If you’re going to be in St. Maarten any time over the next month, there’s an aviation-themed photo competition with a serious prize that you can take part in.

Photographs must depict an aviation-related action, with an aircraft visible amid a St. Maarten backdrop. The photographer of the winning image will receive a US$2,500 cash prize.

This comes on the heels of St. Maarten’s airport being just named the most stunning airport approach in the world by PrivateFly.com. The airport is located on the scenic shores of Maho Beach, offering passengers on incoming flights breathtaking views of turquoise waters and white sand beaches. Spectators looking to get a unique view of low-flying incoming planes frequent Maho Beach daily. This one-of-a-kind setting lures tourists and photographers from around the world to the island to capture exclusive shots of arriving planes.

Thomson Airways are to be the first operator of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in the UK, with their first aircraft due in the Spring.

The airline has announced a raft of destinations that the type will fly to from the Winter season, starting in November 2013. These include a number of long haul destinations, which will be served mainly from their London Gatwick base. However, regional bases at Manchester and Newcastle will also get 787 routes. The full list announced so far is:

London Gatwick – Punta Cana – Starts 1 November 2013
London Gatwick – Male – Starts 3 November 2013
London Gatwick – Mombasa – Starts 4 November 2013
London Gatwick – Phuket – Starts 5 November 2013
London Gatwick – Montego Bay – Starts 7 November 2013
London Gatwick – Puerto Plata – Starts 13 November 2013
London Gatwick – Holguin – Starts 11 December 2013
London Gatwick – Barbados – Starts 15 December 2013
Helsinki – Mombassa – Starts 22 December 2013
Newcastle – Cancun – Starts 1 April 2014
Manchester – Punta Cana – Starts 2 April 2014

For a full list of Boeing 787 routes from the airlines operating the type, head to the Boeing 787 Routes page.

Air Canada‘s new leisure airline has been announced, and it’s called ‘Rouge’.

The national carrier of Canada announced a few months ago that it was seeking to set up a new carrier to handle lower cost flights to Europe and the Caribbean using Boeing 767 and Airbus A320 aircraft in 2013.

Rouge will initially fly from Montreal and Toronto, and will launch operations on 1 July, 2013. It features a new colour scheme on its two A319s and two 767-300s.

For enthusiasts, look out for some new destinations, including Edinburgh. The full list of flights are:

Toronto to:
Athens
Cayo Coco
Edinburgh
Holguin
Kingston
Liberia
Puerto Plata
Punta Cana
Samara
San José
Santa Clara
Varadero
Venice

Montreal to:
Athens

All flights will have introductory low fares to take advantage of.

David Eaves at Private Jet Charter has compiled this great selection of some of the most bizarre airport runways around the world.

How many of them have you travelled to? Are they as crazy in an aircraft as they look from the outside?

1. Funchal Airport’s Extended Runway

Above: When engineers were looking for a viable way to extend Funchal Airport’s dangerously brief runway, they cleverly opted to ‘rest’ the enormous structure on 180 pillars, each measuring 230ft, rather than using landfill to support the strip. – more info.

2. Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport runway

Image Source

Above: This is the only airport on the Caribbean island of Saba and because it is so short it is extremely difficult for even very experienced pilots to land on. – more info.

3. Princess Juliana International Airport runway

Above: The beach pictured can be found on the island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean and is unfortunately located directly underneath the landing path of planes approaching the airport runway.

4. Gibraltar Airport’s Runway

Image source

Above: This airport runway located in Gibraltar is one of the only airport runways to intersect a public road. The runway operates similarly to a train crossing so traffic is put on hold whilst planes take off.

5. Don Mueang International Airport Runway

Above: The bizarre thing about the runways at this Bangkok airport is that there is about this an 18 hole golf course situated between the two different runways.

6. Courchevel Airport Runway

Above: Courchevel Airport is a French airport that serves Courchevel, which is located in a ski area in the French Alps mountain. The airport has a very short runway of only 525 m (1,722 ft) with gradient of 18.5%. – more info.

7. Kobe Airport Runway

Above: The picture above is of one of Japan’s custom made runways on an artificial island just off the coast of Kobe which can be seen on Google maps. More info can be found on Wikipedia.

The Shorts SD-360 was a funny-looking commuter plane. Built alongside its twin Shorts SD-330 type, the 360 can be recognised for having a single fin (compared to the twin fins on the 330).

The aircraft was built in Belfast, Northern Ireland, between 1981-1991, and in total there were 164 examples built.

It was used around the world, popular with commuter and regional airlines in the UK and USA in particular. It was certainly a common sight in my youth, but sadly I never got to fly on the ‘Shed’, as it was commonly referred to. And today, it seems you hardly see them anywhere, save for a few cargo examples.

So, how many are still flying passengers, and where can you fly them? Here’s some information which is covered in the new update of Last Chance to Fly – our book on flying rarer passenger aircraft:

Airlines Still Flying Passenger SD-360s

Asia
Air Seychelles still operates a single Short 360 on its inter-island route to Praslin Island. They used to have a larger fleet of the aircraft.

