KC Sim

I was blessed with superb weather in Europe during my recent trip in April 2011 ... the poor tulips paid the ultimate price and were withered before anyone could gasp at their beauty. The tulips' loss is aviation photography's gain and I came away with tonnes of images. As of now, I was only able to process a small number and would like to share them here. Beginning of course with the stuff that call Amsterdam Schiphol Airport home ... firstly, let's meet the Fokkers. Trijets are always a massive joy and KLM and Martinair continues to fuel this feeling each and every single sunny day. Early morning arrivals on runway 06 are great for nose-on shots - such as that of Martinair Cargo's MD11 above - as well as landing shots just above the landing lights. The next shot shows a Cathay Pacific B744 nearing touch-down on runway 06. KLM's B744 PH-BFK is seen here in a similar position ... Each morning, Malaysia Airlines' B744 is something to look out for ... and 9M-MPN heads towards runway 06, providing spotters with a beautiful nose-on shot. Singapore Airlines' B777-200ER seems to following the Malaysian jumbo ... looking rather anaemic in comparison. Nothing looks as great as a Boeing Jumbo. Boeing 757s with winglets are absolutely most beautiful ... hopefully this US Airways shot justify this. And Continental Airlines' B767-400ER now has the UNITED title - still not sure I like this. One subject that I was keen to capture is the A340-300 of Surinam Airways ... got it but still miss its B747 terribly. Adria provided something colourful ... wish I know what this livery was all about. First thought it was a casino, but it seems it publicises some kind of web portal. Thankfully, I was able to get this Finnair A319 in old livery with the oneworld markings. Seeing a Boeing 717 is rare enough ... but one in the beautiful livery of Blue1 is a joy to watch and photograph. Surprisingly, Cimber Air - which for the longest time had one of the ugliest livery - provided the biggest positive shock for me. Its livery is stunningly similar to what I imagine a retro livery should. Love the way the Danish flag is incorporated into the cheatline and I especially loved the deep red in the livery. Hope you enjoy this installment of images ...hopefully, I could sit down again to process more and share them here. Schiphol rocks sky high ... KC Sim

The latest "addition" to the Singapore register - not really a new addition but a migration from SIA to SIA Cargo - is 9V-SPA, now a B747-412BCF. It went out on an air test yesterday (21 May 2011) and what was scheduled to be a 1-hour test flight turned out to be a 2.5 hour test flight. Just as well, because it managed to stay aloft until the lousy weather passed (towards Johore). KC Sim

VQ-BKK was re-scheduled to arrive in SIN from Dubai today (12 April) at 1830hrs ... once again, it was a no-show. Remains to be seen when it finally arrives. Hope they paint it nicely and not operate it as an albino. KC Sim

VQ-BKK was scheduled to arrive in SIN from Dubai this evening at 1900hrs ... but it seems its arrival has been indefinitely delayed. KC Sim

Three cheers to Francis!!! Like you, I am certain that the Japanese organisers will do everything they can to mitigate all effects of the disasters on the F1 Grand Prix event. Having been involved in tourism most of my life, I am happy to hear that your have resolutely stuck to your plans! Arigato-gozaimasu! KC Sim

