2019 Trips

9th to the 19th January 2019

A return to Japan

As it had been two years since our last visit to Japan we were once again behind on our Japanese fleets and our special schemes, not to mention all the changes in the visiting airlines to the Japanese airports!

We decided on a ten day trip using KLM via Amsterdam and returning with Air France via Paris, this time we took in a visit to Naha, Okinawa too which was a new airport for us.

9th January 2019

Early hours of the 9th January saw Ashley, Fraser and myself  meet up at Manchester for our 05.55 departure to Amsterdam with KLM. We pushed back early and were airborne at 06.00 arriving in Amsterdam at 07.49 which was almost half an hour early!

We had just over six hours in transit here so made our way to the end of the piers to relax and snap anything good that taxied past, the following were the highlights,

Definitely the highlight of the stopover, the great looking "Carbon" special China Airlines A350-900 B-18918 although its departure coincided with a slightly dull time of the morning! 

Croatia Airlines special national football team A319 9A-CTL

Nice to get another chance to capture the "United Dream" Xiamen Air B787-9 B-1356 and in much better light than our last encounter.

We made our way to the boarding gate where KLM B787-9 PH-BHA was waiting for us, we departed behind schedule at just after 3pm and landed in Osaka Kansai just over ten hours later.

10th January 2019

It was 09.30 local on arrival and we made our way straight to the viewing deck at the far end of the runway 24 Left, we stayed here all day until the light started to fade. This is a pretty poor place for photography during 06 ops as most of the traffic is very distant but a few do come right past you but it is a great location for just watching the movements from and you don't miss a thing.

During our day here the following were seen,

Our first sighting of Air Seoul on this trip, a fairly new Korean carrier that is now very common in Japan.

Nice to catch this new Korean Air special scheme on B777-300 HL8274

Our first Thai International A350-900 with HS-THG

Our first Eva Air B787-9, B-17882

Tianjin A321 B-302X wearing a special scheme in celebration of their 100th aircraft.

Eva Air's "Hello Kitty" A321 B-16207, catch of the day for me having already caught all of their Kitty A330's!

and we finished off the day with Hong Kong Express A321 B-LEJ wearing the special "Reward U" scheme.

We made our way over to the Hotel Nikko Kansai Airport for the night with our room overlooking  runway 24R / 06L so we could still see all arrivals before we passed out for the night, it had been a long day having been awake since 03.00 the day before!!

11th January 2019

This morning we were up early for our 07.00 departure down to Fukuoka on board Peach Airlines (a first for us), certainly wouldn't go out of my way to fly with them again as they were incredibly awkward with regards bags & hand luggage, we had our carry ons checked for size and weight three times before getting on board!!

We boarded A320 JA805P ready for an on time departure, we ended up waiting nearly half an hour for two passengers to turn up!

We landed in Fukuoka at 08.30 and headed straight up to the viewing deck on the domestic terminal, this has changed a lot since our last visit with the terminal being remodelled, sadly it has not been for the better and there were only two photo holes in the fence, both of which were poorly positioned and pointed the wrong way!!
We hung around there for a short time catching the following,

Plenty of JAL and ANA wearing 2020 titles for the upcoming Olympics.

A nice one to catch so quickly, the new 35th Anniversary of Tokyo Disney 767-300 JA612J

J Air's special E190 JA254J

We made our way over to the International Terminal to view from the deck over there, whilst it is behind glad it does at least allow more room for everyone and a better view of the action.
The following were taken over the rest of the day,

Our first sighting of a Korean Airlines C-Series 300 with HL8312,

Korean Airlines B787-9 HL8082 was also nice to catch pushing back in the sun,

IBEX CRJ700 JA14RJ wears a special scheme,

Vietnam Airlines A321 VN-A363 was the first of the type that we had seen in the new scheme,

EVA Air A330 B-16331 now wears Bad Badtz Maru colours, we had last caught it in Hello Kitty scheme.

Our only new colour catch of the Fuji Dream fleet today, JA10FJ in the silver scheme.

J-Air Emb.190 JA248J wears a special "Minions" scheme!

Our first Japan Air Commuter ATR42, JA01JC

I finally managed to catch a Jin Air B777-200 with HL7734, a nice change from, all the 737's of theirs I have seen.

Skymark B737-800 JA73NQ wears a nice looking 20th Anniversary scheme!

Finally caught up with Amakusa Airlines' ATR42 JA01AM instead of their Dash8!

and one of my catches of the day, a China United B737-800 (B-1990) which arrived and departed late afternoon, the first of their fleet that I have seen!

We made our way back over to the domestic terminal and had another quick look up on the terrace where we got our first glimpse of ANA's "Tokyo 2020" special B777-200 JA741A as it arrived at dusk.

A successful day at Fukuoka with quite a few new catches for us all, we boarded Jetstar Japan A320 JA19JJ for the short hop to Tokyo, departing just after 7pm and arriving at Narita just after 8.30pm.
We caught the shuttle bus straight over to our Hotel for the next three nights, the Narita Tobu which was about ten minutes away but we still had a view of arrivals and departures on runway 34L.

 12th January 2019

Up early once again and the weather was pretty poor, this was the worst day of the trip with full cloud cover and a late afternoon shower, not many photos taken but I did snap the following.

Vietjet Air were a new Narita visitor since our last visit, this being their first A321 Neo.

Thai Lion were another new addition to the Narita scene for us with A330 HS-LAJ.

and Singapore Airlines now use their B787-10's with 9V-SCF seen departing 34 Left.

It was great to finally catch the SAS Star Alliance A340 OY-KBM after all these years!

Our final catch of the day was Air Niugini B737-700 P2-PXD which wears a new livery since the last time we saw it.

 We retired back to the Narita Tobu for the night and hoped for better weather for the following day!!

13th January 2019

The morning started dull and cloudy once again but it soon cleared and we had blue skies and sunshine for the rest of the day, lots of new subjects caught during the day, mostly from the T2 terrace.

Nice to catch this trio of Polar Air Cargo aircraft one after the other, the B747-800 being a new one for me to photograph.



Jeju Air's B737-800 HL8087 wears a special scheme.

