Happy New Year! With 2025 here, it’s time to continue the tradition of taking a look back at what aviation-related things I did last year.
I mainly write these posts to have something to return to in the future and remember some of the aviation-related activities I did. They are some of my favorite ones to go back to and re-read. That said, I hope you enjoy reading them too and if they inspire you to take some trip, even better.
Here are the previous annual reviews in case you want to see them: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Before continuing with the 2024 review itself, I’d like to wish you all the best in 2025 and thank you for reading this blog. I’d also like to thank my family and friends for supporting me (not only) in this hobby and in growing KN Aviation.
Miles, Types, Airlines
In 2024, I flew a total of 48,734 miles spread across 41 flights. While I took one flight more in 2024 than in 2023, the total number of miles was slightly lower than 2023’s 52,058.
ANA was the top airline for me in 2024 both in terms of distance flown (15,569 miles) and times flown (10). JAL and Austrian Airlines were tied in the second place with four flights on each. Over the year, I had a chance to try eight airlines for the first time: Airlink, Avion Express Malta , Ethiopian Airlines, New Central Airservice, South African Airways, Toho Air Service, Toki Air, and Turkmenistan Airlines.
The most common aircraft type during my travels in 2024 was Airbus A320-200 with five flights. Boeing 737-800 was the second most common with four flights. I added six aircraft types to my logbook for the first time: Airbus A220-300, Boeing 737 MAX 8, Embraer ERJ-135 and ERJ-140, Leonardo AW139, and RUAG Do-228NG.
A Safari Trip with My Dad
My non-aviation travel “bucket list” is, at just three items, not that long. I’m happy that I was able to make it shorter last year by crossing one of the items, safari, off the list. Antarctica and space remain on the list, hopefully to be checked off at some point in the future.
As for safari, I took my dad along for the trip and we had a great time. It is hard to describe the experience in words. Exciting. Beautiful. Unforgettable. In fact, I cannot wait to do another safari trip, ideally next year or the year after. This time around, it would be great to go not only with my dad but also my wife, daughter, and mom. I think everyone should go at least once.
While the experience on the ground in South Africa was great, I was happy to have been able to mix in some aviation experiences as well. I used some ANA miles to book my dad and I business class flights from Vienna to South Africa and back (on Austrian, Swiss, and Ethiopian Airlines).
In South Africa, we flew on South African Airways and Airlink. The latter gave me a chance to fly on Embraer ERJ-135 and ERJ-140 for the first time.
Lastly, to position to and from Europe, I flew a variety of airlines. The most exciting of those by far was Turkmenistan Airlines, which I flew from Milan to Bangkok via Ashgabat. A bit too exciting, perhaps, with our plane encountering technical issues after take-off from Ashgabat Airport and having to dump fuel and return.
I started writing articles about the trip already but it has been taking me a while due to other commitments. I hope to finish the trip report series over the next couple of months.
Disneyland Paris and Slovakia on ANA R2D2 Star Wars Jet
The other long-haul trip of the year was our annual Christmas trip to visit my family in Slovakia. With both my wife and myself, as well as our daughter, being Disney fans, this time around we decided to spice up the trip with a visit to Disneyland Paris. Needless to say, a brief stop in Paris before “flying home for Christmas” might be a new Christmas tradition for us.
To keep things easy, we decided to book non-stop Tokyo Haneda – Paris Charles de Gaulle and Vienna – Tokyo Haneda on ANA. Not only was it the fastest option but it was also among the cheapest, something we appreciated given that this was the first time that our daughter required her own seat. As a bonus, we were lucky to fly on the R2D2 Star Wars Jet on the way to Paris.
For the short hop from Paris to Vienna, I booked an Austrian flight using United miles.
We stayed the first night after our arrival in Paris at the Hilton Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, which is just a short shuttle ride and walk away from the airport. I booked the stay using 50,000 points. At Disneyland, we stayed at the Disney’s Newport Bay Club, which is a short shuttle bus ride away (or as we found out on the last day, an even shorter walk) away from the parks.
