Hi everyone, THis is a trip report written for a group in Scotland, thought some of you might like to see it as well. GLA - Glasgow international AMS - Amsterdam-Schiphol TXL - Berlin-TegelHi guys! Hi guys, Here is a trip report from last weekend when I went to Berlin. It was a personal trip to see some old friends but made it to Tegel twice for a few hours.This report is primarily intended for the photographers amongst us but hopefully will be of interest to others. 26th Feb KL1472 Fokker70 KLM Cityhopper GLA-AMS PH-KZC Flying time 1hr13. Flight was delayed due to the late arrival of the incoming a/c, which was in turn delayed due to snow at Amsterdam where they were down to single runway operation. Flight departed from rw05 1hr20 late. Route was across to Newcastle, down to Teesside and the a straight line across the North Sea to Amsterdam. Quite interesting because I sat beside a guys who owns his own design company, designing more or less anything. He teaches people who teach Photoshop so got a lot of useful tips from him. He was on his way to the Carribean to get married. Food offered was either a cheese and mustard, or egg mayo roll. Tasted OK! Landing was on rw27 (the one with the MacDonalds) which meant we got a great view of Amsterdam city as we were given vectors to establish on the localiser. By this time the airport was, to my eyes, operating normally again. There did seem only a rediculously small amount of snow present to have caused all the earlier disruption. We parked on the remote commuter apron so were bused to the terminal. On the way we passed Air Charter Service An-26 RA-26120. Runway24 was being used for take-offs so I went through the Schengen passport control. Couldn't find any window that I was satisfied with because of the state of the glass, sun angle and those annoying blinds they pull down. Decided instead to go up to the terrace where I might at least get some quality. The best things I ended up shooting were the MD-11 in the new scheme, a KLM 777, Qatar A300-600F and several a/c being deiced by four big trucks similtaneously. At times the plane being treated was almost obscured by the sheer volume of fluid being fired at it - quite impressive! Stupidly managed to miss the opportunity to get the China Southern 744F - oh well! The building work that has closed part of the terrace is nearing completion but not yet finished. 26th Feb KL1829 Fokker70 KLM Cityhopper AMS-TXL PH-KZF Flying time 1hr00. The delays earlier were having a knock-on effect so the next flight on to Berlin was delayed by 1hr. Again bussed to the commuter ramp where it was blinking cold on the ramp waiting to get up the aircraft steps. Departed off rw 24. During the flight a roll was offered but the only option was cheese. Landed at Tegel on rw26L and found that my luggage hadn't made it on to the flight. It was delivered safely the next day. Went the next day (Fri 27th) to Tegel because it was a lovely blue sky on crisp winter's day. The terminal at Tegel is hexagonal with a superb terrace on the roof - when they deem to open it. Annoyingly they don't open everyday in winter and this was the case during my visit. Luckily I worked in Berlin for two years in the 90s so know my way about. Headed out instead to the mound at the Cite Pasteur, this is a great palce in the mornings for all traffic using 26 which, fortunately, was in use. As I hadn't been to Berlin for a couple of years there was a lot to catch up on - Hapag Lloyd Express for example. Got good shots of everything but the highlights were the white Lauda 73NG Star Alliance and the Cimber CRJ. Gave up when a big snow storm blew in. Managed also a couple of hours at the same place on Mon 1st March when I shot an Air Berlin 737-700 that was formerly with Hamburg International and a Hola 733. Incidentally you can pick up at the Info desk a very good booklet that lists all the flights planned for that month. Rrom this it seems that Berlin-Schoenefeld has almost died out with very few flights scheduled. 1st Mar KL1828 737-400 KLM TXL-AMS PH-BPB Flying time 54min. Proper KLM this time! Flight was about 2/3 full. We departed off 26L and after rotation I noticed a Vietnam 777 parked up on the military side - (I suppose) visiting in conjunction with an official government delegation. Pity it hadn't arrived a few hours erlier when I was out shooting! The roll offered was either cheese or chicken along with a carton of orange juice. This time arrival into AMS was on rw01R and we parked on remote stand D90. This meant a long bus journey to be taken to the Shengen arrival point at pier B, whereupon I had to go all the way back within the terminal to the gate for the Glasgow flight, D25. 1st Mar KL1481 Fokker100 PH-OFG GLA-AMS Flying time 1hr13. Flight was totally full and the one smallish hand baggage rule was strictly enforced. Long taxy out to the newest, but very distant runway 01L. The best thing about these old AirUK flights is that one gets a decent strong cuppa of 'real' tea. The night was clear so had a good view of Newcastle as we crossed the coast and could then also see Edinburgh and Dundee away to starboard. Landed on rw23 and fortunately this time my luggage was there to greet me. Cheers, Alastair ------------------------------------------------- This mail sent through IMP: http://horde.org/imp/