It had been raining the entire night, and naturally due to the excitement of an upcoming flight, I wasn't able to sleep. I'd been figuring out the Airblue schedules for the past week or so, and had found out that ABQ403, the morning service from Lahore to Karachi, is usually operated by the airline's wet-leased Windrose A321 UR-WRI. However, Monday was the exception, with the flight having being performed by Airblue's dry leased AP-EDG, the A320 with Sharklets.
And fortunately, my flight was on a Monday.
With an excited mind, set out for Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore. A rainy morning, and a quick check in. Asked regarding the load from the check-in agent, the reply that I got was "underload".
I had my mind set to get seat 20F for the amazing view, but unfortunately it was taken. I took up 18F instead, with the rest of the family taking up 19D, 19E & 19F.
Passing through the final ASF security check, I had the chance to meet the cockpit crew of the flight, who were right behind me. The First Officer was a really kind man, greeted me cheerly and was on his way to the aircraft to get his beauty ready, Damn if I could have been in his shoes.
There were about 10-15 minutes for boarding to start, so had a short stroll around the Terminal, caught a PIA A310 just arrived from Kuala Lumpur parked on stand 6, and the infamous PIA A320 AP-BLA at stand 7, preparing for her flight to Dubai, as PIA203:
Not visible from the domestic terminal, we had a Qatari A321 parked at stand 5 preparing to operate QTR629 back to Doha, as well as Emirates' standard B777-300ER parked at stand 4, getting ready to fly back to her homeland Dubai, as UAE625.
On the remote stands, you had the Windrose A330 parked at stand 20, Shaheen's disabled B737-400 parked at stand 1 and a Shaheen A330 AP-BKN parked at stand 23.
As soon as the call came over the PA informing the passengers that boarding for ABQ403 to Karachi has started, I made my way over to the gate, presented my boarding pass to the lady at the counter, and asked her the same load question. She replied kindly, informing me the load for today's flight is 100 PAX, which made me smile, as that meant a relatively empty cabin, and more wing views.
A initial glance from the boarding jetway confirmed my thoughts, it was indeed Airblue's A320 AP-EDG parked at stand 9, which would soon become the star of all my photos for the day.
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Flight Details: ABQ403 / PA403
Departure: OPLA - Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, Pakistan
Arrival: OPKC - Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, Pakistan
Scheduled Departure Time: 09:30a.m PST / 0430 UTC
Actual Departure Time: 09:35a.m PST / 0435UTC
Scheduled Enroute Flight Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
Actual Enroute Flight Time: 1 hour 32 minutes
Scheduled Arrival Time: 11:55a.m PST / 0625UTC
Actual Arrival Time: 11:07a.m PST / 0607UTC
Aircraft Registration: AP-EDG - Airblue's Dry-Leased Airbus A320 w/Sharklets
Seat: 18F
As soon as I boarded the aircraft, I admired the entire look of the cabin, with it’s slim seats in a a dark navy blue colour. Some passengers were creating a baggage issue as usual, which was sorted out by the senior pursuer.
As I got to my seat, there was a passenger seated on 18D, with the centre seat being empty, which was a relief for me. Quickly settled down, put my bag on the seat next here, and took out my camera for some shots.
Unfortunately, due to the wet window, the shots at Lahore didn’t come out good at all. Oh well, here is one at the gate:
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrMeanwhile PIA203 bound for Dubai also began its pushback alongside us.
All ground crew was instructed to leave the aircraft, doors were closed, we started our pushback facing south for a standard RWY36R departure.
The safety procedures were demonstrated by the crew, followed by a short taxi to CAT II Holding Point RWY36R via taxiways Papa & Quebec
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrWe held short of RWY36R for about 3-4 minutes for an arriving Shaheen B734, initially 13 miles from touchdown when we reached the holding point. The aircraft is seen arriving in the following frame:
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrAs I wasn’t expecting any good rollout shots, I instead chose to make a departure video, I was surprised how quickly the windows cleaned up after the departure.
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrNow enjoy the wing shots till cruising:
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrCruising at a flight level of FL360, we made our way to Karachi at a speed of 0.76 Mach:
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrThe inflight meal was served afterwards, a standard warm sandwich with a cold drink / tea / coffee:
ABQ403 In-Flight Meal by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
ABQ403 In-Flight Meal by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
Drink Served in Coffee Cup 
by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrMeanwhile I also got a cockpit access much to my delight, I got to discuss my future aviation prospects with the pilots, thanked them very much for their time, and was on my way back to my seat.
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrI got to learn some very nice things about pursuing a career as a pilot Alhamdulillah, while I hope to incorporate in my life soon. I also showed some of my simulator shots to them, in which the same aircraft was featured
.Unfortunately they didn’t allow me for any cockpit shots, but nevertheless the visit in-flight was enough.
Since the cabin was nearly half empty, that allowed me to roam about a bit and get some views from some other windows:
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrOnce we began our descent into Karachi, the cabin crew requested all passengers to close their table trays, before which I got these shots from the emergency wing exit of the aircraft:
Airbus A320 Emergency Exit Seat by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
Airblue A320 Safety Card by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
Airblue A320 Safety Card by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrA dusty descent & arrival into Karachi:
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrFinal turn overhead MARVI for ILS RWY25L:
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrAgain, took a video of the approach and touchdown, which is why no spoiler shots. The Captain opted not to use reverse thrust, which led to a long rollout and vacation of RWY25L via taxiway C.
Turning left from Charlie onto Echo, had some amazing views of the parked traffic at OPKC, which included this sad shot:
OPKC - PIA Aircraft Parked In Front of Ispahani Hangar by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrOther shots:
Loved this one
The Pakistani Flight in Aviation <3 by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrKarachi - Previous Terminal 1 and ATC Tower:
Jinnah International Karachi ATC Tower / Terminal 1 by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrAir Indus's grounded fleet parked at OPKC:
Air Indus Fleet by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrAP-BKE, Vision Air B737-200 looking lonely at Karachi:
AP-BKE Vision Air Boeing 737-200 by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrShaheen Aircraft parked at OPKC:
Shaheen A320 & B734 At OPKC by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrCapture of the day, RA-82042 Volga-Dnepr Antonov An-124-100:
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
RA-82042 Volga-Dnepr Antonov An-124-100 by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
RA-82042 Volga-Dnepr Antonov An-124-100 by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrAP-BKY (ATR-72) and another ATR 42 getting ready for her next destination:
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrRight on taxiway M to continue to Stand 12 for our shutdown.
Fire Department / Emergency Services:
In-Flight: Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Wing View by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrAfter the disembarkation of all the passengers, I was able to get these shots of the cabin and with the cockpit crew:
Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Cabin View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
Airblue A320-214 AP-EDG Cabin View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
Airblue A320 AP-EDG Cabin View by Shujaa Imran, on Flickr
Cockpit Crew - ABQ403 - OPLA - OPKC - AP-EDG by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrHad another friendly chat with the FO, convinced an ASF security guard to let me take a photo of our aircraft with a DSLR
, and I was on my way to the baggage arrival area.
Airblue Airbus A320-214 AP-EDG Parked At OPKC by Shujaa Imran, on FlickrOverall was an amazing trip, the friendliness of the cockpit & cabin crew, alongside an amazing aircraft led to an spectacular adventure, and look forward to flying Airblue on my return trip soon!
Rating:
Check In - 8/10
Boarding - 9/10
In-Flight Ambience - 7/10
Cleanliness of Cabin - 8/10
Friendliness of Crew - 9/10
Overall - 8/10
Thanks for watching, and as always, suggestions / feedback / tips are requested!
Happy flying
