Blog Challenge - Airports

While waiting for my connection flight to Dulles a week ago, my mind started to count the number of airports into which I have flown into and/or out of during my life. Not including landing and taking off on lakes I counted 40 different airports (7 in Canada and 33 in the US). Here is a challenge to readers, post a comment telling how many airports you have landed at and/or taken off from.

Here is a second challenge, post a blog telling us a) which airport in the last ten years you have disliked the most and why, b) which airport or two in the last ten years you have liked the most and why, and lastly c) which was your worse flying experience. I have two but as they were shared with Evie, I will let Evie post hers choice and then I will post mine.

Delta Airlines which is based in Atlanta and Northwest which is based in Minneapolis announced that they will be merging. As I flew to Atlanta Monday I overheard a flight attendant speaking to another flight attendant about the age of their fleet and Northwest’s. From the comment it sounded like Northwest’s fleet was significantly older. Well I decided to go to a little research which revealed that Delta’s fleet with an average age of 14 years per aircraft is significantly older than Northwest’s 11.4 years. That said, given the number of newer aircraft on Northwest’s international routes, on the domestic routes, Northwest’s fleet is slightly older than Delta’s.

I was surprised by the age of some of the fleets. Here is the age of various fleets:

American 15 (the oldest of the major US fleets)
Air Canada 8.9
Air Canada Jetz 12.6
Virgin America 1.1
Virgin Atlantic 6.7
United 13.7
Southwest 9.9
US Air 12.3
US Air Force 22.5 (only includes their passenger aircraft)
Canadian Air Force 19.2 (only includes their passenger aircraft)
Canadian North 26
Continental 10.2
Frontier 4
Jet Blue 3.4
AirTran 4.8
Qantas 11
Air France 9.1
Air Jamaica 8.7
Air Alaska 8.7
Midwest 10.8
British Airways 11.3
Lufthansa 12.8

If the US Air Force included the military aircraft, the B-52 fleet would drive the statistics through the roof as the youngest planes in the large B-52 fleet is older than most the pilots who are flying them. In theory it will not be long before it is possible for the oldest B-52’s in the fleet to be flown by the grandson of the aircraft’s first pilot.