If you’re visiting Houston Hobby Airport, the best hotel at the airport for spotting is the Holiday Inn which can be found at 8611 Airport Blvd.

The hotel has six floors, with floors five and six being good for watching movements if you request a room facing the airport.

Dean Mitchell recently visited the hotel on a spotting trip to Houston and can report that even-numbered rooms ending in 20-44 are at the correct angle for spotters, with the photograph used here showing his view from room 520. These rooms look down runway 04/22 and across to the passenger terminal area.

The hotel has a free car park, and offers free wifi access. There is also a restaurant and bar for guests to use.

Houston Hobby is the city’s smaller airport, located close to the downtown area. It is a busy base for Southwest Airlines, as well as bizjet aircraft. It makes an interesting alternative to the city’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, which is dominated by United Airlines.

To book a room at the Houston Hobby Holiday Inn, click this link. The map here shows the location of the hotel in relation to the airport.

Thanks to Dean Mitchell for this information and picture.

We didn’t have a summer holiday this year. Instead, we choose to go somewhere hot in the Autumn, and Morocco was our destination of choice.

Despite the distance from home, flying Ryanair from Luton to Marrakech was the most affordable option, so we drove down and found a cheap deal in the Long Stay car park – and as a spotter, this is one of the best. The Harrods hangar and biz jet parking area is right alongside you, and you have a view across to park  of the passenger terminal’s stands, and some of the distant biz jet parking areas.

Getting the bus to the terminal also passes (briefly) some of the other biz jet parking areas. Remember that Luton is London’s biz jet airport of choice, so there’s always something of interest to see. On this visit I saw Chinese and Hong Kong Gulfstreams, and a Kuwaiti A319CJ amongst many others.

Once checked in, we headed upstairs for some food. In the food court you have views over one of the smaller airliner aprons, and in the distance the airport’s single runway. As we ate our lunch, the afternoon departure of the El Al Boeing 767-200 taxied past.

To reach the gates Ryanair use, it’s quite a distant walk. You’ll pass all of the easyJet gates, and then reach the original part of the terminal to join the mad rush for Ryanair flights.

Today we were flying on EI-EFW, one of the more recent Boeing 737-800s the airline uses. Boarding is done by walking to the aircraft, so we headed for the rear stairs to give more chance of a window seat – and more chance to see the aircraft parked around us. From this area you can often see into the maintenance hangars at Luton.

The flight from Luton to Marrakech is around 3hrs 20 mins long. Ryanair’s seating is fairly cramped, and anything you want to eat or drink must be bought. But there wasn’t anything to complain about – the views were good all the way, with a stunning sunset as we reached the African coast and descended for arrival.

It was dark when we landed at Marrakech Airport. Landing on the easterly runway required a number of tight turns just before arrival which felt a bit like the old Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong!

Just after arrival, another Ryanair aircraft departed, and an easyJet A319 arrived from Manchester, parking next to us.

Soon I’ll post a spotting report from Marrakech Airport to guide you around what the airport has to offer, and how to get the best views there.

Recently I had the pleasure of shadowing staff at London City Airport to see what goes on behind the scenes this at busy Docklands airport in the middle of the city.

In the first post, I shadowed the opening of the airport with the Controllers in the Ops Room. In the second I visited the Ramp Control Team as they monitored and planned each aircraft operation.

In this final post, I talk to Geraldine Nolan, Corporate Communications Support, about the vision, airline operators, and the future of London City.

London City History
London City Airport opened in 1987 on a former dock in the East London borough of Newham. Its location, only six miles from the City and Canary Wharf, was key in that it provided close connections to the heart of London, allowing business travellers to fly to European cities with speed and ease not offered by Heathrow or Gatwick. The development of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), with a station at the airport, also allowed easy access to the city’s transport network.

The airport’s short runway meant only certain aircraft types could operate into the airport, and thus range and passenger capacity were limited. The runway was later extended to 1,500m (4,900ft) and a holding area was added to improve the flow of aircraft. The glideslop to the runway was also reduced to 5.5 degrees (from 7.5), however this is still steep enough to require special certification for pilots and aircraft operating into the airport.

London City Today
Today, London City is still primarily a business airport. Geraldine explains that approximately 65% of passengers travel for this reason. However, 35% are leisure passengers – a figure which has risen recently due to the addition of numerous routes by BA CityFlyer to holiday destinations such as Ibiza and Palma.

The airport is owned by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), who also own London Gatwick and Edinburgh airports.

