I suppose the clock is ticking on the Boeing 747, but there are going to be freighters around for some considerable time to come. Pictured above are Freeport/Atlas Air B747-46NF preparing to depart to Anchorage as [GTI8501] and Cathay Pacific B747-867F B-LJF arrivig from Tokyo Narita as [CPA005] at Taoyuan International on 11 January, 2025.
And, no, this is not photoshopped or some AI generated piece of fiction!
Smiley
A grand old lady powers out of Taoyuan International on her way to Ningbo. Built in 1999 as a passenger aircraft for Wuhan Airlines, she’s spent her whole life in China and was converted to freighter in 2016.
She’s a busy old thing, this departure was her sixth of the day.
Smiley
For a long time, ever since the aircraft museum closed, the only place to go aircraft spotting at Taoyuan International Airport was from the aiport hotel: the Novotel. All that’s changed now though as Terminal 2 has not one, but two viewing observatories.
Both are free of charge to enter and can be accessed from the departures level (L3) of the terminal. There’s one at each end of the building.
If you are just spotting, either one will do but I prefer the northern one as it gives views of the cargo areas. The southern one does give a view of the EGAT and China Airlines maintenance areas, so both are probably worth a visit.
For the photographers, if it’s cloudy then either one is fine. But on sunny days, it’s northern in the morning, and southern sometime around 2pm.
If it’s too hot to venture out for prolonged periods, there’s plenty of space inside with good views and there are resturants, toilets etc.
All in all, a very welcome addition to the airport.
Smiley
HK Express A320-271N B-LCS taxis out for departure to Hong Kong as HKE111 while retro-themed Malaysia Airlines B737-8H6 9M-MLV arrives from Kuala Lumpur as MAS366.
Bigger photo here.
Smiley
That’s my baby! Always happy to share a photo of one of my charges!
B-58501 (msn 480) taxies for depature to Tokyo, Narita as SJX802 on December 8, 2024.
There’s a bigger photo here.
StarLux now have 8 A350-900s having recently taken delivery of B-58507 (msn 698) and B-58508 (msn 705). Number 9 is due in February/March of 2025.
Smiley
Looking very smart in its Smartee Dental Technology colour-scheme, Spring Airlines A320-214 B-6841 (msn 4816) arrives at Toauyan as CQH8951 from Shanghai, PVG.
Smiley
Yes, I know most aircraft photos are cropped. But I thought this one of a China Southern Airlines A321 taxying to its gate with a storm coming up behind is worthy of a wider view.
Smiley
EVA Air have recently come over from the dark side and have ordered some Airbus A350s. You’ll need to a wait a while for photos of them on this blog or anywhere else for that matter.
You’ll have to make do with this one instead. B-17883 departs Taoyuan for Shanghai PVG as BR712.
Smiley
Aero-K are a fairly new South Korean airline. They currently operate twice a day into TPE from Cheongiu. HL8562 (msn 2620) is seen operating arriving on the morning flight, EOK611, on December 8, 2024. This aircraft started out operating with another Asian operator, Starflyer, as JA01MC before a spell with Vueling.
Smiley
I guess nothing can beat a strong, instantly recognisable brand identity for an airline. Or maybe not.
Batik Air Malayisa B737 MAX 8 9M-LRP arrives in Taoyuan from KUL as MXD882 on December 8, 2024.