays they call themselves SN Brussels Airline. Sounds somehow domestic, regional, limited. The good thing is, SN Brussels managed to gain ground again and turn losses into a small profit last year. So, why don't give it a try? SN Brussels is serving the Brussels - Vienna connection using these topwing Avro planes that cause subway feelings as I have already mentioned. Back then, it was Lufthansa. I was curious how SN Brussels uses these planes.

Lucky me, I got a window seat. Perfect, or so I thought. I was seated right under the topwing, meaning very limited overhead bin space and not much of a view either. But still, I finid these planes highly interesting. There are not much planes which have the wing on the top side and thus allow you to have a look at the engine in its full beauty.

Off course, its a beauty if you are a plane engineer. I am not.

Who cares, SN Brussels managed to touch down 10 min ahead of schedule. That was just great. I never had anything like this. Normally you see delays or even cancelations. But being ahead of time? Perfect.

the airplane, waiting for me

2005-04-26T11:34:00.000+02:00

Can you imagine something better than a plane waiting for you at 4am? Yes, you can? Hm, guess you are right - what a crazy idea to board planes if it is still pitch dark.

Zaventem Main Entrance

Deserted Zaventem Terminal

SN Brussels Avro RJ85 airplane,
waiting for us to board

.

A380 - only two days left

2005-04-25T12:16:00.000+02:00

It is only two days left until A380 takes off for its maiden test flight!

A380, the biggest one
Just in case you ar ecurious about what others are writing about it...
Der Spiegel, Germany
News.com, Australia
Xinhuan China News, China
AirWise News
Scotsman, UK
Reuters

Or just look at Google News ;-)

2005-04-24T17:24:00.000+02:00

Even air transport says "good bye" now to wintertime. Thanks god. Can't stand more winter, more icy temperature, more frozen windshields.
;-)

see you, winter

Overweight

2005-04-23T16:23:00.000+02:00

They got me. They? Air Berlin. Never ever was I asked to check my baggage in because of overweight. Ok, the main reason was I never used the check-in desk but these nice automated check-in machines that aski no questions. Furthermore, the size of my baggage did always fit and match the cabin lugage limits. No problem there. It was just too heavy. So I got something that I hardly saw before: a baggage claim or whatever this is called. Hope the next time I see one of these check-in machines again.

McDonalds Schwechat

2005-04-17T18:07:00.000+02:00

What do you do if you are a pilot sitting in a cockpit and lusting for a Hamburger? Right. You just get one. What was McDrive made for?!

This picture was taken at McDonalds Schwechat, close to Vienna International Airport and shows an old Austrian Airlines plane which is today in use for parties like kid birthdays at McDonalds. Nice, isn't it?

McDonalds Schwechat

Jet feeling

2005-04-16T14:38:00.000+02:00

What a great shot! Thomas gave me this fantastic picture which was taken in the skies above Zürich Kloten Airport in Switzerland. Just great.

Just phantastic!

Lufthansiberiafinnair

2005-04-14T17:46:00.000+02:00

I like airports. Especially when they remind me of what "Schengen" means. Is it not a great feeling to experience free travel throughout Europe? It just great. Nothing less. This picture was taken yesterday in the late afternoon at Vienna Airport, Schengen terminal.

Just imagine how it would be, say, if we still had to show our passports crossing the border from germany to Austria, from Belgium to the Netherlands, etc. It is much better the way it is now. And faster. And more convenient.

Lufthansa - Finnair - Iberia

DUS Terminal

2005-04-13T18:01:00.000+02:00

I have bitched about Cologne/Bonn airport enough in this blog. But I never posted my favourite terminal at Düsseldorf International (DUS). This is how it looks like. For those of you who want to know ;-)

Terminal at Düsseldorf International

DUS and Air Berlin

2005-04-12T20:19:00.000+02:00

Well, after the experience of Cologne/Bonn airport last week I am convinced that I am going to avoid this particular airport where ever I can. So for this week I traveled with Air Berlin from Düsseldorf (DUS) to Vienna. I have to admit, low-cost airlines are not anymore what they are used to be. Today, I got perfect service. Coffee, tea, soft drinks - no problem. Even a sandwich was included. Not even Austrian Airlines, proud partner in Star Alliance, offers sandwiches for free anymore. Low-cost carrier Air Berlin does. I think we have to change the way we look at the low-cost airlines today. Germanwings last week was also not that bad. Well, thats the situation, folks.

