Qatar Boeing 777-300ER A7-BAO / 2015.12.26

MIA (Miami International airport / Wilcox Field. Miami, United States)

Qatar Airways (القطرية) received the award as Best Airline in 2015 by Skytrax, as voted by travelers from around the world. Without planning it, this is the last aircraft I photographed this year. Qatar Boeing 777-300ER A7-BAO, about to land as Flight QR777 from DOH (Doha). Nice coincidence. ✈

Air Transat Airbus 310-300 C-GTSH / 2014.03.12

YYZ (Lester B. Pearson International airport. Toronto, Canada)

Air Transat Airbus 310-300 C-GTSH, a fairly old aircraft (over 23 years when I took this picture) getting prepared for its next flight during a heavy snowstorm. Nothing new for it anyway. ✈

Clickair Airbus 320-200 EC-HHA / 2007.08.10

BCN (El Prat airport. Barcelona, Spain)
Those were the good old days of Clickair, when you could spot plenty of its aircraft at its home base in BCN (Barcelona) before the airline merged with competitor Vueling. Airbus 320-200 EC-HHA, seen on short finals under the August evening sun. ✈

Finnair Airbus 340-300 OH-LQC / 2015.12.26

MIA (Miami International airport / Wilcox Field. Miami, United States)

Recently inaugurated route. Finnair Airbus 340-300 OH-LQC performs take off for HEL (Helsinki) as Flight AY008. ✈

Spirit Airbus 321-200 N657NK / 2014.12.12

FLL (Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International airport. Fort Lauderdale, United States)

Spirit Airlines Airbus 321-200 N657NK was only delivered to the carrier in July 2015. Inbound from LGA (New York LaGuardia) as Flight NK197. ✈

Bangkok Airways ATR 72-500 HS-PGC / 2014.12.07

HKT (Phuket International airport. Phuket, Thailand)

Bangkok Airways (บางกอกแอร์เวย์) aircraft are cheerful and always nice to spot under the tropical Thai sun. ATR 72-500 HS-PGC ('Nangyuan') seen here on shorts over Nai Yang Beach. ✈

American Eagle Embraer 175LR N428YX / 2015.12.19

MIA-ATL—Flight AA4310, Miami-Atlanta

Beautiful December Winter light on my arrival to my former hometown. Seen from seat 20A on board American Eagle (Republic Airlines) Embraer 175LR N428YX. ✈

Blue1 Boeing 717-200 OH-BLQ / 2014.09.21

ARN (Arlanda airport. Stockholm, Sweden)

Blue1 Boeing 717-200 OH-BLQ, arriving at the gate. Sadly, the airline no longer operates under this name and its aircraft are not seen anymore due to the new ownership by CityJet. OH-BLQ is currently stored, after a long life of almost 15 years serving Bangkok Airways and Spanair, prior to Blue1. The background is sort of colorful thanks to Icelandair Boeing 757-200 TF-FIJ ('Surtsey') as it undergoes preps before its flight back to KEF (Reykjavík Keflavík). ✈

Virgin Atlantic Airbus 320-200 EI-EZV / 2014.11.09

LHR (Heathrow airport. London, United Kingdom)

Virgin Atlantic Airbus 320-200 EI-EZV ('Tartan Lassie') has been around since 2003. It first flew for Eurofly, then Meridiana before servicing Richard Branson's airline. Since September 2015, this aircraft wears the green colors of Aer Lingus. ✈

Myanmar Airways International Airbus 319-100 XY-AGR / 2014.12.16

CAN (Baiyun airport. Guangzhou, China)

My first picture of a Burmese carrier! I got this one as I was deplaning from my flight after arriving. MAI Myanmar Airways International (အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာ မြန်မာ့လေကြောင်း) Airbus 319-100 XY-AGR previously flew for Finnair for 10 years as OH-LVE before finding a new life in warmer destinations. ✈

Air Koryo Ilyushin 62M P-881 / 2014.10.14

FNJ (Sunan airport. Pyongyang, North Korea)

Beautiful Air Koryo (고려항공) Ilyushin 62M P-881 parked at home and apparently going through some maintenance work. This aircraft was delivered in 1986 and still does some service, although very rarely. ✈

Copa Airlines Boeing 737-800 HP-1844CMP / 2015.12.19

MIA (Miami International airport. Miami, United States)

Casting its shadow as it starts rotation on its flight back to PTY (Panama City). Copa Airlines Boeing 737-800 HP-1844CMP has only been servicing the Central American carrier for 11 months. ✈

Air Europa Airbus 330-300 EC-MHL / 2015.12.26

MIA (Miami International airport. Miami, United States)

