Jaunted

Boeing / Airbus / 777 / Airline News / Airplanes / Airplane News / → All Tags

Boeing is Hard at Work Cooking Up a Whole New Flavor of 777

You know we get all worked up when there's anything new to report in the saga of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, but eventually we’re going to have to shift our focus—and airplane love—towards a new aircraft. It looks like Boeing has something up their sleeve already, and if things go according to plan the world’s longest-range passenger jet may roll off the assembly line sooner rather than later.

Sure, it’s technically not a totally new aircraft, as we’re sure the engineers at Boeing are copying and pasting some stuff from one set of blueprints to another. Nonetheless, the Boeing 777X is a totally revamped and renovated option from airplane manufacturer.

more ›

Airplanes / Airports / Air Shows / Boeing / Seattle Travel / PAE / → All Tags

Make Your Way to Aviation Day at Seattle's Paine Field

Some 787s hanging out Paine Field

If you’re looking to fill your quota of aviation avgeekiness, but can’t swing the cost of round-the-world airfare anytime soon—we’ve got you covered. Paine Field Aviation Day is just around the corner, and plenty of airplanes will be on display for your viewing pleasure on Saturday, May 18 between 9am and 5pm.

The fun all takes place in Everett, Washington, which sits just outside of Seattle. It's better known as the home to Boeing and their primary final assembly lines, but Aviation Day is meant for aircraft both old and new to show off and take to the skies. Tickets for adults will set you back $10, but the little ones—under 17—can tag along for free.

more ›

Airplane News / Airplanes / 787 / Boeing 787 Dreamliner / Boeing 787 / 787 Dreamliner / Dreamliner / Boeing / Airlines / → All Tags

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner Rides Again: First Flight Dates for Each Airline

For the first time in nearly three months, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is in the headlines for a positive reason—they're returning to the skies! Of course, this comes after battery fires and millions upon millions lost by grounding the jets, but still—good news.

According to Reuters, the fix required for the airplane's batteries won't be a cheap one, as the FAA "pegged the cost of repairing United's six jets at about $2.8 million." The installation of the modified lithium-ion batteries in Dreamliners should be complete by mid-May, meaning tickets are again being sold for 787 flights.

There are currently 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners in service with airlines, all of which will be "fixed" and flying again as soon as the airlines can handle it. Here's the dates for when airlines expect their 787s to again fly with paying passengers:

more ›

Alaska Airlines / Airlines / Airline News / In-Flight Comfort / Seats / Boeing / → All Tags

Alaska Airlines Slims Down Seats, but Beefs Up In-flight Power

The folks over at Alaska Airlines are cashing in all the spare change they find between the seats, as they’re looking to spend around $100 million to upgrade the interiors on some of their planes. Unfortunately they’re not adding wider more comfortable seats, but at least the upgrades they are making should give the airplane cabins a nice refresh.

Upgrades are coming to all of the carrier’s Boeing 737-800s, 737-900s, and 737-900ERs, as they replace the old seating surfaces with some new designs from Recaro. The new seats have a much slimmer design, so traveling butts might be a little less comfortable. However, the slimmer seats add more space for more travelers, and that’s a good thing when you’re an airline trying to make money.

more ›

Boeing / Airplanes / 747-8 / Livery / 747 / → All Tags

Break Out the Crayons and Create Your Own 747 Livery

We’ve seen various contests here and there dedicated to airline and airplane liveries, but now there’s a way to play graphic designer anytime and anywhere. Boeing has fired up a pretty neat addition to their website, and they welcome one and all to slap some paint onto the side of a 747-8.

You get a blank slate jumbo jet, and then you’re welcome to rotate it this way and that way to get your livery just right. Boeing has loaded a few different paintbrushes, stamps, and designs, so there are plenty of options from which to choose. There’s a whole bunch of colors, and you can even change up the background. Unfortunately you can’t upload your own logos and photos, so you won’t be able to stick your face onto the belly of the plane.

more ›

Videos / British Airways / 747 / Boeing / Airplanes / → All Tags

Video Interlude: One Jumbo Art Project for One Jumbo British Airways Jet

Even though British Airways is champing at the bit to get their hands on the superjumbo Airbus A380, they aren't so quick to forget the original jumbo—the Boeing 747.

Just last week, the airline gathered together some creative employees and cleared a space in a hangar to generate a massive mural made up of the many thousand items which go on each BA 747 aircraft before it heads up into the skies. This are the soft products of the service, and they aren't anything minor: "With a combined weight of 6,120 kg, the items have to be unloaded and re-loaded before every take-off."

Now consider that each 747 on its own is made up of nearly 6 million pieces, and we're talking Puzz 3D, extra difficult edition for sure.

more ›

Accidents / Boeing / 737 / Lion Air / Bali Travel / DPS / Airport News / Airports / BDO / → All Tags

A Lion Air 737 Goes for an Accidental Swim in Bali (Crash Photos and Details)

Just before 5:10am EST this morning, it was reported that an aircraft had gone into the water off the runway at Bali's Airport at 15:10pm local time. That was a simple newsflash, but additional details have emerged in the minutes since, and here is what we know:*

· Update (12pm EST): It is now confirmed that the plane didn't overshoot the runway, but landed short of it. This would mean that the 737 landed too early (versus too late, with an overshoot) and thus hit the water just before the runway. The number of passengers has also been solidified; there were 101 passengers and 7 crew, all surviving.

