The trip started with Dubai. Of course there are several direct flight, I prefer however to have some stops on the way. So in this case first flight was to Paris-Charles de Gaulle
6/11 AMS – CDG KL1229 B737-800 PH-BXV
I had about 6 hours at Paris, but right around lunch time which did not seem to be the best time. Traffic was rather slow for a long time and the results were limited. Most of the time I spent walking around T1 (thanks Hurricane) and I did get some Triples, 10 in total, 3 new.
Charles de Gaulle – 6 November 2010
Air France B777-200ER F-GSPG, F-GSPR, F-GSPS, F-GSPZ B777-300ER F-GSQN, F-GZNF Eva Air B777-300ER B-16713 MAS B777-200ER 9M-MRO Thai AW B777-300ER HS-TKJ United AL B777-200 N772UAFrom Paris I flew to Doha in Qatar with Qatar AW. This was my first time with Qatar and I was impressed. Service was absolutely wonderful and genuine; food was exceptional for airline food and the PTV with AVOD gave me lots to play with, even though the flight was only about 6 hours.
6/11 CDG – DOH QR20 A340-600 A7-AGC
Doha was a big bummer though. It was in the middle of the night, and everything is parked out on the stands. The tiny terminal has no airbridges. It has big windows, but in the night you can only read what moves right past the terminal…. which is very limited. The stands are visible, but planes are not readable from the terminal. My A340 was parked on the last spot and the bus took the wrong way round the runway to read other planes, all I could read were 4 choppers on the chopper platform (out of 17 I counted). And by the time my flight to Dubai left, just about everything else had left already. No triples read this time…
7/11 DOH – DXB QR104 A320-200 A7-ADH
First real stop: Dubai, home to the largest fleet of Triples in the world. Emirates now has a staggering 86 in operation (including two freighters) and 48 more on order. I spent two nights in the well known Sheraton Deira hotel, under the approach of Dubai. This hotel, though not cheap, is by far the best option to spot. It has a rooftop terrace with swimming pool, from where you can read landing planes without binocular, well, most at least. Around lunch time they normally switch direction though so planes take off over the hotel. Even then, with the help of some binoculars, you can read just about everything. Some rooms also look to the right direction and I was lucky enough to have one, so I could also spot from my room.
The only drawback of Dubai is the fact that most activity takes place at night. During the days I was here for example, I did not see one A380 land at day time! From the rooftop reading planes at night is just about impossible due to the darkness. But luckily, Dubai has a solution to this problem: excessive streetlights! If you walk out of the hotel to the left, turn left at the intersection and walk on to the next intersection, there is a small patch of grass with some trees and a hedge. I noticed many Indian men here just sitting around drinking tea, talking and reading. So I did the same. I just sat there after darkness and whenever a plane landed, I looked up and read the registration from under the wing… easy enough with all the lights. I have been there for about 6 hours in total and without binoculars nobody seemed to be bothered by me.
Final result: 78 triples, 42 new
Dubai - 7/8/9 November 2010
AeroLogic B777-F D-AALA, D-AALD Air France B777-300ER F-GSQC B777-F F-GUOC British AW B777-200ER G-YMML, G-YMMO, G-YMMP Delta AL B777-200LR N707DN Emirates B777-200 A6-EMD, A6-EME, A6-EMF B777-200ER A6-EMG, A6-EMH, A6-EMI, A6-EMJ, A6-EML B777-200LR A6-EWB, A6-EWF, A6-EWH, A6-EWJ B777-300 A6-EMM, A6-EMN, A6-EMO, A6-EMP, A6-EMQ, A6-EMR, A6-EMS, A6-EMT, A6-EMU, A6-EMW, A6-EMX B777-300ER A6-EBA, A6-EBD, A6-EBF, A6-EBG, A6-EBH, A6-EBI, A6-EBK, A6-EBL, A6-EBO, A6-EBP, A6-EBR, A6-EBS, A6-EBT, A6-EBU, A6-EBV, A6-EBX, A6-EBY, A6-ECB, A6-ECD, A6-ECE, A6-ECJ, A6-ECK, A6-ECL, A6-ECM, A6-ECN, A6-ECR, A6-ECU, A6-ECV, A6-ECY, A6-ECZ B777-F A6-EFD, A6-EFE Qatar AW B777-200LR A7-BBD, A7-BBE B777-300ER A7-BAA Royal Brunei B777-200ER V8-BLB, V8-BLC Saudi Arabian B777-200ER HZ-AKA, HZ-AKD, HZ-AKE, HZ-AKG Singapore AL B777-200ER 9V-SQD, 9V-SQH TAAG B777-200ER D2-TEF Thai AW B777-200 HS-TJD, HS-TJG Transaero B777-200ER EI-UNXNext stop on my journey would be for a different reason. Another interest of mine is to fly different types of planes (even without reason). The DC-10 and Fokker 28 were still on my to fly list and these are getting really difficult to catch these days. The last scheduled DC-10 operator is Biman Bangladesh and they also operate at least one Fokker still. Since the DC-10s mostly fly from Dhaka to Dubai, I figured it would the perfect opportunity.
