Travelling to London for a concert, I decided to stay an extra two days in the hope that one of them might be sunny and allow me to pay one of London's busy airports a return visit. Finally, a full day of almost clear skies was forecasted indeed - the perfect conditions to head out to Heathrow and see all the heavy metal Europe's busiest hub had to offer. While I was a bit underwhelmed by the traffic diversity and airline variety (albeit on a very high level), the one thing that did surprise me was the amount of brand new airplane models already operating here. So sit back, relax, enjoy the sunshine, and plenty of Dreamliners and A380s! 

 

Good morning, Heathrow! 

One of the first arrivals gets to enjoy the beautiful morning sunshine

Doesn't take long for the locals to follow...

Some more colourful visitors are dropping by as well...

...followed by a first batch of youngsters; 3 787 from around the globe! 

 Others are already starting their journey home again...

 

 ...or starting a new day at their homebase. 

 

With all this new heavy metal, it feels good to see some of the familiar faces again

Virgin's A330 are proudly showcasing the airline's new paintscheme...

...while the A346's rely solely on their grace to impress.

The new stars in the Virgin fleet have only arrived recently though: Their great-looking Boeing 787

 Of course the competiton isn't asleep either...

 ...and relies on heavy metal from both sides of the Atlantic for its longhaul operations!

 Heathrow seems to be A380 central anyway - airlines from around the globe are using their flagships on this prestigious route

 

 

 Another game-changer that BA could no longer afford to miss out on: the sleek Boeing 777-300ER

 The old ladies have to strike some impressive poses to keep up with the youngsters...

...or wear a fancy dress :-)

-

Still, those 787s just look fabulous! 

Okay, it doesn't take much to make the old farts look pretty good as well...

But these youngsters are always trying to steal the show! 

 Admiring the anorexic chick as long as she's with us! 

3 o'clock - time to switch over to arrivals, for some more goodies. Like those 777 that never fail to impress...

Oops, a new star copying their game and trying to get some airtime! 

Far-eastern beauty!

 She will always remain one extremely impressive sight! 

 What she lacks in grace, she makes up with raw power

 My beloved A346 is kind of a combination of both - and with its end nearing, it's constantly growing on me! 

 

 Okay, nothing beats the good old GE90s! 

The new kids are doing their best to please as well though! 

Another one I'd really hoped to catch! 

BA entering the 77W party...

and Turkish going for contrast with their special A330

Don't mind another 747!

Closely followed by another freighter - its birth year of 1985 probably making it the oldest airframe of the set!

30 years of evolution look like this!

I'd still choose the intermediate form though ;)

The super way to finish the day - another A380 of course, arriving just as the clouds start winning the upper head in their fight against the sun, and just in time before I need to hop on the metro to still make it to my concert. 

Stay tuned for some shots from London's busy downtown City Airport following soon!