by Lufthansa Flyer | Jul 23, 2014 | Airports, Austrian, Brussels, Featured, germanwings, Lufthansa |
LUFTHANSA GROUP has announced that flights operating to and from Israel are canceled through at least June 24. This extends the ban another 24 hours from their previous announcement yesterday.
The reason for the cancellation is out of an abundance of caution after rockets landed near Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport yesterday. In light of the recent shoot down of the Malaysian 777 over the Ukraine, this does seem to be an appropriate response.
This affects 20 flights operated by Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, germanwings and Brussels. If your itinerary is affected, please use this link to find contact information for Lufthansa in your country.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jul 22, 2014 | Airlines, Airports, Austrian, Brussels, Featured, germanwings, Lufthansa |
In light of recent events today at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, LUFTHANSA GROUP has cancelled ALL FLIGHTS scheduled to and from Israel for the next 36 hours.
This involves flights operated by AUSTRIAN, SWISS, LUFTHANSA and GERMANWINGS.
According to what I’ve read there have been several rockets that have landed near the airport which has prompted this appropriate response.
In addition, the FAA has also required US airlines to cease operations to Israel for AT LEAST 24 hours.
If your Lufthansa travels are affected by this, please use this link to contact your nearest customer service center so that you can be reaccommodated.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jun 29, 2014 | Airports, Featured, Plane Spotting |
When I was at Paine Field a couple of weeks ago, I was able to get a glimpse of what was one of the most powerful radial engine aircraft during World War II. The aircraft, a Focke-Wulf FW190, belongs to Paul Allen’s Flying Heritage Collection and is the world’s only FW190 that still flies. After seeing it for the first time and mentioning that fact to local spotters that I met during the weekend, they offered up a fantastic story about this specific aircraft. I looked up the history of the aircraft on the Flying Heritage Collection website to confirm the details:
This aircraft was built in 1943 and entered service with the German Air Force’s Jagdgeschwader (fighter wing) 54 based near Leningrad. Shortly after entering service, she was shot down during a raid on a Soviet train and had crash landed in a marsh field. The pilot was able to survive the landing but was captured by the Soviet Army and became a Prisoner of War until the early 1950s.
The FW190 high above Paine Field
Over the next 40-45 years, the aircraft laid untouched in the marshes and had become overgrown with trees and vegetation. After being discovered in the late 1980s by a ‘War Bird Hunter’, she was transported to England and then to the USA for a complete restoration which was completed in 2010.
An interesting part of this story was according to the actual pilot who crash landed the FW190, it was found EXACTLY as he had left it, including the hat that he left behind on his seat. Literally no one saw or touched this plane for 40+ years. Today you can see and hear her taking to the air at Paine Field.
Here is a video that shows her discovery by Russian War Bird Hunters:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30IfiuQTt_E
