ARUBAspotter: 2021

zondag 4 april 2021

Easter 2021: Egg Hunt for a Plane Aficionado like Me

I can say we are quite fortunate in Aruba taking into consideration how the covid-19 pandemic has developed so far on our island. We still have substantial freedom enabling us to go to a terrace, spend some time at the beach, do (fun)shopping, or in my case, simply leave the house to do some Easter plane spotting... 'Egg hunting' this Easter we had some special guests; for the first time, we had a JetBlue Embraer 190 visiting us from Fort Lauderdale (FL), as well as a brand new Delta Airbus A321 replacing the iconic Boeing 757-200 from Atlanta (GA).

A big shout-out to the Air Ambulance crew who has been flying covid-19 patients from our sister islands Bonaire and Curaçao to Aruba providing much needed relief and medical care. Nice to see you again Amir!

Air Ambulance (Bonaire) Learjet 35A N389KA at General Aviation ramp after transporting a patient from Curaçao

JetBlue Airways Embraer 190-100AR N374JB "I'm a Blue Believer" departing to KFLL

American Airlines Boeing 737-823(WL) N906NN departing to KMIA

United Airlines Boeing 737-924ER(WL) N69847 arriving from KIAD

Delta Air Lines Airbus A321-211(WL) N112DN departing to KATL

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-7H4(WL) N769SW departing to KBWI

JetBlue Airways Airbus A321-231(WL) N982JB arriving from KJFK

zondag 21 februari 2021

#Oranjeboven: Orange Pride going for a well-deserved tan in the Caribbean

It has been a while since I uploaded a new post and today I have more than a valid reason to post a short story. Yesterday we were honoured by a very special visit of KLM's only orange coloured aircraft, the Boeing 777-306(ER) with registration PH-BVA. As far as I know, it was the first Boeing 777-300 that ever visited our island. As I often say to my friends in the Netherlands, a tanning hour in Aruba is good for your mind and body... After it was stranded in China for over a month and a half, let us say "Bon Bini" to Orange Pride to enjoy the sun at our "Aruba Dushi Tera".

According to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines,

the introduction of the special aircraft was partly prompted by a social media post KLM published on King’s Day 2015. At the time, KLM’s followers were presented with a picture of an orange aircraft, along with the question: “Should we colour orange next year on King’s Day? #OrangeExperience”. 30,000 likes and 2,500 positive responses later, KLM rolled out its orange aircraft.

The well-known KLM Blue is being combined with orange highlights. The transition between the two colours features aspects of the Dutch flag. The combination emphasises KLM’s Dutch roots and pride in the national colour of the Netherlands.

From the moment we heard the first rumours of its visit, we were very excited and started making plans to catch this beauty. Some of my fellow spotters went to the south side of the landing area of runway 11, another one was stationed at the "Bucutiweg spot" while I was at the GA area to catch the arrival. Most of us then joined at Hyatt Place Aruba Airport for some fabulous sunset and night shots.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 777-306(ER) PH-BVA "National Park De Hoge Veluwe" at TNCA 20 Feb, 2021

I also want to share this bonus picture of the PH-BVA landing at runway 27 at its home base Amsterdam during a typical Dutch cold autumn rain shower:

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 777-306(ER) PH-BVA "National Park De Hoge Veluwe" at EHAM 10 Oct,2019

I do recommend the following reading as well:
KLM Blog "Van blauw naar oranje in 4 dagen
KLM Blog "From Blue to Orange in 4 Days"

KLM Blog "#Oranjeboven: KLM’s unieke oranje vliegtuig promoot Nederland"
KLM Blog "#Orangepride: KLM’s unique orange aircraft to promote the Netherlands"

Luchtvaartnieuws.nl: KLM Boeing 777 'Orange Pride' eindelijk terug in Nederland