Sky Briefing #004 — Atlantic Week and a Blue Moon
On Wednesday, AS100 lifts off from Seattle toward Heathrow for the first time: 787-9, nine hours twenty-five minutes, a slot Alaska leased from American Airlines. The same day, Philadelphia sends its first nonstop to Budapest. Four days later, Pittsburgh follows. The Atlantic is not getting smaller. It is getting more doors. And on the last day of the month, the Moon will look smaller than at any point this year.
Skies
The G2 storm delivered. This week: quiet. The forecast from Briefing #003 held: Kp 6–7 between May 15 and 17, aurora visible down to Pennsylvania and Iowa — around 53 degrees geographic latitude. From Tuesday onward the Kp index drops to 2–4. No aurora south of 65 degrees expected. North Atlantic flights this week will not show green on the horizon. Dark and clear instead. That is its own thing.
Blue Micro Moon on May 31 at 08:45 UTC: the smallest full moon of the year. The second full moon of May falls on May 31. At the same time, the Moon sits near apogee — the farthest point of its orbit — making it appear roughly 14 percent smaller in diameter than January’s supermoon. Not dramatic, but noticeable once you know what you are looking for. Night flights on May 30–31 heading east: right window. Heading west: left.
Aviation
Alaska flies to Heathrow for the first time — on a leased slot. From May 21, AS100 connects Seattle with London Heathrow daily: 787-9, 34 business seats, departs 9:40 PM local, arrives 3:05 PM the next day. Alaska’s first UK route. The slot was leased from American Airlines because Heathrow has had no free slots for years and there is no other way in. For Pacific Northwest passengers: real long-haul competition from the home airport, without a connection through JFK or ORD.
Alaska Airlines — SEA-LHR Service
The only US nonstop to Budapest launches Wednesday. American Airlines starts daily Philadelphia–Budapest service on May 21: 787-8, seasonal through October 5. No other US carrier flies Hungary nonstop. Budapest is still cheaper and less crowded than Prague or Vienna. If Prague is the destination: American is launching PHL–PRG the same day.
TravelPulse — American Airlines Budapest
Aer Lingus sends the A321LR to Pittsburgh — eight hours of Atlantic in a narrowbody. From May 25, Aer Lingus flies four times weekly from Dublin to Pittsburgh: year-round, A321LR, 16 business seats, departs Dublin at 4:10 PM local, arrives Pittsburgh at 7:10 PM. Pittsburgh is the latest mid-size US city to get a direct Europe connection without routing through Newark or JFK. What the A321LR is doing right now: opening routes where a widebody was too expensive to fill. Not a compromise. A redrawn map.
Simple Flying — Aer Lingus Dublin Pittsburgh
because you need to know that the shortest route from Pittsburgh to Dublin now goes straight.