Things start in approx 40mins…:cool:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-roll might help to answer your question about what b-roll is.

I would agree with Mr Merry, its more than likely that the lessors of the aircraft have chosen to offer very short-term leases on their aircraft after they were returned to them due to the failure of OLT in order to keep them flying as it will cost the lessor money to have them stored somewhere.

As far as I am aware, FedEx do not operate a direct flight to/from MAN as their UK base is at STN so I’m not sure why the 767 was there, perhaps it diverted to MAN for some reason?

I believe the ATR will belong to Air Contractors, an Irish freight airline, who are contracted to operate “feeder” flights on behalf of FedEx in order to help get packages to other locations within the UK/Europe where FedEx does not fly to directly. It is probably a long-term contract and as a part of this their aircraft is painted in the FedEx livery.

An example of this would be: http://www.airliners.net/photo/FedEx-Feeder-%28Air/ATR-ATR-72-202%28F%29/2286737/&sid=7d53cb17b84240498b20d32416034040, seen here departing from EDI.

As for registrations, the 767 is the only one FedEx currently operates, so it was N101FE; they have 49 others on order!

It is difficult to assertain which registration the ATR was without knowing whether it was a 42 or 72 version, and they have quite a few of each.

Hope this helps.

A great selection of photos. Thanks for sharing.

I really like how TCX go about displaying adverts on their aircraft…I guess it must generate a bit of additional revenue for them as companies will pay to have their products advertised on the side of an aircraft knowing that it will be seen in lots of different countries by lots of different people.:cool:

There are some on here:

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/ba-operates-its-first-b787-passenger-flight

This maybe a bit of a generalisation here but I think the overall problem is “price”.

Price has become the dominant factor taken into consideration by both airlines and customers.

Airlines need/want to offer the lowest fares in order to attract more customers, and customers want to be able to fly everywhere for next to nothing yet expect everything in return.

In the past, it was a race to the top…a competition between airlines to offer the best possible service and have the best possible fleet and features onboard.

Nowadays, it’s more of a race to the bottom as the airlines battle to reduce their costs and lower prices in accordance to demand from customers and from other competitors such as the low-cost airlines. That said though, it is almost impossible to impress absolutley everyone onboard because as mrtotty has just said above “passengers have wildly varying experiences and expectations” on the same airline (and indeed the same flight!).

Customer service standards are falling rapidly, especially at the legacy airlines…I’d be very surprised if you even get any recognition from AA if/when you make contact with them, but I’d be interested to know what they do say if they get in touch and if they offer you anything by way of compensation.

As for the OP’s situation, I would suggest another alternative…if you’re unhappy with the service provided by one particular carrier, why not fly another…UA fly to EWR from MAN (they use 757-200’s, which have PTV’s onboard in every seat!) so perhaps that could be a possibility the next time you find yourself flying to the USA. It does of course depend on whether you are prepared to spend more if the fares on UA are more expensive?