Airlines | Lufthansa Flyer

‘Paine’ Spotting February 2015: Part I

by Lufthansa Flyer | Feb 17, 2015 | Airlines, Airports, Featured, Photography, Plane Spotting | 0 comments

If you’ve been visiting LH Flyer over the past few days, you might be thinking that the only things happening at Paine Field last week were related to Lufthansa aircraft. Granted, Lufthansa did take delivery of their last Cargo 777 (D-ALFE), they did unveil the much anticipated Retro Livery on one of their 747-8i (D-ABYT), and of course there was yet another 747, D-ABYS, that underwent her final flight tests ahead of delivery to LH. For those of you that may have missed some of these moments, you can find those posts here:

D-ALFE: Lufthansa Cargo’s last 777F

D-ABYS: Final test and customer flights ahead of delivery.

D-ABYT: Part I (First Looks & Inaugural Flight), Part II (Return From Inaugural Flight), Part III (Additional photos).

However it was a busy week at Paine Field for other carriers as well. Several airlines took deliveries of their newest birds, Boeing unveiled a few newly painted planes and a variety of test flights filled the 3 days that I spent there. I’m glad that I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in Everett since it’s location right next to the airport made it easy to see everything that was going on, even in the middle of the night!

Because of the amount of photos, I’ll break this plane spotting post into 2 or 3 parts. Part 2 and 3 will follow in the next few days.

To see my other Plane Spotting related posts, please visit the Plane Spotting Index or Aero-Shots.com where you can see my growing collection (i.e. work in progress) of Airline photographs.

Enjoy!

Cathay’s B-KQV enters the runway for her test flight

A new United 787 departs on her final test flight prior to delivery.

TK’s TV-JJV 777 approaches Paine Field

Turkish 777 touchdown after ferry flight from California where she was painted.

Singapore’s 9V-SNA prepares for a test flight.

Qatar’s 787 A7-BCS departs for a final test flight

Its not all about modern AIrliners at Paine Field…..This DC3 prepares for takeoff.

A rare sight, an ANA 777 being moved in the Boeing Factory.

KLM’s 777 (new livery) prepares for her first-ever flight.

KLM’s newest 777 approaches Paine Field

a red and white airplane parked in front of a building

Hainan’s newest 787 minutes after being removed from the Paint Hangar.

Cathay’s B-KQV enters the runway for her test flight

A unique angle as this CX 777 executed an intentional missed approach.

Batik Air’s newest 737

a green and yellow airplane flying over a runway

American Airlines 737

Finally: A Full On Look At Lufthansa’s 747-8i Retro-Jet (D-ABYT)

by Lufthansa Flyer | Feb 13, 2015 | Airlines, Featured, Fleet Update, Lufthansa, Photography | 4 comments

Insomnia has its advantages….

At about 4am in Seattle, Boeing finally moved the Scoot 787 that was blocking a full-on view of Lufthansa’s D-ABYT dressed in a Retro-Livery.

So from my hotel room and a bit of luck, I was finally able to get a photo of the entire aircraft. Is it blurry? a little. Am I shooting through a hotel window at 4am? Yes. Am I over a mile away from her? Yes. Cut me a bit of slack! 🙂

If things work to schedule, she should see the skies this weekend…..

For now, here she is sitting at a ramp position at Paine Field:

D-ABYT under the lights at Paine Field

Related Post: D-ABYT in the paint hangar

UNITED’s ‘Miles Sale’ Ends On February 16th: Buy miles up to 40% & Fly Lufthansa!

by Lufthansa Flyer | Feb 10, 2015 | Airlines, Featured | 0 comments

United is running a short promo for the purchase of miles until February 16.

Depending on the amount of miles you purchase for your Mileage Plus account, you can save up to 40% when compared to their normal prices.

At 40%, it is about as good as a deal as we’ve seen from United in quite some time when it comes to purchasing award miles. The best part of the deal? You can use the miles for travel on Lufthansa and take the sting out of the devaluation that took place recently that impacted the amount of miles that would be needed to redeem for Lufthansa operated flights.

The offer is not fantastic as far as using this to buy the bulk of the miles towards a Business Class or First Class ticket, but if you are within a few thousand miles this promo can certainly make a difference!

The specifics of the deal are as follows:

Miles must be purchased by February 16, 2015

Purchases of 15,000 to 39,000 will receive a 25% discount (approximately 2.8 cents per mile including taxes).

Purchases of 40,000 miles or more will receive a 40% discount (approximately 2.3 cents per mile including taxes).

Purchased miles DO NOT count towards Status Levels.