Nok Scoot was another new catch for me, using B777-200 HS-XBA

One of my highlights today .... Aurora Airlines (Russia) Dash8-Q400 RA67254

Another Jeju Air B737-800 in a special scheme, HL8051

Another of my highlights for today, Mongolian Airlines B737-800 EI-CXV which wears a special "Borussia Dortmund" tail in support of the German football team ... rather random!!

Always nice to catch airline alliance schemes from further afield,

This one being China Eastern's A321 B-1837 in Skyteam colours.

Air New Zealand B787-9 ZK-NZI made it in just before darkness.

Malaysia Airlines A330 9M-MTO wearing Oneworld titles.

Another day over and we returned to the hotel for the night.

14th January 2019

 Our last full day at Narita on this trip, again we had great weather although a little more cloud around than the day before but it didn't cause any issues.
We started off on the T1 terrace until mid morning ...............................

It was nice to finally catch a FedEx B767-300F as N107FE taxied in just after 8am.

My first LOT Polish Airlines B787-9, SP-LSA departing mid morning.

 we then returned to the T2 terrace for the remainder of the day,
First catch was the fairly new ANA B787-9 JA899A which wears Star Alliance colours.

Another day, another Aurora Dash8-Q400, this time RA67262

Good to catch the BB8 coloured ANA B777-300 JA789A leaving us needing only the C3PO 777-200 for the full set!!

My first Hawaiian A330 in the newer colour scheme, N361HA taxiing in long after dark!

Sichuan Airlines A330 B-8332 also only operates here in darkness.

Our final catch of the day, Air Asia Thailand A330 HS-XTD wearing a special scheme for Lotte World!

15th January 2019

This morning saw us heading somewhere new, we had never visited Naha (Okinawa) before so we booked flights from Narita to Naha and Naha to Haneda as our way of transferring from one side of Tokyo to the other!!

The flights were not all that expensive and this allowed us to add Naha to our lists of visited Japanese airports. We flew from Narita on board Jetstar Japan A320 JA11JJ departing at 07.30 and arriving in Naha three hours later.

This place is very interesting with its fairly busy military base being on the same site as the main airport, a great mix of transports, patrol aircraft, helicopters and fighters all coming and going with the airliners.

The following were taken over the course of the day,

The first subject we saw after stepping off the plane .... the Blue Whale special JTA B737-800 JA05RK!

We were very pleased to make it just in time to snap Eva Air A321 B-16207 lining up for departure, this side of the aircraft was the one we couldn't photograph when we saw it in Osaka Kansai!



A great day in Naha, we boarded ANA B777-200 JA706A (in Star Alliance colours) and we departed at 19.45 arriving at Haneda two hours later at 21.45. we made our way straight to our hotel for the next two nights, the Keiku Ex Inn just a short shuttle bus ride away.

16th January 2019

Up early and straight to the terrace at T1 (Japan Airlines Terminal) which is best for the sun in the mornings, we had a few hours here where we managed to catch the following,

ANA's "Flowerjet" B737-800 JA85AN,

The great looking Japan Airlines "35th Happiest Celebration - Tokyo Disney" 767 JA612J

Japan Airlines "90 Years of Mickey Mouse" special B767-300 JA602J

As the sun moved around we made our way over to the Terminal 2 (ANA) terrace for a little while,

ANA's C3PO B777-200 JA743A departs in front of us, our last of the Star Wars jets!!

Skymark B737-800 JA73NR wears a special "Hanshin Tigers" livery

My first Lufthansa A350-900 as D-AIXA departs in the afternoon.

Air Do's great looking "Beardo Hokkaido Jet" JA602A taxied out and took off on 34R

ANA's superb looking "Tokyo 2020" jet B777-200 JA741A

As the afternoon wore on we made our way over to the International Terminal ready for the evening movements,

Qatar Airways "Oneworld" A350-1000 A7-ANE arrived after dark,

As did Air Asia X "Allstars" special A330 9M-XXA

With that we retired back to the hotel for the night.

17th January 2019

 Todays format followed yesterdays!

Straight to the T1 terrace first thing where the following were seen,

Mt. Fuji looking good in the clear skies, shame about the ugly looking crane in view!!

Oneworld vs Star Alliance!

The great looking Skymark 20th Anniversary B737-800 JA73NQ

Air France's Skyteam coloured B777-300 F-GZNE, one I had been after for a long time!

BB8 / R2D2 B767-300 JA604A

We took a gamble when we saw the Japanese Government 747-400 20-1102 being pushed out of the hangar, we made our way over to the T2 terrace in the hope it would depart past us there, we were not disappointed, a short wait and it taxied out and then rotated right in front of us on 16 Left!

Perfect!!!

ANA'S Star Wars C3PO B777-200 JA743A,

well and truly happy with that one!!  

And in the fading sunshine the Japanese Coast Guard Dash8 JA725A departed in front of us off 16 Right.

 18th January 2019

Our last full day of the Japanese trip, another full day at Haneda and as we were travelling home that night we had all our baggage with us so decided to spend the whole day on the International Deck for ease, it was a much slower day for us as we had already caught up with all of the special scheme airliners and only a handful of registrations were still needed from the local airlines, fewer photos taken too as can be seen ..................

Our last real treat of the trip, Vietnam Airlines "Skyteam" A350-900 VN-A897 landed late afternoon.

We carried on spotting for the rest of the evening until check in opened around 9pm for our Air France flight back to Paris, once all the formalities were completed we made our way to the gate and boarded B777-300 F-GSQV. We departed off 34R at 00.15 and landed in Paris CDG just over twelve hours later, we parked next to Air France B787-9 F-HRBA .... amazingly the very same plane that we had parked next to when we had pulled up on stand at Osaka Kansai when we arrived in Japan at the start of our trip!!!!

We transferred to Air France A320 F-HEPE for the short hop back to Manchester, landing back home at 07.40.

As usual Japan did not disappoint, so many special schemes and so many new subjects to photograph and I managed to add another 444 new numbers to the log book!!

Thanks to Ashley and Fraser for their great company and so many laughs along the way!!

