2018 was a year for the record books for all of us at Sam Chui Aviation. I have recently reflected on my travels for 2018. Last year, I have managed to fly 142 flights and traveled nearly 330,000 miles. In 2019 we will continue to bring you great content as we continue to grow. Each of us here at Sam Chui Aviation is looking forward to keeping you informed and trying new products to provide the best reviews in the sky.
Sam Chui
I am quite a late planner to trips as many trips later in the year happened on the go. So far I've planned my first half of the year travel.
ANA A380
ANA will receive their first of three A380 on order in end of Q1 this year. The ANA A380 will enter service to Hawaii in May 2019.
West Jet B787-9
West Jet will receive their first B787-9 in late January and will enter domestic service to Toronto before going international from Calgary to London Gatwick.
Delta A220
Delta have received their new A220 and I hope to try out the spacious regional jet.
Biman Bangladesh B787-8
I was invited twice last year by Biman to fly on their 787 delivery flight but I couldn't make it due to bad schedule. This year I will go to Bangladesh to explore further and to meet many fans request.
Bhutan
Bhutan boast one of the most challenging landscape for airplane to arrive and depart. I have been long wanting to go there!
India
I have several winners from India on the Sam Chui aviation experience giveaways. I am looking forward to fly with them in 2019.
Indonesia
I am long due for a trip to Indonesia as it is a great diverse country with many of my followers are from there. Looking forward for a fan meet.
Etihad B787-10
United B787-10
Soviet Classics
I am hoping a repeat trip to Ukraine in the summer of 2019 to fly on many Soviet types of aircraft and enjoy many excellent aviation museums there.
Steven Ganeles
Steven managed to travel 110,000 miles last year on 40 flights with 14 different airlines. Heading into 2019 he already has plans to fly around 100,000 miles on 32 flights with 11 different airlines. He is most looking forward his trip across the pacific via a southern routing that will take him from Auckland, New Zealand to Santiago, Chile via Tahiti and Easter Island. You can track his travels on his Instagram @sgtravelss
Hong Kong Airlines A350
Looking forward to testing out 2 mistake fares this year with the first being on board Hong Kong Airlines A350.
Qantas A380 First Class
The last time I flew Qantas first was 3 years ago from SYD-DFW. While the product is unchanged, I'm looking forward to see the service changes and the new pillow menu when I fly from DFW-SYD later this year. Check out Sam's review here.
Air Tahiti Nui 787 Economy Class
Air Tahiti Nui took delivery of its 787's in 2018 and it is stunning. Can't wait to experience the Tahitian service, especially on a non-traditional route like AKL-PPT
LATAM 787 + 767
I'll be flying with LATAM from Easter Island all the way to Johannesburg. I am excited to test out their economy and business class products. Who knows, I might even end up on one of those old Singapore Airlines 777's.
Cathay Pacific 77W First Class
My 2nd mistake fare of the year will be on board Cathay Pacific in First Class. Its been a few years since I flew them on a true long haul. Excited to put the service to the test in both directions! I'm also excited to see what Vietnam has to offer.
Aaron Hilsz-Lothian
Located in Australia, Aaron doesn't have many options for domestic air travel other than the two flag carriers Qantas and Virgin Australia and their low-cost options, Jetstar and Tiger. Domestic travels will occur throughout the year with these airlines, however much bigger plans are in the making for when he graduates school towards the end of 2019.
With the goal to visit the Airbus factory in Toulouse, Aaron has plans to expand his sense of air travel by flying with an airline he's not yet experienced. Options from Sydney or Melbourne include Qatar Airways, Emirates or Etihad with a stopover at their respective half-way hubs. Despite the willingness to fly with a non-Australian flag carrier, a direct flight from Perth to London on Qantas' Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is an option if the price is right.
At this stage, plans are very rough and it's not yet known how he'll navigate around Europe and where he'll fly from in Australia.
A small additional trip to explore New Zealand is also on his list for 2019, with the hope to try out Air New Zealand's narrow-body product from Sydney or Melbourne.
Keep up with him on Instagram @inflight_aviation_news