M. Wynn: "Wild Card" Aviation Photography & Images: Gallery Update: Icelandair Inaugural Service to PDX

About This Blog:

The primary purpose of this blog is to showcase the best of my aviation photography. As such, you will find links to my main aviation gallery on Facebook containing photos from aircraft spotting, some kind of aviation event such as air shows and fly-in events, as well as aviation museums. I also critique my flights on commercial airlines and the services they provide. Occassionally, you'll find personally written, independent articles based on news and current events involving aviation. And of course, I'll put up links to official and unofficial aviation-related websites when I find them. And when time permits, I'll talk and discuss about anything involving aviation. But most importantly, this is my way to document my journey into the aviation industry!

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Gallery Update: Icelandair Inaugural Service to PDX

Today I went up to PDX specifically to photograph Icelandair's inaugural flight to Reykjavik; the arriving flight came in yesterday evening, leaving the aircraft used to sit for about a day, which in turn has allowed me this opportunity to catch the departing flight. Portland, which has been handicapped for many years as a small market is starting to see a quite a bit more variety, especially this year, mainly with new connections to Europe (Wish I could say the same about flights to Asia though...)!

Before Icelandair came, Delta Air Lines was the only carrier offering flights to one European destination (Amsterdam). German flag carrier Lufthansa also offered flights to Frankfurt, Germany several years ago before they ceased the route in 2009, citing poor profitability. On that note, flights to Frankfurt will be reinstated via leisure carrier Condor Flugdienst next month using Boeing 767-300 aircraft! You can bet I'll be there to catch that inaugural flight with my camera as well! Both of these new European routes will be summer seasonal for the time being, unless there's enough demand to warrant year-round service.

Icelandair's fleet currently consists only of Boeing 757s (that will change in the near future when they get two 767s in 2016 and the new 737 MAX series when it becomes available); the airline's only special liveried aircraft, Hekla Aurora Northern Lights theme was used for the inaugural service, which made it a treat to catch! What's cool about Icelandair's Hekla Aurora liveried 757 is that they have a page on their website dedicated solely to this aircraft, which includes a schedule of where the plane will be next. In short, I actually knew ahead of time (by a few days) that Hekla Aurora would be used for the inaugural PDX service. Talk about spotter-friendly (You hear that, other airlines with special/commemorative liveries??? Take a page out of Icelandair's book!)! Here's the gallery link featuring Icelandair's Hekla Aurora in addition to a few other highlights spotted:

Portland (PDX) 15

Photo preview/favorites:

SkyWest Airlines (d/b/a United Express) Embraer E-175LR (N109SY) departing on 28R.

After photographing the new American livery this past Saturday and catching nothing but MD-80s in the old livery every time I've been at PDX, it's nice to catch something else in the old American "chrome" colors! American Airlines Boeing 737-823 (N893NN) departing on 28L for Chicago O' Hare. Aside from former US Airways aircraft acquired in the merger, the only legacy American aircraft usually seen at PDX are MD-80s on the Dallas/Fort Worth route and 737s on the Chicago route.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-3H4 (N606SW) arriving on 28L.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-8H4 (N8625A) arriving on 28L. Note the split-scimitar winglets. My first look at a Southwest 737 with splits!

Beechcraft Super King Air B200GT (N792BP). Tail-number is registered to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-890 (N581AS) adorned with the Hawaiian lei next to the Eskimo taxiing out for departure. Still equipped the regular blended winglets.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-7BD (N7732A) taxiing for departure. This is a former AirTran Airways bird (formerly registered as N296AT).

Horizon Air Bombardier Dash 8 DHC-8-402 Q400 (N440QX) in Oregon State University Beavers livery on push-back prior to departure.

Competition on two fronts meet; the first being two competing airlines with different business models and the second being two different major aircraft manufacturers.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-7H4 (N959WN) taxiing for departure.

United Airlines Airbus A320-232 (N486UA) vacating 28R after arrival.

SkyWest Airlines (d/b/a Delta Connection) Bombardier CL-600-2C10 CRJ-700 (N614SK) vacating 28R after arrival from Seattle.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-7H4 (N959WN) departing on 28R.

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-890 (N514AS) arriving on 28R. I caught the red strobe on the belly of the aircraft in this shot!

Cessna 525B Citation CJ3 (N80VM) climbing away from PDX.

Jazz Air (d/b/a Air Canada Express) De Havilland Canada Dash 8 DHC-8-301 (G-GMON) taxiing up to parking after arrival from Vancouver, B.C.

SeaPort Airlines Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (N803TH) taxiing for departure.

Icelandair Boeing 757-25C (TF-FIU) Hekla Aurora:

Emulating the Northern Lights, this is one of the most beautifully painted 757s I've ever seen.

Encouraging people to stop in Iceland on their way to Europe with their hashtag #MyStopover. Icelandair is the only airline in the world that allows passengers travelling to Europe the option to stay and tour in Iceland for up to seven days at no additional charge. Like how Portland or Seattle can be viewed as a gateway to Alaska, Iceland is viewed as a gateway to Europe and Icelandair certainly has been taking advantage of that fact. And because of where Iceland's located, the 757 is the ideal platform for Icelandair to utilize from their Reykjavik hub to the destinations they serve.

This livery was skillfully hand-painted by a team of highly skilled airbrush artists from the UK.

All of Icelandair's aircraft are named after Icelandic Volcanoes. The names of Iceland’s volcanoes have close ties with the country’s heritage and history and inform foreign conceptions of it as the ever-volcanically active island in the North Atlantic. Hekla is the name of Iceland's most famous volcano, which last erupted in 2000. Hekla is also a traditional Icelandic girl’s name. And of course, Aurora refers to the Northern Lights.

Taxiing for departure via Runway 28R.

Hekla Aurora rotating on 28R.

My best photo of this flight.

Climbing away back towards home, Reykjavik-Keflavik International Airport.

Stowing the landing gear.

Let's hope Icelandair's service is here to stay in PDX for the long run...

Delta Airlines Airbus A320-211 (N309US) arriving on 28R. This is a former Northwest Airlines aircraft.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-8H4 (N8625A) taxiing out for departure.

SkyWest Airlines (d/b/a Delta Connection) Bombardier CL-600-2C10 CRJ-700 (N614SK) taxiing for departure.

NetJets Cessna 750 Citation X (N795QS) taxiing to the FBO after arriving on 28R. The Citation X is the fastest civilian aircraft in the world with speed of Mach 0.935.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-8H4 (N8625A) climbing after rotating off of 28R.

SkyWest Airlines (d/b/a Delta Connection) Bombardier CL-600-2C10 CRJ-700 (N614SK) climbing after rotating from 28R.

Jazz Air (d/b/a Air Canada Express) De Havilland Canada Dash 8 DHC-8-301 (G-GMON) climbing after rotation from 28R, on the flight back to Vancouver, B.C.