I finally had the time to sort through my photos from a trip a month ago to Germany, Austria and Slovakia.    As part of the trip I had an 8-hour layover in O’Hare which was spent mostly in Terminal 5 which provided a great view of the arrivals and departures taking place on runways 28R and 28C.   In my opinion, I believe that Terminal 5 offers the best vantage point for plane spotting at the airport.    The only knock on it is the fact that most of the aircraft, most of the time, will be back lit thanks to the sun’s path and orientation of the runway.  You’ll see that play out in the photos.

For this post, I focused on unique carriers that visit O’Hare.  I figure most of you have seen American or United Airlines short and medium haul aircraft so I’ll spare you photos of their A320s, 737s and regional jets.

 

a blue and white airplane flying in the sky

Russia’s AirBridgeCargo 747-8F VQ-BRH entered service for the carrier in September 2013.

 

an airplane flying in the snow

American’s 3rd oldest 787, N802N,  delivered in May 2015.

 

a plane flying in the sky

ANA’s 777-300, JA735A, entered service in June 2006.

 

a large airplane at an airport

Speedbird’s 744, G-CIVF, entered service in April 1995.

 

a large airplane on a runway

Cargolux’s 747-400F, LX-VCV, entered service in December 2005.

 

a large airplane flying in the air

Cathay’s 777, B-KPW, was delivered in August 2011.

 

a large airplane on a runway

Etihad’s 777-300, A6-ETQ entered service in September 2013.

 

a large airplane in the sky

Eva Cargo’s 747-400F entered service in July 2012.

 

a white airplane on a runway

Not a heavy, but Frontier’s tails always makes for a nice photo. N229FR (Airbus A320) was delivered in April 2015.

 

a plane flying in the air

Iberia’s A330, EC-MAA, was delivered in April 2014.

 

a white airplane on a runway

JAL’s 777, JA731J, was delivered in June 2004.

 

a large blue and white airplane on a runway

Korean’s 777-300, HL8006, was delivered in July 2015.

 

a plane flying in the sky

Lufthansa’s 747-8i, D-ABYI, entered service in June 2013. Seen here in her ‘Siegerflieger’ livery.

 

a large airplane on a runway

‘YI’ arriving at her gate in Terminal 5.

 

a large airplane in the sky

NCA’s 747-8F, JA12KZ, entered service in January 2013.

 

a plane on a runway

Qatar Cargo’s 777, A7-BFE, was delivered in June 2013.

 

a plane flying in the air

TNT’s 777, OO-TSB, was delivered in April 2012.

 

a large airplane at an airport

United’s 747-400, N127UA, was delivered in August 1999.


a screenshot of a computer