Gallery Update: Double 737 Sightings in Salem!

It's been just under three weeks since commercial airline service returned to Salem. I decided to go to the airport today and chase after another Avelo Airlines 737-700; I've photographed this particular airframe in Eugene earlier this year, but I wanted to see and photograph it right here at my home airport. But the REAL prize catch of this day happened to be another 737 NOT operated by Avelo; rather, a rare 737-500 flown by a private operator! So I ended up seeing two different Boeing 737s at the same time in, which is a rare and unusual sight for Salem (for now).

I've actually been trying to chase down this unusual 737-500 here in Salem for over a month now. I first found out about it from a fellow plane-spotter and their Instagram as it paid a visit to Salem this past August and parked at the terminal prior to the start of airline service (it had been flying in and out of Moses Lake, Washington to various airports in the region, presumably on training or test flights, with Salem being a frequent stopover). I first saw it for myself last September prior to my Reno trip just after getting back from flying and I stupidly did not have my camera with me! Since then, I've tried to keep my eyes glued to flight tracking sites for when it would likely return to Salem again; I say "tried" because in actuality, I completely forgot about chasing down this Boeing 737-500 and was mainly after the Avelo 737-700 when I noticed the -500 getting ready to depart (which made my heart skip a beat upon realizing what I was in for!). So I was able to redeem myself today.

The operator of the 737-500 I was fortunate to see today is operated by a company based at Bridgewater, Virginia called Dynamic Aviation. They're in the business of providing contracted service for both commercial and defense sectors, primarily specializing in aerial firefighting, airborne data acquisition (ADA), Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), and aerial spray/dispersant applications (mainly for insect/pest control and oil spill response). Their fleet certainly lives up to the company's name with over 150 aircraft of various sizes, ranging from the Beechcraft King Air family, the Classic Dash 8s, and the 737-500, happens to be the newest addition to their portfolio; they also have a small vintage fleet of World War II-era warbirds for exhibition use. The company indeed has a diversified business portfolio.

Salem (SLE)

Preview:

Dynamic Aviation (d/b/a Marine Spill Response Corporation - MSRC) Boeing 737-5Y0 (N735X) holding short of 31 prior to departing for Moses Lake. Only my third time photographing a 737-500 and absolute thrill to see one here in Salem!

A rare sight for Salem (at least for now) with two two 737s in the frame. What makes this shot better is that it's two different variants and generations of the Boeing 737 family!

Avelo Airlines Boeing 737-7H4 (N707VL) arriving on 31 as VXP185 from Burbank.

I saw this airframe down in Eugene earlier this year, but I definitely wanted a photo of it right here at my home airport!

As previously mentioned, Avelo's twice-weekly flights between Salem and Burbank will shift over to Thursdays and Sundays in line with the twice-weekly Vegas flights.

I'm still getting used to the sight of 737s frequenting Salem, whether it be Avelo's weekly services or one-off visitors!

I know it hasn't even been a month yet, but I do wonder what the load factors are for the twice-weekly flights Salem sees right now...

N735X has been hopping around mostly on a weekly basis throughout the Pacific Northwest and currently being based at Moses Lake, Washington. It arrived into Salem earlier this afternoon from Sacramento-McClellan. Flight tracking history also shows this rare 737 Classic has visited Bellingham, Washington and even Amarillo, Texas.

VXP185 taxiing to the terminal.

N735X taxiing onto 31 for departure to Moses Lake.

N735X departing on 31 for Moses Lake.

As expected, this 737 Classic has quite a history. It was first delivered to Aviacion Del Noroeste in April 1992 as XA-SAS. It was then transferred to TAESA in February 1994; it was leased from Irish lessor Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA) during it's stint in Mexico. Airframe returned from the lease in May 1996 and was re-registered as N191G.

In November 1996, the airframe was leased again, this time to India's Jet Airways as VT-JAL. Following it's stint with Jet Airways, airframe was taken on by U.S. lessor Aero USA and re-registered as N191AP in December 2000.

Airframe was leased again in February 2001, this time to Brazil's Rio Sul. Re-registered as N191LS in August 2003 after being taken up by Irish lessor GECAS.

In February 2004, airframe was leased to SkyEurope Airlines in Slovakia as OM-SEB

In December 2006, this airframe began a extensive stint in Russia and was transferred over to Aeroflot's former regional subsidiary, Aeroflot-Nord and re-registered to VP-BRN; Aeroflot-Nord came to be when Aeroflot took a 51% stake in AVL Arkhangelsk Airlines.

Interestingly, the 737-500 has been a favorite of many Russian carriers, with many of them buying second-hand models of the aircraft to replace aging Soviet-built aircraft and to expand their fleets.

Being the smallest of the 737 Classic series, the -500 served as a modern and direct replacement of the 737-200, incorporating the improvements of the 737 Classic series in a model that allowed longer routes with fewer passengers to be more economical than with the 737-300. The -500 was also built during a transitional period regarding cockpit technology as it came available with either a modern (at the time) glass cockpit or classic steam gauges.