The largest aircraft currently certified to fly into London City are the Airbus A318 and Embraer 190. Recently, all stands have been realigned to cope with the E190 as more airlines have introduced it. The A318s, used by British Airways on their twice weekdaily New York JFK route (via Shannon) exclusively use the extended stands at the eastern end of the apron.

The airport’s terminal has been extended and improved over recent years, with a particular emphasis on the needs of its business passengers. As a result, there are no dedicated business lounges (however, a small lounge does exist for the New York

flight).

Current operations to around 40 destinations are dominated by BA CityFlyer, who operate EMB170/190, and Saab 2000 aircraft. Other principal carriers include Alitalia CityLiner (EMB175/190), Blue Islands (ATR42), British Airways (A318), CityJet (RJ85/100, F50), Lufthansa Regional (EMB190, Q400), Luxair (Q400), Scot Airways (DO328), Skywork (DO328), Swiss European (RJ85/100).

Estonian Air will also begin a new routes to Tallinn with EMB190 aircraft from March 2013.

A Jet Centre at the western end of the airport handles VIP movements, with its own parking apron for executive jets.

London City Future
The airport today handles around 3 million passengers per year and has worked hard to improve efficiency during peak periods. Geraldine explains “We have around 540 employees at the airport, with a further 1,500 employed at concessions and other businesses on the site.”

The future plan is to extend the airport further, adding more parking stands on piles along the largely redundant King George V Dock. It will remain a single-runway airport, however it is hoped that the airport will attain a capacity of 8 million passengers per year by 2030.

The airport has won numerous awards over recent years, and remains committed to its social responsibility, given its location amongst a built-up area. Its popularity is set to ensure the airport will continue to thrive as it moves forward with its expansion plans.

Recently I had the pleasure of shadowing staff at London City Airport to see what goes on behind the scenes this at busy Docklands airport in the middle of the city.

In the first post, I shadowed the opening of the airport with the Controllers in the Ops Room. Now, in this second post we look at what goes on once the airport is open.

Ramp Control
Situated in the Jet Centre, which is a VIP terminal at the western end of the apron, is the Ramp Control team. Here, two controllers and a third member performing admin duties, are on shift at any one time. On my visit, I met Winston and Natasha, who were in the chair in front of a bank of screens and monitors.

The role of the team is to allocate stands to all inbound aircraft, communicate with ramp operators and bus drivers, and the handling agents working for each company.

The bank of screens allows the team to monitor a radar of inbound aircraft, live cameras looking across the ramp, CFMU (showing slot information for inbound and outbound aircraft), Lynx online flight status system (showing where delays occur with each flight), the live arrivals and departures board (which the team updates), and a system allowing them to assign parking stands for each aircraft due that day.

In between describing their role to me, Winston and Natasha were in constant contact with the various operators to keep them updated of inbound aircraft.

Reducing Delays
Winston explained that it is their duty to try to avoid delays. The ramp is split into four sections, and they will try to ensure that two simultaneous aircraft are not assigned to park in the same section, giving ground operators time to avoid loading delays and peak time stress.

The Lynx online system is currently used by all BA CityFlyer aircraft, and is a way of assessing where delays are occurring or expected with each flight. It splits the whole time on the ground into tasks, such as unloading, refuelling, loading bags etc and this gives the team an indication of where efforts need to be improved or assessed. Punctuality statistics are produced by the team every day, showing the previous day’s performance, and sent to management to assess.

Biz Jets
Executive aircraft using London City are usually handled by the Jet Centre, with its own parking apron. However, sometimes large biz jets will be allocated a stand outside the passenger terminal. On the flip side, if a passenger aircraft has a technical problem, it is often moved to the executive ramp while the issue is resolved in order to keep the passenger stands free.

Stand Assignments
London City has 14 stands, and is extremely confined in terms of space due to its location on a former dock. As a result, the Ramp team needs to make sure there is always space for aircraft to park. This is particularly difficult during the morning and evening peak periods, and where necessary they will advise ATC to delay inbounds in order to allow aircraft on the ground to depart.

All of the stands outside the terminal have now been realigned to allow the larger Embraer 190 aircraft to park, which has made it easier to assign aircraft since any aircraft can now use any stand. However, the British Airways Airbus A318 aircraft used on the New York JFK route take two stands out of action for a longer period of time.

Peak Flow
At its peak morning period, London City’s Ramp Control Team will handle around 56 aircraft. There are usually 117 movements per day on weekdays. Most of the time, aircraft have a 30 minute turnaround.

Better Relations
Agents on the ground are encouraged to shadow the Ramp Control Team in the hope of helping them understand the decisions made which affect their work. This is to help improve relations between the two teams, and also improve the performance of the airport.