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20th and 21st April 2019

London Heathrow seeking "Retro Jets"

With a great weather forecast for the next two days Ashley, Gary, Fraser and I set off from Manchester down to Heathrow for a two day visit, our main aim was to capture all three of the new British Airways "Retro Jet" B747-400's.

20th April 2019

We arrived at LHR early morning and as ops were on 09's we made our way to the grass bank by Terminal 5 to catch arrivals,

First up, although too early for decent light, was Swiss CS300 HB-JCA which now wears another special scheme, this one being "Fete Des Vignerons 2019"

A very nice catch was Air Mauritius's first A330-900 3B-NBU which had only just entered service.

We didn't have to wait too long for the first of our targets,

British Airways B747-400 G-BNLY wearing the superb 1980's Landor scheme.

Sadly we got stitched up by a sneaky runway swap for the Aeroflot arrival, A321 VP-BEE wears a special scheme celebrating their 95th Anniversary, it landed on 09 Right so all I could manage was a shot in to the sun!

My first Iberia A350-900, EC-MXV

Another first for me .... Aer Lingus's new scheme seen here on A320 EI-DVL

We made our way around to Feltham to get some departure photos as both of our other BA Retros were due out early afternoon, We had success with G-CIVB in the "Negus" scheme climbing out ....

followed shortly after by G-BYGC wearing the "BOAC" colours!

Mission accomplished and anything more would be a bonus!!

We made our way back to the 09 arrival end but there was very little else of interest due,

Tunis Air A320 TS-IML still wears the 2018 Football scheme which was nice to see.

Our final catch of the day was Tianjin Airlines A330 B-8776 arriving shortly before nightfall.

 We retired to the Travelodge T5 for the night after dinner and got an early night.

21st April 2019

As usual, an early get up and we made our way back to catch 09 arrivals,
First one seen arriving on 09R was BA Retro (Negus) B747-400 G-CIVB but the light wasn't good,

A quick whip over to 09L saw Ethiopian A350-900 ET-AVE which wears "10th A350" titles,

and back to 09R to see Air Belgium A340 OO-ABA operating for British Airways.

We then set up again on the grass hill by T5 to catch 09L arrivals for the rest of our stay.

Another chance at snapping the BOAC Retro as G-BYGC arrived around lunch time.

Nice to catch a China Southern B787-9 (B-1128) at LHR rather than the usual 788's

Our last catch of the day was LATAM B777-300 PT-MUI, the first of the ex TAM Triple Sevens to wear these colours but, more importantly .... my last required frame of their 777 fleet!!

So, two great days in the sunshine and some really good catches, some great company and lots of laughs, we made our way back north arriving early evening with another 45 numbers in the log!

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16th May 2019

Hamburg & Finkenwerder day trip

 Having never visited Finkenwerder before we decided to do a day trip to Hamburg, hire a car and take a ride over to the Airbus site.

We departed MAN on board Ryanair B737-800 EI-DLG at 06.45 arriving Hamburg at 09.00 and made our way straight up to the viewing terrace to see what was already in,

Great timing as Smartwings B737-800 N277EA (leased from Eastern Airlines) was just about to push back operating the Czech Airlines service.

With nothing else of interest around we picked up the hire car and made our way over to Finkenwerder, the drive took around 45 minutes and when we arrived we went straight to the viewing platform alongside the runway.

A few movements brightened up what was a very dull day as you can see from the pics!!

We made our way back over to Hamburg's main airport for the remainder of the day where the following were seen.

Not a bad day out for a cheapie, we departed back to Manchester on board Easyjet A320 G-EZPE nearly an hour and a half late at 23.15, arriving home at 23.35.

Quite a few new photo subjects and another 62 new numbers in the book,

Thanks to Ashley, Gary and Fraser for their great company.

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3rd & 4th June 2019

Stansted, Heathrow & Duxford

"Daks over Duxford" trip.

We had booked tickets to attend the "Daks over Duxford" show, a large scale meet up of DC3 Dakotas before they headed off to Normandy in honour of the 75th Anniversary of the D Day landings.

Our tickets were for the Tuesday (3rd) so we decided to combine the trip down south with a day at Stansted and Heathrow beforehand.

3rd June 2019

Ashley, Fraser, Gary and myself set off from the Manchester area very early morning of the 3rd and drove straight to Stansted, US President Donald Trump was due to arrive in to the Essex airport around 09.00 on Air Force One so we found ourselves a spot on the approach to runway 22 in time for the more interesting arrivals.

Also due in to STN this morning was HiFly A380 9H-MIP, arriving with boxer Anthony Joshua and his entourage after a fight in New York. This was a highlight for me as the aircraft wears a special scheme for awareness of the coral reefs. The aircraft arrived just before 06.30.

We then had a couple of hours to wait, the only interesting arrivals were the following,

China Southern Cargo B777-200F B-2026

Qatar Cargo B777-200F A7-BFD

And our first sighting of the new Lauda colours on A320 OE-LOY

Around 08.00 there were a few helicopter arrivals including the two VH-3D's used to transport the President onwards after arrivals.

Just after 08.35 USAF B757-200 99-0015 arrived,

This was followed 15 minutes later by the big man himself,

President Trump on board VC-25 (B747-200) 82-9000.

Satisfied with our nice sunny images we continued on to Heathrow for the remainder of the day, sadly there was very little of interest so I only bothered with the following movements!

We spent the night at the T5 Travelodge once again and had an early night.

4th June 2019

Up early and we nipped over to the approach to catch the early morning Saudia flight, this morning being operated by B777-300 HZ-AK43 which wears the Formula One scheme, sadly the weather was pretty awful but at least a record shot is better than none!

We made our way up to Duxford for the Daks day and the following were taken over our time there, some superb looking old machines and some very nostalgic schemes amongst them, unfortunately the weather never improved and we had to settle for the dull & cloudy photos!

Sadly not all advertised DC3's made the journey but there were still 23 (including the Malev Li2)

Highlights for me were ..........

Finnish Airlines OH-LCH

Swissair N431HM

Scandinavian SE-CFP

Pan American Airways pair N33611 & N877MG

..... and of course the superb looking Malev Li2 HA-LIX

The rest of the DC3's on offer were as follows ......

