Quick turnaround in Sal Island

Sal Airport, April 2026

Sal has been a recurrent holiday destination for me, for the last five years. Yesterday we were parked in between two TUI fly's Boeing 737s. Seen here, the OO-MAX of TUI fly Belgium:

Wonderful sunset in Frankfurt

Copenhagen & Frankfurt, October 2015

This crew pairing comprised one night in Copenhagen and two nights in Frankfurt. Although Copenhagen is one of my favorite cities in Europe, I spent most of the time of this quick night stop sleeping.

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Copenhagen

This was the view of my room:

The Copenhagen Airport used to have very interesting traffic. Here, the ATR 72-500 of Alsie Express, an airline that links Copenhagen to Sønderborg:

... Copenhagen, dominion of SAS...

... and this rare Boeing 717 of Blue 1:

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Frankfurt

The day at Frankfurt was very well spent including this visit to the Bethmann Park which features this Chinesischer Garten:

At the end of the day, we went to our hotel's rooftop (which sadly closed recently due to the insolvency of the Revo Hospitality Group). On the rooftop, we witness a wonderful sunset...

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Lisboa

Next day, arriving at Lisbon, we parked side by side with this Maltese Boeing 737-400 (9H-VLA) of Valorfly. This airline is not active anymore.

Spotting @ Frankfurt am Main Int'l

Airport action, March 2026

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Frankfurt am Main

It's always nice to have a few minutes of a turnaround to check the traffic at Frankfurt Airport. This was my first time seeing the new centennial livery of Lufthansa, in this case, painted on a Dreamliner. The old Boeing 747-400 is also an eye candy.

What's amazing on this Lufthansa commemorative livery is that the aircraft wings are actually also the wings of the crane painted on the fuselage, since the upper surface of the wings is also painted in white. This feature is easily visible when you are able to see the aircraft from a higher level.

Parked on our side was this conspicuous Condor A321ceo.

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Lisboa/Humberto Delgado

Arriving in Lisboa coming from Frankturt, this vintage Star Air 767-200 was our neighbor on the tarmac. Seen from the A320ceo CS-TNX, Malangatana.

Spotting @ Ponta Delgada & Tenerife Sur

Airport action, March 2026

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João Paulo II Airport

Several Azores Airlines' aircraft departed during our turnaround. Here, showing "Wonder" and "Peaceful".

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Tenerife Sur - Reina Sofia

Sunny weather in this island part of the Canary Islands archipelago. Jet2.com dominating the scene but also spotted a green striped Condor landing.

The last time I was in (frozen) Helsinki

Helsinki, March 2018

Back in the day, when I enjoyed spending most of my time abroad (while at work), Helsinki was my favorite layover. This was my very last one there before I transitioned to the widebody fleet in September 2018.

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Putte's Bar & Pizza

For dinner, we chose this italian restaurant in Kalevankatu...

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Grotesk

... and to have a drink later in the night, Grotesk bar was our choice. Despite the alcohol being so expensive in Helsinki, there are lots of good options for bars and night clubs.

Nice detail of a frozen... water flow! It was March but it was still very cold and icy in this city.

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Rautatientori

The nice Railway Square...

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Helsinki Cathedral

... and a photo of the Helsinki's Cathedral organ.

A 3D map of Helsinki...

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Uspenski Cathedral

Uspenski, is the main orthodox cathedral in Finland. 

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Kaupattori

An icy view from the Market Square...

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Kamppi Chapel

Also known as the Chapel of Silence, this was one of the last spots I still had in my "Want to go" list in Helsinki.

Just before the pandemic, the Helsinki route, which was year-round, turned into a seasonal destination before closing down completely. What a shame... I really miss Helsinki!