Booking a flight with Biman was not so easy however. They are not bookable via any website and also the airline itself did not respond to my emails initially. Only when I copied the managing director of the airline somebody jumped to attention. They gave me the new timetable and told me to book through a travel agent in Dubai. With some more perseverance I got Dnata to help me out and they booked two sectors for me: Dubai - Sylhet and Sylhet – Dhaka. Although that seems easy enough, it really wasn´t. The flight from Dubai goes to Dhaka, with a stop in Sylhet. But nobody in his right mind would get off in Sylhet, go through immigrations, only to hop on the next flight to Dhaka. But I would, because that way I could also catch the Fokker. The travel agent didn´t understand, but did book for me.
So in the middle of the night I went to the airport in Dubai to check in for the flight to Sylhet. It was one big mess in the check in area, with me being the only non-Bangladeshi there and the only one with only one piece of luggage. Also three hours in advance still ensured me a place at the end of the looooooong line. Thankfully though I was such a rarity in the line, because the South African check in lady felt pitty for me I think and gave me seat 2A. Not business class (there isn´t any), but a good deal for me.
The rest of my time at the airport I spent fighting the glass and reflections and try to read some more Emirates A380s. Not very successful though. When time for boarding came the madness started again. All these little Bangladeshi men with way too much hand luggage started fighting for a spot in the line. Chaos all over the place at which I could only smile. I always carry only a small bag that fits under the seat in front of me, so no need to fight for luggage bin space. But up to this point I still wasn´t sure I would get the DC-10. Equipment changes are frequent and so it could still be an A310. Only when I entered the jetbridge I could see I got what I wanted, it was a DC-10!
The flight itself was uneventful, other than the 2 hour delay (due to the excessive amount of luggage that needed to be arranged…) and the fact that the super friendly crew brought me an extra meal, extra drinks, extra pillow and extra blanket. Being foreign sometimes helps it seems.
10/11 DXB – ZYL BG42 DC-10-30 S2-ACQ
After arrival at the tiny ´International´ Airport of Sylhet the crew was a bit surprised I wanted to get out. But since it said so on my boarding pass, they had to let me go. Then a struggle started to explain the fact that I had just came off a flight from Dubai to Dhaka, just to disembark in Sylhet to catch a next flight to Dhaka (“Why don´t you have a hotel on Sylhet on your imigration card??”). I found out saying it was an error by the travel agent made it lots easier (sorry Dnata).
So I got through immigration, got my bag and checked in for my next flight, to Dhaka. Same questions again, but the error thing helped. While I was waiting for my flight (BG102) I noticed there were two flights going to Dhaka within 10 minutes. My flight (which would continue to Bangkok) and another ending in Dhaka. That made me afraid I would NOT be on the Fokker. Even more so, when a Fokker came in and also a Boeing 737, which I knew does the Bangkok run normally. So I was already thinking about how I could get on that Fokker instead of the B737, when a guy in uniform came in and asked if any passengers on the BG102 (my flight) would like to get on the BG1608 (the Fokker) instead. I think I was out the door before he could finish the question….. So there I was, flying on that old beast to Dhaka. It was only a 40 minute flight and 10 passengers, but it felt great.
