The trip to Quito would be done on KLMs flight KL753 which leaves at 23:35 in Amsterdam and arrives in Quito at 08:00 the following morning. Unfortunately this is not a non-stop flight as the MD-11 stops for a crewchange in Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles (BON) and has Guayaquil, Ecuador (GYE) as a destination before the final flight to Quito. As the stop in Bonaire is at 3 in the morning this means that it is quite a long and tiring flight.

After arrival in Quito the high alitude soon became apperant. If you don't want to become light in the head you better slow your pace. This effect wears off after a few days but can be quite annoying in the beginning. Not being put off by this we decided to drop the bags at the hotel (Hotel Savoy Inn) and catch one of the old aircraft still flying in this country. Icaro had a 737-200 flight to Manta a little later for a good fare so we decided to make a quick visit to Manta (MEC), not knowing where it was at the time!

As soon as we boarded the flight I enquired about the possibility of getting the jumpseat and I was quickly invited to join the pilots up front for the flight to Manta as well as the flight back. Needless to say, the view could not have been any better! The Icaro staff in Manta was informed about our quick turnaround so we were already checked in and were on the plane again in less than 30 minutes after deplaning. After arrival I decided to get my tickets for a morning rotation to Coca (OCC) on the Fokker 28, again on Icaro, much to the amusement of the staff at the ticket desk. The rest of the day was spent shooting from the hotel.

The narrowbody aircraft are what Quito makes interesting. There are 4 domestic airlines in Ecuador and all have their main base in Quito. The largest of the four is TAME which is the civillian arm of the Ecuadorian Air Force. Their fleet was recently renewed and consists of A320s and EMB-170/190s and one 727-200. VIP is the smallest airline and operates 2-3 Dornier 328 aircraft.

Aerogal and Icaro are the airlines that truly make Quito a UNESCO world heritage site from an aviation point of view. Icaro operates 2 737-200s, one Fokker 28 and a Dash 8-200 on domestic routes. Aerogal operates 9 737-200s and a single 727-200 mainly on domestic routes. With these noisemakers banned from European skies it truly was a joy to hear real aircraft again.The Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana (Ecuadorian Air Force) usually flies in C-130 Hercules and HS-748s during weekdays although their flights are hard to predict. The TAME 727-200 operates for them as well during weekdays.

Internationally the day starts off very well with a 727-200 Freighter from LAS Colombia giving the city a wake-up call at around 8:30. Other international airlines operate more up-to-date material and include TACA, Copa, Avianca, American Airlines, Continental, LAN and Delta. UPS provides a weekday service with a 757-200PF to Miami connecting to their worldwide network.

The following morning I got to fly the only Icaro Fokker 28 to Coca (OCC) and back with a total time out of the aircraft of a mere 20 minutes. As with Manta, I had no idea where this destination was, just that it was served with the aircraft I wanted to fly on. Upon arrival in Quito I decided to book myself on the afternoon TAME 727 flight to Esmeraldas (again, no clue) and go back to the hotel for some photography.

That is where the problems started. Upon leaving the hotel for my flight it was raining but during the short drive to the hotel heaven really opened flooding the airport as can be seen above. While it makes for a once in a lifetime shot it did cause my flight to be cancelled and me not getting on a 727 as it would not operate on monday.

On monday we started off with some photography from the hotel and waiting out the rain. Early in the afternoon we decided to go to the museum on the airbase at the airport. We were able to shoot all their museum pieces as well as the Iberia A340-600 that is being scrapped there and an active Air Force HS-748. That last shot gave us some trouble but in the end it wasn't a real problem.

Tuesday was marked by out flight to Bonaire on KLM (featured in another report) but I wished I would've stayed longer. Ecuador is an amazing place, not only for aviation but in every aspect. I will be returning there to see more of the country as well as chase those special aircraft that fly the skies of Ecuador!