I headed to Farnborough, England for the biennial Airshow on 19 July 2010.  I had one goal in mind; see the all new Boeing 787-8 that had arrived the previous morning.  It was its first time across the Atlantic Ocean and it was the star of the show.

As soon as I arrived there, I headed straight for the plane.  There was no mistaking it, its blue and white tail was flying high next to the Airbus A380.  As you can see, I went a little crazy on the photos.

Please enjoy them and leave a comment.

The Boeing 787-8 at Farnborough Airshow 2010 Slideshow

The Boeing Chalet at Farnborough Airshow 2010

Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner launch customers list at Farnborough Airshow 2010

Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner launch customers at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The Boeing 787-8 at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The Boeing 787-8 at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The Boeing 787-8 at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The right side of the Boeing 787-8 at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The right side of the Boeing 787-8 at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The right Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engine on the Boeing 787-8 at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The second entrance door of the Boeing 787-8 at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The right side of the Boeing 787-8 at Farnborough Airshow 2010

A test pitot tube in the window area of the Boeing 787-8 at Farnborough Airshow 2010

Under the stairs of the Boeing 787-8 at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The nose of the Boeing 787-8 at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The left Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engine on the Boeing 787-8 at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The Boeing 787=8 Dreamliner at Farnborough Airshow 2010

Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner from the rear at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The left side of the Boeing 787-8 at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The nose of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The back of the left engine on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The left engine on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The back of the left engine on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The back of the left engine on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner at Farnborough Airshow 2010

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The inside back of the left engine on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The landing gear of the left engine on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The strut of the landing gear on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner at Farnborough Airshow 2010

The landing gear on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner at Farnborough Airshow 2010

Lots of wires in the wheel well of the Boeing 787-8 at the Farnborough Airshow 2010

A warning sign inside of the wheel well of the Boeing 787-8 at the Farnborough Airshow 2010

Inside the wheel well of the Boeing 787-8 at the Farnborough Airshow 2010

The left engine of the wing of the Boeing 787-8 at the Farnborough Airshow 2010

The wheel covers are down for the landing gear of the Boeing 787-8 at the Farnborough Airshow 2010

The right landing gear of the Boeing 787-8 at the Farnborough Airshow 2010

The wheel housing of the Boeing 787-8 at the Farnborough Airshow 2010

The wheel truck of the Boeing 787-8 at the Farnborough Airshow 2010

The right rear of the Boeing 787-8 at the Farnborough Airshow 2010

The underside of the wing of the Boeing 787-8 at the Farnborough Airshow 2010

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Nose gear of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner at the Farnborough Airshow

Having flow the world’s longest scheduled commercial flight (Singapore Airlines (SQ) from Newark, NJ (EWR) to Singapore (SIN) on an Airbus A340-500), I yearned to fly the shortest.  For  a few years I tried to take the world’s shortest scheduled flight from Papa Westray, Orkney Islands, Scotland (PPW) to Westray, Orkney Islands, Scotland (WRY) a distance of about 1 nautical mile, but various things prevented this from occurring. Today, 18 July , 2010, nothing stood in the way.

The flight is recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as being 2 minutes. After the flight you get an official certificate and in true Scottish style, a small bottle of Scottish Whiskey with which to celebrate the event. It is even of the right size to fit in your carry on baggage.

The world’s shortest scheduled flight is operated by Soctland’s Loganair on a single piloted twin-engined Briton Norman Islander. The flight starts in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands Scotland (KOI) as LOG377 departing at 15:00 (3p for the Americans). It then heads for Papa Westray, then to Westray and back to Kirkwall for a total scheduled time of 0:44.  Here is the complete itinerary:

1. Kirkwall to Papa Westray        15:00 15:16
2. Papa Westray to Westray     15:21 15:23
3. Westray to Kirkwall                   15:28 15:44

Of all the small airlines I’ve flown, this one impressed me the most. Simplicity is its name. I e-mail them and got an immediate reply, well in a few hours as it was late at night their time when I e-mailed. The guy who responded was courteous and explained the whole process. As it turns out, when I arrived in Kirkwall from Aberdeen, Scotland (ABZ) he was at the counter.  You see he is the reservations agent, the e-mail response guy, the check-in clerk and the lone ground handling personnel.  He is one of four he tells me in a fantastic Scottish accent.  It was fun to watch him at work.