Air Berlin with these fancy winglets

CGN and Germanwings - what a combination

2005-04-04T17:44:00.000+02:00

I complained about CGN airport (Cologne / Bonn) earlier in this blog. Todays flight with Germanwings to Vienna fully supported my view at CGN once more. What a tiny terminal, crowded, and not convenient to move in at all. Compare it with Brussels, Vienna, Duesseldorf, you name it. All better than Cologne.

Germanwings on the other hand was quite a pleasant surprise. Being a low cost carrier, Germanwings still offered good service, convenient online booking, and was right in time. Unless some Austrian flights to the same destination that I was forced to experience earlier. This does not mean I dislike Austrian's service - it is still the best I have seen so far with domestic european flights.

Waiter X-ing

2005-04-03T15:57:00.000+02:00

For all people who ever wanted to know how to secure a waiters way across a street if the bistro is located on one site but the guests are to be served on the other site of the street, here comes the solution. What a sign! This picture was taken at Aachen Kornelimünster's (Germany) old train station which is a bistro nowadays.

Waiter X-ing

Fearless and carefree

2005-03-24T19:08:00.000+01:00

Well, at least I haven't changed the airline at all. Statistically, how exactly is the likelihood that something like the accident shown in the previous post happens twice to the same airline in a short period of time? I guess very small. So I stick to AUA.

Don't believe me? Just look at the date on the boarding receipt. Isn't that fearless, isn't that incredibly courageous? You name the superlative ;-)

Maybe I should change the airline?

2005-03-22T16:41:00.000+01:00

Austrian Airlines had such a high reputation as everyone can easily read in this blog. Today, this reputation was shaked quite a bit. Not because of bad service, not because of unfriendly personell, no - because of an 12 month old picture I accidently have found in an Austrian newspaper:

AUA, this hurts.
Picture taken from Die Presse at www.diepresse.com
Well, this seems to be a Fokker 100, which is not much used on the connection I regularly fly (BRU-VIE), but nonetheless it gives a bit of a feeling when boarding the next time. Which is in 3 hours in my case. Hope I get an Airbus or something more safe than this piece of wheel-less airplane.

Vienna Airport

2005-03-17T22:27:00.000+01:00

Even though I am rushing through Vienna Airport an average of 1-2 time each week, its always nice to be here. Compared with other airports. Take CGN (Köln/Bonn) for example. A real pain. Parking is an adventure and getting to the right gate is even more adventurous. It always hits me like a hammer if I am forced to depart from CGN instead the usual Brussel Zaventem Airport BRU (which is very nice as well, just to mention it). Really no fun.

Vienna is different. Its never crowded. I mean, really crowded. And even if so, its easy going. The architecture permits to wait in relaxed surroundings. The shops are nice. It is a pleasure and no pain if waiting is necessary. And I really have to wait sometimes...

Gates at VIE

Waiting area at VIE

Alps from above

2005-03-04T18:27:00.000+01:00

Look at this marvelous picture showing the alps from right above. Unfortunately there was no camera available to take the picture myself, so I had to help myself with this picture from www.pilotenbilder.de. But nevertheless, flying over the alps in wintertime is just a great experience (if the clouds allow to see something).

One thing I can tell you: March 3 was a great day to enjoy a picturesce panorama like this.

Snow Desert in Goldlauter/Thur.

2005-02-28T20:28:00.000+01:00

'Snow Desert' at Goldlauter, Thuringia, Germany
Ferbruary 2005

Eventually it has snow in Eastbelgium

2005-02-20T17:18:00.000+01:00

Wow, haven't we been waiting for months for snow? Yes we have. Eventually someone up there in heaven has heard us. It's snowing and snowing and snowing. Not in Thuringia, not in Austria, no - here in Eastbelgium. Cross country skiing at Ternell or Mont Rigi, downhill skiing or fun with a sleight at Ovifat? No problem! Just unbelievable, thus enjoy it as long as it will be possible. And usually that's not a long time before we put our ski back and store them for another 11 month and 15 days ;-)

Snow in Eastbelgium

Again, Vienna in snow

2005-02-17T11:55:00.000+01:00

It is just beautyful to be in Vienna in such a marvelous winter time. The pictures were found at the ORF website. Have a look:

Theft Protection

Vienna Birdhouse

Where is the water?

Vienna drowns in snow

2005-02-16T22:42:00.001+01:00

Ok, its not quite drowning but close. Messed up air and ground traffic. Major delays everywhere. Fun. But amusing fun if you are in a taxi, have no headache with removing snow from a completely covered car, and watching the mess outside. And Vienna is nice in wintertime. Just marvelous, beautyful, white.

