Commercial Aviation — 2017 Photo Contest Entries
December 13, 2017
Prototype Preflight
The internal ballast tanks of an Embraer E190-E2 prototype are filled with tons of water by a fire truck in preparation for another test flight in the early morning, at Embraer Unidade Gaviao Peixoto Airport in Brazil.

Chasing A Fish?
An A321 shadows another Airbus aircraft in a cycled approach to London Heathrow Airport during a cloudy morning rush hour.

Russian Help For Wildfires In Chile
This Ilyushin IL-76TD from Russian emergency assistance agency Emercom arrived in Chile during a siege of wildfires in January 2017. This aircraft flew 42 sorties in Chile. The image depicts this aircraft with firefighters on the Chilean Air Force ramp at Arturo Merino Benitez Airport in Santiago.

Fly Me To The Sun
As the sun sets, this airliner takes off directly toward it from Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel, and nearly vanishes in the bright light.

Brussels After The Rain
Rainbow at Brussels Airport after a short storm.

C&L Aviation Group
Regional aircraft maintenance.

Final Drop
The final drop before retirement for this Lockheed P2V aircraft was with red-, white- and blue-colored water to represent the U.S. flag, at Missoula (Montana) International Airport. The former U.S. Navy aircraft later was used to fight forest fires for Neptune Aviation.

S-64F Sets Tower Over Knipple Glacier
An Erickson S-64F Skycrane sets up a bridge section for the Brucejack Powerline Project in British Columbia.

Twisted Dash Eight
An Air Greenland DHC-8-200 is serviced for its next flight at Ilulissat Airport in Greenland.

Coming And Going
Air Greenland DHC-8-200 and Eurocopter AS350B3 Ecureuil are parked at Qaarsut Airport in Greenland.

Low Approach
Ural Airlines Airbus A321 is on final approach to Tivat, Montenegro.

Southwest Departure From San Diego
This air-to-air photo of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 was taken from a helicopter.

Golden Sunset
Airbus Beluga F-GSTA taxis at Albert-Picardie Airport in Meaulte, France.

Fly Me To The Moon
A Smartwings Boeing 737 flies past a full moon on its way from Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands to Prague.

Through The Alps
Swiss International Air Lines Bombardier CS100 climbs to 11,000 ft. from 8,500 ft. during a special mission at the Ski World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Balloon Preparation
Balloon preparation for a flight at sunset.

Southwest 1480 Above Dallas
Southwest Airlines Flight 1480 turns on approach to Dallas Love Field.

Full Moon
Ibex Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 flies past a full Moon after takeoff from Tokyo Narita Airport.

Layers . . .
Moscow-based photographer Vladimir Voronov shot this image of a Sukhoi Superjet 100.
The subjects of these photos aren't just airliners, but also include civilian-operated firefighting aircraft, helicopters and even a balloon—all operating in commercial service.
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Descriptions of photos are provided by the photographers. Although we make corrections when possible, we are unable to verify every detail provided with the photos or to research photo subjects.