I will likely review one of the ANA flights (the legroom on the 787-8 was excellent) and the airport hotel.
A 28-Hour Whirlwind Trip to South Korea
The third international trip I did in 2024 (the first one of the year, in fact), was a 28-hour trip that started with the thought of wanting to visit the relatively new Delta Sky Club at Tokyo Haneda Airport.
To be able to do so, my friend (who could not join in the end) and I booked Korean Air flights to Seoul Incheon and back using Delta miles. I then added a quick roundtrip from Seoul Gimpo to Jeju, which allowed me to fly on the Airbus A220 for the first time, as well as log another flight on the (last flying airframe of the) non-ER 767-300.
Alongside accomplishing the main missions of the trip, I also got to review a number of other lounges in both Tokyo and South Korea, as well as meet up with a friend and briefly visit the great National Aviation Museum of Korea located just a short walk away from Gimpo Airport.
Toki Air Inaugural, Izu Island Hopping & Other Domestic Trips
In addition to the international trips, I also did a couple of domestic trips, starting with an end of January trip to Niigata to catch the first revenue flight of Toki Air, a start-up airline connecting Niigata with other Japanese cities using ATR aircraft. With it being my first inaugural (or farewell) flight in a while, I enjoyed it very much as I do not do as many of those nowadays as I used to.
The inaugural flight took me from Niigata to Sapporo Okadama. I flew from Haneda to Niigata via Osaka Itami and from Sapporo New Chitose to Haneda on ANA.
The other major domestic “flying” trip was one that I had on my to do list for a long time – flying within Tokyo on a prop, a helicopter, and a jet. The trip was about as much fun as it gets flying within Japan on scheduled flights.
It started with a New Central Airservice Dornier Do-228 flight from Tokyo’s lesser known Chofu Airfield to Oshima, one of the Izu Islands that are located off the coast of Tokyo but administratively part of the metropolis. I then continued to Hachijojima via Miyakejima and Mikurajima on Tokyo Ai-land Shuttle, a helicopter island hopping service operated by Toho Air. Finally, I flew on an ANA 737-800 from Hachijojima to Haneda.
Separately from that, I did a quick trip with Philippe (The Full Gull) who finally got to visit Japan and spotting trips to Sapporo and Fukuoka.
With Philippe, we flew from Haneda to Osaka Itami on the 767-300ER. Then we took the 500 Series Shinkansen to Okayama before he continued to Fukuoka and I flew back to Tokyo. I was lucky (or rather I booked the ticket after seeing) that my flight was operated by JTA’s Jinbei Jet.
Plane Spotting in Japan
Plane spotting wise, while I would have loved to go at least once a month, I only visited Tokyo Haneda eight times including doing two hangar tours – one with ANA and one with JAL – that I managed to book last minute. Separately, I managed to snap a few photos while waiting for flights I took.
The first session of the year was to photograph the wreckage of the JAL A350-900 that collided with a Japan Coast Guard Dash 8. While I have seen mixed responses on social media to people doing that, I do believe that as tragic as the disaster was, there is nothing wrong with recording it, it is a part of aviation history after all.
I also went to the airport to get photos of the last flight of the first JAL Boeing 777-300ER to retire arriving from Sydney and to see what a recently built park next to the end of runway 34L is like. A morning at the airport with Philippe was memorable too thanks to its extremely great visibility and a beautiful view of Mount Fuji.
As for Narita Airport, I went twice (excluding the times I went to take a flight).
The first time was during cherry blossom season to try and get some photos with more colorful backgrounds than usual before picking up my mom and dad who were arriving to visit from Europe.
The second time was later in the same month, April, for the full day. Highlights of that session included an Asiana A380, Cargolux Italia 747-400F, and an Air Macau A321neo in a special livery.
Separately from that, I spent a couple of days in Sapporo with a couple of friends, did a daytrip to Fukuoka, and spotted for a few hours at Osaka Itami Airport during my trip with Philippe.