Many countries remembered how Japan had provided economic aid to them over the last decades. And in time of disasters, Japan was always one of the first to respond with expertise, relief goods and other form of aid. It is only fitting that this is now reciprocated and it is heart-warming that many nations have responded. Donations continue to be received by many organisations and here in Singapore, the Red Cross and the people continue to channel donations to the Japanese Red Cross and other organisations. Through the use of technology, donations these days are a lot faster and easier. The world is touched by the images of devastation and ongoing nuclear leaks ... but the world has also seen the dignity and grace of the Japanese people as they coped with their loss and sufferings. We had several documentaries on television in recent weeks and they were very touching. I was moved by how people bought only what they needed immediately and not more - just so that there is something for everyone. I was touched by how all manners of foreign workers in Japan came forth to help - Pakistanis and Iranians serving their ethnic cuisine to help the Japanese people fill their stomach and battle the cold. I was truly happy to see that there were special groups to look after orphaned children, pets that have survived and are separated from their owners. There is so much we could all learn from the Japanese. Travel to Japan has been hit severely - just when the Yokoso Japan! promotion over the last few years have produced excellent growth in international visitor arrivals and a new Endless Discovery campaign has just been launched in 2010. I hope that everyone who has the means will soon - when it is deemed safe or convenient - make it a point to give priority to visiting Japan as tourists to help its tourism industry recover. For many of us, spotting there has always been most wonderful and the money you spend there now is more welcomed than ever. I personally hope to be able to visit Japan later this year for spotting, and to see a couple of friends who thankfully are safe. Suzuki-san : Thank you for sharing the beautiful pictures and we are happy that our Japanese Mwings members are safe too. We hope that the power outage and other measures taken after the disaster will slowly return to normal soon. I am certainly OK with the dimming of all the unnecessary advertising signs and other lighting ... Japan should conserve energy. In the meantime, I hope that "hanami" this year takes on new meanings and I hope that the sakura-blooms bring cheer to the Japanese people. Don't stop visiting Japan and perhaps make an effort to purchase Japanese goods and appliances - every bit helps. Every single Southeast Asian nation has benefitted greatly from Japan's aids and it is now our turn to do what we can to show our appreciation. KC Sim

Hi Cornelis, most of the time - unless the tail wind is critical - planes are directed to land on runway 35. This is because of high grounds when landing on runway 17. As such, I strongly recommend sitting on the port side of the aircraft for that beautiful Quito landing. You will see the thousands upon thousands of houses on the slopes of Pitchincha Volcano ... and if you are sharp eyed enough, you could see the statue of the Virgin Mary at El Panecillo. This is one amazing airport for spotting ... look out for Air Cuenca's B737-500 and AeroGal's new Airbus A320. Also Icaro Air has a stunning new orange and black livery. Good that you are still flying on the MD11 ... before the B777s get deployed on this route. I will be coming to Amsterdam on 20 April but will initially be driving down to the Normandy coast of France. Will also take in Finkenwerder and Dusseldorf along with some spotting at AMS. Hope to get retro planes from the various European carriers, as well as Saudi Cargo MD11F, Surinam A340, China Southern B777s (hopefully in Skyteam livery) etc. KC Sim

Love the colours of the economy class seats! Very Thai, very TG and very pleasing. As more airlines now have fully-flat beds in business class, I was surprised that the business class seats on this newly-delivered aircraft is still inclined. But I am sure the cabin service, meals and IFE will mitigate this issue. Hope to see more of the A330-300s leave Bordeaux for Hamburg and finally to Bangkok. And perhaps some will be deployed to SIN from time to time. Lovely aircraft in TG's livery. And nice pictures by Promphong ... enjoyed that well-shot video too. KC Sim

I flew on PH-KCB from Amsterdam to Quito via Bonaire and Guayaquil in April 2010 ... absolutely love the experience!!! The final approach into Quito Mariscal Sucre Airport is nothing short of breath-taking, especially in the final 10 seconds with all those buildings flashing past outside the window. I hope that KLM takes its own sweet time replacing the MD-11s. If only these could sometimes replace the B777-300ERs that come to Asia ... I remember seeing one of them at Nagoya Airport many years back. Wouldn't it be stunning if one of the MD-11 receives a retro livery or the Skyteam colours! KC Sim

And what will AirAsia do when Kuala Terengganu and much of the state of Terengganu's coastal activities shut down during the Northweast Monsoons? Frankly, the ramp of Kuala Terengganu's Airport will quickly fill up with just a few planes ... a country the size of Malaysia could not possibly want to have so many hubs - soon, there will be northern, southern, east coast, east malaysian, capital and penang hubs. I bet this will not be happening anytime soon. KC Sim

