Category: Airplanes

@Delta – True Premium Economy Coming! #KeepClimbing

Some really exciting news this morning – Delta has announced that they will be introducing a true Premium Economy hard product with the introduction of their A350 services late next year (Fall 2017). They will begin refitting their B777 fleet with this the year after (2018), as well.

Details of the premium product, from the Delta news site, are as follows:

More space with up to 38 inches of pitch, up to 19 inches of width and up to seven inches of recline. Delta Premium seats will also offer adjustable leg rests and head rests;

 

Westin Heavenly® In-Flight Blanket with pillow and a TUMI amenity kit featuring Malin+Goetz Travel Essentials, allowing customers to settle in and arrive well-rested;

Pre-departure beverage service followed by fresh, seasonal menu selections presented with Alessi serviceware designed exclusively for Delta;

A 13.3-inch, high resolution in-flight entertainment screen that is among the largest in its class, allowing customers to stay entertained with Delta Studio’s industry-leading library of complimentary movies, shows and games, and noise-cancelling headphones;

In-seat power ports for large and small devices and convenient storage to keep them within reach;

Sky Priority service, which includes faster check-in, accelerated security, priority boarding and expedited baggage service.

Image Courtesy of Delta
Image Courtesy of Delta

Be sure to check out the news site to see the panoramic view available!

Image Courtesy of Delta
Image Courtesy of Delta
Image Courtesy of Delta
Image Courtesy of Delta

The A350 will also feature the brand new Delta One suites (32 of them), which is doubly exciting! The AvGeek within is thrilled at the chance of flying on on an A350 in the near future, and the opportunity of enjoying this new hard product is icing on the cake.

@Delta to Upgrade RDU-CDG Flight

Google Now just informed me that there has been talk of Delta replacing the 757 that is currently being used to connect Raleigh-Durham, NC (RDU) to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) with a 767. This would be a pretty big improvement in the quality of flight for passengers. Delta’s Pink Force One is an example of a 767, though it is a -400, not a -300 as I would expect to bridge RDU and CDG.

Pink Force One: N845MH / DAL86
Pink Force One: N845MH / DAL86

While the Delta One seats in the 757 are lie-flat, they lack the lumbar massage option that the 767 and Airbus 330 offer. After being in a seat for a prolonged period of time, I can vouch for how helpful these can be! This also means more Delta One seats, and hopefully better uses for Global Upgrade Certificates. The 767, being a wide-body aircraft, allows for aisle access from all Delta One seats, so you don’t have to worry about stepping over anyone if you need to get up and stretch. Again – an improvement from the 757 currently serving this route.

Courtesy of the Great Circle Mapper
Courtesy of the Great Circle Mapper

Right now Delta is only planning on this being a seasonal upgrade, but I hope it sticks around. RDU flyers can expect to see this change in the Spring of 2017, slated to start on May 25th.

Seat Maps

You can see seatmaps for these planes on SeatGuru. Though it isn’t clear which variant of the 767-300/-400 will be used, there isn’t too much change in what you can expect as a flyer.

Boeing 767-300

Boeing 767-400

Boeing 757 Lie-Flat

@Airbus A350-1000 Test Aircraft! #AvGeek

Airbus has their second A350-1000 XWB test aircraft out and about in its new Carbon Livery.

From @Airbus
From @Airbus

With a three-class configuration, it can carry 366 passengers just under 8,000 nautical miles. It’s powered by two Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines that have been custom built for Airbus specifically for this plane. From Airbus’s estimates, the airframe design and engine come together to offer a substantial 25% increase in fuel efficiency to other long-range competitors.

Additional images can be found on Airbus’s website, for those curious!

Website Bugs are Fun! Courtesy of @Delta

With schedule changes, I took some time to dig through all of my upcoming travel when I noticed this gem… I didn’t know Delta used Eurocopter EC155s! 😉

A Delta helicopter?
A Delta helicopter?

I did verify that I would not be on a helicopter, which I have mixed feelings about… it would certainly make for a fun day! For those curious, this is what a Eurocopter EC155 looks like:

Courtesy of Wikimedia
Courtesy of Wikimedia

@Boeing 757 vs. 737 from a Pilot’s Perspective

The Boeing 757 is an iconic plane in its own right, though not always as distinguishable to the untrained eye as a 747 or A380. It has been in production from 1981 to 2004, and in service since 1983. In fact, many airlines are holding onto their 757s tightly because of the versatility offered by this plane, in range, passenger capacity, and flight abilities.

While browsing Reddit’s /r/Aviation subreddit, I came across an article about Norwegian looking to Airbus to use the A321neo to take the place of their 757s. While Norwegian is a staunch Boeing supporter and purchasing their new 737-MAX, they recognize that the 737 simply does not have the range that the 757 does, even with the improvements provided by the MAX variants. The A321neo’s Long Range variant, however, does meet this need.

From Boeing.com
From Boeing.com
From Boeing.com
From Boeing.com
From Boeing.com
From Boeing.com
From Boeing.com
From Boeing.com

Benjamin from Business Insider goes on to explain that the issue is the size of the engines and the way the original 737 was designed. As I mentioned the other day, he A321neo-LR uses the CFM LEAP-1A engines, while the 737-MAX uses the CFM LEAP-1B engines:

An upgrade to a larger engine will likely involve a redesign of the 737’s landing gear. That’s because the 737 was designed in the 1960s to be powered by Pratt & Whitney’s JT8D engine with a much more compact fan diameter of 49 inches.

[…]

This means that whether it decides to modify the 737 or to build a new plane from scratch, it’ll be a move that will likely cost billions.

Also in the Business Insider article, there is a link to Patrick Smith’s Ask the Travel, where he discusses the shortcomings of the 737 from a pilot’s perspective. Most of what is discussed won’t directly affect a passenger, but one excerpt stands out:

Short runway? Stiff headwinds? Full payload? No problem. With 180 passengers on board, the plane can safely depart from a 6,000-foot runway, lifting off at a measly 135 knots (assuming flaps at 15 or 20), climb directly to 39,000 feet, and fly clear across the country. Nothing else can do that.

While the cramped cockpit of the 737 (versus A320, A321, or 757) isn’t something we won’t experience as passengers, one thing we can appreciate is versatility. The 757’s cabin is also roomier than the 737, as the 737 was initially designed as a regional jet.

Shot by Ken Iwelumo via Wikipedia
Shot by Ken Iwelumo via Wikipedia

Like I said, there are many airlines that are holding onto their 757s (Delta still has more than 150 in service) to be able to optimize the ratio of passengers to fuel-costs and maintenance. If the A321neo-LR can fill the void left by aging 757s, it would be a huge win for Airbus.

Another @SingaporeAir Sale!

A few days ago, I posted about a great deal on Premium Economy seats to Singapore. This morning I received an email about another deal going on! This one is for economy travel from various US-based hubs (SFO, LAX, JFK, and IAH — San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York-Kennedy, and Houston, respectively).

2016-09-17-singaporesale02
A sampling of cities

The other big difference is that this sale isn’t just to Singapore, as you might have noticed from the image above. A full table can be found on the deal site, and below.

Lots of options!
Lots of options!

This is a flash sale, so don’t expect the fares to last for long. If you have any flights planned to these regions, it might be worth jumping on while you can!