A great (and most likely last) chance to see so many Dakotas in one place at one time, we also had a good look around the superb museum whilst here as there have been a few changes since my last visit quite a few years back.

We then headed home mid afternoon arriving back early evening, once again a really enjoyable trip out despite the poor weather on the second day.

Many memorable photos in the camera and another 41 new numbers in the book.

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9th July 2019

Berlin (Tegel) day trip

Having never visited any of Berlins airports before, a very cheap return ticket on Easyjet was too good to turn down, we spent the day at Tegel airport where a superb terrace is still in use on top of the old terminal!

Ashley, Fraser and I traveled out on Easyjet A320 G-EZUK departing MAN at 07.15 and arriving in the German city just before 10.00.

We spent pretty much the whole day on the terrace, the only break being for lunch, and we captured the following.

Nice to catch one of the Eurowings A319's leased from CSA as they haven't yet operated any flights to MAN.

Nice to catch my first Sund Air A320 when D-ASEE arrived late morning.

 Also nice to catch a Lufthansa A319 in the latest scheme,

Bulgarian Air Charter A320 LZ-LAE was good to see,

UT Air B737-500 VP-BXR was a real treat as it was due to be a -800.

German Air Force Global Express 14+04 departed early afternoon.

The highlight of the day for me .... Royal Jordanian A319 JY-AYP wearing the Oneworld scheme which also happened to be the only one of their 319's I needed!

New colours vs old ..... hmmmmm, I'm not too sure!!

The Royal Jordanian Oneworld 319 even managed to catch some sunshine on pushback!!

Corendon's leased A320 ZS-GAZ was a nice movement.

Nice to see another Joon before they disappear, A321 F-GTAM

Our final catch of the day just before being thrown off the terrace at closing time ....

Eurowings A320 D-ABDU in the great looking Hertz Car Rental colours!

We made our way airside to wait it out till departure time, Easyjet A320 G-EZUK eventually returned to take us home, arriving back at MAN at 23.10.

A long day with only 16 new numbers in the book but several nice subjects caught on camera so well worth the effort.

My thanks as always to Ash and Fraser for the company and the laughs!

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22nd & 23rd August 2019

Amsterdam trip.

22nd August 2019

A two day visit to Amsterdam to catch the yearly "Summer lease & special schemes" saw us depart Manchester early morning on the 22nd August on board Easyjet A320 Neo G-UZHP arriving in AMS just after 09.30 local. We spent the rest of the day airside at the end of the piers catching the subjects passing by, the following were taken on day one.

It was nice to catch all of the KLM types wearing the "100" titles to celebrate their 100th Anniversary later this year.

Sadly the Sun D'or B737-800 OM-FEX was already in when we arrived, it was rather backlit on taxi out but a record shot was taken nonetheless!

Definite highlight of the day for me .... the superb looking Belavia "World of Tanks" special scheme Emb.195 EW-400PO!

Nice to catch a pair of Level minibuses .....

A320 OE-LVR and A321 OE-LCR

The first of our summer lease jet targets,

special scheme Sunwing / TUI B737-800 C-FDTW.

Target number two, Sunweb summer special B737-800 PH-HSJ

The airline showcases a new special scheme each summer!

Transavia's Peter Pan special B737-800 PH-HSI has been around for a couple of years but it was nice to better last summer's shots.

Second best catch of the day .... the new Dutch Government runaround jet, B737-700BBJ PH-GOV taxiing around and then departing in the sun!!

Target number three .... TUI / Sunwing B737-800 C-FDBD wearing a special scheme for Sunnycars Car Rental.

A very successful day with plenty of new colours and numbers, we retired to the hotel for the night.

23rd August 2019

Up early and we made our way back to the airport and were airside just after breakfast, we spent the day at the ends of the piers again where the following were caught.

A good start first thing ... my first China Eastern A350-900 B-308E

Garuda's Skyteam special B777-300 PK-GII was a nice catch.

KLM's 100th Anniversary special, B787-10 PH-BKA is towed to stand.

Our first Onur Air A321 Neo, TC-OEE

and our first Arkia A321 Neo, 4X-AGK .... very nice!

Nice to see a Royal Air Maroc B737-800 in their new scheme to go with the B737-700 I caught at MAN.

Getjet Airlines B737-300 LY-ELF was our final catch of the trip, a great end to a very successful (and sunny!) visit.

We departed back home to Manchester late evening on board the very same Easyjet A320 we flew out on ..... arriving back home just after 22.30.

A great two days with many new pics and another 59 numbers in the log book.

My thanks to Ashley and Fraser for all the laughs along the way!!

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  7th to the 22nd September 2019

US West Coast Holiday

Having visited Florida and the Eastern US many times before we finally decided to head out West and booked a multi city holiday visiting San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tucson, Phoenix and Las Vegas! 

It was a "family holiday" but of course with so many new airports and aircraft storage areas along the route a little bit of spotting came in to it!  

7th September 2019

We departed Manchester on board LX391 at 09.00, this was operated by C-Series CS100 HB-JBF, a new type for me and saw us arrive in Zurich at midday.

Just one pic taken during taxi in, Croatia Airlines Dash8-Q400 9A-CQC taxiing for departure, a good frame for me!

Our transfer was fairly easy going but not much time for aircraft watching, only 10 new numbers sighted and no photos due to the time and poor window views, we were soon boarding United Airlines B787-8 N29907 on UA45 for San Francisco departing at 14.00.

We arrived at SFO just before 4.30pm local time and got the shuttle bus to our hotel, the Crowne Plaza in Burlingame, this had the added bonus of a view of the aircraft on approach to the 28 runways so between landing and getting to bed that night another 29 numbers hit to log book.

8th September 2019

As this was to be our only day in San Francisco it was planned to be a very busy touristy day, we took an Uber in to the city early morning and had breakfast before our 9am booking to Alcatraz, somewhere we had longed to visit for many years!  

After the tour we then walked the city for hours, we visited Pier 39, Lombard Street and walked all the way down to the Golden Gate Bridge, 

A superb day in perfect weather! 

While walking the city I managed to keep an eye out for aircraft via FR24 and another 63 numbers were logged!

