Platinum Airways, the very virtual Open Skies airline, has embarked on a visit to past and present Winter Olympics venues. In February, Destination of the Week visits the Winter Games of Lake Placid (1932 and 1980), Nagano (1996), Turin (2006) and Sochi (2014).

As the Opening Ceremony at 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi is about to draw millions of TV viewers, Platinum Airways is paying tribute to four Winter Games venues. The first venue, Lake Placid, hosted two Winter Olympics: 1932 and 1996. It is served by Adirondack Regional Airport (KSLK). The second Winter Olympics destination takes us to Nagano, Japan and to Shinshu-Matsumoto Airport (RJAF) at a 50 minutes train ride from the venue. From Japan, we travel to Turin, Italy, where the 2006 Winter Games were held. Turin-Caselle Airport (LIMF) is, therefore, the third Winter Olympics DOTW. And we end Winter Olympics just in time for the Closing Ceremony at the 2014 Sochi Games with Sochi International Airport (URSS).

Winter Olympics will present an overview of the Games and their locations. In addition, DOTW offers charts to be downloaded and links to scenery files. A selection of YouTube videos usually contains flight deck and ground views with landings and departures.

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Platinum Airways, the very virtual Open Skies airline, is starting the new year with Liftoff. The new Destination of the Week series will visit airfields that service the most important launch centres of the four leading space powers: the United States, Russia, the European Union and China.

Platinum Airways’ first Destination of the Week series of the year is a powerful one. Liftoff pays tribute to the four leading global space powers, the United States, Russia, the European Union and China. In the next four weeks, DOTW will visit the airfields that service the world’s most important space travel launch installations. Liftoff 1 will visit Cape Canaveral with two airfields: the US Air Force’s Cape Canaveral AFS Skid Strip (KXMR) and NASA’s Shuttle Landing Facility (KTTS). The second week consists of a visit to Baikonur, the main Russian launch installation in Kazakhstan, with Yubileyniy (UAON) and Krayniy (UAOL). The third Liftoff will visit the launch pad used by the European Space Agency, Kourou in French Guyana, and its airport QKR (that doesn’t have an ICAO code). And we end our series with a visit to the Jiuquan Continue reading →

Platinum Airways, the very virtual Open Skies airline, says Oops … at the end of the year. Inspired by the recent unexpected diversion of a Dreamliner in Wichita, its final Destination of the Week series remembers five flights that didn’t land at the filed airport.

As 2013 is drawing to a close, Platinum Airways’ Destination of the Week series is joining the party. The December series, Oops …, is a cheeky one: inspired by the recent remarkable landing of a Dreamlifter at Jabara Airport (KAAO), a small airfield near Wichita instead of at its filed airport (McConnell AFB or KIAB), DOTW goes back in time and retrieves five similar incidents. The most recent one on the December list is the C17 Globemaster who was filed to land at McDill AFB (KMCF), but touched down unannounced at Peter O’Knight (KTPF) on 20 July 2012. Our second Oops … takes us to Northern Ireland: on 29 March 2006, a Ryanair flight operated by Eirjet was supposed to land at Derry (EGAE), but the A320 made it to Shackleton Barracks (EGQB), an AFB near Ballykelly, Co Londonderry. Luckily, the passengers only had a 5 mi bus transfer. The next one is a Northwest A319, scheduled to land at Rapid City (KRAP) but touched down at Ellsworth AFB (KRCA) on 19 June 2004. Our fourth Oops … was a Saudi 747 destined for Madras International (VOMM), now known as Chennai International, but landed at Tambaran Air Force Station (VOTX) on 2 June 1997. And we end Oops … with the case of a United 757, destined for Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (TJSJ) near San Juan, Puerto Rico, but landed at Isla Grande Airport (TJIG) on Continue reading →

Platinum Airways, the very virtual Open Skies airline, will be in the southern hemisphere in November on a whale watching tour. Destination of the Week will visit four major whale watching locations that include some surf.

Platinum Airways’ November DOTW theme usually takes us to scenic autumn destinations in the northern hemisphere. This year will be different, as we’ll be focusing our attention on spring in the southern hemisphere. This is the time of year when whale watching is at its best down south. So with the sliders at maximum, we’ll be visiting four locations that have earned their reputation as great whale watching spots.

The series kicks off at George (FAGG), a small airport on South Africa’s Garden Route along the Cape coast and not too far from the village of Hermanus, where Southern Right whales can be watched from shore. Destination number two is Hobart (YMHB) on Tasmania, and Southern Right and Humpback whales are likely to be viewed there. From Hobart, we’ll travel to Brazil’s Salvador (SBSV) in Bahia state, a top location for Continue reading →

Platinum Airways, the very virtual Open Skies airline, has announced its September Destination of the Week theme. Following its nine Great Gigs in the Sky during the summer holidays, Platinum Airways is taking its pilots to four leading Detox and Wellness centres in as many continents.

Platinum Airways’ summer holidays have been particularly exhausting for its DOTW regulars, with thousands of miles covered to visit leading music festivals around the world. That led to the September theme: Detox. We are convinced that our pilots urgently need to recharge their batteries, and what better way to do that than to visit four leading detox and wellness centres. We took our guidance from four leading publications and organisations, such as Forbes Magazine and Condé Nast.

Detox starts at the SHA Wellness Clinic in Spain’s Alicante region and its obvious Alicante-Elche Airport (LEAL). The second detox treatment will take place at The Farm near San Benito in the Philippines. The best access to that centre is via Clark International Airport (RPLC).  Third up is the One&Only Spa Reethi Rah on the Maldives, which takes us to Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (VRMM). We end Detox with a visit to the Indian Himalayas and the Ananda Spa, near Continue reading →

During the summer holidays, Platinum Airways will be holding a Great Gig in the Sky. In July and August, the Open Skies virtual airline will be visiting some of the greatest music festivals around the globe.

The Great Gig in the Sky, a track on Pink Floyd’s historic The Dark Side of the Moon album, is the best description for Platinum Airways’ summer holidays destination of the week series. For nine consecutive weeks, the Open Skies virtual airline will be transferring music revellers and roadie material from festival to festival. The first Gig is the world famous Roskilde Festival on Denmark’s Zealand Island that runs from 30 June to 7 July. This event is serviced by a double runway airfield, Roskilde Airport (EKRK). From there, we travel to TW Classic in Werchter, Belgium, a one day event on 13 July featuring The Boss and his E Street Band, Carlos Santana, Blondie, Keane and others. As Werchter is right under the final approach path to RWY25R, Brussels (EBBR) is the logical airport for this event. Gig # 3 is the Grassroots Festival in Trumansburg on Finger Lakes, NY, with Ithaca Tompkins Regional (KITH) as its feeder airport. From there, we travel to the Fuji Rock Festival held in the Naeba ski resort (and no longer at the foot of Mount Fuji). This means that we’ll fly into Narita (RJAA). We’ll cross into August with Lollapalooza in Chicago, IL. As we have already visited O’Hare in DOTW, we’ll make Midway Airport (KMDW) our destination. Our sixth Great Gig in the Sky is Way Out West, for which we need to travel east to Gothenburg, Sweden, to Gothenburg City Airport (ESGP). We cross the Atlantic again for the farewell party of the World Electronic Music Festival in Toronto, Ontario, which takes us to Toronto-Pearson International (CYYZ). As distance is no problem, we’re hopping over to Continue reading →