After Aeroflot divested its stake in December 2009, Aeroflot-Nord became known as Nordavia and this airframe continued to fly for the airline under independent operations. Airframe continued flying for the airline after changing corporate identities again in March 2019 as Smartavia.

Airframe's extensive time in Russia ended and was withdrawn from use in October 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and was ferried back to the United States and placed into long-term storage.

Dynamic Aviation took on this airframe in December 2020 and began the conversion process in partnership with Marine Spill Response Corporation-MSRC.

Note the modification under the rear fuselage.

Dynamic Aviation's fleet of 737-500s are a fairly new addition to the company's fleet in partnership with MSRC. This airframe has been retrofitted with an aerial dispersant spraying system for oil spill response in order to minimize and mitigate any environmental impacts should one occur.

With jet speeds, the 737 allows Dynamic Aviation to rapidly respond to such a disaster and be on scene in a matter of hours.

Add this to an already-long list of things the "Baby Boeing" is capable of doing!

United States Army Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian (20-03323) hover taxiing to the ramp after shooting an approach onto 31, arriving from Gray Army Airfield, Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Not too often we get to see Apaches here in Salem!

N707VL taxiing for departure as VXP186 for the return trip to Burbank.

Not a great day for flying, but at least Avelo's livery livery still stands out on a gloomy day such as this!

Boeing 737s are likely going to be the largest commercial jets Salem will see frequently as it's hard to imagine anything bigger here!

With Avelo, the big question is when will we start seeing their 737-800s serve Salem???

Having been in operation for a little over two years now, Avelo certainly has changed up their aircraft allocation for their two distinct route networks; their -800s are all on the east coast and the majority of their fleet is out east as well.

Cessna 550 Citation II (N521TM) taxiing for departure to Boise.

VXP186 departing on 31 for Burbank.

From what I could tell from flight tracking sites, Avelo is currently basing two 737s in Burbank and one in Las Vegas; not surprising since flight history of the Las Vegas-Salem flights have consistently been the same airframe every time.

N521TM departing on 34 for Boise.

Gallery Update: Day Two of Commercial Air Service at Salem

After yesterday's momentous day with Avelo Airlines inaugurating twice weekly flights between Salem and Las Vegas, I found myself back at the airport this afternoon to chase down the inaugural Avelo service connecting Salem with their Burbank hub, which started today. Even better, the airframe Avelo utilized on today's inaugural was one I've never photographed before! And I was able to see the arrival and subsequent departure this time as the Burbank flights are currently scheduled for the afternoon. Like the Vegas flights, the flights between Salem and Burbank will be twice-weekly for the time-being.

Salem (SLE)

Preview:

Avelo Airlines Boeing 737-752 (N705VL) arriving on 31 as VXP185 from Burbank. The inaugural arrival connecting Salem and the Los Angeles basin!

While the Salem-Las Vegas flights currently run Thursdays and Sundays, the Burbank flights will run Fridays and Mondays at least for the month of October. Starting in November, the Burbank flights will shift over to Thursdays and Sundays also, which indicates that it's highly likely that Avelo will utilize a single airframe on all legs in and out of Salem, which would make aircraft utilization much more efficient (something that's important for a low-cost carrier with a limited fleet).

VXP185 taxiing to the terminal.

Airframe was first delivered to Aeromexico as XA-CAM in November 2003. It was withdrawn from Aeromexico's fleet in October 2015 and went into storage at Paine Field in Everett, Washington.

N705VL taxiing for departure as VXP186 for the return-leg to Burbank.

Following it's time with Aeromexico, the airframe was re-registered as N7837A and taken up by Southwest Airlines in November 2015; airframe did not enter revenue service with Southwest until March 2016.

At the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, Southwest placed the airframe into storage in March 2020 at Victorville, California and terminated the lease they had on it early. It then hopped around from one boneyard to another during the pandemic years; it would end up in Marana, Arizona from December 2021 until January 2022, when it ended up in San Bernardino, California.

In June 2022, Avelo Airlines picked this airframe up (likely taking advantage of the massive aircraft availability at the time with other airlines trimming their fleets) and began utilizing it during their massive expansion of their east coast route network out New Haven, Connecticut.

In April of this year, this airframe was finally re-registered to N705VL, in line with how Avelo registers their aircraft.

VXP186 departing on 31 for Burbank.

It'll be interesting to see how Avelo's presence in Salem will pan out. If passenger loads are healthy and profitable, Avelo states that they will make Salem into another west coast aircraft and crew base, which would be a huge benefit for the city. Likewise, that would probably pave way for additional destinations, including the other two metropolitan areas Salem wants to connect to! Only time will tell.

VXP186 rotating on 31.

Airborne and off to Burbank! In the meantime, I'll enjoy watching Avelo here in Salem and chase down any other airframes they end up sending!

