1. The Future of BMI
It was announced a week ago that Lufthansa has agreed terms with IAG – owner of British Airways and Iberia – for the sale of BMI British Midland International. What this will look like in the long term is still unclear, but by the end of March 2012 we are likely to see the brand disappearing, and more BA presence at Heathrow. What this means for domestic travel in the UK or the niche routes to the Middle East from Heathrow we just don’t know. It will be sad to see this well-loved name disappear.

2. Airport development in London
Will Boris Johnson get his Thames Estuary airport in London? Will the government back down and allow expansion to Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted’s runways? What’s certain is that a lot of people and airlines have strong opinions on this, and a solution needs to be found to keep the UK competitive and to reduce congestion at London’s airports.

3. More 787 Operations
Big news in 2011 was the start of Boeing 787 Dreamliner operations by ANA All Nippon Airways, and the initial routes. But 2012 will see Air India, China Southern Airlines and Japan Airlines all receive examples in the first half of the year. Keep an eye out for announcements of routes to be flown.

4. Berlin Brandenburg Airport opening
It’s been the biggest airport building project in Europe over recent years, and will finally open it’s doors in 2012. Berlin Brandenburg Airport, which incorporates part of the existing Schonefeld Airport, will open its doors on 3rd June. Schonefeld and Tegel airports will close the same day. There’s already and impressive line-up of airlines and routes for the modern airport.

5. Airline closures
As sad as it is, the inevitable truth is that in the current economic climate teetering above recession in many countries, and with air passenger duty an off-putting factor for many travellers, we will see airlines disappear during 2012. Which ones I can’t say, but there will no doubt be some surprises, and some which we expect.

Which stories do you think we’ll hear about in 2012? Which airlines are likely to disappear? Will we see lots of new aircraft orders?

We recently spoke to the airport’s Marketing Manager, Stephanie Gehman about the airport, which is relatively unknown to our European readers, but offers an interesting alternative to the other airports on the Eastern Seaboard. So, here’s a bit of information from Stephanie:

Frankfurt Airport Time Lapse Video

When you think of storage airports, chances are you’ll think of those in Arizona, California and New Mexico, where the desert keeps airliners in good condition. But in the UK we have a number of airports where you can go see stored airliners. Here are the top 6:

1. Kemble, Gloucestershire (Map)
Kemble has recently rebranded itself as Cotswold Airport, in honour of the area of natural beauty in which it resides. It’s located in south-west England, around 2 hours drive from London. Here you’ll find a steady stream of airliners coming to be scrapped, from B737 and A320 to B747. It is also a base for Lufthansa Technik, who deal with a lot of BAe 146/Avro RJ aircraft.

2. Lasham, Hampshire (Map)
Mainly a rework centre, where airliners come to get new identities, Lasham is nevertheless a place where you can often find B727, B737, B757 and A320 airliners in open storage. It is around 30 mins drive from London, and not far from Farnborough.

3. Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire (Map)
Home to the famous Cold War Jets Collection, including a DH Comet and Victor. Bruntinthorpe is also a place where airliners are scrapped. Recent examples include RAF VC-10′s and KLM B737s.

4. Cardiff, Wales (Map)
Cardiff Airport in southern Wales is a storage and maintenance base for British Airways. Recently, members of their B747-400 fleet have been stored here, and even scrapped.

5. Exeter, Devon (Map)
Near the south-west coast of England, Exeter is a small regional airport and home to Flybe. It is a place where aircraft are stored and maintained between operators – particularly those leaving the Flybe fleet, such as BAe 146, EMB-145 and DHC-8  aircraft. There are also some used as fire trainers.

6. London Southend (Map)
One of the fastest growing airports thanks to its new terminal and routes, London Southend is also a busy place for aircraft maintenance and storage. You’ll see a lot of B737 and A320 aircraft getting new identities, and BAe146/Avro RJ aircraft in storage.

So, what’s the point in this? Well I’ve started keeping track of the aircraft stored at various different airports on this site.

For now, I’m particularly paying attention to UK and lesser-known storage airports as they get little coverage compared to those in Arizona and California.

You can find the lists under the Storage Lists tab at the top of the page. So far I’ve included:

Coventry, UK
Kemble, UK
Moscow Domodedovo, Russia
Summerside, Canada

Can you help me keep this up-to-date? Or can you add information for an airport that’s not covered? Please get in touch or comment if so.

I’ve had the fortune to fly on the type twice as a passenger – once with American Airlines in 1995 from JFK-LHR, and once with KLM in 2007 from SFO-AMS. Like it’s older brother, the DC-10, I found the MD-11 very spacious and comfortable to travel on.

KLM are likely to operate the type for another another few years. They operate 10 of them currently, and have announced the following routes by the MD-11 from their Amsterdam Schiphol base this winter:

Havana, Cuba
Montreal, Canada
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
San Franciso, USA
Tehran, Iran

Next Summer, some additional routes include:
Aruba
Bonaire
Curacao
Delhi, India
Los Angeles, USA (1 of the 3 daily flights)
Panama City
Vancouver, Canada

In addition to passenger operators, a large number of cargo examples are still flying. The largest numbers can be found with:

EVA Air Cargo (Taipei)
FedEx Express (Memphic, Paris CDG, Tokyo)
Lufthansa Cargo (Frankfurt)
UPS (Louisville, Cologne/Bonn)

What are your memories of the type – did you fly it?

So, I need your opinions. You’re all out there spotting on a week-to-week or even day-to-day basis. What are your recommended best spots at the moment?

Which airports offer the best variety of aircraft, spotting locations, photography locations, friendly security, busy timetable? Which have friendly locals, or new routes and aircraft to look forward to over the next year?

And while you’re at it, are there any that you’d avoid? Zealous security or lack of places to spot since the viewing gallery closed?

I’m relying on you guys here. I’ll let you know when the podcast and new book are out!

This was one of the earliest commuter feeder airlines in existence. It was founded out of three smaller airlines – Casair, Eastern Airways and Genair. It then went on to become British Caledonian Commuter Services, operating flights from all over the UK into London Gatwick airport.

Sadly the airline didn’t last long. Only Eastern Airways remains in any form today, although it’s very much a different airline.

I’m pretty pleased with how this article came out. I hope you enjoy it if you read it (you can buy a copy here http://www.airlinerworld.com/).

Other articles of note in the magazine include a full Paris Air Show review, TAP Portugal, and a feature on Hong Kong’s Chep Lap Kok airport.

Photographer Dave Becker has sent in this spectacular shot of the airport now in service, with Delta CRJ in the foreground and Zion National Park in the background. Fantastic shot, so thanks to Dave.

You can read the original story here.

It makes an interesting read and has some nice pictures of the plans for the building, the work that’s been carried out so far, and the existing (outdated) terminal buildings.

Click the link below to read the full article:

Sacramento’s Big Build Will Create a Monstrously Expensive New Terminal.