While the main purpose of going to Sapporo was to see the Asiana 747-400 at New Chitose Airport, we also visited Okadama Airport briefly to photograph Hokkaido Air System’s ATR 42s. I was also happy to see Fuji Dream Airlines’ E170 registered JA04FJ at New Chitose, as it was retired shortly after.
In Fukuoka, the highlight for me was seeing the T’Way Pokemon Jet. However, the whole day was very enjoyable with clear blue skies.
With only ANA, JAL, and Ibex serving the airport, traffic at Osaka Itami is nothing to write home about. However, that is made up for by the excellent plane spotting locations that offer great and close views of aircraft.
Lastly, I took a few photos at Niigata, Okayama, Tokyo Chofu, Oshima, Miyakejima, and Hachijojima before and between the various flights I took. All of those except for Chofu were airports I visited for the first time.
Plane Spotting Around the World
The plane spotting I did outside Japan was fairly limited too.
In January, during my quick trip to Seoul, I snapped a photo of a Korean Air A220 at Gimpo Airport before my flight to Jeju. I also visited the aviation museum near the airport briefly after arriving back from Jeju. I then revisited the museum for a longer time at the beginning of my trip to South Africa.
The trip to South Africa was when I did most of the spotting outside of Japan last year.
Before even getting to South Africa, I had a chance to not only visit the museum in Seoul but also take some night photos at Beijing Capital Airport, spend a couple of hours next to the approach path to runway 27R at London Heathrow, visit Stuttgart Airport’s observation deck, and enjoy a relaxing few hours in the Swiss Senator Lounge in Zurich Airport’s Terminal E, which has an incredible open air terrace.
In South Africa, my dad and I visited the excellent South African Airways Museum at Rand Airport, which is home to not one but two Boeing 747s including the rare 747SP. Then, I spent a few hours at the indoor viewing area at Johannesburg Airport.
While it does not offer the best conditions for photography, it was easily accessible (especially since we were staying at a hotel connected to the terminal) and it offered views of traffic that I mostly haven’t seen before given that it was my first proper visit to Africa. I especially enjoyed seeing Airlink’s Embraer ERJ-135s and ERJ-140s.
Speaking of those, I photographed a couple of them at Kruger Mpumalanga Airport too. The Priority Pass lounge at the airport had a nice terrace that offered views of the apron and there was also a spot next to the terminal that offered nice views of landing aircraft.
Lastly, while making our way back to Europe (and Japan) from Africa, I took a couple of photos at Cape Town and a photo of an Ethiopian Airlines 777-200LR at Addis Ababa Airport, where we transited. At Cape Town, the highlight by far was an Eswatini Air ERJ-145.
What Are the Plans for 2025?
While I do not have as much time to write on KN Aviation as I used to, I hope to be able to catch up with reviews and other articles from last year’s trips as soon as possible. As mentioned earlier, I still have a number of reviews from my trip to Africa left to write, as well as some reviews of hotels we stayed at in Japan in the second half of the year.
As for travel in 2025, I already did a quick domestic day trip to ride on the Series 500 Shinkansen and do some plane spotting in Fukuoka. Next month, I have a visit to China planned to finally fly on the COMAC C919 and C909 (formerly ARJ21). I also booked a flight from Beijing to Shenzhen that is scheduled to be operated by a Boeing 747-400. While chances are the type will get changed, I certainly hope it will not.
Separately from that, there are a couple of other aviation-focused trips I hope to take at some point during the year:
- Type-hunting in Europe: The days of Lufthansa’s 747-400s and A340-600s, as well as Condor’s 757-300s are numbered. I would like to log some flights on those along some of the rarer turboprops, like the Fokker F50, that operate flights in Scandinavia.
- Starlux business class: I am keen to try Starlux’s business class, probably on a one-stop itinerary from Kumamoto or other city in the south of Japan to Macau, which is bookable for the same amount of Alaska Airlines miles as a non-stop flight between Tokyo and Taipei.
Lastly, we also plan to go to Slovakia with family for Christmas as usual. Given that we enjoyed our time in Disneyland Paris last year, we will likely stop by the City of Lights on our way again. This time, perhaps, we will also pay a visit to the city itself rather than just the theme park.