Its definitely worth visiting Vienna in winter time. Try it. Enjoy it. Have a good coffee at "Café Museum" or "Café Schwarzenberg" and enjoy watching Japanese struggling with an Austrian menu.

Artis International, Vienna

2005-02-15T13:00:00.000+01:00

This is the Artis cinema near Viennas Judenplatz. I am kind of a regular in here due to its non-synchronized movies. I like watching movies in their original version without translations which sometimes kill every spark of fun in a movie. Unfortunately.

Just take it as a hint. It is never overcrowded, hope it remains like this. It is never deserted either, so one is never the only loonely. For more information, here we go.

Chinese New Year

2005-02-11T16:40:00.000+01:00

Ever been in London for Chinese New Year? Well, I haven't been there for that particular reason either. But it is nonetheless worth traveling there to see it. But who cares, in Chinatown we asked a local Chinese for the way (he was handing out flyers for a local china restaurant). He didn't even spoke one single word in English. Gosh. Surprise. Just like the Frensh in Paris, but thats another story.

If you are ever in London for business or private purpose, don't miss a chance. Being there for the second time, I only noticed it's just very likely to get infected with the well known shopping syndrome. A disease known to infect especially women. But also men are not immune. Dangerous places are Regent and Oxford Street. Camden Town and Charing Cross are not safe either. At the end of the day, it's up to you to decide to take the risc or not. Good thing is, Harrods closes down at 7. That limits the damage to your bank account.

A remedy can be found. Wether you look for the right treatment in a nice and cosy restaurant at Shepard Market or just the Hard Rock Cafe at Picadilly. Take your pick. Some even hear through the grapevine that The Mousetrap, played in the 53rd year, cures the shopping disease as well pretty good.

Rheinischer Karneval

2005-02-07T20:19:00.000+01:00

Ever heard of Rosenmontag? If not your a really poor guy. Well, just have a look at this nice article in Yahoo! News, this very nice bit of information from Deutsche Welle or just look here what even Al Jazeere runs about it. To get a good impression abou what happens if the "Jecken" are loose you have to go and look for yourself. Pictures just don't tell the real story - but nonetheless, here are some.

Scene from the "Oecher Karneval" in Aachen, Germany

Another scene from the "Oecher Karneval" parade in Aachen, Germany

Want to relax from the big and beautyful parades like the one in Aachen or Cologne? No way - enjoy it or leave the country. But sometimes even leaving the country won't help. The whole area has parades - lots of parades. Take Tongeren in Belgian Limburg: also in Belgium carnival is not unknown to the people.

Scene from the carnival in Tongeren, Belgian Limburg

Carnival sticker 2005 from Tongeren, Belgium

Subway feeling

2005-01-29T17:23:00.000+01:00

It was so spacy at Munich Airport Franz Josef Strauß that I felt completely comfortable about the upcoming flight. Friday early afternoon, just a couple of scattered people hanging around the gate waiting for the boarding to begin. Well, hm, thats what it sure looked like.

The n out of nowhere they came. Masses. Crowds. Like flies. Unbelievable. There was a chance. At Munich Airport, Quick Boarding is allowed. Quick Boarding is a nice thing. If you have an etix you can board without passing the flight attendants by just crossing an automated ticket check & validate system. Fast. Perfect. Secure.

But not for me. For a reason unknown to me, TODAY I got no etix. The last 45 flights had all been WITH etix, but today I just had that pre-WW II paper something. Well, elbows work just as good, so we finally boarded. Ever been in a British Aerospace Avro Lufthansa Cityliner? Don't try. You feel like in Tokyo subway at rush hour. Luckily, flying from MUC to BRU is not more than 60 min, usualy.

BA Avro Lufthansa Cityliner

Nothing but Hilton

2005-01-26T19:24:00.000+01:00

I am sure there are other stories out there about service in international business hotels. But a place where service really works is the Hilton Munich Park Hotel. Service is a subjective thing, measured by soft means, felt by highly different people in highly different ways. But the folks at the Hilton Munich Park are doing a fine job.

What is true needs to be said. At least in this situation.

BRU - VIE - MUC - BRU

2005-01-25T21:45:00.000+01:00

What are the four enemies of somebody who tries to get to an airport on time?
Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.

