Special Flights Archives

Fifth Freedom, First Class: Onboard Cathay’s Flight from Vancouver to New York

Special Flights / By Keishi Nukina / October 15, 2019 October 15, 2019

Flying Cathay Pacific’s first class on its fifth freedom flight between Vancouver and New York is arguably the most luxurious way to get between the two costs of North America right now. Unfortunately, earlier this year, the airline announced that it would be discontinuing the flight next spring. Looking at its reservation system reveals that …

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Flying on the NASA DC-8: Observing an Airborne Science Lab in Action

Special Flights / By Keishi Nukina / June 22, 2019 February 20, 2020

NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center operates a number of aircraft out of Building 703 at Palmdale airport. Among those, two airliners from yesteryear – a Boeing 747SP and a Douglas DC-8 – that found a new life as research aircraft can be found. Last year, I had a chance to fly on the larger one …

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New Terminal, New Era: Onboard Jetstar Japan’s Inaugural Flight from Tokyo to Shimojishima

Special Flights / By Keishi Nukina / April 10, 2019 August 29, 2019

Over the last couple of years, I took quite a few “special” flights – whether inaugurals or farewells. Among others, I was on Air France’s inaugural 787 flight, on the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400CC inaugural flight, as well as on the Cathay Pacific 747 farewell flight. That said, I’d never been on an inaugural flight …

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Malev Lisunov Li-2, Ikarus 55 and Tupolev Tu-154

A Retro Weekend in Budapest: Flying on the Lisunov Li-2 Over the Danube

Special Flights / By Keishi Nukina / November 26, 2018 August 25, 2019

If the aircraft above looks familiar to you, then it’s because looks like the well-known Douglas DC-3. However, rather than being the DC-3 itself, it’s the license-built Soviet version of the DC-3, Lisunov Li-2. Back in October 2018, I had a chance to fly on a short sightseeing flight over Budapest onboard the last remaining …

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NASA 747, Cleared for Take-Off: Observing a SOFIA Mission

Special Flights / By Keishi Nukina / October 27, 2018 February 20, 2020

Every summer, NASA’s airborne observatory SOFIA leaves its base in Palmdale, California, and heads to Christchurch, New Zealand to observe the Southern Sky. Being in the southern hemisphere for a couple of months not only allows scientists to observe celestial objects that cannot be seen from the Northern Hemisphere, but it also allows them to …

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Flight Review: AirAsia X Inaugural from Osaka KIX to Honolulu in Business Class

Special Flights / By Keishi Nukina / July 3, 2017 August 9, 2019

Flight Information Date: June 28, 2017 Flight No.: D71 Route: Osaka Kansai to Honolulu Daniel K. Inouye Airline: AirAsia X Type: Airbus A330-300 Registration: 9M-XBA Back in February, AirAsia X announced that it would be launching its first route to the United States. The route – Kuala Lumpur to Honolulu via Osaka Kansai and back – was …

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Aloha! A Quick Look at the AirAsia X Inaugural Flight to the United States

Special Flights / By Keishi Nukina / June 29, 2017 August 9, 2019

Earlier today or yesterday, depending on where you are, I took the inaugural AirAsia X flight from Osaka Kansai to Honolulu. While I will post a detailed report later on once I am back in Japan, I wanted to post a brief overview with some of the highlights today. When I got to the check-in …

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