I didn’t realise it at the time, but the pictures I published mid-October of the Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200ER would be my last of the type at Wellington. Only 9 more flights followed that one before the type was retired from the route.
While it was quite exciting to have such a large aircraft as the 777 flying regularly into Wellington, it’s not the most exciting of shapes. The same cannot be said, however, of its replacement — the Airbus A350-900.
At just over 3 metres (5%) longer and just under 4 metres (6%) wider it’s not a big change in size class, but it is certainly more modern looking with that ‘droop’ nose and the unique curves of the blended winglets.
I was there to watch the arrival of the first flight on 1st November, so I was able to capture the water cannon salute.
No doubt I will capture many more of this lovely aircraft in the coming months and years.
I also took the opportunity to capture some other types that were operating around the same time, including my first pictures of an A320neo. I didn’t even realise it at the time!
You can check out the complete set of 28 pictures from the visit over on Flickr.
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