10/11 ZYL – DAC BG1608 Fokker 28 S2-ACV
The next day and a half I spent in a small hotel close to the airport. I had the extra day planned in case the Fokker flight was messed up and I needed to do another flight to catch it. Since I had it, I decided to see if I could do some spotting in Dhaka instead. The hotel I was in (the Uttara Inn) is just north of the field and at walking distance from the approach. The approach is very open and many people were passing by and also looking at the airplanes. As a foreigner you obviously stand out from the crowd, but even the guards didn´t seem to bother about me. For about two hours I just sat there, on a big rock, and watched the planes. I could read almost everything without binoculars, including 10 Bangladesh Air Force F-7s and one An-32! These fighters were really out to play with several in the air at any given time. Also one MiG-29 was flying, but that one did not have large serials and remained anonymous.
When one of the guards pointed at me and another got up and starting walking towards me I decided to go back to hotel. Maybe he just wanted to tell me about a better spot… I don´t know and I didn´t want to find out.
For tripples Bangladesh wasn´t so good of course, only one, but it was a new one.
Dhaka - 10/11/12 November 2010
Biman B777-200ER CS-TFMNext stop was Kuala Lumpur. Air Asia has a daily flight and they are pretty cheap.
12/11 DAC – KUL AK149 A320-200 9M-AFV
Also Kuala Lumpur isn´t exactly a triple seven heaven, but my main reason for KUL was the large number of Air Asia busses. In little more than one day I read 60 of them, so that was a success. Main triple to get here was my last Malaysian triple…. I need to go back one day….
18 triples, but only 2 new, not the best stop.
Kuala Lumpur - 12/13/14 November 2010
Cathay B777-200 B-HNA B777-300 B-HNE, B-HNP Emirates B777-300ER A6-EBI, A6-EBO, A6-EBY Eva Air B777-300ER B-16709 KLM B777-200ER PH-BQE MAS B777-200ER 9M-MRD, 9M-MRH, 9M-MRI, 9M-MRJ, 9M-MRK, 9M-MRL, 9M-MRM, 9M-MRN, 9M-MRO, 9M-MRQFrom Kuala Lumpur I flew on to a big triple field again: Singapore. The short hop was with Jet Star Asia and it was the cheapest flight I ever took: 22 euro, including one piece of luggage and including all taxes.
14/11 KUL – SIN 3K684 A320-200 9V-JSH
What to say about Singapore? It is a great field with a bunch of interesting flights, but it can also be utterly frustrating. The good viewing deck in T1 has been closed for years already (set to open in 2012 I think), so you are left with the decks in T2 and T3. These are far from great, because you got two layers of glass, some very annoying foil on the outer layer of glass and also the glass is far from straight. When it is clear weather you can read most in T3, but not even everything in T2. When it rains you can forget about almost everything.
Another option for spotting is Changi beach, in the north. That is a good place to go to if they land from the north. During my three days though, they landed almost exclusively from the south, so Changi beach was also a no go.
Then, the really last option is to take a room in the Crowne Plaza. Very expensive, but then you can spot all day (and even a little at night) and even from your bathtub! No kidding! So, that I did and I think I can say it saved my visit to Singapore. The triple count would have been much lower if I had not been in the Crowne Plaza. Now I came to 76 and 32 new (yes, been here before, so large number of Singapores already double).