This is a unique one. Air Europa Airbus 330-300 EC-MHL ('Francisca Acera') started flying for the Spanish carrier in July 2015, after a short life of only two months with Japanese Skymark Airlines (スカイマーク株式会社), which explains the hybrid paint scheme visible on the tail, engines and winglets. Seen here inbound from MAD (Madrid) as Flight UX099. ✈

British Airways Airbus 380-800 G-XLEA

LAX (Los Angeles International airport. Los Angeles, United States)

Welcome to California! British Airways G-XLEA was the first Airbus 380-800 for the company, delivered exactly one year minus two days when I took this picture as it was coming from LHR (London Heathrow). Its series number is 95 and is powered by four Rolls-Royce Trent 970 engines. ✈

Rouge Airbus 319-100 C-FZUG / 2015.12.12

FLL (Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International airport. Fort Lauderdale, United States)

Coming from the cold. Air Canada Rouge Airbus 319-100 C-FZUG, inbound from YYZ (Toronto Pearson) as Flight AC1624, looks great in the carrier's paint scheme after having flying for over 18 years, initially with the Air Canada liveries (old and new). ✈

Alitalia Airbus 321-100 EI-IXO / 2011.04.20

FCO (Leonardo da Vinci airport. Rome, Italy)

Boarding Time Photo Op.– Close up and personal (rivets and shine included) on a clear Spring day at Rome.

Alitalia Airbus 321-100 EI-IXO ('Piazza Plebiscito Napoli'), bound for BCN (Barcelona) as Flight AZ076. ✈

Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737-800 CN-ROC / 2013.03.10

LYS (Lyon-Saint Exupéry airport. Lyon, France)

Royal Air Maroc (الخطوط الملكية المغربية) Boeing 737-800 CN-ROC is a frequent visitor to Europe. Seen here beginning taxi before the flight back home. ✈

Southwest Boeing 737-300 N379SW / 2013.07.29

EWR-STL—Flight WN1696, Newark-St. Louis

No, this is not a Southwest advert. I just happen to always be mesmerized by winglets whenever I'm inside the aircraft. This one is colorful. Seen from seat 21A on board Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 N379SW. ✈

China Eastern Airbus 330-300 B-6100, Airbus 330-200 B-5903 / 2014.10.07

PEK (Capital International airport. Beijing, China)

China Eastern Airlines (中国东方航空) leading the activity at that particular spot and that particular moment at PEK (Beijing). Airbus 330-300 B-6100 gets close to the gate after arrival, while Airbus 330-200 B-5903 begins taxi procedures before take off. ✈

Air Koryo Tupolev 204-300 P-632 / 2014.10.07

FNJ (Sunan airport. Pyongyang, North Korea)

Air Koryo (고려항공) Tupolev 204-300 P-632 undergoing a little maintenance in order to stay in shape. Seen on arrival from another Tu-204. ✈

FedEx McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30F / 2015.06.16

MIA (Miami International airport. Miami, United States)

Cargo jets are also cool, especially if they are tri-jets and you can get a close-up and personal view like this one. FedEx McDonnell Douglas DC-10/30F N306FE has been with the Memphis courier delivery company since January 1986, soon to be 30 years old. Pretty impressive, considering this particular aircraft was almost hijacked back in 1994 by a disgruntled FedEx employee, but was restrained by the crew, who aborted the attempt. ✈

PIA Airbus 310-300 AP-BDZ / 2012.02.12

AMS (Schiphol airport. Amsterdam, Netherlands)

PIA Pakistan International (پاکستان انٹرنیشنل ایئر لائنز) Airbus 310-300 AP-BDZ is now retired from the fleet. It was delivered to the carrier in 1991 and sent to storage in 2014. I captured it while taxiing for its flight back home. ✈

AeroMéxico Boeing 787-8 N964AM / 2014.11.09

LHR (Heathrow airport. London, United Kingdom)

The graceful Dreamliner looks even better from this angle while on final approach. AeroMéxico Boeing 787-8 N964AM was the second of the type for the carrier, a little over a year before I took this picture as it was inbound from MEX (Mexico City). ✈

Virgin America Airbus 320-200 N844VA / 2015.12.12

FLL (Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International airport. Fort Lauderdale, United States)

As I was moving to another spot, I saw this one coming and couldn't resist the urge to take a picture even though I was driving on the freeway. Virgin America Airbus 320-200 N844VA, inbound from SFO (San Francisco) as Flight VX340 after an almost 5 hour ride. ✈

Airtran Boeing 737-700 N326AT / 2013.04.03

AUA (Reina Beatrix International airport. Oranjestad, Aruba)