When I e-mailed, he advised that the price is 39 GBP and hat I needed to call on the day of travel once they open the office so I can book.  You see if the weather is bad then the flight won’t operate. Once I got to Kirkwall, I introduced myself and he booked me on the flight and told me to pay the next day when I arrived as I was rushing to get the 1.20 GBP bus to the city. You can check this page at http://www.loganair.co.uk/reservations/ for reservations information including the schedules.  The schedule I used is located at http://www.loganair.co.uk/xtra_files/OrkneyTimetable_31oct10.pdf in PDf format.

The next day I arrived early as I wanted to check out the operations and the bus from the city was ill timed for that flight so I had to take the 12:45p bus; the journey is about 15 minutes. No worries it was fun to watch the airport operations.

There were four of us booked on the flight. Two locals, a guy from Italy and myself. Check-in, well, there was no check-in, we just followed the agent to the plane and boarded.  How simple was that.  I sat behind the right seat, the Italian dude next to me and the couple behind us.  The lone pilot gave us the safety briefing and we were off.

As we approached Papa Westray, the Captain pointed it out.  We then flew over Westray made a right turn and landed on the grass runway at Papa Westray, a two-room single building terminal. One room for passengers and staff, the other housed the “fire truck,” which actually had the license plate with the letters “LHR” in it.  Go figure.  Do you think that was on purpose? I say fire truck as it is really an SUV with fire stuff behind it.

We picked up two ladies who sat behind the couple, got some cargo (a little box) and we were off down the gravel runway this time.  We then made a right hand turn, then a left hand turn and landed about 2 minutes later on the grass runway in Westray as it had started to rain.  We then taxied up to a similar building as at Papa Westray, except it said Westray on it; yes a SUV in the garage as well.

The couple disembarked and a lone male passenger boarded.  There was a “welcoming” committee at the terminal waiving and taking pictures.  I felt like I did when I flew in the Micronesian Islands, it was so cool. Some pleasantries were exchanged by the ground crew and the Captain and we were off as it started to rain heavier.  We made it down the gravel runway turned around and took off in no time.

We initially flew back at about 5,000 feet as it was raining above, then later climbed back up to our original cruisin’ altitude of 7,000′ until we descended into Kirkwall about 5 minutes early ending the journey of the world’s shortest scheduled commercial flight. I was elated and extremely happy.  Once inside the terminal, myself and the Italian guy were presented our certificates with our names on it and signed by the Captain plus our little bottle of Scotch whiskey.

Well, enough of that here are the pictures.  Enjoy them and please leave a comment.  Have you taken this flight before?

Papa Westray to Westray in the Orkney Islands

The route flown from Papa Westray to Westray on 18 July 2010

The perspective of where the Orkney Islands are located

Kirkwall Airport in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands Scotland (KOI)

Loganair ticket counter and departure gate in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands (KOI)

The star if the day, the 10-seater Briton Norman Islander (BN1)

Walking out to the plane in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands (KOI)

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The tip of one of the many islands in the Orkney Islands

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Westray airport with Papa Westray in the distance

Papa Westray from the air

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The terminal at Papa Westray, Orkney Islands (PPW)

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The terminal at Westray, Orkney Islands (WRY)

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Landing on runway 27 in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands (KOI)

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The control tower at Kirkwall, Orkney Islands (KOI)

Back in Kirkwall

The Arrival FIDS and we got in early to boot

Video of the flight

Click here to view the embedded video.

Video of the landing in Kirkwall

Click here to view the embedded video.

You can find all the details plus other fee changes at: http://travel.state.gov/news/news_5078.html

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I first flew from Houston, TX to London-Heathrow arriving on Saturday, June 26, 2010.  I was accompanied with my travelling buddy from work.  We are kindred spirits and love to do aviation-related stuff.  We landed in Terminal 4 and Air France, being a SkyTeam member is also in Terminal 4.

We were both shocked as the check-in area was bare although it was about 10:00a and our departure time was 12:50p.  The agent advised that the majority of the passengers had already showed up or had checked in online.  Wow, they are indeed excited about it all.  I was disappointed as I wanted to see the check-in area.  I had done my Masters Thesis on this airplane so every time I fly it I am always curious at the extra amount of passengers it deposits on the airports.

We got a standby boarding pass as the agent said the flight was overbooked in Economy by about 11 passengers.   Our previous checks had indicated that there were 10 standbys in all.  So that is quite a bit of people we needed not to show up so we can get a seat.  Let’s hope we are in luck.

We cleared security without issues and then headed for the SkyTeam Lounge.  We figured we would not get in as we have a Continental Presidents Club card, but were not departing on Continental.  We tried anyways, but were denied access.  No worries, we then proceeded to watch planes.  This is always fun at Heathrow!

