by Lufthansa Flyer | Apr 3, 2015 | Airlines, Featured, Frankfurt, Photography, Plane Spotting |
After spending some time in FRA last week, which of course created ample opportunity to spend time taking a few photos, I finally have had a chance to begin sorting through my memory cards.
For the first installment, I’ll focus on non-Lufthansa liveries. Frankfurt’s position as a truly global airport provides spotters the opportunity to see aircraft that they may not normally see otherwise. In my case, I have no chance to see an Iran Air or an Air Europa aircraft in the US which makes spotting in FRA so enjoyable.
Here are a few shots that I thought provide a unique look at liveries that most people would never see unless they are able to be at a place like FRA on a regular basis. The next installment will of course focus on some of my favorite LH shots, of which there are hundreds.
Iran Air’s A300 departs for Tehran.
Alitalia A320
Air Europa 737
Gulf Air A320 departing for Bahrain
British Airways A320 departing for LHR
Condor’s special ‘Ja FRA’ 767
China Airlines 747-400
ANA’s 787
Birds compete for tail space on this Kuwaiti A300
Qatar’s new A350
Thai A380
This Thai Cargo 747 is departing for the very last time. The aircraft was retired after arriving in Bangkok.
Vietnam’s 777
by Lufthansa Flyer | Feb 21, 2015 | Airlines, Featured, Photography, Plane Spotting, Trip Reports |
Here is the next installment of images from my recent trip to Paine Field.
If you missed what I’ve posted so far from this ‘series’, here is the index of what has been published so far:
Paine Spotting: February 2015 (Part I)
Lufthansa Cargo’s D-ALFE Goes Home
Lufthansa’s D-ABYS Showing off at Paine Field
Lufthansa’s D-ABYT Retro-Jet: Inaugural Flight
Lufthansa’s D-ABYT Retro-Jet: Returns From Inaugural Flight
Lufthansa’s D-ABYT Retro-Jet: Even More Pictures!
Aeroflot 737
Virgin Atlantic 787 (G-VZIG)
Saudia Cargo (HZ-AK71) prepares for test flight.
…and subsequent return.
Lufthansa’s D-ABYS returns from a Customer Flight – It has since been delivered to Lufthansa.
Lufthansa’ 747-8i (D-ABYS)
LAN’s newest 787, CC-BGB, being remove from Paint Hangar. Photo taken from my hotel room!
JAL’s newest 787 prepares for B-1 Flight.
EVA’s 777 (B16721) prepares for delivery flight…
Cathay’s 777 returns from Customer Flight.
Cathay’s 777, B-KQW, seconds after its completion. Seen here being towed to the Paint Hangar area.
American’s second 787, N801AC, departing for test flight.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Feb 18, 2015 | Featured, Fleet Update, Lufthansa, Plane Spotting |
As the adage goes, all good things must come to an end. In the case of Lufthansa, this means that the last 747-8i has been completed and will join the fleet in a few weeks.
‘D-ABYU’ exited the paint shop on February 16 at Paine Field and will take to the skies in the next few days for her B-1, B-2 and C-1 Flights. These flights will serve to test and certify the aircraft before it is handed over to Lufthansa sometime in March or April, depending on results of the tests.
Here are a few shots that have been kindly shared by spotters at Paine Field yesterday (I had left Seattle one day too soon!):
D-ABYU shortly after being towed out of the Paint Hangar…….Photo courtesy of Woody’s Aero Images
D-ABYU is the 19th Lufthansa 747-8i and marks the end of 3 years of 747-8i deliveries to the airline. The 747-8i made her passenger debut with Lufthansa on June 1, 2012 to rave reviews and has been nothing but a favorite of both Lufthansa and their passengers ever since.
For those of you keeping score at home, here is the timeline of Lufthansa’s 747-8i fleet:
| Aircraft Registration | Nickname | Delivered To Lufthansa |
| D-ABYA | Brandenburg | April 25, 2012 |
| D-ABYC | Sachsen | June 30, 2012 |
D-ABYD
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | August 24, 2012 |
| D-ABYF | Sachsen-Anhalt | October 23, 2012 |
| D-ABYG | Baden-Württemberg | March 12, 2013 |
| D-ABYH | Thüringen | March 27, 2013 |
| D-ABYI | Potsdam (Fanhansa Livery) | May 29, 2013 |
| D-ABYJ | Hannover | June 25, 2013 |
| D-ABYK | Rheinland-Pfalz | August 13, 2013 |
| D-ABYL | Hessen | February 6, 2014 |
| D-ABYM | Bayern | February 28, 2014 |
| D-ABYN | Niedersachsen | March 31, 2014 |
| D-ABYP | Nordrhein-Westfalen (1500th 747) | June 25, 2014 |
| D-ABYQ | Schleswig-Holstein | August 29, 2014 |
| D-ABYR | Bremen | January 26, 2015 |
| D-ABYS | | February 2015 (TBD) |
| D-ABYT | Retro-Livery | March 2015 (TBD) |
| D-ABYU | | March / April 2015 (TBD) |
For enthusiasts, this also marks the beginning of the end of the 4-engine airliner. Over the next 15-20 years, the final 747s and A380s will be phased out leaving us only with 2-engine aircraft to get excited about.
If you’d like to see my 747-8i Gallery where I’ve caught every LH 747-8i except for the elusive D-ABYK, please click here to be taken to Aero-Shots.com, my personal plane spotting archive.
Now there is one minor caveat to all of this……When I was in Seattle last week, I spoke to a few people with Boeing who are familiar with the 747-8i program and brought up the fact that there is another Lufthansa 747-8i that was never finished. D-ABYE (Line/Airframe #1435 in Boeing-Speak) was used by Boeing for certain testing in 2012/13 and at the time of its manufacture, it was turned down by Lufthansa as a deliverable aircraft.
However, during the past weeks, the aircraft that would have been D-ABYE has been seen being put back into the Factory for finishing work. There seems to be 2 strong rumors circling ‘YE’, one is that in fact Lufthansa may actually wind up taking delivery of ‘YE’ while the other rumor suggests that it will be turned into a Boeing Business Jet and sold to a private individual or Sovereign State. This mystery should resolve itself in the not-too-distant future……