We don't see these ones around anymore, after the airline merger with Southwest. Airtran Boeing 737-700 N326AT, climbing on its way back to the US. This aircraft now wears the Southwest paint scheme and has a new registration (N7745A). ✈

IndiGo Airbus 320-200 VT-IEP / 2013.09.24

MAA (Chennai International airport. Chennai, India)

This is a first one for me. IndiGo is a Low-cost airline mostly for the Indian domestic market, operating exclusively a fleet of A-320's. The carrier has 98 of such. Airbus 320-200 VT-IEP is seen here taxiing to the gate right after arrival. ✈

US Airways Airbus 321-200 N523UW / 2013.09.26

CLT (Charlotte Douglas International airport. Charlotte, United States)

US Airways Airbus 321-200 N523UW getting ready for an early departure during the morning rush hour. Glad I could catch the top beacon light on. ✈

Lufthansa Airbus 340-300 D-AIGD / 2013.08.31

ATL-FRA—Flight LH445, Atlanta-Frankfurt

I can assure these are all natural colors as captured with my camera, as we flew over the remnants of a Summer storm above the New York City area. Seen from seat 30K on board Lufthansa Airbus 340-300 D-AIGD ('Remscheid'). ✈

Spirit Airbus 321-200 N657NK / 2015.12.12

FLL (Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International airport. Fort Lauderdale, United States)

Spirit Airlines Airbus 321-200 N657NK during rotation on its ride to ACY (Atlantic City) as Flight NK262. This particular aircraft first flew on June 26 this year, and was delivered to the airline on July 11, only five months ago. The new striking yellow livery of the carrier features the 'Howdy' greeting on the inside side of the sharklet, so passengers can see it, and the 'spirit.com' on the outside, as we can see on this picture if we look closely. ✈

Swiss Airbus 330-300 HB-JHH / 2015.06.13

MIA (Miami International airport. Miami, United States)

Swiss International Air Lines Airbus 330-300 HB-JHH ('Neuchâtel'), still not wearing the revised paint scheme, performs a steep climb on its way back to ZRH (Zürich) as Flight LX065. ✈

KLM Boeing 747-400 PH-BFL / 2014.07.02

LAX (Los Angeles International airport. Los Angeles, United States)

KLM (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij) Boeing 747-400 PH-BFL ('City of Lima') has been around since November 1991. 20+ years old, but still in great shape as it takes off for the ride to its home base in AMS (Amsterdam). ✈

Northern Jet Learjet 70 N70NJ / 2015.11.13

EYW (Key West International airport. Key West, United States)

Arriving to the warm weather in style, straight from MDW (Chicago Midway). Learjet 70 N70NJ is owned by Northern Jet Management, a company that provides ad hoc private jet services for the wealthy. ✈

Boeing 747-400(LCF) Dreamlifter N747BC / 2015.12.08

MIA (Miami International airport. Miami, United States)

I was not plane spotting this particular day, just having lunch behind the airport fence at an unusual spot, watching aircraft taking off and landing, when I saw this monster being towed to the loading/unloading area. I had to use my iPod to take the picture. Lesson learned: Next time I'm close to an airport, I better take my camera with me just in case. You never know what you're going to find... Boeing 747-400(LCF) Dreamlifter N747BC. ✈

Orbest Airbus 320-200 EC-KYZ / 2012.08.12

BCN (El Prat airport. Barcelona, Spain)

Orbest is a Portuguese charter carrier flying for different tour operators, especially in the Summer season. So glad to see its nice livery for the first time. Airbus 320-200 EC-KYZ. ✈

China Southern Boeing 737-800 B-5837 / 2014.10.14

PEK (Capital International airport. Beijing, China)

China Southern (中国南方航空) Boeing 737-800 B-5837 was celebrating one year since its first flight out of the factory exactly the day I took this picture while on finals. Just a baby! I didn't know then, I just learned it while doing my research about this particular aircraft. What a coincidence anyhow... ✈

Thai Airbus 330-300X TS-TEU / 2014.12.07

HKT (Phuket International airport. Phuket, Thailand)

<Action Shot>
Exactly one year ago today, this is where I was. Spectacular shot of Thai Airways (การบินไทย) Airbus 330-300X TS-TEU ('Chaiburi'), seconds from touching down and flying low over Nai Yang Beach, hence the greenish color of its belly. ✈

Virgin Atlantic Airbus 340-600 G-VWIN / 2015.05.07

MIA (Miami International airport. Miami, United States)

The 340-600 is the longest aircraft in the Airbus family, as we can appreciate in this shot. Virgin Atlantic G-VWIN ('Lady Luck'), on shorts from LHR (London Heathrow) is about to enter its 10th year of service with Richard Branson's company. ✈

