Friday 11-6-09

Allegiant Air MD-83 N871GA (c/n 53296/1937) ferried in from Mc Carran Intl (KLAS) as AAY4402 at 8:00am. The plane departed at 8:59am to Grand Canyon Arpt (KGCN) as AAY4403 with a group of japanese tourests.

Fitch Rates Long Beach Airport, California's Sr Lien 'A-'

NEW YORK, Nov 05, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Fitch Ratings has withdrawn its implied 'A-' long-term rating on Long Beach Airport, California (LGB or the airport). The rating withdrawal is in conjunction with the assignment of an 'A-' rating to the following bonds:

--Long Beach Airport Bureau (CA) senior airport revenue bonds, series 2009A;

--Long Beach Airport Bureau (CA) senior airport revenue refunding bonds, series 2009B.

The bonds are being issued under a new master senior trust indenture and are secured by net revenues generated at the airport, including transfers which are not to exceed 25% of annual debt service on the outstanding bonds. Bond proceeds will be used to fund the construction of a parking garage, refund a portion of the department's outstanding subordinate commercial paper notes, refund all of the airport's 1993 certificates of participation (COPs), and fund reserve accounts. The Rating Outlook is Stable.

The 'A-' rating reflects the airport's location and the underlying demand within the greater Los Angeles air trade service area, favorable enplanement trends even in the current economic downturn, strong financial performance supported by diverse business lines, and low cost facilities for passenger airlines. The airport's passenger base is 98% origination and destination (O&D), exhibits solid and growing demand for air passenger service to a considerable mix of both business and leisure destinations, and the airport has an adequate balance sheet characterized by a low debt burden and solid liquidity levels. Credit concerns include the higher than average carrier concentration level (79% by JetBlue Airways), near term additional leveraging in order to support JetBlue's airline operations, a competitive region served by multiple airports, increased dependence on passenger facility charge (PFC) revenues to cover future debt service, and the overall current state of the airline industry and regional economy.


For the whole article, go to: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fitch-rates-long-beach-airport-californias-sr-lien-a-outlook-stable-2009-11-05?siteid=nbkh

Wednesday 11-4-09

Miami Air 737-81Q N733MA (c/n 30619/856) arrived as BSK387 at 11:19am from Nashville Intl (KBNA) and parked at Signature. The plane brought in the Nashville Predators Hockey team. The plane ferried out at 12:58pm as BSK549 to Los Angeles Intl (KLAX).

JetBlue E190 lands at LGB with Flat Tire

JetBlue Airways E190 N190JB (c/n 19000011) departed Portland Intl (KPDX) yesterday afternoon and had a tire go flat on take off. The pilots elected to continue to Long Beach and did a couple of flybys for maintenance to confirm that the right rear tire was flat. The plane landed safely at about 4:30pm without any issues and was towed to the gate.

JetBlue Special A320s at LGB

Today we had both the Yahoo Blackberry A320, N651JB "Beta Blue" and the newly painted N561JB, "La Vie en Blue" at LGB. N561JB carries the new tail design called "Blueberries" with newer bigger titles on the fuselauge.

Thursday 10-15-09

The Edwards AFB C-17 that was parked by the tower departed today about 9:10am and did a wing wave as it departed.

Southwest Airlines 737-7H4 N211WN (c/n 34163/1699) arrived as SWA7580 from Biggs Aaf (Fort Bliss) (KBIF) at 1:24pm. The plane brought in military troops returning from duty in Iraq. The aircraft ferried out as SWA8613 at 2:07pm to El Paso (ELP/KELP).

Wednesday 10-14-09

AC Travel LLC Gulfstream G550 N388AC (c/n 5125) arrived at 8:12pm from San Francisco Intl (KSFO) and parked on the Gulfstream ramp.

Tail numbers noted on the Gulfstream ramp: N408QS

October 17th Long Beach Aviation History

Oct. 14, 1992 – Spruce Goose leaves Long Beach for the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. The Flying Boat sailed north through the Pacific Ocean. After traveling 980 nautical miles, 20 miles off the coasts of California and Oregon at an average speed of 8 knots, the control surfaces, horizontal stabilizers, wings, vertical tail, and fuselage arrived in Portland, Oregon at sundown October 18. Thousands of people celebrated the arrival with an official proclamation of “Spruce Goose” Day on October 22, at Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

The water levels of the Willamette River delayed the Flying Boat’s trip from Portland to McMinnville. The water was either too high for passage under bridges or too low for migration from the river to land. The large pieces remained in storage for several months. So crews pulled the barge carrying the mammoth Flying Boat to an industrial park in Vancouver, Washington and off-loaded it for storage to await adequate river levels to complete the journey upriver to McMinnville. Finally, conditions improved and the Flying Boat slowly made her way up river, setting new records at historic Willamette Falls, for the longest and highest load ever to pass through the locks. After landing near Dayton, Oregon and off loading at the Weston Bar, the caravan of pieces stretched more than 1,500 feet down the narrow road.

The Flying Boat arrived in McMinnville at Evergreen International Aviation on February 27, 1993. A Spruce Goose homecoming parade converged down the final mile of the 138-day, 1,055-mile trip from Long Beach.

JetBlue Introduces "Blueberries" and Will Retire "Plaid"

Last night in front of over 500 crewmembers in Orlando, JetBlue introduced the newest tail scheme called "Blueberries" on aircraft N561JB (c/n 1927). The company also made the name JetBlue larger along the windows forward of the wing which is now all blue instead of the silver and blue like the old titles. On the engine, www.jetblue.com is gone replaced with just jetblue.com in a larger font which is easier to see.

Here is a link to a photo taken of the plane after the event was done: http://www.airliners.net/photo/JetBlue-Airways/Airbus-A320-232/1593936/L/

Here is a link showing how the current titles and engine logo look:

http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6087703

At the same time, the company has decided to retire the "Plaid" tail scheme which is worn on aircraft N585JB to N603JB. The company said the following to employees: "Plaid’s design is perfectly in keeping with our brand, but here’s the problem – painting the darn thing on our tails is too cumbersome! It takes more paint to do a Plaid tailfin than Stripes, for example, and it takes longer to complete a Plaid design. Also – with that much more paint being used, it adds weight to the tail, which affects fuel efficiency." Looks like maybe the new tail scheme will be placed on those aircraft as well as those numbered N561JB to N584JB.

JetBlue Airways To Introduce New Livery

JetBlue Airways will introduce a complete new livery tomorrow night (October 13) in Orlando.

Here is the message to the employees:

Over the years we’ve made our mark on the industry with a distinctive look – uniforms, signage, and tailfin patterns like mosaic, stripes, harlequin and windowpane. To keep our look fresh as we approach our 10th birthday, we’ll be introducing a new aircraft tailfin and fuselage paint scheme (livery) on Tuesday in Orlando – and you’re invited!

Join Dave Barger and your fellow Crewmembers at the LiveTV Hangar at Orlando International Airport for this exciting event on Tuesday evening. Be the first to experience the sharp new look that our fleet will soon be sporting!