Singapore - 14/15/16 November 2010
Air France B777-300ER F-GSQF British AW B777-200ER G-YMMG, G-YMMP Cathay B777-200 B-HNB, B-HNC B777-300 B-HNJ, B-HNM China Cargo B777-F B-2077, B-2079 Emirates B777-300ER A6-EBU, A6-ECH, A6-ECQ, A6-ECU Eva Air B777-300ER B-16703, B-16706 KLM B777-200ER PH-BQN B777-300ER PH-BVA Qatar AW B777-200LR A7-BBH B777-300ER A7-BAL, A7-BAO Royal Brunei B777-200ER V8-BLD Singapore AL B777-200ER 9V-SQA, 9V-SQB, 9V-SQD, 9V-SQF, 9V-SQG, 9V-SQJ, 9V-SQK, 9V-SQL, 9V-SQM, 9V-SQN, 9V-SRF, 9V-SRG, 9V-SRH, 9V-SRI, 9V-SRJ, 9V-SRK, 9V-SRL, 9V-SRM, 9V-SRN, 9V-SRO, 9V-SRP, 9V-SRQ, 9V-SVE, 9V-SVH, 9V-SVI, 9V-SVJ, 9V-SVK, 9V-SVO B777-300 9V-SYA, 9V-SYB, 9V-SYC, 9V-SYD, 9V-SYE, 9V-SYG, 9V-SYJ, 9V-SYK B777-300ER 9V-SWA, 9V-SWB, 9V-SWD, 9V-SWF, 9V-SWG, 9V-SWH, 9V-SWJ, 9V-SWL, 9V-SWM, 9V-SWN, 9V-SWO, 9V-SWP, 9V-SWQ, 9V-SWR, 9V-SWT Thai AW B777-200ER HS-TJR, HS-TJU United AL B777-200ER N217UA, N791UAOn Tuesday in the afternoon I was supposed to fly with Tiger Airways to my next destination; Hong Kong. Tiger Airways decided to cancel the flight though and so I ended up on the evening flight. Unfortunate, but what can you do about it. The flight was long and boring, but it got me to Hong Kong, another place I had been before and the place I was looking forward to a lot.
16/11 SIN – HKG TR2968 A320-200 9V-TAO
Hong Kong is much easier than any of the fields I had been so far. There are good options at both approaches and a viewing deck on the east side. The viewing deck only opens around 11 though, so for the morning you need to go to one of the approaches. Since they were flying mostly from the west side, I went to Haeco. Just take bus S52 from Tung Chung station and get out at the last stop (you cannot miss it). Walk back a little, put yourself on a rock here and enjoy the show. For two days I stayed mostly on the Haeco side (and some hours on the viewing deck) and wrote pages and pages of registrations in my notebook. What a field. It is a bit like Heathrow, but with even more interesting planes. In the end the score was 83 triples and 37 of them new.
Hong Kong - 16/17/18 November 2010
AeroLogic B777-F D-AALD, D-AALG Air Canada B777-200LR C-FIUA, C-FIUJ B777-300ER C-FITU Air France B777-200ER F-GSPF B777-300ER F-GSQG, F-GSQK B777-F F-GUOB Air India B777-300ER VT-ALS, VT-ALT Air NZ B777-200ER ZK-OKC, ZK-OKF, ZK-OKH ANA B777-300ER JA778A Cathay B777-200 B-HNA, B-HNB, B-HNC, B-HND, B-HNL B777-300 B-HNE, B-HNF, B-HNG, B-HNH, B-HNI, B-HNJ, B-HNK, B-HNM, B-HNN, B-HNO, B-HNP, B-HNQ B777-300ER B-KPB, B-KPC, B-KPD, B-KPE, B-KPF, B-KPG, B-KPH, B-KPI, B-KPJ, B-KPK, B-KPM, B-KPN, B-KPO, B-KPP, B-KPQ, B-KPR Delta AL B777-200LR N704DK El Al B777-200ER 4X-ECB, 4X-ECC Emirates B777-300ER A6-EBX, A6-EBZ Eva Air B777-300ER B-16701, B-16711 FedEx B777-F N850FD, N857FD, N883FD Japan AL B777-200ER JA704J, JA709J Kenya AW B777-200ER 5Y-KQT Korean Air B777-200ER HL7734 MAS B777-200ER 9M-MRF, 9M-MRH Philippines B777-300ER RP-C7776, RP-C7777 Qatar AW B777-F A7-BFB Royal Brunei B777-200ER V8-BLC Singapore AL B777-200ER 9V-SQE, 9V-SRO, 9V-SRP B777-300ER 9V-SWM, 9V-SWR, 9V-SWS Thai AW B777-200 HS-TJB, HS-TJD, HS-TJF, HS-TJH B777-F N774SA Turkish AL B777-300ER TC-JJC, TC-JJD United AL B777-200ER N74007, N78017In the evening of the second day it was time to check in for my flight to my final stop in Asia: Bangkok. Just when I started planning this trip I read that Emirates was flying the A380 from Hong Kong to Bangkok, so I decided to give that a try. Bad luck for me, they only fly it on 5 nights a week, the other two nights the flight is operated by a B777-300ER. Ah well, that would be a first time for me too.
