Guest Post: AvGeeks Unite!

Todays Guest Post goes excellently with last week’s guest post from Leighton Matthews Guest Post – Plane Pics – A Spotter’s Story. Many who work in the airline industry are enthusiasts, or Aviation Geeks, also known as AvGeeks … and this is brought to light by Amelia Kelly, a flight attendant from Down Under (or I guess its Up Over depending on which side of the planet you’re looking at it from) and the author of the “Tray Table’s” In Case Of Emergency… blog.

I have previously written about her “Tray Table’s” In Case Of Emergency… blog back in September 2009 in this post – Five Flight Attendant Blogs You Should Read.   Since that blog post Amelia has revealed her identity … which was withheld at the time of that post … and continues to write a blog that I love to read.

If you have an interest in airlines, aviation, airports or anything related … You May Be An AvGeek just like Ms. Kelly.  You can follow Ms. Kelly on Twitter at @TraytablesTrvls

Happy Flying!

AvGeeks Unite!

If you’ve been around Twitter for the last few months, chances are you’ve seen the hashtag #AvGeek.

Thinking of the word ‘AvGeek’ (aviation geek) probably conjures up images of a guy with a camera next to an airport fence, taking photos of aircraft through wire-mesh, possibly with radio scanner in hand.

However, the spectrum of “AvGeek” is so much richer than it may appear. Sure, you have the serious “spotters”, who hang around at airports taking photos, recording registration numbers and aircraft makes- all with thousands of dollars in photographic equipment- but they are far from the loner stereotype of years gone by.

In fact, most spotters also have day jobs- computer programmers, bankers, professional photographers, airport workers. The spotting is merely an enjoyable pursuit, born from a love of aviation and all things flying. “Spotting” is far from a sad, lonesome hobby. Many aircraft enthusiasts belong to clubs, social networks and professional associations. Some even make a decent living from selling photographs to the media (and even the airlines themselves).

Aside from the airport fence, AvGeeks can be found in nearly every walk of life. Some AvGeeks enjoy aviation from the passenger’s perspective. Forums like Flyertalk and Airliners.Net are full of trip reports and photos from all around the world, complete with details such as the food eaten, what kind of seats the airline has onboard and pros & cons of individual airport lounges, in-flight entertainment and other perks for travellers. Others collect model aircraft and enjoy trading rare editions with fellow collectors, aided by web sites like Wings 900.

Still others enjoy the crew who fly the skies, with many websites dedicated to flight attendants and their jobs. Of course you have bloggers like myself, along with aviation-themed podcasts covering every subject from life in the sky (The Crew Lounge) to news and reviews in world aviation (Airplane Geeks & Plane Crazy Down Under).

Then there are the AvGeeks who collect not models but airline paraphernalia, from menus to dolls to logo’d crockery. One of the coolest AvGeek websites in my opinion is the fantastic Uniform Freak, created by Cliff, a flight attendant from the Netherlands who owns, I am sure, the world’s biggest collection of airline uniforms past & present. Well worth a browse even if airplanes aren’t exactly your thing!

It’s pretty common for pilots to be AvGeeks of some sort, being that they all have a love of things winged and flying, however a growing breed of AvGeeks reside outside of the cockpit. Flight attendants from all kinds of airlines and countries are growing as a group of AvGeeks. From those who simply enjoy the view from 30,000 feet to those who can identify a plane by sound alone, your flight attendant may well be the person to direct your curious airplane-related question to.

Whether your passion is the aircraft themselves, the travel experience or the people who take you on your journey, you can be sure that as an AvGeek, you are never alone. AvGeeks unite!