Peter Max 777
 

Just saw a photo of the Peter Max 777 here: :eek:

http://www.myaviation.net/search/pho...hp?id=00208081

Does CO utilize this plane on a certain route consistantly? I fly out of IAH all the time and have never seen it.

Seems like it's in the rotation just like any other 777. I've seen it pretty regularly, in the afternoon at EWR.

There's a whole thread on the Peter Max 777 at www.airliners.net.:

http://www.airliners.net/discussions....main/1959263/

I used to see it at IAH all the time. Since I don't get up there as much these days I don't see it as often, although I did see it last week taking off from IAH when I was heading up there to pick up a friend.

If you read the airliners.net thread you will see that it makes its way throughout the system on a regular basis. I have been lucky enough to fly on it to AMS and think it is a darn cool paint job.

more lucky that if you were on a regular 777? how so, particularly since you are on the inside. :D

i would just be thrilled to go to amsterdam, even on an ostrich's beak.

CO Express begins transatlantic service with the new Embraer Ostrick Beak 135 early next month. :D

Peter was following me for a while, I flew him from IAH-CDG and back, and then, EWR-TLV. From the airliners thread, it looks like he spends a lot of time going to TLV, I don't blame him :D

I'm hoping he will be with me on my IAH-CDG this Sunday.

My most recent sighting. 1/4/05 at NRT. It was going to EWR while I was going to IAH.

Bad photo, as it was getting dark, but I took the picture because another colorful plane was taxiing behind it - a ANA Pikachu 744. Have a look:

http://home.earthlink.net/~fluffymeo...maxpikachu.jpg

I have flown it but of course you can not see it from inside the aircraft. Personally, I think the CO livery is better looking. I think CO has the best looking paint scheme in the industry.

I saw it twice in one day last month...being towed to its gate at IAH as we were taxiing for takeoff, and again at EWR as we were taxiing for takeoff.

Regarding the best paint schemes: Braniff!

I flew it in July, 2003 from HNL to IAH. The problem was that I was on the inside and couldn't see a thing!

This may be a dumb question, but why does CO (or airlines in general) rotate planes versus using the same plane on the same routes?

CO's 777 flights vary a lot in lengths. Some European roundtrips can be done in about 16-18 hours, like EWR-LGW; while flights to NRT will take about 27 hours to turn around. Rotating the planes is the only sensible way to schedule these flights to make the most of them.

And then there's the EWR-HKG flight. A 777 is left in HKG for about 16 hours on the ground after each flight. CO has a contract with HAECO, the local maintenance firm, to service the 777 there.

:)

It is a cool place in soooo many ways. I am thinking about a site59 junket back in the next couple of months...

Ahhh, thank you. That makes perfect sense.

The project manager in me is amazed on the day in the life of a widebody in Continental. The utilization planning in unbelievable! For instance, the 764 I took from EWR to HNL started out the day in DUB and returned to LAX on the redeye. From LAX I believe the 764 continues on to IAH and then to AMS....

Well, I have a little too much time on hand tonite, so I studied the CO timetable a little on what CO's 18 777 will be doing from Apr 02/03. This doesn't take into account the new PEK authority.

I will use a particular time, midnight EST or CST, and see where the planes are. [I know that HKG is only flown 6 times a week, and one of the TLV flights 5 times, but I'm ignoring those missing frequencies to make it simpler.]

2 enroute IAH->LGW
1 enroute each IAH->NRT & CDG

2 enroute EWR->TLV
1 enroute each EWR->AMS, FRA, HKG, LGW, MAD, CDG, NRT

1 enroute TLV->EWR
1 on ground, or about to depart HKG->EWR

2 overnighting in IAH

That accounts for 17 of the 18 birds. I assume one of them may be in heavy maintanence at any time point, or overnighting in EWR.

Of those 17 in rotation, there are really little downtime. One stays on the ground in HKG for ~16 hours, one in TLV for about 7 hours, and two at IAH for about 18 hours each. That's all.

And just take one 777, for example, to try to see where it'll fly. [I'm assuming there are only 17 777s, as I don't know what the last one may be doing.]

Let's start at 11:55p local time in Tel Aviv. CO 91
TLV 11:55p - EWR 4:45a

Early in the morning, this is the only 777 at EWR. It will definitely go on CO 9:
EWR 11:10a - NRT 1:50p

Since this bird arrives NRT before the one from IAH, it should take the first departure, which is CO 6:
NRT 3:40p - IAH 1:45p

From Houston, it may go to LGW or CDG later that afternoon, and so on. But assume that it arrives on schedule as the 1st bird to come back to IAH that day, then it'll may do CO 34:
IAH 3:50p - LGW 6:55a

Being the second LGW arrival that morning, it should do CO 19:
LGW 10:30a - EWR 1:25p

Being the 3rd plane to arrive back from Europe (not including CO 91 from TLV), it might take the 3rd departure after NRT, which is the shorthaul to Houston, CO 51:
EWR 4:20p - IAH 7:30p

And so on... Anyways, many assumptions are made here. Just an example of what a particular plane may do over a few days' time. :)