Zurich

Hello

Work took me to Zurich last week, and I decided to stay an extra day to check out the airport.

Reports that Zurich is one of the best airports in Europe for our purposes are more than justified. It was easy to find the entrance to the viewing area and after going through an airport style security check, I was soon on a bus and on my way to the roof of Pier E from which everything could be seen.

One of the first aircraft in the book was US Airways 767-200 N246AY:-

N246AY by IndiaEcho Photography, on Flickr

One of the flights that I was particularly looking forward to seeing was the El Al 737 from Tel Aviv. Despite the extra security often afforded to the airline, 4X-EKI parked right in front of the viewing area:-

4X-EKI by IndiaEcho Photography, on Flickr

Edelweiss A.320s were coming and going all day, but their only A.330 that was present, HB-JHQ, was towed to the hangars not long after I arrived where she stayed for the remained of my visit:-

HB-JHQ by IndiaEcho Photography, on Flickr

Air Berlin’s Swiss offshoot, Belair, were also busy, but this was the only aircraft in the old livery:-

HB-IOS by IndiaEcho Photography, on Flickr

One of the more interesting turboprop movements was Intersky Dash Eight OE-LIC:-

OE-LIC by IndiaEcho Photography, on Flickr

Another Austrian aircraft was Niki A.320 OE-LEC:-

OE-LEC by IndiaEcho Photography, on Flickr

Needless to say, Swiss are the dominant carrier, and you don’t have to wait long before one of their Airbuses (or occasionally Avro) either arrives or departs. Their long haul fleet of A.330s and A.340s was of particular interest to me – here HB-JMN is arriving from the US:-

HB-JMN by IndiaEcho Photography, on Flickr

Services to Turkey were provided by Turkish Airlines, Tailwind, Pegasus and Sun Express, who sent two 737s to the airport including TC-SUI:-

TC-SUI by IndiaEcho Photography, on Flickr

All too soon it was getting dark and time to catch my flight home after an excellent day. It made a real change to be at an airport that encourages visitors, and I hope I will be back soon.

Tons more photos from Zurich can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/indiaecho/

Neil