The airplanes were taking off away from Terminal 5 and towards us so that was perfect.  We wondered if we would see the A380 land since there were two runways and the one closest to us was being used for takeoffs.  A quick check of google.com showed that the flight was due at 11:14a which was in about 40 minutes or so.  The Emirates A380 from Dubai was due at 11:48a or so.  Across the runway in the middle of the airport at Terminal 1 was Singapore’s and Qantas; I love Heathrow!

A lofty goal?  Absolutely!

I looked at various routings and of course they were all very full.  Alas, I found one that worked.  If I could get to Mumbai, India (BOM) I could take a Jet Airways (9W) flight to Johannesburg arriving first thing in the morning.  This would give me time to get to a game at about 4p and then head back out on a late flight.

I had a few choices to get back:

1. Air France (AF) Airbus A380 to Paris, France (CDG) at 7:30p (kind of early, but it is the A380)
2. British Airways (BA) has two flight to London-Heathrow (LHR) (three flights including one at 11:30p)
3. Virgin Atlantic (VS) to London-Heathrow, England (LHR)
4. Delta Air Lines (DL) to Atlanta, GA (ATL) (they had two flights as they had two wingtip flights the day before due to the amount of people going to South Africa from the U.S.)

There were other flights, but they did not leave late enough.   So getting back would not be an issue at all, I just had to get there.  I was also thrilled about the possibility of taking the Airbus A380 back.  Let’s see what ends up happening.

Leaving Houston

The Continental flights to London from Hosuton were full, so I decided to try the British Airways (BA) to London.  After a tense wait I was given a seat in World Traveler class.  I lucked out as the seat next to me was empty.

British Airways Houston, TX to London 10 June 2010

We had an ontime puchback and were airborne pretty soon after.  It was a great flight with a fantastic meal and complimentary wine.

There was not much to watch on the entertainment system and I soon fell asleep after dinner, but did get up later and got some snacks from the rear galley.  Soon after we had breakfast, then about 0:45 later, we landed with minimal delays into London-Heathrow.

I made it to London and connected from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3 for the Air India flight to Mumbai.  As it turns out, we were delayed leaving London due to ATC and the fact that the inbound aircraft was a tad late.

Air India 107 London to Mumbai 11 June 2010

Once we were airborne, it was a brilliantly long flight.   Good food; audio/video on demand and good service.

As time progressed, I noted that our arrival time was 12:47a .  I think I’m gonna miss the flight.  This was due to additional delay in Mumbai due to rainy weather there.

It was 12:59a when we touched down and 1:14a when I made it to the gate.  This will be close.

In Mumbai, India

As soon as I was able to get off the airplane I did.  I started to make a bee line for the Transfer Desk if there was one.  I did find an area with a very long line.  Many flights, all delayed had arrived at the same time so it was a zoo.  I saw a security officer and asked him for the Jet Airways Transfer counter.  He looked around and saw a Jet Airways agent coming and motioned her over.

I told her my predicament mentioning the delay in Heathrow as wella s the landing delay as well.  She says the flight is closed, but that she would call to see what can be done.  There was some talk in Hindi on the phone and although it was in a different language, I knew it was no.

Once she got off the phone, she told me that her supervisor said no.  I took the next five minutes or so asking to speak to the supervisor myself, but she said no as if there was anything the supervisor could do she would have.  Dejected, I thanked her and walked away.

I had missed my only long shot chance to see a game at the World Cup 2010.

I entered the country and then talked my way into the departure lounge by showing my tickets.  I was bent on leaving right away back to Europe.  I checked with British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France, Jet Airways and Air India and as all their flights were within 30 minutes of departure I was either told the flight was full or closed even after explaining my predicament.  They all suggested I come back later tonight.  Good grief I thought, is there no compassion left in the world.

I went and found a seat near to an electrical outlet so that I could at least charge my appliances and work on my computer until the sun came up.  Spending the night in the Mumbai airport is interesting.  They do have flights to the Middle East that keeps the airport going, but they subside about 4a and then there is one around 7:30a so people keep coming and waiting for their flights.  The airport workers comes inside and sleep on the chairs, so that is fun to watch.

Once the sun came up I went outside looking for a cab to take me into the city for breakfast.  It was loud, hot, sticky and smoky from the exhaust of the cars.  Yup, that’s the Mumbai I remembered.  I watched people for a bit and also walked around the airport quite a bit.  I did not see any taxi drivers whom I thought I’d trust to just drive me to get food and back.

