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PHOTO: SAM CHUI

Victorville: High Desert Storage Center

photography by Sam Chui

Over recent months, as some airlines fail and survivors trim capacity to react to reduced demand, the number of out of service airliners has risen by 30% to nearly 2,500, including close to 1,000 from the US fleet.

While some will eventually find new homes, financing for owners has become difficult. At the same time, the drop in commodity prices has meant that scrap values have been decimated. Meanwhile, most―including many newer types―will idle their days at storage lots in Arizona, southern California, and New Mexico.

For example, the 'fleet' now parked at Southern California Logistics Airport (the former George Air Force Base) at Victorville, California, has  grown to 300.

PHOTO: FRANK WEBB

Destination Cebu

by Frank Webb

Cruising at high altitude in the pre-dawn darkness is always somewhat surrealistic-especially if it's a very smooth ride. With little in the way of radio traffic, you almost believe you're in the simulator and if you leave the flightdeck you would find yourself back home at the airline’s training center. Tonight, however, the sensation is not very strong as we are having a bumpy ride at 39,000ft.

Tonight our bumpy road is taking us to the Philippine Islands in the western Pacific. Our destination is Cebu-Mactan International (IATA: CEB/ICAO: RPVM)-aka Lapu Lapu—the airport serving Cebu City in the central Philippines.

PHOTO: KEN DONOHUE

Caribbean Airlines: Two Years and Counting

by Ken Donohue

Three years ago, the two-island Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago faced the prospect of having no air service to call its own. BWIA West Indies Airways, which had been the country's national airline for more than 40 years, was on the verge of collapse.

"In the end, the government was in favor of giving the industry another opportunity to prove it could succeed in Trinidad and Tobago," says Philip Saunders, CEO of Caribbean Airlines. On December 31, 2006, the doors were closed at BWIA, and a day later a new era began with the launch of Caribbean Airlines.

PHOTO: NAVERUS

Weaving RNP/RNAV Magic

by Mac af Uhr

Dawn slowly brought life to a typically bleak and dreary early spring morning in 1997 in Alaska's capital city, Juneau. March had, as usual, brought low clouds, gusty winds, and rain squalls, and this day was no different. At Juneau Airport, nestled between the magnificent Mendenhall Glacier and the picturesque Gastineau Channel, the weather was below normal landing minima, but history was about to be made this cold, dismal morning.

Friends and relatives waiting for the inbound Alaska Airlines flight studied the weather with apprehension, previous experience having told them that nothing but ducks and eagles flew in this kind of weather. Then, as if by magic, the Boeing 737-400 materialized out of the swirling undercast and touched down on the runway in a spray of water.

The 'magic' that allowed this to take place is called RNP/RNAV (required navigation performance/area navigation), and the 'magician' behind the trick-or the integration and implementation of the technology and operational aspects-is Captain Steve Fulton of Naverus.

PHOTO: ANDREAS ROHDE

Buffalo's Workhorses in the NWT

by Andreas Rohde

It is a tranquil morning at the small airport of Hay River  in Canada's Northwest Territories (NWT). Because of the far northern latitude, the sun is already high above the horizon, despite the early hour.

The agents of Buffalo Airways have completed check-in for Flight 169 to Yellowknife, and the passengers assemble in the waiting lounge for boarding. The captain is none other than the legendary Joe McBryan, the airlines founder and owner. Working in Yellowknife, but living in Hay River, McBryan regularly commutes to work on his aircraft, albeit not as passenger, but in command...

PHOTO: DAA

Dublin Airport Expands—To Be Sure!

by David C Forward

"It's amazing, really," says Paul O'Kane in his rich Irish brogue. "People still come here expecting Dublin to be a small-town airport. They complain when they can't park their car at the front door and when they have to stand in long lines at security. Yet 30 million passengers use this airport, making it one of the busiest in Europe."

PHOTO: STEVEN T HAGOPIAN

Airliners in Styrene Storage

by Steven T Hagopian

As a nostalgic airliner enthusiast, I have a fascination for stories of old airliners in storage, especially those languishing in desert 'graveyards'. Within my own house there is a storage system of sorts-for storing airliners past. Not real, aluminum airplanes but, rather, examples of the styrene plastic variety. I'm talking about airliner models, an eclectic collection from my childhood...

PLUS

Mother Nature and Human Nature

by Sky Masterson

DEPARTMENTS

Both Sides

Clayton Taylor considers the attributes of A Real Controller

Coach Flyer

Christopher Pittman checks out Midwest Airlines. 

Debrief

Stan Solomon offers a varied selection of anecdotes from the Airways.

Mailbag

Our global forum for our readers' opinions, feedback, and contributions.

News from the Airways

Colorfully illustrated highlights of the major news developments from North America and around the world, including fleet changes, new airlines, and new paint schemes.

Veteran & Vintage

Guy Kendell visits with a Dragon Down Under.

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