Click on the link below to see the map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=ca&msa=0&msid=111233084941925121843.000001133106faa3335bd&ll=41.303216,2.092724&spn=0.100844,0.213375&t=h&z=13

The airline currently bases one Boeing 737-800 aircraft there and serves Bristol, the East Midlands, Prestwick, Liverpool and Stansted. It carries around 800,000 passengers a year from the airport.

Ryanair‘s Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said that ‘it is very disappointing that the promised runway extension at Belfast City Airport has still not materialised more than three years after we opened the base there.’ He said that ‘in these circumstances, sadly, we have better alternative airports elsewhere in the UK and Europe, all of whom are willing and able to provide us with the runway infrastructure and low-cost facilities we need’. He also said if permission was granted in the future, then Ryanair would come back.

It will cancel its services from Prague to London Heathrow and Manchester from 30th and 29th October respectively.

The rest of their network continues as normal.

The CitizenM hotel is a cross between a boutique hotel and the Starship Enterprise.
It is located a short (3 minutes or so) walk from the terminal at AMS (with a covered walkway) and overlooks the easyJet stands and everything to the north of that.

It is almost totally computerised so there is, for example, no reception – just six self-service check-in screens. As the screens give a “runway view”
room choice, this shouldn’t be a problem for enthusiasts.

The view from the fifth (top) floor is pretty good!

The rooms are not very big, and the bed takes up the whole width of the room
for a couple of metres from the window into the room (so the only way to get
a really good view out of the window is to lie on the bed – spotting in
comfort!!!!). No good for photography as the venetian blinds are adjustable
but immovable.

Wi-Fi is free, and there is a British 13 Amp socket in the room (as well as
several European sockets) but the 2 tables are tiny. However the bed is so
big that the SBS box and laptop can happily lie on it beside a single
sleeper….

The bar/coffee shop is open H24 and snacks (hot & cold) are available H24 as
well. There are, of course, plenty of other eating options in the Schiphol
terminal.

There is no parking at the hotel, and the hotels is all non-smoking.

The computerised check-in system allows you to check in early – before 14:00
- for a fee (I checked in at 10:30 in the morning) and offers you a similar
facility for late check-out – after 11:00.

It’s rather twee and amusing – especially for technocrats – but it’s
reasonably priced, convenient for the airport, totally B-S free and the
“runway view” rooms on the higher floors are pretty damned good. The staff
are very friendly and helpful. It also has the best lounge area – virtually
the whole ground floor – of any hotel I’ve ever used!

I hope this is of interest as an alternative to the Ibis and Etap.

On 19-20 September the airline will send one of the MD-81 aircraft on a farewell tour of Japan to mark the occasion with the following schedule:

19 September: It will fly from Osaka (KIX) at 8:45 am, arriving at Oki (OKI) at 9:45 am. At Oki passengers will be able to walk around the tarmac to take photos of the aircraft. At 3 pm the airliner will leave Oki for Sapporo (CTS), arriving at 5 pm.

20 September: The aircraft will leave CTS at 7:45 am, arriving at OKI at 9:45 am. Passengers on the special flight will again be able to take photos, plus the aircraft will perform touch-and-go’s on this day. At 4:30 pm the airliner will leave OKI for KIX, arriving at 5:35 pm. Tickets are being sold by JALTours.

During this time, normal daytime operations will be affected. When arrivals are from the west (over London), only the southern runway will be used for arrivals, and the northern runway for departures. They will not switch at 3pm as usual.

Whilst this will no doubt cause a lack of noise respite for those living under the flightpath, it is also something for spotters to note when planning where to spot at Heathrow.

The full BAA news release can be found here

An interesting article has just appeared on Cincinnati.com‘s website entitled Why CVG lost half of all flight.

As the title suggests, it covers the steady plummet of flights ans passenger numbers at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport since 2003. In the 10 years prior, the airport enjoyed massive success in what, some would say, was an unlikely place ringed by other successful airports.

The success was all down to Delta and their feeder Comair, who introduced the Regional Jet. Between them they kept out low-cost carriers by lowering fares, and then raising them (once the threat was gone) to some of the highest in the country.

Today it is a shadow of its former self. Have a read of the article here:

Why CVG lost half of all flights.

It makes an interesting read and has some nice pictures of the plans for the building, the work that’s been carried out so far, and the existing (outdated) terminal buildings.

Click the link below to read the full article:

Sacramento’s Big Build Will Create a Monstrously Expensive New Terminal.

Those of you passing through Budapest Ferihegy airport any time soon should see a sight that hasn’t been seen for a while – an Ilyushin IL-14 aircraft in Malev colours.

The aircraft – HA-MAL – is part of the smart little museum collection of Russian types outside the main terminal at the airport.

For many years the aircraft has been in the colours of Hungarian Air Force and registered 04 RED. But now, as you can see from the colours, it has been restored to the 1950s colour scheme of Malev, who used to fly the type.

The team would be happy to accept donations for continuing restoration of the aircraft. Details to follow soon…

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