Planespotting with Dusty: the curious case of the white 737

"Dusty Ventures" (dustyventures) 01/19/2018 at 14:15 • Filed to: planespotting, planespotting with dusty

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I’ve mentioned it on occasion before, but my workplace is across from a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Sometimes !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on the tarmac near the passenger terminal. And then there’s this white 737.

I saw this white jet a few months ago, October or November. It’s extremely rare for anything larger than a Gulfstream to show up at the passenger terminal (which hasn’t had regularly scheduled commercial flights since Skybus folded), but it wasn’t the plane itself that immediately caught my eye. What made the flight stand out was the entrance road to the terminal being blocked off by a car, and a security guard in a high viz vest standing next to the car with a clipboard, only allowing access to the terminal if you were on the list (I even saw a package delivery truck get turned away). I wasn’t able to get close enough to see the tail number, but the plane was memorable enough on its own. White, no obvious branding or markings, large American flag on the fuselage. Between the lack of identification and the security detail I almost wondered if it might be something like a Janet flight, but it didn’t have the now-famous red stripe.

I mentioned this in the comments of one of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! last week, asking if he’d ever seen/heard of such a plane. Tuesday morning the plane was back.

This time when I saw it the plane was just sitting by the fence, not boarding, so there was no security and I was able to drive into the lot, getting the tail number in the process. N314XA. Apparently it belongs to charter airline company Xtra Airways. But virtually all of their planes seem to be branded as such.

Why isn’t this mysterious jet branded as well? And what’s with the oversized flag?

Well now, isn’t this interesting. Apparently this plane was Clinton’s campaign jet (or one of them at least. There was also apparently !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! which is also owned by Xtra). Neat.

When I went to work Wednesday morning the plane was boarding. The security guard was back in the terminal entry road and the terminal was shut down to anyone not on that flight again. There were about 20-25 cars in the parking lot (usually there’s less than five, so safe bet almost all the cars were for the flight). I heard the plane take off around 10:30 and tried punching it into flightradar24. The plane flew to Syracuse, just 200 miles away. Since then the plane has flown to Atlantic City, Jacksonville, Orlando, and Norfolk. No idea if the subsequent flights are part of the same charter or other charters, but I do know the cars are still in the airport parking lot.

So now I’m left pondering. What kind of charter flight takes 25-60 people 200 miles away for two days (and counting), and requires a security detail and effectively shutting down an airport for the boarding process? Also, does anyone else hear approaching helicopters?

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Dusty Ventures 01/19/2018 at 14:21

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Illuminati. Easy answer.

Ash78, voting early and often > Dusty Ventures 01/19/2018 at 14:22

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I’ve never seen this particular RENDITION of the 737 before. I would love to GITMO information as to its usage.

Chariotoflove > Dusty Ventures 01/19/2018 at 14:25

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Nice knowing you, Dusty.

WilliamsSW > Dusty Ventures 01/19/2018 at 14:29

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They’re all just partying in AC.

That, or CarsofFortLangley nailed it, and those black helicopters are here for you now.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Dusty Ventures 01/19/2018 at 14:31

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I don’t know you,m I’ve never met you, good luck with the squad of guys in black suits dropping the the helicopters, which will also be unmarked.

Dusty Ventures > OPPOsaurus WRX 01/19/2018 at 14:47

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Thank you for wishing me luck, my good, good, very close friend

Thomas Donohue > Dusty Ventures 01/19/2018 at 15:07

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You got it to come up on FlightRadar?

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

SmugAardvark > Dusty Ventures 01/19/2018 at 15:10

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The menu they offer to “elite” clients looks sufficient to me.

Let’s all book a trip somewhere.

Dusty Ventures > Thomas Donohue 01/19/2018 at 15:21

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I got that same error message on FlightAware, but FlightRadar24 had it (on the Mobile App anyway)

AuthiCooper1300 > Dusty Ventures 01/19/2018 at 15:28

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According to Wikipedia, Xtra Airways, née Casino Express Airways, and fomerly of Elko, Nevada

[...] quickly expanded its customer base to include sports teams, government agencies, foreign dignitaries, press corps, other gaming properties, and other types of public and private charters. It changed its name to Xtra Airways on December 8, 2005, to better reflect its broader focus. [5]

Frenchlicker > Dusty Ventures 01/19/2018 at 15:53

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I’m going to guess it’s a case of with the right amount of money you can do whatever the fuck you want and this airport is just the most accommodating.

ttyymmnn > Dusty Ventures 01/19/2018 at 16:22

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This is indeed puzzling. Of course, as a charter, it could be just about anything you could imagine. But the security adds an element of intrigue. I’m stumped. Maybe f86sabre has a guess. He’s at least in the airplane business.

Stef Schrader > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 01/19/2018 at 16:25

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Clearly here to release the chemtrails that turn all the frogs gay.

Stef Schrader > SmugAardvark 01/19/2018 at 16:27

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Y’all had me at “Lobster ravioli served with vodka sauce” and “Maryland lump crab cakes.”

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Stef Schrader 01/19/2018 at 16:27

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Oh! Is that what’s causing that? I thought that it was Aliens.

SmugAardvark > Stef Schrader 01/19/2018 at 16:30

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Me personally, I’d go for the Beef Wellington. Done correctly, it is what I assume the non-heathens among us declare to be like a divine revelation.

Chariotoflove > Stef Schrader 01/19/2018 at 17:05

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Frogs are gay? TIL...

not that there’s anything wrong with that...