And don't forget to pack a wide-angle lens to capture the planes coming into bay C11. Be ready to capture as it turns into the bay on arrival - and the perspective changes each second. And then on departure, the way the aircraft is pushed back gives you a different set of angles to capture. I love it whenever any plane comes into this bay - and my favourite of course is the one of AirAsia's Bo Rocks A320. Thanks to AirAsia and her endless stream of special livery, spotting is a lot more fun. IMPORTANT NOTE: A B777-200LRF operated by Southern Air in the colours of Thai Cargo is scheduled to arrive at 0805hrs on Saturday (2 Apr) and should be using 02L or 20R (depending on the winds). It should then taxy across to the cargo complex on the eastern side of the airfield using one of the North Cross taxiway. You might be able to capture it from the T1 viewing mall. KC Sim

Wow ... beautiful shot of Qatar Cargo's B777-200LRF! I would love to see (and photograph) that some day. Love the colours of the sky too. And the star of your recent postings must surely be that National B744F in full livery! Given the good weather that day, how about posting much much more of the 750 pictures you have taken! What a treat it would be for those of us salivating at the thought of spotting at Schiphol. Perhaps some nice shots of Surinam A340 in action! This airline is always a highlight for me whenever I spot in AMS. Always keen to see more shots from AMS. Thanks for sharing them here. KC Sim

The possibility that the airplane involved was a rather well-used B737-400 isn't a problem. Bursting a tyre or more isn't a problem - this happens in many circumstances, even with rather new airplanes. What is troubling is the author's observation that there were no fire engines or other emergency vehicles in attendance. What is impossible to imagine is the fact that passengers remain in the aircraft for two hours as no buses were available. And what is equally laughable is that after all this time sitting in the plane, they still had to wait for their baggage. But then again, the probably did not have the equipment or manpower to send to the aircraft on the runway to offload the bags. Or perhaps they could not find the passenger steps for this flight. I remember sometime in the past when I landed in Subang Airport on a Malaysia Airlines B744 flight from London (codeshared with Virgin Atlantic). We taxied to one gate and then stopped short of turning into that gate. After about 20 minutes, the captain announced that there has been a last-minute change of gate. We then taxied to another gate ... and waited for about 10-15 mins only to be told that the staff have gone to the wrong gate, along with all the supporting ground services vehicles and equipment. And we finally taxied to a remote stand where there were some freighter aircraft (include JAL's B747F with the registration on the tail). And I happened to sit near a group of Brits who were complaining loudly in exasperation ... noticed them because at the gate in London, they were shocked to discover that they were flying with Malaysia Airlines and not Virgin Atlantic. A staff explained that this was a codeshared flight operated by MH to which one lady shouted: I expected to fly with Virgin Atlantic. If I had wanted to fly with Malaysia Airlines, I would have booked on Malaysia Airlines. But bet you, they did not complain about the rather delicious and hearty dinner served (at that time, the food served was more delicious and certainly more generous in portion size - compared to my experiene late-2010 on the KUL-LHR sector). The latest incident is certainly one for MH and KLIA to ponder over and perhaps improve. KC Sim

The escalator is near the centre of the departure hall of Terminal One, leading to the Japanese restaurant SABOTEN. Access is landside. KC Sim