Gallery Update: Avelo Airlines Inaugural to Salem!

Today was a momentous day for my home airport and the city of Salem as ultra low-cost carrier Avelo Airlines has officially inaugurated commercial air service to Salem Municipal Airport/McNary Field! This marked the first time in 15 years since the airport has had commercial jet service. The last time Salem had true airline service was from 2007 to 2008 when SkyWest Airlines offered twice-daily service to Salt Lake City on the behalf of Delta Air Lines using CRJ-200s.

Here's a brief history of Salem's airline service over the years:

• United Airlines was the first airline to serve Salem starting in the early 1940s with piston-engine airliners. After the advent of the jet age, United used Boeing 737s using Salem as a stopover between Portland and San Francisco (flights were routed San Francisco-Medford-Salem-Portland). United stopped serving Salem in 1980.

• Air Oregon, which would later be acquired by Horizon Air, served Salem with flights to Portland and Seattle during the 1980s up until all commercial service to Salem ended in 1993.

• In June 2007, Delta Air Lines via Delta Connection and SkyWest Airlines brought back airline service to Salem with twice-daily flights Delta's hub in Salt Lake City, Utah using CRJ-200s. Service ended a little over a year later in October 2008 due to the "Great Recession." There were also talks in progress with Delta to begin once-daily flights to Los Angeles, which of course never materialized. It is believed that if the 2008 recession had not happened, Delta would likely still be serving Salem today and with more destinations served.

• In April 2011, now-defunct Portland-based SeaPort Airlines attempted intra-state commuter service into Salem with flights to both Newport and Portland, which ended up being short-lived with the airline ending service in July 2011. Many argue this attempt doesn't count because of how short-lived SeaPort's presence was, not to mention the tarnished reputation the airline suffered as a result.

• In 2018, the Fly Salem Steering Committee was formed with representatives of various organizations and offices as part of a joint-effort to once again bring commercial air service back into Salem. They conducted a study in 2019 determining the catchment area of Salem and concluded that airline service is even more viable now due to various factors, including the worsening commute up I-5 to Portland, emissions, etc. Since forming, the committee met with various airlines over the past five years (including the new 2021 start-ups) and determined that the four most popular destinations people would like to fly to from Salem included the Los Angeles basin, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and the San Francisco bay area. The committee also initially planned on pursuing service from a full-service carrier to a major hub, but changed tactics upon seeing how successful ultra low-coast carriers and the recent start-ups (such as Avelo and Breeze) have been. The committee hopes to attract a full-service legacy carrier (either through mainline or regional partner) some time in 2024.

• On April 10, 2023, the city of Salem approved an air carrier agreement with at the time, an undisclosed airline to begin service to Salem with initial service to the LA area and Las Vegas. And finally on July 13, 2023 it was revealed that the then-undisclosed airline was Avelo Airlines, announcing twice-weekly service to both Las Vegas and Burbank (both of which are Avelo's west coast hubs) slated to begin in early October.

Of course with Salem currently being my home airport, I HAD to photograph the inaugural service! Because I had to work this morning, I couldn't be around to see the inaugural arrival, but I was able to get off work just in time to see the inaugural departure. Today, Avelo began with service to Las Vegas and the Burbank flights begin tomorrow.

Salem (SLE)

Preview:

Avelo Airlines Boeing 737-752 (N706VL) taxiing for departure as VXP220 for Las Vegas, the inaugural flight!

Airport Fire Department providing VXP220 the ceremonial water cannon salute!

Arrived earlier this morning from Las Vegas as VXP219. Avelo has been serving Las Vegas since September 2021 and it become one of their newest bases as of last month. It is the airline's sixth base and only the second one on the west coast after Burbank.

A full view of the water cannon salute!

As it turns out, both the inbound and outbound flights for today were sold out, which is hopefully a good sign for future growth.

This is the same airframe I saw down in Eugene last month. Glad I could catch it again today as I was slightly dissatisfied when I last photographed this airframe down there.

Avelo's 737-700 is probably the largest airliner to serve Salem on a scheduled basis since United's 737 days. That being said, I certainly hope this new venture for the city and Avelo is successful here because despite being the smallest type in the fleet, the 737-700 is still a fairly large airplane to fill for Salem at nearly 150 seats!

With Vegas flights starting today and Burbank flights starting tomorrow, Salem got two of the four destinations they would like to see served. Only time will tell regarding potential service to Phoenix and the San Francisco bay area. And who knows? We might see a different airline(s) serving those other two destinations the city wants to connect to.

Hopefully, the 737-700 is the right sized aircraft for Salem.

The other nice thing about having Avelo here in Salem is I no longer have to drive down to Eugene to chase down their 737s!

VXP220 departing on 31 for Las Vegas.

At nearly 6,000 feet, Runways 13/31 at Salem is plenty long enough to handle 737s.

Airborne, as today marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Salem Airport.

What a exciting treat it was to catch today's inaugural flight at my home airport!