First and second generation jet airliners are getting rarer and rarer these days. It makes me incredibly sad, but at least for the time being we have these airports which are still great for catching old smokeys in action.

Memphis, TN
You’ve gotta love FedEx. They keep old birds flying. But they also have many new aircraft coming on line, such as the B777F which are replacing the older types.

For the time being, you can head to their Memphis, TN, base to catch quite a few classic B727 and DC/MD-10 aircraft coming and going each day. Depending on whether you consider A300-600 and A310-300 aircraft to be old or not, you can also see those. Also, as the airline is bringing in lots of second-hand B757 freighters, it’s another one I’ll leave you to decide on whether they’re an old jet or not!

Jakarta, Indonesia
Last time I visited Jakarta’s main CGK airport, it was still a hub for B727′s, B737-200′s, DC-9′s, DC-10′s and F-28′s. It was incredible, and great for filling lots of gaps in my log book from the 80′s and 90′s.

Today there are still a number of these types around, but it has dwindled significantly. More prevalent are MD-80′s and B737-300/400′s, which are becoming classics.

From 26 April 2012, Allegiant Air will open a new base at Oakland Airport, California.

It will see two MD-80 aircraft based there for scheduled operations to a number of airports. Routes include:

Billings, MO
Bozeman, MO
Kalispell, MO
Idaho Falls, ID
Medford, OR
Missoula, MO
Redmond, OR

These are in addition to the airline’s existing routes from Oakland to Bellingham, WA, Eugene, OR, and Phoenix-Mesa, AZ.

Fantastic news for those in the USA – ANA (All Nippon Airways) will start flying their Boeing 787 Dreamliners on scheduled services to the USA from April 2012.

The three routes announced are from Toyko Narita to San Jose, CA, Seattle, WA, and Washington DC Dulles.

Flights begin on 1 April 2012.

Great news for spotters over there, and I think this proves to some degree (San Jose) that the 787 will be used to try out more niche long haul routes.

As a side note, there will, however, be a delay to the planned Beijing and Frankfurt 787 services due to a delay in delivery of the third aircraft to ANA.

I saw this tour announced today and it immediately caught my attention. Specialist North Korea tour operator Juche Travel Services have put together a tour of North Korea aimed at aircraft enthusiasts.

As author of the book Last Chance to Fly, the reason it caught my attention so much was the fact that you will get to fly on the Ilyushin IL-62, Antonov AN-24, Ilyushin IL-18 and either Tupolev TU154 or TU204. I would love the chance to do this.

I can guarantee this will be one of your last chances to take a flight on these aircraft, as very few now fly passengers anywhere in the world.

The 7 day tour takes place in May 2012 from Beijing, China, and sees you fly to Pyongyang and a number of domestic airports, whilst taking in the sights and local culture on an excellent itinerary.

The price is EUR 1,675 per person.

Sadly this may be a little expensive for me, so I may not get to fly on these classic airliners. But I hope some of you will give it a go and send us some pictures!

You can read more about it on the Juche Travel Services website http://www.juchetravelservices.com/news.html

Much talk is currently spreading about Emirates sending an Airbus A380 to Birmingham on 9th September as a one-off to celebrate the airport’s 75th anniversary and the opening of the new revised International Pier.

Whilst this information comes on good authority, and it seems there is a good chance it’ll happen, people are also saying they’re poised to switch it back to the usual Boeing 777-300 at last minute. There’s also the fact that the new international pier is well behind schedule and not likely to open until December.

Any updates would be appreciated if you are ‘in the know’

With Manchester United in the final of the Champions League against Barcelona, which is being held in Rome on Wednesday 27th May, Manchester Airport is expecting a whole host of extra charter flights.

TAS Manchester‘s website has the full list of what’s due, and a schedule. Be warned, most will operate early in the morning and late at night!

The Aviation Viewing Park at Manchester Airport will open at 5am on 27th and 28th May. Normal prices apply.

Click here for the list of flights.

A large number of flights will also operate on 26th May.

Those of you in Barcelona or Rome will also be treated to a large number of extra flights on those days.

Sorry for the late warning. Dutch Spotters are hosting another Rotterdam Aviation Fair inside the terminal building on Saturday 18 April.

Parking and entrance is free. Inside you’ll find many booths and tables selling all kinds of books, DVDs, models, slides etc.

You can also take part in ramp tours of Rotterdam Airport (I did one of these a couple of years ago and it proved very fruitful!). There’s also the chance to take a sightseeing flight to Amsterdam.

The event is open from 10am to 4pm. See this link for more information.

Upstairs, Rotterdam has a great viewing gallery overlooking the apron.

Qantas will begin flying their Airbus A380 into London Heathrow five days per week from 8 June 2009. This is an increase on the present schedule.

The days of operation are: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

The aircraft arrives from Sydney – Singapore on QF30/31

US cargo carrier ABX Air has started flying its Boeing 767-200 freighters into Europe in conjunction with TNT.

Currently a 5x weekly service is operating from New York JFK (sometimes via Halifax) to Liege in Belgium. This operates Tuesday-Saturday mornings.

Rumours are that more links with TNT will be flown by ABX Air in the near future. This is a great chance to see some rarer aircraft to our skies and airports.

From the winter timetables in October, the top 100 busiest airports in the USA are expected the number of flights operating through them to drop by 10%.

This comes after announcements from many of the major carriers that they are reducing their schedules, parking planes, and laying off staff.

In the US, American Airlines will cut 62 flights from Chicago O’Hare across its mainline and Eagle routes.

A full story can be read at http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-06-29-route-cutbacks_N.htm

Will this resonate around the world, with echoes across European and Asian airports?

For the spotter, will it mean aircraft are parked up and easier to catch, or will it make a trip to the airport less exciting?