· The aircraft, a Lion Air Boeing 737-800 (registration PK-LKS), was operating a flight from Bandung, Indonesia to Denpasar/Bali, Indonesia when it landed in the ocean.

· Both ends of the runway at Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) are bordered by the ocean. The 737 was unable to stop before continuing off the edge and into the water on the runway's western end [See Update above]. The force of the landing caused the rear area of the fuselage to break, just behind the trailing edge of the wing.

more ›

New Airplanes / 787 / Boeing / United / Boeing 787 Dreamliner / 787 Dreamliner / Airplane News / → All Tags

Seats Now on Sale for the Restart of United's 787 Dreamliner Flights

Its been nearly two full months since the FAA grounded Boeing's brand new 787 Dreamliners due to caution over battery issues, but last week saw the bird return to the air...over the skies of Washington State, at least. Boeing is in the process of trial flights to asses a fix to prevent future fires in its lithium-ion battery system.

Changes could be approved as early as the end of this month, and it's obvious that's exactly what a few airlines are betting on as a recent schedule update shows United's confident enough to put some 787s back on schedule, starting May 31. And those flights, between Houston and Denver, are already on sale, according to AirlineRoute.net.

We attempted to purchase a ticket on the first United flight using the 787, on May 31, and it was not only still available but reasonably priced and light in load.

more ›

Travel Ads / Videos / New Airplanes / American Airlines / Boeing / 777 / Travel Advertising / Airplanes / Airplane News / → All Tags

The American Airlines 777-300ER Onslaught Continues

As you may have heard - say, when we excitedly wrote about it here and here, or when we did the definitive description of it here, or when we posted the definitive photo gallery of it here—American Airlines has a line of new Boeing 777-300ER airplanes.

They're neat and, more to the point, American wants you to know they're neat. They've put out two new videos highlighting that neatness, which we're going to go ahead and steal from AAdvantage Geek. The videos are embedded below.

more ›

Retro Travel / American Airlines / Economy Class Travel / 707 / Boeing / → All Tags

Throwback Thursday: An American Airlines 707 in 1959

Sure, we love all the speed and comfort of modern travel, but it didn't get that way overnight. Every Thursday, we're going to take a look back at travel the way it used to be, whether that's decades or centuries ago. This is Throwback Thursday, travel edition.

Last week we spent some time oohing and aahing over the newest bird in American Airlines' fleet, the Boeing 777-300ER. Rewind to 1959 however, and no traveler could imagine a flying machine shinier or more impressive than the Boeing 707.

At the time, AA handed out pamphlets to their passengers to introduce them to modern jet travel. This is one of the illustrations from such a pamphlet, and it depicts a happy little scene in coach class (yes, even that lounge was in coach) that proves while some things change (banning smoking, smaller seats, no more dressing up for a flight), others remain the same (kids with their shoes on the seat, free newspapers as reading material). Anything else?

[Image scan: Jaunted]

New Airplanes / American Airlines / Boeing / 777 / Airplanes / Airplane News / JFK / LHR / Flight Reviews / Flying the New American 777 / Photo Gallery / → All Tags

Onboard American Airlines' First Boeing 777-300ER: Getting High

There's something new in the air. Smell it? That's the scent of a refreshed American Airlines and their shiniest new toy: the Boeing 777-300ER. AA is the first US airline with the plane and we just stepped off one of its first flights. So let's talk about it.

The Jaunted Series on American's Shiny New Toy

We must've looked over at the tiny display screen on the remote control twenty times during the course of our flight from New York-JFK to London-Heathrow. It sat, snugly locked into its own nook, just above our left shoulder and in the corner of our peripheral vision.

No matter how low the mood lighting went or how engrossed in the old Bond flick "Diamonds Are Forever" we got, eventually we'd have a glance over at the little glowing words "American Airlines." It was a reassurance—this Boeing 777-300ER in which we found ourselves so comfortably situated for 6-ish hours over the Atlantic Ocean is really, truly an American Airlines plane.

more ›

New Airplanes / American Airlines / Boeing / 777 / Airplanes / Airplane News / JFK / LHR / Lists / Flying the New American 777 / Photo Gallery / → All Tags

Onboard American Airlines' First Boeing 777-300ER: The New Hotness

The AA 777-300ER

There's something new in the air. Smell it? That's the scent of a refreshed American Airlines and their shiniest new toy: the Boeing 777-300ER. AA is the first US airline with the plane and we just stepped off one of its first flights. So let's talk about it.

The Jaunted Series on American's Shiny New Toy

This is an American Airlines plane?! NO WAY.

WAY.

From the fresh paint job in the "new American" livery to the mood lighting and seatback touchscreen TVs, it's hard to believe that this 777 belongs to an airline whose biggest headlines of recent swirled around its bankruptcy. Well, we've flown bankrupt airlines before (cough Alitalia cough) and we've flown the old American a bunch, and what we just experienced is so completely unlike those that it's shocking (in a good way).

more ›