Deraya Air Taxi operate two Short 360s from their Jakarta Halim base in Indonesia. These aircraft are used on commuter and air taxi flights.

Caribbean
Tiara Air of Aruba has two Short 360 aircraft in its fleet. These fly on routes around the Caribbean.

SAP – Servicios Aereos Profesionales, is a regional airline based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. They have one Short 360-100 which is used on Caribbean routes.

Central America
La Costeña is a regional airline based in Managua, Nicaragua. It has one Short 360 in its fleet, which is flown on domestic routes.

Middle East
Ayeet Aviation & Tourism of Israel operate a single Short 360 aircraft on domestic services within Israel.

North America
Pacific Coastal Airlines, based in Vancouver, have two passenger Short 360’s in their fleet. These fly on services within British Columbia from Vancouver to Comox and Campbell River.

Passenger Examples

SH3602 – YN-CGF, La Costena – Managua, Nicaragua
SH3619 – P4-TIA, Tiara Air – Oranjestad, Aruba
SH3620 – C-GPCF, Pacific Coastal Airlines – Vancouver, Canada
SH3621 – P4-TIB, Tiara Air – Oranjestad, Aruba
SH3622 – C-GPCW, Pacific Coastal Airlines – Vancouver, Canada
SH3672 – HI657, SAP Servicios Aereos Profesionales – Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
SH3713 – YV396T, Comeravia – Margarita, Venezuela
SH3724 – S7-PRI, Air Seychelles – Mahe Island, Seychelles
SH3743 – PK-DSS, Deraya Air Taxi – Jakarta Halim, Indonesia
SH3757 – PK-DSH, Deraya Air Taxi – Jakarta Halim, Indonesia
SH3758 – 4X-AVP, Ayeet Aviation & Tourism – Be Er-Sheba, Israel

Last Chance to Fly 2012 – ebook
Our latest book, Last Chance to Fly, is available to buy online now. The digital version of this book lists the world’s rarest passenger aircraft types, and where to find them and fly on them.

Click here to find out more and buy a copy.

Cubana is planning to order a fleet of six Antonov AN-158 aircraft.

These will be used on flights from its Havana base to destinations around the Caribbean and into Central America.

The AN-148 is a stretched version of the AN-148. It can seat 99 passengers and has a range of 1,600 miles (2,500km).

It is unclear whether this order is in addition to the three Antonov AN-148s already on order, or whether it is a modification of the original order.

Following the recent announcement that Lufthansa are to launch a new low cost carrier to handle short haul flying, Air Canada have also now announced their intentions to start a new low cost subsidiary to help increase their share on new and existing markets.

Full details, including the name, will be announced in the next few weeks. However, it has been announced already that this new LCC will operate a fleet of 20 reconditioned Boeing 767s and 19 Airbus A319s; both will be sourced from the mainline Air Canada fleet, but will feature additional seating.

This new carrier will target Caribbean, trans-Atlantic and US leisure routes, particularly where Air Canada doesn’t already have a service. However, some existing Air Canada routes will switch over to this new carrier.

This video has been doing the rounds this week, and it’s pretty spectacular. If you’ve been to St. Maarten in the Caribbean, you’ll know how low big jets come over Maho Beach just before landing. Well, throw in a tropical storm and things get interesting! Enjoy…

The Sonesta Hotel at Maho Beach has become known as one of the great plane spotting destinations in the world, due mainly to the dramatic low arrivals of huge airliners only inches above peoples’ heads.

The hotel itself has great views, with balconies overlooking these final few seconds of the approach, and also of aircraft lining up for takeoff.

However, the place can be quite expensive. Therefore, you may be surprised to know that there is an alternative for spotting at Sint Maarten.
It is a smallish hotel, with 40 rooms. It includes free internet in guests’ rooms, and on-site restaurants, as well as other nearby shops and restaurants.This is the Travel Inn Hotel at Simpson Bay. It is around 2 miles from the airport terminal

Views from even-numbered rooms on the 2nd floor are the best options as they face east, towards aircraft traffic. You will be able to see aircraft departing the runway and turning right, away from the mountains.

Whilst this is not as close or dramatic as Maho Beach, it is a more affordable option. Plus, it is only a 10 minute drive to the beach, or the Sunset Bar which pipes in ATC over its speakers, and is the spot that most great photographs are taken from.

Book the Travel Inn Hotel at http://www.travelinnhotel.com/

Have you stayed in any other good hotels at St Maarten with views of aircraft movements?

Jaunted‘s latest Plane Spotting blog post comes from St. Lucia – one of the most scenic islands in the Caribbean.

One of the best places to watch the action at St. Lucia is from the St. Jude’s highway running into Vieux Fort and passing the western end of the runway.

Alternatively, at the eastern end of the runway the beach offers a breathtakingly close view of aircraft departing over your head. Of course, this is a great place the enjoy the sun, sea and sand whilst on the island!

Read the full blog post here.