Farewell to Niki Lauda

Niki Lauda died yesterday...
I guess no presentations are needed for the amazing man...

The only of its airlines that hasn't (still) been around here was the most recent Lauda Motion...

A few shots to remember...

Lauda Air B737 OE-LNO, back in 2004

One of the few airlines that ever flew the Embraer to Madeira...Embraer ERJ-190LR OE-IHD (a registration now used by one of Lauda Motion's A320...This Embraer is now flying as HB-JVL at Helvetic)

A321 OE-LES, June 2016

A320 OE-LER, April 2013

The last Niki

From last December, 9th 2017..
the last Niki flight I managed to photograph...I guess it really reflects the kind of messy bussiness relations around those german airlines...Niki flight, with an Air Berlin livery plane, operated by Tuifly....4 days later, Niki annouced its shutdown...

B738 D-ABMQ landing on runway 05

Niki cease operations...

A320 OE-LEU landing at Madeira's runway 23 last back in May 2016

Unfortunately (but, still as expected....) Niki Airlines annouced the ceasing  of its operations as from tomorrow, as stated in its webpage:

"Dear guests,

the flight operations of NIKI Luftfahrt GmbH under IATA-Airline-Code HG will cease as of December 14th.

Passengers who have booked their flight with a tour operator are kindly asked to contact their tour operator directly. The tour operator is responsible to accommodate his passengers.

Several Airlines are currently looking into solutions for bringing back passengers on standby-basis for a small fee from abroad destinations back to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. To our regret, TUIfly will not participate in this solution.

We would like to thank you for your long-standing loyalty.

Your NIKI-Team"

The best of lucks for all the employees....

Remembering Air Berlin

Air Berlin made its last flight yesterday...the farewell to an airline that I was used to see around here for many years and definitely one with an important role on Madeira Tourism.
Saw it with Boeing and with Airbus, with narrow-bodies and wide-bodies...it was one of the few airlines that, at some point had some regular wide-bodies fligths to Madeira...
Bye bye Air Berlin...and the best of luck for all your employees...

A few shots of Air Berlin at Madeira during my spotting sessons...maybe not my best shots nor the most important but tryed to go for a wide selections of types, colors and ocasions....
Check all Air Berlin pic's I've published on the blog, HERE

 B738 D-ABME with the One World livery take-off, with an amazing rainbow
May, 2014

a dificult catch....we waited about 2 years for the oportunity of getting D-ABDU, with the Etihad special livery...
Down on the apron, Swiss (former Belair) Air Berlin A320 HB-IOZ

A330 D-ALPB, Jan.2009, already on duty with Air Berlin but still with LTU last livery, after that airline beeing bough by AB

Milo...the special livery highlighting the airline's frequent flyer program on a really winter day...only a plane like this to make me go out spotting on this weather :)
A320 D-ABFO, Feb.2015

A320 D-ABGA and D-ABDR back in Nov.2007, showing a couple of previous liveries

May 2016: A320 OE-LEU still with Air Berlin tail and Niki titles

Air Berlin with 757? :)
Yes... :)
Belair HB-IHS back in Fev.2008

Sharklets A321 D-ABCO with airdusseldorf titles

Airbus and Boeing...with a couple of diferent liveries

Allways nice to have a bird like the 330 over you :)
D-AERS, Mar.2011

A320 D-ABHC with One World titles back in Dec.2016

Belair / Air Berlin B767 HB-ISE, Sep.2009

A320 D-ABDL with the old livery, Nov.2008

B738 D-ABMP departing from runway 23, back in Aug.2015

A320 D-ABFK with Fan Force One livery, Apr.2015

Those were the days....Apr.2014 A330's D-ALPA and D-ABXA

A320 D-ABDP still with the old livery on very short final to runway 05, Jan. 2009

A bit of Christmas's spirit with B737 D-ABMJ, in Dec.2012

A320 D-ABDB with a OLT Express hybrid livery

Currently flying as OE-LBK in Austrian, back here (Jan.2010) was D-ALTK, a former LTU A320 with a livery that didn't last long at Air Berlin.

A321 D-ABCB, Dec.2009

Photo of the Week: My farewell to Air Berlin

Despite we will still have a few more Air Berlin flights during next week, today was most probably my last oportunity to photograph the Air Berlin before the scheduled shut as from Oct.28th 2017...

A320 D-ABFG arriving from Berlin-Tegel

A321 OE-LCC preparing to return to Munich

The stickers resume pretty much the last days of operation to Madeira...Niki callsign, Austrian registration and Niki stickers....I guess not much of Air Berlin left, just the main titles on the fuselage... 

