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Cargo 747s in China Pt5: China Cargo Airlines

31/1/2016

China Cargo Airlines, based at Shanghai, was the first all cargo airline formed in China, though China Eastern had itself operated freighters since 1991. Based at Shanghai operations began in October 1998 using China Eastern's MD-11s which were gradually being converted to freight configuration. The carrier was originally a joint venture between China Eastern Airlines (70%) and China Ocean Shipping (30%). It also has access to China Eastern's passenger fleet belly space for freight carriage.

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Jumbo Red Tails Pt2: 200s Into The 2000s

29/1/2016

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Northwest's 747 Classic fleet was expanded well into the 1990s as the airline was well known for purchasing quality used aircraft (not just 747s but also DC-9s and DC-10s) and getting maximum usage from them. This wise policy enabled the 747-200s to continue in service into the late 2000s. The 747 classics would in all wear four different liveries in Northwest service.

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Jumbo Red Tails Pt1: Northwest 747 Classics

28/1/2016

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Northwest was an early adopter of the 747 but unlike most US carriers, who bought the Jumbo for prestige reasons and trunk domestic and Hawaiian routes, Northwest actually had suitable international services across the Pacific to warrant their purchase. The 747 would go on to form the backbone of Northwest's long haul fleet for over thirty five years alongside the smaller DC-10-40s.

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Cargo 747s in China Pt4: Great Wall Airlines

25/1/2016

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The cargo market in China has proven to be a tricky investment opportunity for foreign investors. More savvy than most is Singapore Airlines who already operate their own large and successful cargo airline, however even they have not fared perfectly with their joint venture airline. Despite being bedevilled by unusual issues upon startup Great Wall proved a way into the market for Singapore, which has been able to grow its position even though its JV airline has been swallowed up.

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United Goes Global: International 747s

24/1/2016

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For the majority of its history United had been one of the world's largest airlines, however it was not an international airline and its fleet of 747-100s hastily bought in the late 60s were primarily operating services to Hawaii or transcontinental domestic routes. Deregulation changed all this for United - able to flex its muscles domestically and supplant the traditional US flag carriers it entered the 1990s ready to expand globally and to achieve this it needed new widebody aircraft.

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Cargo 747s in China Pt3: Yangtze River Express

21/1/2016

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Yangtze River Express was formed on January 15, 2003 to takeover the cargo operations of the airlines of its parent HNA Group and create a cargo hub from Shanghai. Initial equipment was in the form of Boeing 737s however in 2006 49% of the company was sold with China Airlines becoming the largest of the new shareholders with a 25% holding. Other shareholders included the Taiwanese firms Yang Hai Marine (12%) and Wan Hai (6%).

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Olympic Zeus: Greek 747s

17/1/2016

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Olympic Airways has perhaps more than any other European national airline become the byword for mismanagement and lingering decline, however it wasn't always like that. Under the leadership of Aristotle Onassis the airline grew rapidly in the 1960s and peaked in the early 1970s when its first widebodies arrived.

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Cargo 747s in China Pt2: Jade Cargo

15/1/2016

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Joint Ventures between companies from different nations can be lucrative and relatively risk free ways to tap into new markets. However with a highly inter-connected global economy and differing cultures they can also be serious financial mistakes. Jade Cargo was an attempt to break into the booming cargo market from China to Europe but it failed to survive, foundering on the rocks of the global downturn and I suspect some mismanagement.

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Russian Jumbos: Transaero's 747s

13/1/2016

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Russian airlines have since the end of the Soviet Union created a lucrative business shuttling tourists to hotspots in Spain, Turkey, Cyprus, Egypt and Thailand, often using high density seating aboard the largest Soviet types available like the Il-62 and Il-86. The increasing obsolescence of ex-Soviet aircraft has however seen a transition towards Western built aircraft. Transaero made by far the largest move into this market in the 2000s when it began to acquire a substantial fleet of second-hand Boeings including Russia's first 747s.

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Cargo 747s in China Pt1: Air Hong Kong

11/1/2016

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Air Hong Kong was a brave attempt to compete against the might of Cathay Pacific in the Hong Kong cargo market. But as with Dragonair in the passenger domain, it could only ultimately survive by partnering rather than competing with its Kai Tak neighbour.

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Transatlantic Low Cost Pt1: Transamerica Airlines

9/1/2016

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I've written a brief history of Trans International, one of the most important supplemental airlines of the 1960s and 70s, previously, but the recent purchase of a T tail 747 has spurred me to look into their later years a bit more closely, by which time they were Transamerica Airlines. Not satisfied with charters, as with others, they looked at the deregulated long-haul market and wanted a piece of that.

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Scottish Virgin: Highland Express

7/1/2016

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Scotland has never had a successful national airline (except I guess Loganair), although several carriers have traded on a Scottish heritage including Caledonian (later BCal) and more recently the quasi-airline Air Scotland. During the 1980s another bold attempt to fly long-haul from Scotland was attempted with Highland Express, however, though its 747 looked stunning, it was a short-lived air bridge.

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1/400 Review of 2015: JC Wings

4/1/2016

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JC Wings came onto the 1/400 production scene in their own right in 2008 and are now, with the failure of Witty and its many sub-brands, firmly established as the No 4 player in this scale. Their factory produces the models for Gemini Jets and it is JC that seem to own the majority of the moulds Gemini use. In fact their mould catalogue is quite impressive and enables them to punch above their weight. Here's a review of their production in 2015.

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1/400 Review of 2015: Aeroclassics

3/1/2016

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Anyone who knows me knows that first and foremost I am a classics collector and if you are too then nowadays there is only one game in town, and that is Aeroclassics. On top of that they have branched into some modern types which fit with my Chinese and Russian collections. Even so as with all manufacturers they are not without fault and in some ways 2015 has been a bit of a rocky year. Despite this they are still the most important manufacturer for me by a huge margin and where there is competition between moulds they are rarely beaten.

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1/400 Review of 2015: Phoenix

2/1/2016

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Pretty much all mainstream die-cast models are nowadays made within China and as a rapidly growing economic region Asia (and especially China) is increasingly becoming a core market for the 1/400 scale die-cast manufacturers. The increasing wealth of the populations means they can afford more models and also more flights, so there are more models to be made too. Phoenix models have without a doubt become the number 1 model manufacturer in the Asia-Pacific region, but has it come at a cost? Here's my summary of Phoenixes' 2015.

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<<Previous

Cargo 747s in China Pt5: China Cargo Airlines

Jumbo Red Tails Pt2: 200s Into The 2000s

Jumbo Red Tails Pt1: Northwest 747 Classics

Cargo 747s in China Pt4: Great Wall Airlines

United Goes Global: International 747s

Cargo 747s in China Pt3: Yangtze River Express

Olympic Zeus: Greek 747s

Cargo 747s in China Pt2: Jade Cargo

Russian Jumbos: Transaero's 747s

Cargo 747s in China Pt1: Air Hong Kong

Transatlantic Low Cost Pt1: Transamerica Airlines

Scottish Virgin: Highland Express

1/400 Review of 2015: JC Wings

1/400 Review of 2015: Aeroclassics

1/400 Review of 2015: Phoenix

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