November 2010

Atlas Air 747-400 on the Anchorage to Miami route

Boston - November 12th, 2010

We’re about six weeks from the start of our 20th Anniversary year for which we have lots of exciting things planned. I’m planning on posting a newsletter here every month so you know whats going on at Just Planes.

Last May we went through a major equipment upgrade. As a result, we’re filming cockpit programs in High-Definition and will be using multiple cameras for more comprehensive flight coverage where needed. New programs will be released in Widescreen. We also installed the latest in high-definition editing technology in our Just Planes studios in Boston. Results of all this will be visible shortly!

In July, we filmed our first high-definition program and we are in final production for release hopefully in 4 weeks or so. I’m convinced that this program will instantly become the number one seller in our ever growing Flight in the Cockpit collection. The combination of the airline, the aircraft type and the route flown will make this a sure hit! The first 5000 copies of the DVD will come with our new (2011) 12 page color brochure. Additional “HD” programs have been filmed for release in 2011.  In the meantime we're working on releasing the titles that were filmed prior to the upgrade. We hope to have all those release by the 2nd quarter of next year.

Another important part of our Anniversary year is the re-release of sold out titles. Initially we were looking at a dozen or so titles but the six we’ve released in the last few weeks have been selling so well that we are increasing that number to around 30!

Last, but certainly not least, we are going to use our extensive library which contains video of the last 20 years and more than 200 airlines to bring back some titles that have never made it to DVD. So far you’ve seen titles such as the Cargolux B747, Fine Air DC-8, Challenge B707 but there is so much more where they came from. We have two programs of Crossair, an airline which has been out of operation for nearly 10 years. Our customers are telling me it would be great to see a DVD of this airline and we’re working on that and a whole lot more so get ready for some wonderful memories to make their way back into the series this coming year!

The plan for our big 20th is to release or re-release a DVD every week we’re open. Since September 17th that has been the case and it has worked very well, so expect the coming year to be super busy!

I know I said last but not least a few lines ago... but I still have one item to mention before I sign off for November... As you’ve read, quality is of the utmost importance at Just Planes, but so is pricing and customer service. We’ve priced single DVDs at $25 and $30 for close to 20 years now. On October 8th we released our first program in the new $20 price range. It’s been very well received and has sold really well! Today we already have 25 programs selling for $20 and we plan on bringing you more of these in the future.

I was excited in 1991 when I started Just Planes and the excitement has grown over the years as we added Airlines at an incredible pace, 227 so far!! Today I am beyond excited with what is to come and I’m delighted at the positive feedback from customers we receive on a daily basis. Thank you so much for your continued support and I will be back in December with more news!

Michel Moskal

Producer - World Air Routes