Listening to news about the blizzard that covers the north eastern US with close to 1m of beautyful white snow, it seems funny to talk about winter here at all. Up to 4 cm snow are already causing a nice mess on our highways. Driving to Brussels with heavy snow fall but no street service in sight was an adventure already. But that's just a whimps story... Reality hit when I was sitting on Lufthansa flight LH 3559 heading heading from Vienna to Munich. Oh how charming the Austrian flight attendents have been at Lauda Air or Austrian Airlines. Explaining how to use an oxygen mask with that perfect Austrian accent is just without comparison. You almost wish to have to use it.

Lufthansa goes the effective way. Even though the flight attendents are very polite and nice, it sounds like if orders are given. "Because of security reasons, please put the heavy and large baggage under the seat in front of you!" If I am not mistaken it was the other was round with Lauda. We were allowed to put the heavy stuff up in the overhead storage. Security reasons? Who knows... Funny though we reached Munich without any incident.

Happy conference

Munich Airport Bagage Pick Up

Herbesthal

2005-01-23T10:10:00.000+01:00

It's been a long time ago, but still - Herbesthal was quite famous back then. Being the last station before the Belgian border, an important share of the german military WW I traffic heading for the western front ran through this small village on the very western brink of Germany. The train station is ancient history, demolished by the wallonian authorities in the early 1980's. The bridge above the track is still standing, laden with the burden of modern car traffic and pretty much looking like never been renovated since WW I.

Bridge in Herbesthal, being the border between Belgium and Germany in WW I

Former Herbesthal train station in the 1910s

We love IKEA

2005-01-21T22:36:00.000+01:00

We just love IKEA

We are prepared. We spend literally hours in order to write down all the things we need to buy at IKEA. We end up with a marvelous piece of paper that shows about everything we need. We call it Einkaufsliste and are proud because we are not the kind of people who rush into a shop and buy spontaneously a lot of useless but well advertised stuff. No, we are prepared. Well prepared.

Why are we doing this?

Easy. To ignore it right after we enter IKEA. Then we stop at the very first possible chance and look at things that we already know. things that we have already seen both in real live and in the catalogue. Things that we always said of to be very nice but not quite necessary at the moment. We decide to have forgotten lots of stuff on the Einkaufsliste we prepared in so great detail. We need more than one of these yellow bags that would easily cover two families in case of emergency. We need two.

Are we happy about this?

Despite the tough moments at the cashier we always and without exception love what we buy. Even though it sometimes doesn't even try to match all the items on our fancy Einkaufsliste. We are tough. We love to assemble it all together. We love IKEA.

And IKEA loves us. I am pretty sure about that. In order to not concentrate that customer love too much we try to scatter. Ikea Hognoul, Ikea Heerlen, Ikea Köln, Ikea Düsseldorf. You name it. It works. They don't recognize us. We feel anonymous and safe. No need for looks over the shoulder. We have our new kitchen and its a puzzle made of different IKEAs. Truly european.

Good old european.

The Dutch police and the Good in all of us

2005-01-14T06:30:00.000+01:00

Ever violated the speed limit in The Netherlands?

Well since the Dutch seem to be rather liberal with everything they do, why shouldn't it be the same thing with them enforcing speed limits. Having used a German licence plate on Dutch soil, they could get confused if it comes down to my Belgian ID.

I just love open borders.

Hope the Dutch police feels the same way.

Vienna

2005-01-11T21:50:00.000+01:00

Vienna has its advantages, it is just sometimes hard to get there. Especially if it is that foggy at the Vienna airport that almost no air traffic is allowed by the authorities. 7 AM in the morning means no fun at all waiting at Brussels airport for the delayed start of the flight to Vienna. The airport is deserted and empty. It is quite and atypical. Todays newspapers are waiting to be read.

Two newspapers later, every delay starts getting boring. Lucky me, the laptop battery is not yet fully run down. So lets plan how to best attack the day! It will be hard enough to fit the days topics into the actual day which is now already lacking valuable time. Even though the day started 5 AM, there is no chance to be in office before 10.30. Good thing is, Vienna is not a bad location to spend some time. Even in the office.

Tsunami

2005-01-06T14:49:00.000+01:00

South East Asia Tsunami Disaster
For donations click here.
Thanks.

Nice and a good start

2005-01-06T14:14:00.000+01:00

It's nice outside. Even though we have early January the temperature almost reached comfortable 10°C.
Walking over to the cafeteria brings up early expectations for the 2005 spring. Having this in mind, its a perfect time to restart this blog since early postings are already way back anyway. Don't hesitate to contact me if you would like to comment on what you see.