GLOBAL SPOTTING REPORTS
FRANCE
Paris CDG - Jul 2016
LANDSIDE
The mound has been built on and spotting is now difficult. The are a couple of spots in the same area close to where the Hilton is where there are stairs up the embankment. Most movements should be seen from here although maybe not all easy to read off.
Terminal 1 has decent views. Walking around the departures level outside gives you views of this stuff as well as views of T3 and distant views over to T2. Traffic on the westerly runways should be read off and traffic on the easterly runways can be seen in the distance.
Terminal 2 has some views inbetween the C and E gates. Traffic using the easterly runways can be seen but anything else will be missed. You can walk across to the other side of the terminal which is inbetween the D and F gates and see some stands here. No other views exist in the terminal.
AIRSIDE
Probably no better than the views you get landside depending what gate you are going from. Expect to miss a lot of stuff.
HOTELS
Hilton hotel – Probably the best place to spot from now. Expensive but all movements can be seen. Rooms high up have views over T1 and T3 and the cross taxiway. Room numbers 803 – 817 odd numbers only. Movements can be seen out to either side on the runways. If landing from behind you then arrivals on the easterly runway won’t be seen unless they taxi around towards you unless you take a walk to the end of the corridor. Traffic on the runways can’t be read off from the room but a walk to either end of the corridor allows views across to the runways and also some other gates. FR24 helps with this. If you join Hilton honours and book the hotel with them then the wifi is free, otherwise its expensive. The hotel is very expensive in general. The train station is only a 5 minute walk away and has a small shop for drinks and snacks. The train station is also convenient for getting to the terminals or for transferring to the city or Le Bourget and Orly.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Air France obviously dominate but a lot of the regional stuff is based elsewhere. Theres nothing of particular interest here. Just a very good mix of traffic from most other European and International Countries including several flights from the North African states. Fedex have a small base.
Paris Orly – Jul 2018
LANDSIDE
The viewing deck on the South Terminal remains open and would appear to be open 24/7. Excellent views of this terminal and runway which is predominantly arrivals. Traffic on the West terminal can’t be seen but its possible to see traffic very briefly as it taxis for the other runway. This means you need to stand at the far end of the viewing deck and keep an eye on movements. However once you have everything that's in you can just concentrate on the arrivals. Saying that this time they where departing from this runway.
AIRSIDE
Orly West - Air France Domestic departures lounge. Limited views but one runway can be seen along with the cross taxiway so most stuff can be seen on its way in or out.
HOTELS
Ibis Budget hotel – 5 minute walk from the South Terminal. Its not high enough to see over the South Terminal but all movements on the runway should be seen and read with decent optics. Alternatively there are views to the east overlooking some stands and remote stands where Transavia park several aircraft for the night. Runway movements would also be seen but require SBS.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Air France have a base including several long haul aircraft. HOP base a few ATRs out of here along with several CRJ1000s.
Transavia are based and most of the fleet can be seen in a morning. Corsair are also based and Aigle Azur and Air Corsica have a few flights. Weekdays have a few other regional flights with B1900’s.
Air Carabies had 5 flights and there are regular flights by the North African carriers throughout the day. However once you have the based stuff it quickly starts to repeat itself. The airport wifi will help to see if theres anything worth waiting for.
Paris LBG
Nice - Jul 2019
LANDSIDE
Theres not a whole lot of views from the terminal areas.
The Biz ramps can be seen by walking along the Promenade Des Anglais. It’s a bit of a walk especially from terminal 2. However the area between terminal 1 and 2 has views of some stands and Biz as well. Once you get on the other side of terminal 1 there is just one long line of Biz to keep walking past. They have put mesh up on the fence to make it difficult to see but its still possible to see everything. Plenty of holes had been poked through it but they have tried to patch these up.
There is a shopping centre, CAP 3000, just to the west of the airport. Bus no 52 from the Promenade De Anglais takes you there for 1 Euro 50. Theres no views of the stands but movements can be seen. There are some seats outside the shopping centre or you can try and find a spot along the rocks next to the sea. Not as good as it used to be due to building works. There is a supermarket in the shopping centre for food and drinks and is also good for getting supplies for the hotel room.
