Back in 2018 I flew SEA-FRA and back on Lufthansa 747-400s which was my first 747 flight in over 20 years (BA to London) and I had forgotten just how much better they are than smaller aircraft, even the 777. I've flown 747s many, many times over my lifetime including a rare 747SP flight from LA to Sydney back in the '80s right after United took over PanAm's Pacific service (right after, the United logos had been hastily painted on the outside and everything inside was still labeled Pan American. I will be very disappointed when the last commercial 747 is retired.

(Written on 2020/10/17)(Permalink)

Let Evel Knievel get ON the plane, me I'm getting IN the plane!

(Written on 2020/10/17)(Permalink)

Vietnam Airlines, sorry for the typo.

(Written on 2020/07/04)(Permalink)

Vietname Airlines has 102 planes, VietJet has 75, JetStar has 18 and Bamboo Airways has 25. That's 220 planes there so the number of pilots doesn't seem out of line.

(Written on 2020/07/04)(Permalink)

Between my last 747 flight in 1997 and 2018 despite traveling overseas a fair amount I hadn't flown an another 747. But when I went to Greece two years ago I was able to fly on a Lufthansa 747-400 and I had forgotten just how much better and more comfortable the 747 was than the 777 even in coach. I really regret that its seen the end of its production but with the radical changes in aviation as of late and the even more radical changes coming in the next few years I guess there simply isn't a place for it. At least the Air Force One 747s will be flying far into the furture...

(Written on 2020/07/03)(Permalink)

Agreed, it appears he has lead a pretty interesting life!

(Written on 2020/05/19)(Permalink)

My dad retired in July 1968 and was mostly flying out of HNL at the time even though we lived in Seattle. We planned to spend a month in Hawaii that July, half before he retired and half after. Through coincidence my father ended up being the pilot of our flight to Hawaii too! He did fly once more in the cockpit in 1974 or '75 where our ORD-DCA flight was one seat short so he rode in the jump seat of the 727. His name was Hal Dahl by the way. It's interesting that you flew the DC-7. My dad was a DC-7 pilot as well as I noted but was on it for not all that long, early 1954 until mid 1959 where he was pulled off to start DC-8 training. Have you been through the United 727 at the Museum of Flight? It's like a time machine with its 1970s interior.

(Written on 2020/05/16)(Permalink)

What year did you start at United? My father was a United DC-3, 4, 6, 7 and 8 pilot who retired in 1968.

(Written on 2020/05/16)(Permalink)

Alaska Airlines used to fly to Russia back in the early '90s, to Magadan, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok and others but the collapsing Russian economy in the late '90s and likely political concerns, resulted in the flights being cancelled. Too bad as I would love to have a chance to travel there with my wife who was born in Russia but has never seen the east coast.

(Written on 2020/05/15)(Permalink)

Depends what you mean by “long haul”, I’ve flown Icelandair’s 757 SEA-KEF-Europe several times and it’s a perfectly acceptable aircraft for that route but SEA-KEF is only 7 1/2 hours which is about as long as I’d prefer to fly on a narrow body.

(Written on 2020/05/09)(Permalink)