Air Berlin...from old to white....

Some days ago, got an "old" Air Berlin that I suppose it's really the image of the airline these last days....
D-ABAG is a plane I remembered getting a few years ago still with an old livery and now it was all white with a sly sticker bearing the airberlin titles and a also a small operated by Tui sticker, all together in a Niki callsign....

D-ABAG landing on runway 05 last August

Back in 2009, still with the old livery departing from runway 23 with another Air Berlin taxiing in the back to the same runway....old times...

New Year, old name

Happy New year everyone!
Despite all the fuss about the renaming of Madeira Airport, it still remains as it was..."Aeroporto da Madeira" (Madeira Airport) with no schedulled date to happen any change...

A previously unpublished pic of Niki's A320 OE-LEU departing from Madeira.
Check a few more pics from that day, HERE

Gone with the wind....

Yesterday was (depending on the perspective....) a very calm afternoon at Madeira....
On my perspective, of course...
Due to the winds out of limits, I spent an afternoon (after 16:30) at Madeira airport without seeing a single plane as they were holding at ABUSU and diverting to Porto Santo or returning to Lisbon...

They only started landing at late afternoon with almost no sun...
Niki's A321 OE-LES landed when the sun was already gone...so an ISO400 1/50 panning for this one...

Niki...with the fly

It's been quite a long time since I last photographed a Niki with the Fly livery...Too bad there are less and less planes with this livery...

 A321 OE-LES landing on runway 05

the departure from runway 05

Niki...dressed by Air Berlin...

It's been quite a long time since I last photographed a Niki.
Last Friday (the same day of Thomson's Family Life G-FDZG, check HERE), got one, arriving / departing runway 23. Unfortunatelly was OE-LEU, already carrying the Air Berlin / Niki livery, which looks quite bad, specially comparing to old regular "Fly Niki" livery....
Still...here's the pics...

Landing on runway 23 with Ponta de S.Lourenço in the back

 And a couple of pics from the departure, also from runway 23

On the back, a British Airways A320 getting ready for the departure back to London Gatwick

OLT by Niki

While browsing some older pics, found these couple of shots from June 2014 of OLT Express / Niki hybrid landing on runway 05 at late afternoon...
Thought that I'd already shared it here but looks like I hadn't...

OE-LEL

was trying out a diferent spot, on higher ground...it's a nice one...have to try it some more...

First A320 with Sharklets

Yesterday we got the first A320 with Sharklets at Madeira...twice!

OE-LER, from Niki was the plane and besides beeing the first "Sharkleted" A320 at Madeira it was also my first Niki with the new livery (crappy...the previous one, with the Fly looked a lot better, though I'm sure this one's cheaper....)

On final to runway 05

about to land for the second time of the day, from Vienna.

Touchdown!

Arriving at the stand with a framing who doesn't leave any doubts on the airport these were taken... :)

New Photo of the Week - Niki's ERJ-190

Time to get back to my pics...and for another Photo of the Week.

Last year, during August, Niki made a few flights with the Embraer ERJ-190...
Those didn't last too long...

The ERJ-190 is a plane that I find to be a very good looking one and with the extra that it's a extremely rare bird around here (like I said then...don't remember seeing another ERJ-190 around here and since then neither...)

Anyway, only got it once...you can check the photos HERE

OE-IHD on final to runway 05

The Piper

Last Friday, while waiting for the CL-900, from Air Nostrum, took the time for some shots on the Piper CS-AIC, from Aeroclube da Madeira that was departing to a local flight to Funchal bay.

The most interesting shot, despite it's not a sharp quality pic, was this one....

taking off from runway 05, passing by OE-LEH, from Niki and another TAP

ERJ-190 from Niki

Last week I noticed that the Niki flight was made by an ERJ-190 but then it was already too late to photograph it...
I didn't even knew that Niki had those planes...
...and they looked pretty nice, specially in that livery!
To add all that, I can't remember seeing any other ERJ-190 around here...

This week, made a early wake to go and catch it...
When I arrived at the cargo terminal, sun was final but on short final it was completely dark over the runway, with sun on the hills in the back...
Still managed one aceptable shot on the long distance, with the sun on the plane...

After that, went to the balcony for some shots off existing traffic and take-off of the Embraer, ended up getting closer than expected...

Went inside to check on TV the live transmission of a stage of Rali Vinho Madeira, and when we noticed, the Embraer was already taxiing...

Take off, from 05