We returned to our hotel in the evening with very tired legs!

9th September 2019

Up VERY early this morning (03.00!!) for our 5am departure with Southwest Airlines to Los Angeles, this was a very lucky decision to book this flight as all others that day were cancelled due to the runway repairs that were ongoing at the time of our visit. 

We departed on board B737-700 N247WN on WN1895 leaving 01L at 05.06 and arriving at LAX just after 06.00.

We met up with our Son and his Fiancee in the arrivals area as they had flown in to LAX the day before, we made our way to the hotel, the Holiday Inn Los Angeles Airport where we dropped our luggage before heading out for another touristy day.

First port of call was a very quick stop at the California Science Centre to see the ex United Airlines DC8 N8066U which is mounted on poles outside.

With that done we we headed up in to the Hollywood Hills to see the Hollywood sign, then visited Beverley Hills and Santa Monica and visited a shopping mall before a short stop at Imperial Hill, a superb viewing spot overlooking LAX where the following were taken over a quick hour.

We then went for dinner at the famous Proud Bird Restaurant which is located at the end of runway 25L, the following was caught inbound while waiting for the food!

We then made our way back to the hotel for the night, which amazingly ... had a view of the approaches to LAX!

Another 172 numbers were logged during the day and from the bedroom window in the evening.

10th September 2019

Today was to be a spotting day for Ashley and I, we headed out early to Imperial Hill once again overlooking LAX, a superb viewing point where all movements can be seen. Sadly the weather wasn't quite what it was the day before and it started overcast and dull before improving late morning. The following were taken during our stay.

A lovely catch in the form of Viva Aerobus A320 XA-VIE wearing this great Lion scheme.

After all these years it was great to catch B777-300 B-16703 wearing the Hello Kitty scheme having got all of their Kitty A330's out in Japan!

A real blast from the past for me .... American's Retro A319 N744P wearing the Piedmont colours, the last plane I saw wearing this was B767-200 N603P on a diversion at Manchester way back in 1987!!!

Nice to catch my first Air Tahiti Nui B787-9 as F-OTOA arrived late morning.

A superb catch, Alaska Airlines B737-900 N318AS wearing this great Disney scheme!

We made our way back to the hotel mid afternoon to spend the rest of the day with the family, an early night ready for another early get up in the morning, 

The day ended with a rather decent 271 new numbers in the log book!!

11th September 2019

Up early to get to the airport we checked in for our Southwest Airlines flight to Tucson Arizona, I managed to log another 62 from the hotel and from the airport before departure along with a few more photos .....

Just as I was about to board our flight Alaska Airlines superbly painted Hawaiian scheme B737-800 N560AS landed, what a great way to end a brief visit to the Mighty LAX!!

We departed LAX on board Southwest B737-700 N557WN at 11am and arrived in Tucson just before midday, inbound we passed Marana (Pinal Air Park) as can be seen here ....

Tucson is a lovely airport with lots of stored aircraft dotted around including a lot of Regional Jets and Dash 8's, just the one shot taken from the airside windows before collecting our baggage and picking up the hire car.

We drove straight to our hotel for the night, the Courtyard by Marriott at the airport, literally a two minute drive up the road!

We dropped the Ladies off there to sit by the pool while Ash and I drove over to the amazing Pima Air & Space museum, probably the best aircraft museum I have ever visited, the variety here is unbelievable with so many superbly preserved aircraft from all walks of life, we had a superb couple of hours walking round in the hot afternoon, I took so many photos of which the following are my favorites.

As you can see, some superb aeroplanes amongst those!

We then went for a little drive around the outside of the vast Davis Monthan Air Force Base just to get a quick look at what you could see, rows and rows of stored aircraft .... just wow!!

We spent the rest of the day with the family.

12th September 2019

A day I had been longing for for many years .... today Ashley and I would fly over the Davis Monthan Air Force Base, getting a birds eye view of the largest aircraft storage area in the world!

We were up early and drove around Tucson Airport to the flying school area where we had a booking with Double Eagle, as we were a little early we took a quick look at few of the stored aircraft at TUS.

At 07.00 we made our way out to the ramp to climb aboard Cessna Skyhawk N733BR for our hour in the sky, our pilot was superb and knew exactly what we wanted with three circuits of the "Boneyard" and a nice circle of the Pima Museum on our way back to Tucson!

The view from up there is outstanding and something I will never forget!!

Just after take off we flew over a part of the Tucson Airport storage area,

En-route to Davis Monthan we overflew one of many scrap yards that surround this vast area, some very old frames down there that are still clinging on ... no fewer than six Convair props along with a B737-200!

The base itself is huge with rows and rows of aircraft all neatly parked awaiting either reactivation or the scrap mans torch!

Superb to see these B707's still languishing in the sun in schemes long since gone!

Who would have thought that I would be seeing a trio of TWA 707's in 2019!!!

What an experience ..... just on this flight alone I managed to add just over 1000 new numbers to my log book!!!   

(I should point out that I don't do Fighters, Helicopters or Bombers so I would have made many more if I did!!)

As we left the Davis Monthan base we saw another of the scrap yards, this one containing yet more Convairs, Hawkeyes and old Douglas Props along with others.

A couple of minutes later we overflew Pima Air & Space Museum, as you can see from the air the number of aircraft and the types there really is unreal!

Before we knew it we were back on approach to Tucson International where I managed the following of the storage areas before we touched down.

An amazing experience and one I will never forget.

Ashley and I made our way back to the hotel to collect the Ladies and get some breakfast, Tucson had been a great place to visit and we will definitely return, the place had added another 66 numbers to the tally!

We headed off on the road again for the day, we visited a lovely Shopping Mall just outside Tucson before making a brief stop off at Marana Pinal Air Park, another of the large aircraft storage areas in the desert. Sadly the angles aren't great here so not much in the way of photos but the following were taken whilst adding another 68 numbers to the log book.

Back on the road we headed for our next stop, Phoenix where we arrived late afternoon at the Country Inn & Suites near to Sky Harbor Airport.

Again the inbounds could be seen from the hotel so I managed to add 49 to the book before I turned in for the night!