My thanks to Winston, Natasha and Geraldine for their hospitality on this visit.

Recently I had the pleasure of shadowing staff at London City Airport to see what goes on behind the scenes this at busy Docklands airport in the middle of the city.

In this first post, we look at what goes on immediately prior to opening the airport to aircraft each morning.

Airport Hours
London City Airport is principally a business airport – currently with a 60% dominance over leisure passengers. It is therefore incredibly busy during the early morning hours as people travel out to various European cities, and arrive in to the heart of London. This airport is the only one with a London postcode, and is only a few miles from the skyscrapers around Canary Wharf.

The morning rush hour is generally between 0600-0930, and so it is imperative to inspect the airport prior to its opening to traffic.

Inspecting the Runway
Upon my arrival at 0530 I met Mia, who is the Controller this morning, and Nick, who is training in the role. Her first task is to check the weather and any urgent e-mails or messages, and then set off for an inspection of the runway and taxiway lighting. I tagged along to observe.

It was still dark outside, and the ramp was full of airliners being prepared for departure. We drove out to the end of runway 09 to check the approach lighting, followed by a sweep along the runway to check the opposite end. We made a number of passes, checking the side lighting, stopbar lighting, taxiway lighting, and looking out for any FOD (Foreign Object Debris).

During the colder winter months, the team also make sure the whole airport is de-iced. Their responsibility is safety.

These checks are repeated throughout the day, but the first one is vital to ensure the airport is safe to open. Shortly before 6am, we made one last check and then Mia radioed to ATC to declare the runway safe, its water condition, and inform them that they now have control of the airport.

First Departure
Only minutes after this handover, the first departure of the day – Swiss European RJ100 HB-IXN started taxiing to the runway for its departure to Zurich. Moments later, the first arrival also appeared on final approach to runway 27.

Inside the Ops Room
Situated in a corner of the terminal building with quick access to the ramp, the Ops Room is home to a number of key staff who continually monitor the airport throughout the day – responding to incidents, issues arising from any of the daily movements, inspecting the runway, and noise emission checks (London City is surrounded by housing). They also look after permits, vehicle maintenance, wildlife data and and gun licenses for controlling this, and a document library.

One person always sits in the ‘chair’, monitoring a variety of telephones and radio equipment, screens showing live cameras, aircraft radar, weather information, NOTAMS (Notices to Airmen), and live flight details; it really is the hub of keeping this busy airport operating. Whilst the busy period subsides for a few hours, the evening can be just as hectic and a fresh crew take over for this shift during the afternoon.

Every Sunday, when the airfield is closed for the morning, the team will undertake a ‘walking inspection’ of the runway, noting any defects and often dealing with them on the spot where possible. Otherwise, this period is when contractors and workmen are called in to perform any airside repairs and maintenance.

My thanks to Mia, Nick, Geraldine and the crew for their hospitality during this visit.

Next week is the EAA Air Venture event at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Wittman Regional Airport becomes the world’s busiest for this short period, with thousands of movements and aircraft on site, from historic warplanes, to experimental aircraft, and the largest new airlines. Many people choose to fly their own light aircraft to the event, and arrival can therefore be quite tricky. Air Traffic Controllers naturally need to be the best you can get as it’s a very intense job. The FISK arrival sees pilots following railroad tracks from the town of Ripon, and then landing on an assigned colour dot on the runway so as to separate parking positions. Watch this excellent video showing the flight up to Oshkosh and hectic arrival.

It seems like now the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has entered service and got past its delays, it’s got plenty of momentum and we’re going to hear something about it every week for quite a while yet.

As the Asian carriers start carrying passengers around on their new 787s, the Dreamliner World Tour is still underway, with N787BX – the third prototype aircraft – visiting many customers in airports around the world ahead of them taking delivery.

This past week the aircraft has been in the UK, visiting Thomson Airways at Manchester, Virgin Atlantic at Gatwick, and British Airways at Heathrow. I was lucky enough to be invited by the latter to come and have a look around the state-of-the-art plane as it took part in the re-opening ceremony of the airline’s Grade II listed hangar, which has recently undergone modifications to accommodate the 787s and A380s that will be entering the fleet from 2013.

Once the ceremony, tea/coffee and sampling of the new Club World tuckbox menu had been enjoyed, my allotted time of 10.20am for a tour of the aircraft arrived.

