Airbus today unveiled its A350 aircraft fully painted.
The aircraft emerged from the paint facility at Toulouse in the white and blue scheme of Airbus, with its smart blended winglets adorned with ‘A350 XWB’ titles.
As reported earlier, the aircraft is expected to fly on 11 June, though this has not been confirmed officially yet.
Bologna Airport has recruited the services of an unusual car for its follow-me drivers to direct pilots to their parking positions after landing.
Since 6th May, a Lamborghini Aventador LP has been in use. It is painted with a red and white chequered livery, and furnished with Follow Me signs. Drivers have been trained to use the car by Lamborghini test driver, Mario Fasanetto.
The use of the car is to promote the 50th Anniversary of Automobili Lamborghini, and will also see an exhibition on Lamborghini inside Bologna’s main terminal.
The V12 engined car will be in use, guiding up to 140 flights per day at Bologna Airport, until 16th May.
The prototype of the new Airbus A350 XWB has recently been moved into the paint shop at Toulouse, where construction and testing have been taking place.
Sources on various forums have recently indicated that the first flight has been scheduled for 11th June at Toulouse.
This fuels the rumours that the aircraft will make a public appearance during this year’s Paris Air Show, which runs between 17-23 June. The public days of the air show are 21-23, which are the days that the type is most likely to appear if the rumours are true.
I stress that these are just rumours and nothing official has been announced by Airbus yet.
Thomson Airways has confirmed that their new Boeing 787 Dreamliner will begin commercial flights on 8 July.
Their first aircraft, G-TUIA, has recently been spotted test flying at Everett Paine Field prior to its delivery some time in June.
The inaugural Thomson services with the airline will be from Manchester and London Gatwick to Cancun and Orlando, FL.
Last week marked the final flight in Europe of a BAC One-Eleven (1-11) aircraft, with QinetiQ’s (former Royal Aircraft Establishment) last flying example, ZH763, making the short journey from Boscombe Down to Newquay, in the south west of England.
The aircraft is to be preserved under cover as a fully serviceable exhibit, which will hopefully be seen moving around the airfield under its own power at special events held by its new owners, Classic Air Force, who have a number of serviceable historic aircraft.
As the type approaches its 50th anniversary, it is fitting to retire an example in this way, for future generations to enjoy.
Meanwhile, Classic Jet Tours in the USA are organising four enthusiasts flights on the last remaining operational 1-11 in the USA this October. The aircraft, N999BW, is operated in a VIP configuration by Jet Place Inc. These tours are likely to be the last chance for anyone to fly on a BAC One-Eleven, so if you’re interested make a booking at www.classicjettours.com and get down to Dallas Love Field.
I’d like to take a look at the country of Denmark and what aviation opportunities exist for aviation enthusiasts.
Airports
The main airport gateway to Denmark is Copenhagen Kastrup Airport, situated close to the city and only a short distance across the water from Malmo in Sweden.
Copenhagen is one of the main bases for SAS, and is also a hub for Cimber Air and Norwegian.no. Other principal airlines operating there include easyJet, Widerøe, JetTime, Thomas Cook Scandinavia and TUIfly Nordic.
Interesting and unusual airlines operating to Copenhagen are Air Greenland, Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Atlantic Airways with the Airbus A319 link to the Faroe Islands.
By far the most popular spotting location at Copenhagen is the Flyvergrillen cafe, located alongside Runway 22R/04L. It has a dirt mound alongside which offers views over the movements on the runways and taxiways. It is acceptable for photography on afternoons. To reach the spot, walk out of Terminal 1 and turn left at the catering buildings. You can also drive this route. It takes 30 minutes to walk.
Other airports in Denmark include:
Aviation Attractions
Danish Technical Museum
Located at Helsingor, to the north of Copenhagen, this museum has a decent collection of around 30 aircraft. These include a SAS Sud Aviation Caravelle, DC-3, DC-7 cockpit, and a de Havilland Dragon Rapide, amongst a number of military aircraft.
Danish Collection of Vintage Aircraft
A museum of over 60 historic aircraft at Stauning Airport on the west coast of Denmark. Open daily.
Slagelse
Former British Airways and European Aviation BAC 1-11 G-AVMN is preserved outside a technical museum around 55 miles west of Copenhagen.
Ryanair has announced it will begin serving Montenegro from June – its 29th country.
Flights will launch 4x weekly from Brussels Charleroi to Podgorica from 20th June using Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
It is unknown at the moment whether further routes will be added to the country from other Ryanair bases.
IAG, the owner of British Airways and Iberia, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to purchase 18 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, plus 18 options.
This move comes after speculation over whether an order for future long-haul aircraft to equip British Airways would go with Boeing or Airbus.
In the same deal, IAG agreed terms and slots that would allow it to also equip Iberia with A350s – a decision it will make when Iberia’s profitability has improved.
The A350 will operate alongside the Airbus A380 in British Airways‘ long haul fleet, in addition to the Boeing 747-400 and 787.
Lufthansa will introduce its Airbus A380 to one of its flights from Frankfurt to Shanghai Pudong Airport from September.
The aircraft will operate on Mondays and Wednesdays (Tuesdays and Thursdays from Shanghai) from 26 September.
From the winter season the Boeing 747-400 will replace the Airbus A340-600 on Lufthansa‘s daily departure to Shanghai. The A380 operates in addition to this daily service.
FlyNonstop is a new Norwegian carrier which is set to begin flights on 25 April from its Kristiansand base.
The airline’s first aircraft – an Embraer 190 leased from CIT Aerospace, and operated by Denim Air crews – was delivered recently, and is resplendent in a really striking purple colour scheme.
FlyNonstop will link Kristiansand with Barcelona, Berlin, Dubrovnik, London City, Nice, Palma, Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Parma.