13th September 2019

Today was another tourist day, we visited the Phoenix Zoo which is a great place albeit it was a very hot day (40+ C) which made it tiring, we then spent a while by the pool in the afternoon and nipped up the road to shoot the Amazon Prime Air B767-300 N389AZ arriving.

We then drove over to Goodyear Airport which is yet another storage area just outside of Phoenix, the following were taken from the perimeter fence while another 57 numbers were logged!

United Airlines had 13 of their B737-MAX9's in storage there

Happy with our haul we headed off to a Mall and dinner before retiring for the night at the hotel, I continued to spot inbounds for a while before bed, the days movements at Phoenix netted me another 190 numbers for the book!!

14th September 2019

What was due to be a VERY long day on the road started out with an early morning look in at Phoenix Sky Harbor for Ashley and I while the Ladies were getting up and ready, 

The following shots were all taken from the top of the Multi Story Car Park first thing,

Another 42 numbers logged we set off for the drive over to the Grand Canyon National Park, this is situated at the south rim of the Canyon and was due to take around 3 and 1/2 hours.

As we neared the Grand Canyon we passed the small town of Valle, Just on the side of the main road is Valle Airport which has a small aircraft museum, Planes Of Fame, sat outside are a pair of superbly presented old piston liners, 

Convair 240 N240HH

and Martin 4-0-4 N636X

After a quick stop to take some pics we continued on to the Grand Canyon where we spent a couple of hours taking in the stunning views!

Another experience ticked off our Bucket Lists we drove back out of the National Park but made a very quick stop at Grand Canyon Airport, it was fairly quiet with only 8 numbers noted but a record shot of a couple of  Maverick Airlines Beech 1900's was nice to get.

We continued onwards, another 2 hours 45 minutes to Kingman AZ, yet another aircraft storage field, we were racing the daylight here and managed to arrive just as the sun was setting, luckily we still managed to get shots of the two main targets for the camera .......

Asia Pacific Airlines B727 Freighter N86425............

.............and the DHL DC8 Freighter N802DH wearing the yellow scheme,

I had shot one in the old colours many years back in the UK but longed to get the yellow!

We had a quick drive around the airfield to view the stored aircraft which allowed another 159 numbers to be added!!

We then went for dinner before the final 2 hour drive of the day up to Las Vegas, arriving around 11pm, very tired but happy with the experience of wonderful day!!

The remainder of our holiday, the next seven days was to be spent relaxing in Las Vegas. our hotel was located just off The Strip and just around the corner from some of the Biz Jet ramps.

I made short visits to some of the spots to get photos as and when I needed to over the week but using FR24 I was able to carry on logging movements so still added plenty of numbers each day.

15th September 2019

Only a quick visit to E Sunset Road today just to catch the Korean Air B777-300 HL7783 in Skyteam colours, sadly the sun ducked behind a very small cloud as the aircraft drew level with me so I only managed a front end shot .... so typical in such a blue sky!!

I managed to log 143 new numbers today .... not quite sure how!!

16th September 2019

After getting up and noticing that Alaska Airlines' superb looking "More to Love" B737-900 N493AS was on its way in I made another visit to E Sunset Road, the following were caught over three hours in the morning.

A great morning for "Specials" with three new Southwest 737-700's for me along with the fairly new Allegiant "Vegas Golden Knights" and the aforementioned Alaska!

Another 63 numbers added for LAS during the day.

In the evening we ventured up to Las Vegas North airport whilst looking around shops in that area, there are still many of the Vision Air fleet stored here in various states, the airline having failed a while back.

Another 15 numbers added here in a brief visit!

17th September 2019

Ashley and I were up very early morning to have a run up to the multi story car park to see if we could manage a shot of the Las Vegas Sands 747SP VQ-BMS as it wasn't currently flying, sadly the aircraft was blocked in by one of their 737-700BBJ's N889LS, we also caught one the Janet 737-600's N365SR arriving in the early morning sun.

After logging another 51 numbers we went back to the hotel to pick up the Ladies, we then set off on a very long road trip around the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to Horseshoe Bend, this took around 4.5 hours but was a superb drive with stunning scenery along the way!

We arrived at Horseshoe Bend early afternoon and spent around an hour up there taking in the view.

We then took the short drive over to Antelope Canyon where we had a tour booked for 5pm with Ken's Tours, this was at the Lower Antelope Canyon and was nothing short of spectacular!

The Canyon really is stunning and has to be seen to be believed, the photos do not do it justice!

We set off back to Las Vegas but made a very quick stop at Page Airport which was just up the road from the Canyon, a few of the Grand Canyon Airlines Twin Otters were present along with some Biz Jets, this allowed another 8 to be logged!

Another long drive mostly in the dark saw up arriving back in Vegas around midnight!

A VERY long day but one I will never forget!

18th September 2019

A lazy morning recovering from the day before but I made a visit to E Sunset Road late morning for a short while to catch a few more specials that were due in, the following were seen over the course of a couple of hours.

The remainder of the day was spent shopping but FR24 allowed another 42 to be added to the book.

19th September 2019

After waking up early I noticed that the Alaska "Vets" B737-900 N265AK was due in shortly, I drove back up to E Sunset Road for a quick snap,

Nothing much else was due at this time so made my way back to the hotel where we lounged by the pool for a while, I made a couple more visits during the day and had an hour in the evening to catch some Janet 737-600's arriving back from their flights out to the desert!

Very happy to have caught a few of these oddball Boeings!

Another 47 logged for the day.

20th September 2019

Our final full day of our holiday, Ashley and I tried our luck once again to get a clean shot of the Las Vegas Sands 747SP from the car park early morning .... this time success!!

Pleased with the catch we very quickly made our way to back around to E Sunset Road for an arrival shot of the Mexico One Southwest 737-700 N781WN although the light at this time of the morning is not good from that point!

Omni Air B777-200 N819AX was being towed to stand at that time too.

The day was spent walking, shopping and enjoying our last full day in the sun, we then spent a couple of hours late afternoon catching a few more specials!

Great to tick off a few more Southwest specials in our last hours, managed another 103 number over the course of the day too!

21st September 2019

Time to head home today.