Etihad Cargo Boeing 747-800F N855GT / 2015.12.02

MIA (Miami International airport. Miami, United States)

Arrived from UIO (Quito), and preparing for the next round, Etihad Airways (الاتحاد) Cargo Boeing 747-800F N855GT looks shiny under the dusking sky.✈

Air India Express Boeing 737-800 VT-AXF / 2012.08.03

MCT (Muscat International airport. Muscat, Oman)

Air India Express (एयर इंडिया एक्सप्रेस) Boeing 737-800 VT-AXF features the Taj Mahal on the tail's right hand side, making it rather unique. So glad I caught it while it was initiating the flight back home. ✈

Santa Bárbara Boeing 757-200 YV450T / 2015.12.02

MIA (Miami International airport. Miami, United States)

Awesome contrast of colors, just after the rain and before a storm, with the contrails catching all the attention. Santa Bárbara Airlines Boeing 757-200 YV450T inbound from CCS (Caracas) as Flight S31521.✈

AeroMéxico Boeing 787-8 N965AM / 2015.11.11

EYW (Key West International airport. Key West, United States)

Nice sunset lights, yes, but look closely at the upper left corner of the picture and what you'll see is not a comet, but actually AeroMéxico Boeing 787-8 N965AM, covering the MAD-MEX (Madrid-Mexico City) route as Flight AM002. Still about two more hours to go after crossing the Atlantic ocean and while starting the flight over the Gulf of Mexico. Flying at 40,000 feet (12,200 meters) at a speed of 593 mph (955 kph), according to the FlightRadar 24 app. ✈

Monarch Airbus 321-200 G-OZBI / 2010.06.09

ALC (El Altet airport. Alicante, Spain)

Monarch Airlines Airbus 321-200 G-OZBI during its short turn around. The aircraft was six years old when I took the picture. It's still in service, now 11 years old. ✈

KLM Boeing 747-400C PH-BFK / 2014.10.04

AMS (Schiphol airport. Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Boarding Time Photo Op.– An unusual angle, and certainly one of my favorites when boarding a Jumbo. You can really feel the hugeness of this aircraft.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij) Boeing 747-400C PH-BFK ('City of Karachi'), bound for PEK (Beijing) as Flight KL897. ✈

Thai Boeing 777-300 HS-TKA / 2014.12.08

HKT (Phuket International airport. Phuket, Thailand)

Boarding Time Photo Op.– Thai Airways (การบินไทย) aircraft are not white, even though here it looks like they are! I caught this interesting angle of Boeing 777-300 HS-TKA ('Sriwanna') from the jetway, while lining to go on board.

Bound for BKK (Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) as Flight TG204. ✈

United Boeing 777-200/ER N77014 / 2014.10.07

PEK (Capital International airport. Beijing, China)

United Airlines Boeing 777-200/ER N77014 performing a smooth landing after yet another long transpacific flight. ✈

Easyjet Airbus 319-100 G-EZBR / 2007.08.10

BCN (El Prat airport. Barcelona, Spain)

Easyjet Airbus 319-100 G-EZBR was the company's 100th Airbus, so they painted it accordingly. Too bad they didn't keep that special scheme for long, so the aircraft flies now in the regular livery. Happy I could get it before gone. ✈

Lufthansa Airbus 380-800 D-AIME / 2015.12.02

MIA (Miami International airport. Miami, United States)

Rotating moment for Lufthansa Airbus 380-800 D-AIME ('Johannesburg') at the beginning of its flight back to FRA (Frankfurt). I was lucky that because of a sudden change of winds after a storm, the usual take-off and landing pattern was changed, so I could get this spectacular shot. ✈

Air Koryo Tupolev 204/100V P-633 / 2014.10.07

FNJ (Sunan airport. Pyongyang, North Korea)

Air Koryo (고려항공) Tupolev 204/100V P-633, just arrived back home from PEK (Beijing). All passengers deplaned, getting ready for the next job... ✈

Copa Embraer 190/AR HP-1569CMP / 2013.07.28

PTY (Tocumén International airport. Panama City, Panama)

The dashboard of Copa Airlines Embraer 190/AR HP-1569CMP, after the flight from MGA (Managua). Pilot and co-pilot having a post-flight conversation, according to their relaxed hands... ✈

Conviasa Boeing 737-200 YV101T / 2007.05.13

PYH-CCS—Flight V02028, Puerto Ayacucho-Caracas

The view of the already classic Boeing 737-200 wing and engine, on board Conviasa YV101T, as seen from a rear seat of the aircraft while flying over the Orinoco river after take off. ✈