After entering through the door, it was now Boeing’s job to entertain. A number of employees were on hand to show us around the aircraft interior, explaining the fantastic features. A bunch of flowers on a pedestal framed the spacious, cathedral-style entrance area whilst mood lighting flickered overhead.

Up front, wide seating had been installed to demonstrate First Class, whilst in the rear Dreamliner-themed Economy class seating still looked a cut above the rest.

In the cockpit, one of the pilots who has been taking the aircraft on its tour explained the unique layout which aids flight crew workloads and revolutionises aircraft operation, whilst still maintaining a conversion time of only 5 days for existing Boeing 777 pilots.

In the rear, a rare glimpse into the world of the crew rest area was offered. Climbing a narrow, steep staircase behind an unassuming door led to the loft space with six beds and more mood lighting.

And how can we leave out the toilets. The doors are positioned to allow wheelchair users to pull right up, and the space age seat lids glide up and down.

It should also be mentioned that alongside the Dreamliner, British Airways had pulled in their new A319 ‘Dove’ Olympics logojet G-EUOH, and members of the marketing team were keen to stress how much effort BA employees are putting in to this year’s London Olympics – both at Heathrow and as part of the bigger picture of being a sponsor partner.

Whilst the hangar has had millions spent on it, removing office space, creating a gap above the door to fit the A380 tail, and creating rigs that can extend around aircraft receiving maintenance, it is nice to see the original arch across the ceiling which exists from the BOAC days and gains the building its listed status. The neighbouring hangar will be worked on next to bring it up to the same standard.

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My thanks to British Airways for the invite.

How would you fancy a trip on that rare workhorse, the Hawker Siddeley HS.748? Very few of them remain in service today, so it’s quite unusual to get the chance to fly on one.

Henry Tenby’s AirlineHobby site is offering enthusiast flights on an Air North example on three different dates this summer, and tickets are limited so get yours now!

The dates are:

Saturday, 16th June from Vancouver Airport South Terminal
Saturday, 14th July from Vancouver Airport South Terminal
Saturday, 11th August from Vancouver Airport to Abbotsford Air Show and back.

Every ticket booked will receive a free Air North HS748 DVD from Henry Tenby’s excellent collection of titles.

Flights last around an hour, and will cover all aspects of interest to the enthusiast.

You can find out more information from this link: http://www.airlinehobby.com/welcome/748tour/hs748charter.cfm

On arrival back in the UK from my trip to pick up a brand new British Airways Boeing 777-300ER from Seattle, we landed at Cardiff Airport. This may seem an odd choice, but the reason was that British Airways do all maintenance work on their B747-400, B767-300 and B777-200/300 fleets at this dedicated facility, known at British Airways Maintenance Cardiff (BAMC for short).

I was surprised to learn that BAMC had opened as long ago as 1993 – making next year its 20th anniversary! When you arrive, you wouldn’t think it, as the building is modern and airy.

We were given a tour of the facility (following a lovely cooked breakfast in the canteen!) by some of the staff there. They started by introducing themselves and just how much they love working there – the majority are from this part of Wales, so the facility is a fantastic resource for local employment.

Behind the entrance, offices and canteen areas, a huge three-bay hangar complex fronts onto a dedicated apron at the airport. It is big enough to house a Boeing 747-400 in each slot simultaneously, and on our visit we were presented with two examples having D-Checks – G-CIVY and G-BNLE.

Perhaps the nervous flyer would find the sight terrifying, but I was fascinated and really got to grasp just how big and complex a task it is to keep these machines flying for 20+ years. The tour gave us the opportunity to see inside ‘LE, which had been completely stripped of its interior, apart from the overhead lockers and some galley areas. It was an impressive sight, having only flown on a BA 747 a few days earlier and seen the big difference. Upstairs, the cockpit had been completely stripped to allow access to the airframe behind it, whilst outside engineers worked along the length of the wings on small issues that had been flagged with orange labels.

Outside, a new jetbridge has been constructed which allows another aircraft to park up and receive less intrusive attention. Today, the B777-300 we had just arrived on (G-STBF) had been pulled up. Workers were already aboard preparing the front cabins to receive the First and Club World seats before the aircraft enters passenger service in March.

For the spotter, there are various opportunities at Cardiff Airport to see what’s going on at BAMC. The hangar is visible from the car park area outside the terminal, and the roads leading up to BAMC. You may have difficulty seeing what’s inside unless the doors are open, however!

It was a fascinating tour, and a great end to our trip. Thanks to British Airways for arranging, and providing transport back to Heathrow.

When the invite came from British Airways to join them in ‘picking up’ their latest Boeing 777-300ER from Seattle and bringing it back to the UK, I couldn’t believe my luck. How often do you get the chance to do something like that?