We were back at the airport ready for our flight to Newark New Jersey on board United Airlines B737-900 N63890, a little time airside saw the following added to the photos along with another 8 numbers.

We departed Las Vegas just before 10am and arrived in Newark just before 5.30pm, with just over two hours connection I managed a few shots in the evening sun before heading for the boarding gate,

This was my first visit to Newark so nice to add somewhere different to the log, I managed 42 new numbers before we boarded United Airlines B767-400 N67058 for our ride back to Manchester, departing just before 8pm and arriving home just after 7am the next morning.

Definitely one of the best holidays I have experienced, a superb two weeks visiting some amazing places and making so many wonderful memories I will treasure forever!

Thank you to Ashley & Jade and my Daughter Bex for their great company, and a huge hug & kiss for my long suffering Wife Kyra for putting up with a "little" bit of aviation along the way!!

Aviation wise this is certainly the biggest trip I have done, a total of 2821 new numbers logged along the way and so many aircraft types seen for the first time! A huge amount of photos taken with some superb colour schemes caught.

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 5th to the 6th December 2019

Prague.

An overnight work related visit saw me fly out to Prague on the 5th December, arriving late morning on board Jet2's G-GDFX.

The weather was very dull and dreary on arrival and only two aircraft were worth pointing the camera at.

Nice to catch the CSA B737-800 OK-TST just as it was taxiing for departure,

and Sun D'or B737-800 4X-EKR pushing back off stand.

The next morning I was back at the airport to fly home, on the drive in we passed the maintenance area where five of the six stored Smart Wings B737-MAX8's were parked, nice to see and I managed a poor shot from the moving car!

Once airside I had a little time to watch the movements, very little of interest sadly but at least the sun shone for the following.

I departed back to MAN on board Jet2's B757-200 G-LSAI,

A very brief visit but a good one with 32 new numbers in the log book!

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11th & 12th December 2019

Lisbon.

An overnight visit to Lisbon was made near the end of the year thanks to a very cheap fare and a need to catch up with TAP's growing fleet of brand new A330 NEO's.

11th December 2019

We departed  Manchester early morning on Ryanair B737-800 EI-FTP and arrived in Lisbon just after 10am. After collecting our hire car we made our way over to the higher ground overlooking the midpoint of the runway where we spent the rest of the day.

The weather was mixed with cloudy periods mixed with sunshine, the following passed us.

Ryanair UK's sole B737-800 G-RUKA was a nice oddball to catch!

As darkness fell we made our way to our hotel for the night which was located in the city.

12th December 2019

We were back up early morning as we had noted that the night stopping Aeroflot B737-800 was the Skyteam coloured example, we returned to the same spot for the majority of the day, the following were the highlights, again in changeable weather.

Nice to catch VP-BMB departing very early morning, in fact it was still pretty dark!

Our last Azores Airlines A321 NEO CS-TSH arrived, all three now caught here at Lisbon between our two visits.

Sadly TAAG Angola Airlines hadn't changed the rotations on their B777-300's since our visit twelve months ago .... both services saw the same aircraft yet again!!

The superb looking Azul Airlines A330 PR-AIV in the Brazilian flag colours,

I've managed to catch this quite a few times between my Lisbon and Orlando visits!

The usual lunchtime rush saw a fair number of the TAP A330's coming and going,

We were able to capture the NEO's with the 100th titles, the Star Alliance scheme and the A330 NEO titles.

Our last catch before we had to head back to the terminal, Pilatus PC24 LX-PCB which was the first example of the type that I had seen!

A rather slow going two days with fairly long gaps between movements but it was good to catch up with all the required frames of TAP, of course a couple more were delivered after our visit!

A few more nice catches by the camera and another 36 new numbers in the log book.

We departed back to Manchester at 5.30pm on Ryanair B737-800 EI-EPB arriving back home just after 8pm.

Many thanks to Ashley and Fraser for another trip full of laughs!

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21st December 2019 to the 3rd January 2020

Christmas in Florida.

Another family break saw us escape the winter weather for a couple of weeks in Florida over Christmas and New Year.

21st December 2019

Saturday the 21st December we departed Manchester on the early morning Aer Lingus A320 EI203, operated by EI-DEL arriving in Dublin just after 9am. We had a six hour transit here (decided on a longer stopover after getting shafted by Lufthansa a couple of years back!!). Sadly Dublin is not the best airside these days, the newer terminal and especially the US Pre-Clearance area being pretty rubbish for airside photos. I didn't take any photos during our stopover, mostly due to the fact there was so little of interest! We spent our time looking around the shops and getting something to eat but during that time I did manage to add ten new numbers to the log book.

Before we knew it we were boarding Aer Lingus A330-300 EI-FNH, my first time using them long-haul, we departed DUB at 15.27 arriving in Orlando International eight and a half hours later at 18.57 local time.

It was already dark on arrival so I just managed to add four new frames to the log on taxi in, we collected our baggage and hire car and headed off for our villa in Kissimmee for the next twelve nights.

Most days were spent shopping or relaxing in the mostly sunny weather and our location in Kissimmee allowed me to view arrivals or departures in to and out of Orlando International along with the odd movement in to Kissimmee Municipal airport, I did manage the odd trip up to MCO for photos when time allowed though.

25th December 2019

Christmas Day saw us venture up to the airport for a couple of hours in the afternoon as most of the shops are closed and the parks are very busy. We parked up in the Long Term (South) Parking Lot where the following were taken from the fence near Runway 35 Left.

Nice to catch a better shot of American's Heritage Allegheny A319 N745VJ

Another bonus, a much better catch of Swoop B737-800 C-GNDG,

My last effort (in Las Vegas) a few months back wasn't so good.

My first Latam A320 Neo, CC-BHF.

Catch of the day for me, JetBlue A320 N633JB wears this special scheme for the Brooklyn Nets basketball team.

As the weather was getting cloudier we moved over to the main terminal multi storey car park for another hour to catch a few arrivals I was after ...

JetBlue's "For Good" special A320 N809JB was a nice surprise as it taxied out for departure,

The "Tudo Azul" special PR-AIT was my last of their special A330's, even though the light was fading fast it was worth the wait!

