Perhaps it is a sign of the times. Air travel, but for private jets that the very rich and our politicians use, rarely involves “delighting customers”. Happily, I can report an exception to this “rule”. While on travel recently, I visited the tourist class lavatory, only to find this flower gracing the cammode. Props to the United Airlines employee who took the time to add a smile to my face on that journey. More, please!
Queueing for Starbucks at the Milwaukee Airport.
AP:
Anti-government demonstrators swarmed Bangkok’s international airport late Tuesday — halting departing flights — as opponents and supporters of Thailand’s government fought running battles in the streets of the city.
Minutes after outbound flights at Suvarnabhumi International Airport were suspended, hundreds of demonstrators — some masked and armed with metal rods — broke through police lines and spilled into the passenger terminal.
The road to Suvarnabhumi.
If you show up in Berlin strapped for cash, you’re in good company. The German capital’s sizable student population, high unemployment rate and swelling starving artist contingent makes penny-pinching a citywide obsession.
This is, after all, the city that has not only been dubbed one of the hippest in Europe because of its raging nightlife, plethora of museums, independent art galleries and concert spaces, but it’s also known for being wracked with debt. So much so that in 2003, Mayor Klaus Wowereit lent it the accidental slogan: “We’re poor, but sexy.”
Tempelhof Central Airport (52.482088 13.389716), home of the Cold War era Berlin Airlift closed recently. I had an opportunity to visit in August, 2007 and shot this VR scene.
Flight Global posted a useful link roundup.
A few more photos: Tempelhof entrance, nearby Berlin Airlift Memorial and a closer look (photo from the Memorial’s 1951 unveiling).
Berlin Airports: Tempelhof – from the beginning till today. “An important chapter in the history of German aviation draws to a close“:
Tempelhof is justifiably regarded as the cradle of aviation. The name Tempelhof is closely connected to the beginning of engine-powered aviation. On 4 September 1909, an engine-powered flight took off for a few minutes for the first time in Germany. With his plane, American Orville Wright ushered in the age of engine-powered aviation in Germany on the Tempelhof airfield. Aeronautical engineering continued to develop at a rapid pace: on 8 October 1923, Tempelhof was granted the status of “Berlin Airport”. The central airport Tempelhof developed into the biggest hub in Europe. Tempelhof became the home of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, which was founded on 6 January 1926 in Berlin. 1936 saw the start of construction of a completely new airport of epic proportions. The construction of the largest airport building in the world catered for both Hitler’s penchant for monumental constructions and the expected 6 million passengers. During World War II, civilian air traffic increasingly dwindled. After a brief occupation by the Soviet army, the Americans took over the airport in July 1945.
Flyover Country; a sunrise view from Fitchburg.
These panoramas are the result of 8 days of “panographing” the city of Istanbul, as a guest of Atilla Aksoy from Works, the turkish advertising agency.
This material will be used to promote Istanbul as “European Capital of Culture in 2010”.
