May I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year, from the Airport Spotting Blog!

Thank you all for visiting this site over the past year and supporting the site by buying books and guides.

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And let me know what you’d like to see more of in 2013 by leaving a comment below!

Two new European airports will become Ryanair‘s newest bases next year, it has been announced.

Chania, in Crete (Greece) will become a base in April 2013, and welcome 11 new routes, including:

Billund
Bremen
Bristol
Eindhoven
Katowice
Marseille
Memmingen
Thessaloniki
Venice
Vilnius
Warsaw

Zadar (Croatia) will also open as a base in April 2013, and welcome seven new routes, including:

Dublin
East Midlands
Gothenburg City
Haugesund
Liverpool
Paris Beauvais
Wroclaw

Norwegian Air Shuttle has announced the delivery schedule, and entry into service plans, for its new Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet.

The first aircraft is due to be delivered to the airline’s Oslo base in April 2013, with flights commencing to New York on 30 May.

Flights from Stockholm will begin from May 31, 2013, initially twice weekly on the New York route, but increasing to three times weekly from June 26, 2013.  Its long-haul network from the Swedish capital will expand with the addition of flights to Bangkok on a three times weekly basis from June 20, 2013.

After the delivery of its first Dreamliner, Norwegian confirms that a second aircraft will arrive in June, enabling it to fulfil its proposed schedules to Bangkok (on 1 June 2013)and New York.  A third aircraft will arrive in November and is likely to be used for frequency growth, subject to demand, but the carrier has not ruled out adding additional routes from Scandinavia or even some of its other European bases.  Norwegian will take delivery of an additional four aircraft in 2014 and one in 2015.

Tickets on the routes are now on sale at www.norwegian.no

A quick note to wish all of the readers of Airport Spotting Blog a Happy Christmas from me and Destinworld Publishing!

I hope you have a fantastic time, and a great 2012!

We look forward to many aviation and airport happenings in the year ahead, and hopefully lots of trips to report on. If you go on any trips, why not make it your new year resolution to send in a report for the site?

The contest to win a copy of Airport Spotting Guides 2012 from the Airplane Geeks Podcast is now over and I’ve picked a winner at random. This is Jasper Hoopman.

Congratulations to you, and thanks to everyone who entered and sent kind words about the podcast.

The book is due for release in November, so keep an eye out if you’re interested in a copy.

With the recent crash of the Rusair example at Petrozavodsk in Russia, the Tupolev TU-134 has become the latest type to face the axe, so I wanted to give it the praise it deserves as one of the classic airliners of all time.

Built as Russia’s response to the DC-9, HS Trident and BAC 1-11, the TU-134 first flew in 1963 and was proposed as a short-medium range airliner.

In total 850 examples were built, mainly for the domestic market operated by Aeroflot. Other examples found service with airlines in Eastern Europe and Asia.

Today, very few examples remain in service, and the recent crash has led Russian authorities to demand its retirement.

If you still wish to fly on the type, why not check out our book Last Chance to Fly, which lists current operators and where they fly.

Amsterdam Schiphol is one of Europe’s biggest and busiest airports, and a major hub for both KLM and Delta Air Lines.

Living in the UK, I have travelled through Schiphol many times in order to connect onto European or long-haul flights around the world, and as such I’ve developed a good understanding of where to spot whilst in transit in order to make the most of my time there and cover most aircraft movements.

Schiphol is essentially a single-terminal airport, with piers B-H protruding from the main building. Piers B and C are for Schengen flights, and pier H is for low-cost airlines. Both require going through passport control, and therefore remove you from the rest of the building.

As a first stop, head for pier D. This one actually splits in two, so head for the end of each in turn, starting with the right-hand one. Along here you will have views of some aircraft parked on the C pier, and importantly you can see the cargo ramp on the far side of runway 06/24, as well as the remote Schiphol Ooste area, where biz jets and unusual types can often be seen.

After covering pier D, head back towards the main building and walk along the base of piers E and F. There’s no real need to go along these piers as you can see everything from the windows you pass. These piers are mainly home to KLM and Delta long haul airliners.

When reaching pier G, you’ll walk along an external passageway with windows overlooking part of the pier. You can take pictures here usually.

Upon entering pier G, walk straight ahead, behind the cafe/bar. From here you can see and photograph aircraft parked at pier H. Next, walk the length of pier G, noting aircraft parked either side – these will include other airliners from North America, Asia and Turkey. You can also see across to long-haul airliners parked up away from the terminal (usually KLM and Surinam Airlines examples).

At the end of pier G is a nice large window overlooking a runway and taxiway, and is good for photography as plenty of aircraft will pass by you.

Performing this route a number of times, depending on how long you’re in transit, will help you keep on top of movements at Schiphol.

If you want to sit for a drink or bite to eat, one of the better places is the combined seating area in the upstairs food court between piers E and D (McDonalds etc.). You’ll see the distant taxiways and runway, where many aircraft will pass.

Once inside pier C, you still have good views, particularly from the end of the pier, of aircraft on runway 06/24, pier D and the cargo ramps. You’ll also see many of the commuter aircraft which park on the remote ramp.

A great website for finding out what you saw at Schiphol is http://www.scramble.nl/splmovs.htm

Do you have a top tip for spotting airside at Amsterdam Schiphol? Leave a comment below!

Happy New Year to all our readers, from the Airport Spotting Blog.

May your 2010 be full of fruitful spotting and good times!

Birmingham Airport’s planned runway extension has been approved.

I was in the Aviation Experience last week and noticed the display boards with all of the plans and support for this that they have up. Got to be good news for the airport.

It has come to light that a story I reported recently about the Heathrow Visitors Centre car park prices doubling is actually untrue. The report quickly spiralled out of control it seems, and I didn’t help that. So sorry for causing any confusion!

Martin Baird, the Airport Watch Co-ordinator, has confirmed that there are no planned changes in the price of car parking, and enthusiasts are welcome to be there.