And my final catch of the day, B737-800 PR-GTE, my first catch of the new GOL colour scheme.

A good afternoon in the sun with a few new additions to the photo collection and another 66 new numbers in the book....... not a bad Christmas present!!  

27th December 2019

A brief visit to MCO again whilst in the area, a quick run down Tradeport Drive for the Biz Jets and a bonus catch of Eastern Airways B767-300 N706KW parked up, sadly no tail scheme on this one!

A very quick run up to the Terminal Top parking for a couple of pics, 

Air Transat B737-800 OK-TVY leased from SmartWings

And my first Interjet A321, XA-PGA taxiing for departure.

34 numbers seen so not bad for a very quick visit!

29th December 2019

Another visit to MCO for a few hours in the evening as Virgin's Millenium Falcon was due along with one of the GOL specials. Sadly the weather was a little mixed with the dull patches coinciding with the decent movements!

Nice to catch an Eastern B767-200 in the form of N605KW, this one wears the Swiftair scheme.

American's new "Stand Up To Cancer" special A321 N162AA taxied out during a shower!

Sadly the star of the day for me finally arrived well after sunset, the light was almost gone so I was reasonably happy with catching a half decent shot .... GOL B737-800 PR-GUK in the football "Voa Canarinho" scheme.

Sixty three new numbers logged today and a handful of new subjects on camera so well worth the three hour visit.

30th December 2019

Today saw us drive down to Tampa where I dropped the ladies off at the International Plaza Shopping Mall, next door to Tampa Airport. I then headed up to the Terminal Top Parking for a few hours. Sadly it was mostly cloudy during my visit but a few sunny spells did appear, the following were seen along with another 77 numbers in the book.

Nice of Westjet's Mickey Mouse B737-800 C-GWSZ to make a visit.

It was great to catch the fairly new ATR.72 N700SV of Silver Air, far less common than their ATR.42's.

And a last movement just as I was leaving, Air Transport International B767-300 N360CM which still wore signs of its previous operator, South Korea's Air Incheon.

I then drove back round to the Shopping Mall to join the others for a few hours of retail therapy before heading back to Orlando.

31st December 2019

I had planned to get up very early this morning as the United Airlines B737-800 wearing the new Star Wars livery had night stopped at MCO and was due to depart around 8am, sadly it was due out to Chicago and could effectively depart on either runway so I had to settle on a Terminal Top Car Park shot which was not ideal on MCO's 35 / 36 Ops.

On waking up I looked at Flight Radar 24 to see that there were diversions in to Orlando from Miami due to fog in South Florida, I was amazed to see that Latam's B777-300 PT-MUA was inbound to MCO, this one wears the Star Wars / Stormtrooper livery ...... what a result!

I drove up to the airport, arriving before it started to get light and was greeted by the sight of PT-MUA still waiting for a stand in the dark!

I spent around two hours on the car park waiting for the Latam to depart, the following shots were taken.

United's B737-800 N36272, wearing the newest "Star Wars" scheme taxied for departure before the sun was up, as it departed off 35L I only got the chance to catch the port side which features the "good" with X-Wing Fighters and blue Lightsaber, the starboard side features the "evil" with the Tie-Fighters and red Lightsaber!

Just before 9am Latam B777-300 PT-MUA taxied out for its departure to Miami, sadly the sun was well up by then and I had no choice but to settle for a couple of awful backlit shots as there is nowhere to shoot ground shots on this side in the mornings.

Hopefully I will get another chance to see this in the future!

Happy with managing to catch my last two of the Star Wars liveried airliners (having already caught the 4 x All Nippon and 1 x Virgin Atlantic specials) I headed back for breakfast, another 51 new numbers added on the last day of 2019.

1st January 2020

A sunny afternoon visit to the South Long Term Parking Lot at MCO to put some numbers in the book for the first day of the New Year allowed me to catch plenty of new subjects with the added bonus of a few specials!

My first time catching the Bahamasair B737-700, C6-BFX a nice change from the old -500's!

Another JetBlue special with N603JB in "JetBlue Vacations" colours!

Virgin Atlantic's "Millennium Falcon" Star Wars liveried B747-400 G-VLIP arrived on 35R and taxied around towards its parking gate.

A final treat from Southwest Airlines as B737-700 N918WN in the special "Illinois One" scheme landed on 35L.

A great few hours in the afternoon sunshine with the bonus of another 39 new numbers to start off the New Year!

2nd January 2020

Today saw us leaving Florida for the return journey home, after checking out of the villa and doing some last minute shopping we headed back to MCO early afternoon for a last visit to the South Parking Lot and with a lot of blue sky, sunshine and warm temperatures I enjoyed a few bonus hours of number crunching and photography!

The following were some of what was seen before we had to take the car back and check in.

Once again, Virgin Atlantic's Star Wars special G-VLIP arrived from Manchester, this time landing on 17R in front of me so I was able to shoot both sides of it as slowed up on the runway and then taxied back past me!

Latam's A350-900 PR-XTC was my final catch of the trip and the time here had netted me another 58 numbers in the log book.

We returned the car and checked in with Aer Lingus for our return flights, spent a little time airside before boarding A330-300 EI-FNG for our EI120 service back to Dublin. 

We arrived in Ireland just over seven hours later where we had just two hours to connect on to Manchester, again no photos taken here due to the gate areas not being great and just one number added to the tally .... not great!!

We departed DUB on board EI204 with Aer Lingus A320 EI-CVC just after 12.30 arriving at MAN thirty six minutes later ending another enjoyable holiday in the USA.

A pretty decent 477 new numbers were logged during our time either visiting the airports or from the Kissimmee area.

My thanks to my long suffering Wife, my Daughter and my Mother-in-Law for putting up with all the "Airport Time" while we were away!!

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2019 will probably forever remain as my most memorable year for spotting with some amazing trips and holidays, some near and some far with our US West Coast holiday being the definite highlight for me!

An incredible year for both photographs AND registrations, an unbelievable 4475 new numbers logged in total with 3930 of them being away from my local airport!

A huge thank you to my wonderful wife Kyra for putting up with so much in the pursuit of my hobby, the hours you spend sitting around waiting and for being so supportive of all my time away!