Regardless of one’s opinion about the genesis of climate change, the phrase is regularly mentioned in many countries throughout the world. Is it just another expected phase in our planet’s history, or did the industrial revolution lay the groundwork for our mutual destruction? And to what extent are airplanes guilty for any possible environmental crisis? […]
Infrastructure
The Wednesday Who of Airport Names: Sabiha Gökçen
In spite of experiencing delays, cancellations, airport takeovers, pandemics, and erupting volcanos, I still get excited about flying. Checking off new airports and revisiting old ones is an unrelenting hobby … but just whom is that airport named after? More and more airports are being named for people, whether they’re local or national heroes, religious […]
The Smallest Park in the World
Portland, the largest city in Oregon, is home to a number of attractions. It’s the “City of Roses,” so you’ve got the International Rose Test Garden. Donuts and craft breweries are popular, as is the Japanese Garden. And for a bit of U.S. trivia, did you know that Portland houses the second-largest copper statue in […]
Florida’s Brightline Adds Two Rail Stations, Expects to Connect to Orlando Later This Year
Having experienced hours upon hours of Amtrak delays in the United States — which has a lot to do with freight trains operating ~70% of the tracks on which Amtrak runs — I rarely ever think about train travel in this country. Undoubtedly, there are some beautiful rides — I remember thinking that parts of the […]
Brussels Airlines Starts Receiving Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)
Teaming up with Finland’s NESTE, Belgium’s Brussels Airlines is now the second major European carrier — after Amsterdam-based KLM — to start using Sustainable Aviation Fuel, or SAF to fill its aircraft. Last year Finnair and Iberia signed contracts with GEVO, a Colorado-based renewable energy and biofuels company, but those SAF shipments will only start […]
What is a Flight Information Region (FIR), and Why Did Qatar Want One?
As of September 2022, Qatar is the latest country to get its own flight information region (FIR). What the heck is a flight information region? Briefly, the International Civil Aviation Organization, or ICAO, the Montréal, Canada-based UN-group that specifically deals with air transport policy and standardization methods, is also responsible for having divided the world into […]
United Has Vast Plans for Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner
My history with United Airlines and Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner started off with a thud, which considering the circumstances, was the better end of that thud-bang spectrum. A few days after its inaugural Denver DEN to Tokyo NRT flight, I happened to be on that route (one of my aviation goals has been to connect Tokyo […]
Ethiopian Airlines Starts Flights to Its Third Destination in Zimbabwe
Although I have been to Bulawayo, Ethiopian Airlines‘ third destination in Zimbabwe, unfortunately I don’t have any photos of it. After a bizarre hitchhiking adventure from Masvingo, the home of the Great Zimbabwe historical site — and origin of the name of the country — I made it to the Holiday Inn at around 3am. After a quick walk around […]