I will not go into the debate whether the reference to polygamy is very Malaysian ... but this is not the first time an airline go down this road. As earlier mentioned, another airline had used the "twice the fun at half the price" tagline ... but remember that another airline launched flights to Singapore with a reference to "backyard" and has a picture showing the behind of three or four cabin attendants. So you see, there is indeed a trend of sorts among these airlines to make such references. While one could debate that these are airlines and not governments, these are also business entities that expected to be treated seriously - especially when they have shareholders' interests to take care of. That said, an airline here in Singapore too once made such a reference but quickly swept that under the carpet. It had an ad showing its cabin attendant alongside another cabin attendant from its sister-airline that flies mainly leisure routes. And the promotional tagline was: Come to Singapor with us and you can go on holiday with our sister. Bet you someone got a rap on the knuckles for that. And that kind of promotional tagline was never repeated again. The line dividing what's clever and witty from that which is deemed crass, inappropriate and sometimes downright insulting is very thin indeed. And remember, perception is real - that every marketer knows. If the person receiving the message perceives it to be in bad taste, it then means that the message could have been better crafted. I remember when MAS launched its "An Experience Re-defined" campaign - the same time the B744 was painted in Hibiscus livery ... the MH official who was interviewed by the media wanted the airline's yield in premium class to grow 25 percent as a result of that new product. That was something that members of the media gasped in disbelief over and today, I can only say that MH should not attempt to go any lower with its fares - or the meal-box trend will expand further into other aspects of its service. Outside of Malaysia, MH fares are already placed at the bottom of the list of fares from competing carriers. Any lower, it will bring back memories of the "Zero Ringgit" promotion. I hope that MH sorts out its own place in the whole Malaysian and Asian aviation landscape and make a consistent effort in getting to where it wants to go and staying there. All the catchy names for business turnaround means nothing if they are turbo-charged during their launch, loses steam after a short while when the media forgets about it and then sputter and break down when the first profits are announced (along with sale of big-ticket assets). KC Sim

Gunning for No. 1 position in highly-competitive Asia is a very lofty objective ... with airlines such as Cathay Pacific Airways, Thai Airways International, Korean Air, ANA, Asiana, Singapore Airlines, Garuda Indonesia and Vietnam Airlines all having a very clear head-start. Hope the management does take too long to decide when to put its plans to hand over domestic services to Firefly (and MASwings) into action ... sound strategic thinking would dictate that MAS should have by now worked this out before even announcing it. Now AirAsia knows what is on the the cards ... And one begins to wonder about the competency of those involved when aircraft types such as Boeing 738, B737-800 and Airbus A330-800 are mentioned. This new direction that MAS is taking deserves a lot of attention going forward and tracking its progress would be very interesting indeed. KC Sim

Great pictures and great narration there Tuan Khiem, thoroughly enjoyed all your images for both rarity and perspective. The LOT B767-300ER and its pilots sure look like they are in a lot of problems. Love those US Marines DC9s ... we used to have US Navy ones flying into SIN but I have not seen one of these in many years already. Keep those images coming along! KC Sim

Air Koryo previously operated a weekly flight using IL-62 from Pyongyang to Bangkok. At that time, one can only expect the flight to arrive in Bangkok (if memory serves me correctly, it was on a Friday), but in reality, it is like betting on the lottery. It often does not appear. In 2003, when I was going from Bangkok to Pyongyang with a tourism study delegation, Air Koryo's representative in Bangkok does not want to book us from Bangkok to Pyongyang and instead only agreed to book us out of Beijing. This in spite of the fact that the Bangkok - Pyongyang return fare would have given the airline more revenue than one out of Beijing. After further discussion, I realised that the Bangkok flight was operated only IF a batch of North Korean workers destined for Tel Avia (using El Al's services from Bangkok) received their Israeli work permits. And when such permits are not received in good time, the Air Koryo flight is cancelled. The workers on Air Koryo's flights are therefore destined for Tel Avia and not Thailand. The latter has its own arrangements to supply construction workers to Isreal. Air Koryo's representative further mentioned that North Koreans made better farm workers and picked every single fruit that is ripe (I assume perhaps because of their constant food shortage, they hate to see food being wasted). He further mentioned that this was not the case with Thai workers but they do end up being better suited for the construction industry. If Air Koryo flies between KUL and SIN, my sincere hope is that we can book to fly on them between these two cities!!! Now this would be one highly anticipated flying experience ... on a TU-204! KC Sim