I eventually made my way back to the departure level.  This airport is quite dirty and complicated.  It needs a makeover and soon.  Actually they did complete some renovation of the arrivals hall.  But the Departure area is a dump.  You can’t get inside unless you have a ticket and you can only get in if your flight departs within 3 hours.  So outside is a mess of people, airport carts and vehicles which includes buses with bad exhausts.

I had noticed earlier that there was a Kingfisher flight to London about an hour before a British Airways flight.  Not having flown Kingfisher, I figured this would be a good chance to do so.  I might as well get some satisfaction out of this failed objective trip, I thought. It leaves at 12:20p so I’ll come back at about 9:20a so I can get it all worked out I thought.

As I waited to get back inside; a taxi pulled up and a two guys came out.  I started talking to the passenger guy and as it turns out he owns the cab and has contacts with local hotels.  We chatted for a while and he offered to take me into the city.  I told him it was to late to do so as I feared I’d get stuck in traffic and miss my flight.  of course he told me there was no traffic and that the hotel and food place was just a short distance.  Having been to Mumbai before and seen the traffic I knew that there was no way I’d be back in time.  We continued talking and as it turns out, he is just two weeks younger than I am; coincidence?

As my entry time arrived i showed my documents and was rejected entry as my ticket said “OPEN” I tried to explain to the security guard the deal, but he would have none of it.  He sent me away so I went to another entry and the guard there was fine with my documents.

I went to Kingfisher and checked in, but my ticket was on British Airways so they had to endorse it to Kingfisher.  This simple transaction took almost two hour to accomplish.  Between that and the security line I made it to the gate five minutes before departure!

I barely had enough time to list myself on the 6:30p flight from London to Newark on Continental.  I’ll have to check-in when I get to Heathrow I thought.  I hope I have enough time.  Otherwise, I’ll just spend the night in London and head back the next day.

Kingfisher 107 Mumbai to London

The door closed soon and we got headsets followed by an amenity kit. then a menu.

We then started our taxi out to the runway and in no time were airborne in this Airbus A330.  The service started with an appetizer plus drinks and then the main meal.  Interestingly enough the interior is much like Air India’s.  Not sure who is copying whom.  I started to watch some Bollywood movie after dinner actually finishing up the one I was watching on the flight down.  Then another one that seems to last forever.

Finally we started our descent into London landing at about 5:05p.  As soon as I touched down, I got online and checked in for my flight to Newark.  Now I don’t have to worry about getting there before 5:30p.

As we were in the Terminal 4, it was easy to switch to Continental.  Well, so I thought.  The airport security folks only had one area open and the line was pretty long.  So it did take some time to get to the gate.  No worries as I was already checked in.

Eventually, I made it to the gate in time for boarding.

Continental 19 London to Newark, NJ

We pushed back ontime at 6:30p and headed for the runway.  Takeoff was quick as there are not many planes leaving at that time of the night.

This airplane has audio/video on demand which was really cool.  We started with some pretzels and then a choice of chicken or beef.  I had the beef.  I was really tired so I went to sleep right after.  I awoke later and had an arrival snack just before landing in Newark.

After clearing security, I found a hotel as I really needed to take a nap in a real bed.  Thursday was the last time I do so and today was Saturday.  It was a great trip despite not making it to South Africa for the World Cup 2010.

Did anyone else make it to the World Cup 2010?

Enjoy the pictures.

So on your next vacation, get up early on a Sunday morning and go walking.  Let us know how it was.

San Francisco, CA. The Apple iPad was launched today. It looks O.K., but not sure if I will get one. If you don’t already have any kind of computing device and you travel a lot. I think this may be the device for you. But if you are like me with so many electronic devices when you travel, you may have to think about it. Let me know what you think via your comments below.

gdgt live did a great live feed at: http://live.gdgt.com/2010/01/27/live-apple-come-see-our-latest-creation-tablet-event-coverage/

You can watch the event in its entirety at http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/1001q3f8hhr/event/index.html

You can find details from the Apple Web site at http://www.apple.com/ipad.
If you want to get notified when the WiFi version is available (in 60 days) go here and sign up: http://www.apple.com/ipad/notify-me.
There are a ton of photos on Apple’s site at http://www.apple.com/ipad/gallery/

Specifications:

• 1.5″ thick
• 9.56″ high
• 1.5lbs

Now the fun begins to make the first delivery by the end of 2010 to ANA of Japan.

You can find some pictures I took at the roll our ceremony in July of 2007

Boeing 787-8 Rollout pictures

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

 Pictures from the rollout ceremony in July 2007.