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Venezuela 2011: The DC-9 and B737-200 heaven 

In Summer 2010 I’ve found a really good offer from Lufthansa for flights to Caracas (CCS). Due tot he fact that I still missed to get a DC-9 in my log the idea for a trip to Caracas starts to grow. I called my buddy Marcus and we both decided to do this trip.
We decided to spend a weekend in Caracas, which sounds mad but due to a tight schedule it was the best option we had.
In the following months we contacted 2 local spotter in ordert o get some advises from them. Due tot he fact that  CCS is a very dangerous city with expensive hotel we decided to spend the nights at Porlamar / Isla Margarita.  Two months prior this trip we were informed that more and more DC-9 will be replaced by MD-80 aircrafts so we hoped for the best.


01APR2011       HAJ - FRA     D-AIQR // A320-200 // Lufthansa // Flighttime: 0:55h

I departed on a Friday morning from Hannover to Frankfurt were I met Marcus. After having some breakfast at McDonnalds we saw our A340-600 resting at the gate.
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01APR2011     FRA - CCS    D-AIHK // A340-600 // Lufthansa // Flighttime: 10:17h 


​The flight was nearly fully booked. Service was good, the meal service was very tasty but my seat wasn’t very clean. After passing french coast we crossed the atlantic for hours until we overflew Guadaloupe. After a holding for about 5-10 minutes we were cleared to land in Caracas. While we were taxing we saw several DC-9 and B737-200s on the appron.
After immigration weh ad to change tot he domestic terminal for our flight to Porlamar. It was Friday afternoon hundrets or even thousands of passengers headed for their weekend trip so it was chaos in the terminal . After two hours we received our tickets and headed for security check and boarding.
Our first domestic flight was booked on Aeropostal several months ago. At this time planned with a DC-9 but they replaced it with a MD-82.
01APR2011    CCS - PMV    YV444T // MD-82 // Aeropostale // Flighttime: 0:34h


The flight was fully booked and it was impressive to see how the flight attendants were able to do their service (incl. Beverages) for  ca. 140 Passengers within 30 minutes! We saw clear markst hat this was an ex- Alitalia aircrafts because the seats were still green and the buckl had the Alitalia logo as well.
We landet in Porlamar in the late evening and headed to our hotel.
                                                                                     
After a really short night we headed back tot he airport at 06.00lt for our next flight to CCS . This time we choosed Laser Airlines but this flight also was operated by MD-80 aircraft. So we missed our second of three chances for a DC-9 flight. I was in a serious worry to miss the famous „Diesel Niner“ on the whole trip to be honest.
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02APR2011    PMV - CCS   YV1234 // MD-81 // Laser Airlines // Flighttime: 0:37h
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This flight was just half booked. It was very comfy and service was also good. After arrival we headed to a restaurant in the domestic terminal. Our guides which wem et over there advised us this location because it was safer than the other options around the airport. In venezuela it was not easy to do our hobby . As per chat with Roberto he told us that in 2011 there were just 12 spotters in Venezuela. He advised us also to spot with low profile and not to show everyone our camera.  I never had such an experience before, even in the Ukraine it was much easier. The good thing about the restaurant ist hat they have restrooms and for sure drinks and something to eat. The disadvantage is that the window are tinted and there were heathaze on the runway.
Neverless we got some really nice traffic. After several hours of planespotting we headed for boarding our last chance to fly a DC-9. This time we booked Aserca Airlines. They also has several MD-80 aircrafts of her sister Company SBA Airlines in use, but this time we were lucky and got our loved DC-9 flight


02APR2011     CCS - PMV   YV371T // DC-9-30 // Aserca Airlines // Flighttime: 0:32h


We tried to get a seat just in front oft he engines but no chance. During Boarding we asked the pilot if it is OK to take a picture of the Cockpit and he invited us and we could take a seat on the left side as well. I have to say all aircrews were extreme friendly and some of them can't belive it that we flew to Venezuela just for flying These old birds. This flight was fully booked but we got the last row. In this row you have a window but you can’t see anyzhing expect the engine! During take-off these engines were screaming like hell and we enjoyd every single second of this flight!
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03APR2011
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For this day we took a rental car to explore the city a bit and relax on the beach.
04APR2011    PMV - BLA   YV342T // B737-200 // Avior Airlines // Flighttime: 0:16h

Time to say good by to Isla Maragarita! We headed early in the morning to catch our second goal on this trip: to ride a Boeing B737-200. It was  difficult to find an optimal flight so we decided to choose Avior Airlines. They operated a flight porlamar – Barcelona (BLA)-Caracas.
So far my shortest scheduled flight! After landing in BLA we were informed that  we had to change the plane and our next flight will be delayed by an hour. It was not bad because now weh ad the chance to spot a bit more in BLA.
04APR2011    BLA - CCS   YV1576 // B737-200 // Avior Airlines // Flighttime: 0:32h

The next flight was also good, but the aircraft was really worn out. During taxing in CCS we saw a Cubana IL-96 resting on the military ramp so we headed straight tot he restaurant for some spotting. 5 Minutes after entering the restaurant the IL-96 taxied tot he active runway. What a great timing!
The rest of the day until our boarding fort he flight to FRA we spend at the Restaurant.
04APR2011    CCS - FRA   D-AIHH // A340-600 // Lufthansa // Flighttime: 08:35h

After spending aprox 2,5 hours for check-in and security we headed streight to our gate. The flight was good, but I slept most of it.


05APR2011    FRA-HAJ   D-AIZE // A320-200 // Lufthansa // Flighttime: 0:32h

After 2 hours in FRA I boarded my last flight back to HAJ. Service was good but the flight was fully booked.
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