Photos of the Week: Adventitious Arrivals

Two planes are always better than one.

Getting two in one shot—particularly one taking off as one lands—is often easier said than done, however. It comes down to one chance to land the perfect shot.

Matthew Slafka was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time with two Delta planes at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. In the foreground a Delta 737-900ER rolls down the runway on takeoff, while in the background, a Delta 757-200 makes its final approach.

Like many major airports around the world, Seattle’s airfield features parallel runways that allow for simultaneous arrivals and departures of planes safely and efficiently—an important feature for airports with large volumes of traffic.

For our second photo, we jump from the Pacific Northwest to across the Pacific where Laura Woodside caught the perfect sunrise from a United 787-9 Dreamliner descending into Auckland, New Zealand from San Francisco. Awesome!

Thanks for sharing, Matthew and Laura!

Our readers continue to pass along shots of unique aircraft, international airports, historical events, gorgeous views and even family vacation photos for this feature. We love them! Keep them coming—you can click here for submission guidelines.

A United 787-9 Dreamliner descends into Auckland, New Zealand during a morning sunrise. (Photo submitted by Laura Woodside)