KS Ong : Saudi came back around 5.45. Weather was TERRIBLE. Drizzle/Rain But such "terrible" conditions are no barrier to Keat Siong!! Great images you have captured of the Saudi B772ER. Love them all, and so artistically framed too. Somehow, I never got used to seeing the "God Bless You" title on the nose. KC Sim

Quite the opposite Waiping. The police at Beijing Capital International Airport is extremely tolerant of spotters. Whether one spots from locations immediately outside the terminals or around the perimeter fence, one is hardly ever approached by any security staff demanding to know what one is doing or telling you that photography is not permitted. And while heat haze is indeed a problem - yes, even in the coldest of winter (I was there in mid-February and even with minus 2 degrees Celcius weather, heat haze was a problem. This is where one should concentrate on photographing approaching traffic while they are in the air - free of heat haze. Love all those special liveries. KC Sim

JAL calls this a livery? This is a cut-and-paste job that could easily be accomplished in two minutes flat. The font of the Japan Air Lines title is too bold, too hard and absolutely hideous. If this is the airline's attempt to re-connect with its more glorious past and reach out to its previously loyal customer base, I think it should not be expecting a rousing welcome. At best, consumers will just be indifferent to the livery. Very few complete livery makeovers have been successful and I personally rate those done by Hawaiian Air and Oman Air at the top. Finnair's rebranding exercise is a huge disappointment and for me, I still have yet to see a Malaysia Airlines widebody aircraft painted in the new livery - and therefore reserve my judgement on this revision. KC Sim

One can only imagine the hell and desperation that the late Carol Wilson's son went through from the moment his mother was found unconscious in the lavatory to the time when paramedics could finally attend to his mother. It is indeed true that the lack of CPR can play a critical role in the early stages but whether or not the Emirates crew members are found negligent or merely unprofessional remains to be seen. It would be very telling when the verdict is reached. The fact that no CPR was administered, no call for any doctor onboard was made, no defibrillator was used and no priority to let paramedics into the plane after landing (we know how long it takes for all passengers to deplane) makes it an awfully difficult case for the airline to defend. At the end of the day, I do not care how gorgeous / handsome the cabin attendants are ... I rather know that in times of emergency, they know what to do. Sad incident and I hope that cabin attendants worldwide learn something from this. KC Sim

It has been confirmed that the 12th and subsequent A380s that will be delivered to Singapore Airlines will feature an all-Business Class upper deck. An earlier post here mentioned 12 Suites and 311 Economy Class seats on the main deck (this is the same as the first 11 A380s). This is accurate. What is a bit of a mystery is the seat-count on the all-Business Class upper deck. The earlier post mentioned 88 seats ... all I can say is that while this isn't correct, but you are almost right. Delivery of Korean Air's A380 is slated for sometime in late-May but the actual date has not yet been announced. I am planning on a trip to Finkenwerder on 28 & 29 April and all fingers, toes, legs and eyes crossed in the hope that I could photograph some of the A380s moving and flying ... especially the Korean Air aircraft. KC Sim

The first day of the Lunar New Year has always produced nice surprises ... and the bunny year is no different. The gem of the day came from Garuda ... in the late afternoon, it sent PK-GMF and I was commenting to my fellow spotters that if only PK-GFM was sent instead. Lo and behold, the desired retro B737-800 appeared. This was followed by a quick drive (thanks to Tsen Tsan) to T1 for the push-back shot. Earlier in the afternoon, yet another Delta Airlines B767-300ER N136DL arrived in SIN for maintenance at SASCO. There were already three other B763s from Delta at SASCO. I could not help doing a closeup of AirAsia's A320 with the airline's title "tattooed" on its forehead. KC Sim

Such acts are cowardly and cannot be justified by any cause or reason. All those people who are brutally murdered and injured ... along with others who are traumatised or inconvenience are mere bystanders who should not be shouldering the burden of any political or other cause. Let's treasure peace and not take it for granted ... and resolve to never resort to violence. KC Sim