Firetruck Friday!

More yellow firetruck!  Yellow firetrucks are my favorite!

White Deer Township Volunteer Fire Company

Blazing Arrow Hook and Ladder

Goodwill Fire Company

White Deer Volunteer Fire Company

Falls Township Fire Department, Bucks County Station 30

Southwest - Over 700 Unique Planes Photographed

I'm on a quest to photograph every Southwest Airlines plane.  It's a tough task to accomplish because it's a moving target.  For example, I've photographed multiple -300 series planes that are no longer in service.  I've also photographed many -700 series that have been taken out of service.  However, I never photographed all of their -700 series planes.  So at some point in time, I'll hopefully be able to say that I've photographed all active planes, but that will change soon thereafter.  

I've now photographed 702 unique Southwest Airlines planes, of which 437 are -700 series, and 189 are -800 series, and 91 are Max 8s.

Arizona One

Louisiana One

 

Everyone Is Leaving BWI

BWI has the dubious distinction of being right smack between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C..  Despite having a population just under 3 million, the metropolitan Baltimore area is growing much slower than its similarly sized metropolitan competitors.

                                   

Cities similar in size include Charlotte, NC, whose distinctions include despising the use of ", NC" after its name, in addition to Orlando, and San Antonio.  Up until the past couple of years, Baltimore struggled to maintain population, but was surpassed by Charlotte and Orlando.  Baltimore is ahead of St. Louis, but St. Louis is losing population.  I seriously doubt that St. Louis will ever seen another NFL team.  Behind them is Austin, Texas, and I'm confident that Austin will surpass Baltimore in population by the end of the 2020s.  

With the shrinking population and the competition with 2 much larger urban centers, Baltimore's BWI struggles to maintain a variety of airlines.  In recent times, Baltimore has lost, or is losing, Allegiant Air, Air Canada, Condor, Southern Airways Express, and Contour Airlines.

Being in charge of recruiting airlines to BWI has to be one of the most difficult jobs in the aviation industry.  Why should we come to BWI when we can just come to Dulles?

Who does BWI lose next?  I suspect it will be Play or Icelandair.  What do you think?

Firetruck Friday!

I attended my first Harrisburg Fire Expo last May.  Here are the yellow firetrucks from that show!

Lake Parsippany Volunteer Fire Company Utility 35, which is a 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD.

From Northern Baltimore County, this is Brush 443 from the Hereford Volunteer Fire Company, which is a 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4x4 / Vengeant Fire Devil.

Walnutttown Fire Company, Engine 32, which is a 2023 Spartan FC-94 / KME.

West Grove Fire Company Brush 22, which is a Knapheide-built brush truck built on a 2024 Ford F-250XL.

North Bango Fire & Rescue Tanker 3921, which is a 2024 Kenworth T880 and it holds 4,000 gallons!

Colt Neck Fire Department's Engine 84-180, which is a 2023 Spartan ER Metro Star (2000/1000).  

Citizens Volunteer Fire Company in Fawn Grove, Water Supply 56, which is a 2023 Spartan International HV 507 4x4 4Guys (1500/300).

From Liberty Hose Company in Williamstown, Pennsylvania, this is Engine 24, which is a 1998 Seagrave.  

Southwest Airlines - Quest to Photograph Them All

I have photographed more Southwest Airlines airplanes than any other airline.  To date, I have photographed 691 unique Southwest planes.  Not all of them are flying for Southwest any longer.  For instance, I have photographed three -300 series planes, and they haven't flown for a while.  Now Southwest is busy retiring the aging -700 series planes.  I have photographed 437 -700s. By comparison, they only have 346 active -700 planes.  I have plenty of Max 8s yet to photograph.

Last Flight of the Condor

Germany's Condor Airlines has offered summer fairs from BWI to Frankfurt (FRA) off-and-on for many years.  This past year, Condor graced us with the candy-stripers.  

For many years, Condor Airlines flew the Boeing 767 into Baltimore, and occasionally the Airbus A330.   This year, Condor flew the colorful candy-stripers.  Unfortunately (from my personal photography perspective), I was only able to get to BWI twice to photograph them landing this past summer.  Note: I spent nearly 2 weeks in South Korea this past summer, in addition to our normal week in Florida, plus I started a new role at work demanding a lot more of my time.

This past week, Condor Airlines announced that due to a German court ruling, they would be ending service to several U.S. cities, including Baltimore and Minneapolis.  The ruling ended a prior ruling that former Condor parent, Lufthansa, provide feeder routes to Condor's network.  This means that passengers could fly to Frankfurt , Germany via Condor, then hop on a connecting flight from Lufthansa and travel to other destinations that Condor did not serve.

So what is the future of Europe-bound air traffic from BWI?  Currently, BWI is served by two Icelandic airlines - Icelandair and Play.  However, there are rumors that Play is not going to stay much longer.  British Airways also serves BWI, which is almost the European mainland.  I remember when AerLingus flew to BWI, but I don't personally recall any other European airlines making BWI a regularly scheduled destination.

Could Lufthansa pick up the lost slot?  If so, I doubt they would send an actual Lufthansa plane, like the Boeing 787.  However, perhaps they would send their Discover Airlines.  A possible downfall with that idea is that Discover already flies to Philadelphia (PHL), and that may be deemed too close to BWI to offer additional service.  

What are your thoughts on BWI getting another European airline next summer?

Southwest, Southwest, Southwest

I tested positive for Covid again, on Thanksgiving Day as a matter of fact, and I've been sequestered to the basement ever since.  I'm running out of things to do.  I don't feel terrible, but I also don't feel great.

I found remembered about this blog that I wrote years ago and started going through past posts.  I was a funny guy!

My hobby time is now mostly consumed with airplanes.  It used to be consumed with politics, but now I HATE politics.  Both sides suck.

So since I am all about airplanes now, here are some Southwest planes.  Southwest Airlines dominates BWI.  

To date I've photographed 641 unique Southwest Airlines planes, including 424 -700 series, 180 -800 series, and 52 Max 8s.  If you didn't go to Baltimore City Public Schools, you'll quickly know that this doesn't sum to 641. I also had the pleasure of photographing one -500 series, and three -300 series.

Southwest has 813 active planes, including 393 -700s, so I'm not sure which ones I missed, but I know I've photographed more than are now active.  There are 207 -800 series, so 27 planes away from photographing all of them.  And there are currently 213 active Max 8s.  There are also some Max 7s on order.  I can't wait to see those!