After travelling across to Seattle with BA, the time came to head to Boeing’s Paine Field at Everett, to the north of Seattle. This is where Boeing builds its 747-8, 767, 777 and 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The airfield is literally full of new airframes lined up for testing, painting and fitting prior to delivery to their new owners around the world. But as we arrived, there was a small cheer as people caught sight of the reason we were there – British Airways’ new 777-300ER G-STBF (their 6th example, but their 55th 777 model in total) being towed across to the delivery centre.

We had an amazing tour of Boeing’s production lines inside the world’s largest building by area. I’ll post about this later.

Over at the Future of Flight building on the south-east side of the airfield, which doubles as the Delivery Centre, we arrived to be greeted by a fantastic lunch laid on by Boeing and a chance to mingle with the other VIP’s and BA staff on the trip. The centre has a bunch of displays about Boeing aircraft, including a section of Pan Am 707 fuselage, two 727 cockpits, and some experimental aircraft.

There is also a huge Boeing store with all manner of goodies, from pens, t-shirts and stickers, to books, DVDs and scale models of the different aircraft they produce. I’ll gladly admit I spent more than I should in here!

Up on the roof of the Centre is an observation deck with sweeping views over the airfield and production lines. This is perfect for the spotter and aircraft photographer as you’ll see every movement at the airfield at close quarters. It’s free to enter, too!

At 3pm the ceremony began. Andy Lord, the Director of Operations at British Airways, and an executive from Boeing introduced the delivery and just how significant the 777 is to the BA fleet. Then the curtain was pulled back, revealing G-STBF shining in the Seattle drizzle, to much applause.

It had been decided that one of our VIP group would get to cut the ribbon, and that honour fell on Matthew Stibbe of Golf Hotel Whiskey blog. However we all stood alongside him as he cut the ribbon and posed for photographs.

The crew also posed for photos, alongside Irene – mother of Capt Rod Mitchell, who was flying us home. The aircraft had been named Irene in honour of her, which was a nice surprise.

After passing through security with our bags, it was time to ascend the steps into the ‘new car smell’ of the cabin. The front sections of the aircraft were devoid of seats, as First and Club World are installed back in Cardiff. For takeoff and landing, all passengers had to sit in Economy in the back of the incredibly long aircraft (for safety reasons).

We departed shortly after 4pm, rocketing into the sky after what seemed like only a few seconds on the runway, due to our light load. Initially the flight was quite bumpy as there was a lot of weather around Seattle, and a strong jetstream blowing across the Pacific. Capt Mitchell informed us that it was clear 50 miles ahead “So we should be settled in approximately 6 minutes and 55 seconds”.

Boeing had provided catering for the flight, so we were invited to move to the World Traveller seating to enjoy either Beef or Seafood. I opted for the latter, which included huge prawns, lobster claws, salad, and a fantastic dessert. But since there were less than 50 people on board and plenty of food, there was enough to have a second helping if you wished.

Beer, wine, coffee and water were available in abundance, and a relaxed, happy atmosphere was evident throughout the flight. Once over northern Canada, the lights in the First cabin were dimmed and we were encouraged to go and see a fantastic display of the Northern Lights on the port side. Amusingly everyone crowded round the windows peering at the flickering green aurora outside.

Later in the flight we enjoyed a quiz by Capt Mitchell which he jokingly claimed to have been preparing whilst our other pilot, Tim, had been filing flight plans and flying the aircraft! The questions were based on our route, Seattle, Boeing, and British Airways. Sadly I didn’t win, but the two top prizes included a tour of Terminal 5 at Heathrow, and a 777 simulator ride.

I spent a couple of hours trying to get some sleep by stretching out over three seats in Economy, but fairly soon our adventure was coming to an end as we began our descent into Cardiff. To aid with the ‘swing’ required on the crosswind landing, we all moved closer to the front of the cabin. But it was an expert and comfortable landing, in what seems to be such a quiet aircraft despite its size.

To be part of this trip was really special, and it was a very fun, celebratory atmosphere on board – both from us VIPs who found the trip very different from any other, and from the BA staff who were very excited at this state-of-the-art new addition to their fleet.

G-STBF will begin carrying passengers after a short stint at BAMC in Cardiff, so watch out for her in the skies near you soon.

My thanks go out to British Airways‘ staff, pilots and crew for the invitation and for looking after us.

For two other excellent insights into this special trip, visit GolfHotelWhisky (or Forbes.com), and Continental Club

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