This time I stayed in the centre of Nice. When arriving from this direction there are excellent views of arrivals and you can sit in a bar along the front. If departing in this direction you would need sbs which may be problamatic with all the Biz.
AIRSIDE
Terminal 2 had good views and all movements as well as several Biz stands can be seen.
HOTELS
The Ibis Nice Aeroport Promenade has good views. There is another Ibis on this road so make sure you book this one. Rooms on the 5th floor have views and most should be ok. Room 515-518 seem to be the best. The windows are quite small so you do have to pay attention to whats going on as things can be easily missed. However the windows do open so you can hear things coming. Several biz can be seen parked across the road from the hotel. The hotel is located most of the way down the biz ramp so it’s a fair walk from the terminal. If you want to visit the shopping centre mentioned above there are bus stops close to the hotel. If you take a walk onto the road running parallel to the promenade behind the hotel then you can find some shops and eateries.
A bit further away I noticed the Radisson Blu had balconies that would provide good views of the approach and you could probably read off some of the Biz from there.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Not that busy in terms of Airliners. The main reason for visiting is for the Biz and your likely to see 70 or 80 in a day.
Marseille - Jul 2019
LANDSIDE
I didn’t visit the terminal area this time. Several yeas ago views existed so it may be the same now.
If you have a car its possible to get views from the town of Marignane on the opposite side of the airport. Boulevard Francois Berenguer leads to the perimeter fence and I had no problems parked up here. Previously Securite Civiles had CL415s and DHC8s that could be seen from here but nothing seen this time. If you continue past the town there are a few hangers on this side of the field that may be worth exploring. Take a look at google maps for directions. An Air Inter Mercure and a Caravelle remain derelict here.
From the terminal area, the road leading around towards cargo provides some views but there’s nowhere to stop and park up here.
AIRSIDE
HOTELS
There are a few close to the terminal area but I’m not sure if any have views.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Not particularly busy on the airliner front. Air Corsica have a few flights with A320s and ATRs and Twin Jet have a couple of B1900s based. HOP send the occasional ATR and Volotea send some B717s here. The most interesting visitors are probably a few flights a day from the North African countries.
Toulouse – Jul 2019
LANDSIDE
The terminal has decent views of the runway and across to some of the airbus facilities. There is a small observation area upstairs and also a restaurant with views.
The multi storey has good views and additional areas can be seen from there.
A car is required to get a lot of the airbus stuff. Driving around the various hanger facilities will get you a lot more numbers. However you will still miss quite a bit as there are several ramps with no views or limited views due to buildings and hangers. There are a couple of good observation areas. One being on top of the hill near the delivery centre and a couple of car parks near the runway threshold. Driving around is a bit complicated and its easy to get lost trying to find your way to these places.
Airbus offer a couple of tours. An A380 tour and also a panoramic tour. The Panoramic tour is not as good as it may sound. It misses out several flightlines but will get you some additional stuff that you can’t see from the perimeter including some ATR fuselages.
AIRSIDE
Similar views to landside.
HOTELS
Several hotels within waking distance to the terminal. Not sure if any have views.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Not much to see in terms of normal airline movements. A few HOP ATR’s and CRJs may be of interest along with a few flights by the North African carriers.
Airbus and ATR Production is the obvious reason to visit and its possible to log 80 or 90 in a day.
A building close to the Fast Hotel not far from the terminal has some old fuselages. An A340 section is on the roof with an ATR fuselage of F-WEGB inside.
F-WXXL A380 is stored engineless.
Toulouse Francazal
A small airfield about 20 mins drive away. Also does maintenance work on ATRs and some of the new ATRs get stored here for a while. Drive into the airport entrance. In front of you is a guard hut with barriers. Its not manned. If the barriers up drive on through. If not it may open automatically as does the exit barrier. Drive to the very end and there are good views of most the ramp. Drive back out of the barrier and turn towards the control tower. Anything else should be seen from here. If you can’t get through the barrier then you can walk. There are some distant views from the perimeter. I logged 29 ATRs.
Lourdes
Perpignan