18/11 HKG – BKK EK385 B777-300ER A6-EBX
The flight with Emirates was a big let down though. I found the service appaling and even the seats were in not too good a condition anymore (on a 3 year old plane!). No, it wouldn´t be my choice for a next flight to be honest.
In Bangkok I stayed in the spotter hotel to be; the Queens Garden Resort Hotel. It is right under the northern approach and has opened the rooftop for people who want to watch the planes. When approach is from the north, it must be excellent…. When they are flying from the south though, like I had, it is just doable. In the morning I had great difficulty with reading the smaller planes taking of, from about 10 o´clock it became better though. With a large scope you can read everything that leaves. You also have a limited view on the airfield and you can read some freighters that are parked. From around 3 o´clock it becomes very quiet though. Planes do come in one after another, but hardly anything leaves between 3 and 6. When departures pick up again, it is dark already.
The hotel itself is basic, cheap, but certainly not bad. Staff is friendly and the restaurant is good and not expensive either.
The triple catch here: 46 with 16 new.
Bangkok - 18/19/20/21 November 2010
Cathay B777-300 B-HNF, B-HNG, B-HNH, B-HNN EgyptAir B777-200ER SU-GBR, SU-GBS Emirates B777-300 A6-EMO, A6-EMS B777-300ER A6-EBG Etihad B777-300ER A6-ETB, A6-ETD Eva Air B777-300ER B-16706, B-16708, B-16710 Kenya AW B777-200ER 5Y-KQT, 5Y-KYZ Qatar AW B777-200LR A7-BBH B777-300ER A7-BAF, A7-BAH Singapore AL B777-200ER 9V-SQA, 9V-SQC, 9V-SQH, 9V-SRF, 9V-SRK Thai AW B777-200 HS-TJA, HS-TJC, HS-TJD, HS-TJE, HS-TJF, HS-TJH B777-200ER HS-TJR, HS-TJS, HS-TJV, HS-TJW B777-300 HS-TKA, HS-TKB, HS-TKC, HS-TKD, HS-TKE, HS-TKF B777-300ER HS-TKG, HS-TKH, HS-TKJ B777-F N775SA Transaero B777-200ER EI-UNR United AL B777-200ER N792UAOn the morning of the 21st I had to prepare to go home again. Flying home was once again on Qatar AW with the flight from Bangkok to Doha on a B777-300ER, or so it was planned. When I got to the gate it turned out to be a B777-200LR! Nice, because I didn´t have that subtype yet. Again, service was outstanding.
21/11 BKK – DOH QR613 B777-200LR A7-BBH
This time the transfer at Doha was in daylight. Upon landing that was a bonus already, because I had a view on Qatar Air Force Mirages parked in shelters and Sea Kings parked on the ramp. Nothing read, but nice to see anyway. Besides that though…. the ramps were almost empty. This time I could read more, but there wasn´t much more to be seen. Ah well, life stinks… Still four triples, but all doubles by now.
Doha - 21 November 2010
Qatar AW B777-200LR A7-BBH B777-300ER A7-BAA, A7-BAF B777-F A7-BFBNext leg was to Heathrow with another A340-600.
21/11 DOH – LHR QR1 A340-600 A7-AGD
Heathrow was all in darkness, so not much seen. Just three triples, but still two new.
London-Heathrow - 21 November 2010
American AL B777-200ER N754AN ANA B777-300ER JA788A PIA B777-300ER AP-BHW12th and final flight of the trip was to go back home to Amsterdam on a BA Airbus. The quick hop was nothing special, just the cold weather in Amsterdam was annoying…
21/11 LHR – AMS BA444 A320-200 G-EUYA
So, two weeks of flying and spotting delivered me 2 new types and 2 new subtypes flown, 1 new aircraft type seen (MA-60 in Bangkok), four new prefixes (A5, XY, DQ and RDPL), 135 new triples and 935 new in total. I can live with that…
Erwin
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