Photos out my airplane window over Michigan early Monday morning. This was on my long flight from Tokyo to Detroit. Had a 2-hour layover and then flew to Austin.

Just before sunrise:



Sunrise:



After sunrise and flying low over Detroit:



You can tell from my seat position that I wasn't in first class.

Great shots Henry... And welcome back to Texas!! I know the feeling about the regular cabin seats... I've forgotten what it was like to travel first class...

I like those Henry, the knobs in first class don't get to see the cool action with the flaps against the changing scenery, I bet they're too busy watching their share portfolio getting reamed ha ha.
Greg

Greg, yes watching the flaps is pretty cool. Also, I find that photos out the window are more interesting when they show the wing. Fortunately, the plane was new and the windows were pristine.

John, we were lucky and got the seats at the front of a section (exit row) so had lots of legroom so didn't feel cramped at all. I tend to get up many times during a long flight to stretch and walk around so when I can I try to get these sorts of seats. Of course, most people think the same way so I only occasionally get them.

I can't justify spending all that extra money for first class. I haven't checked prices lately, but I remember years ago seeing that they were 3-6 times more than economy class. On some domestic flights the first class seats are hardly any different though. Certainly for international flights there is a big difference though. Just as an example, I just checked kayak.com to compare economy and first class round trip tickets from Austin to Tokyo. Economy is about $1700 and first class is about $9200. Whew, not worth it to me personally. Think about what kind of camera gear you could get for the $7500 price difference or, even better, think of the great trip + cool camera gear you could get for the $7500 price difference.

As it was, in Japan it was cheaper to buy round trip tickets than one way tickets so I reluctantly bought round trip tickets for us and we just won't use the return part.

Great set Henry, as always. Thank you.

nice shots and no noticicable reflections in cabin windows.
mikehawthorne

I was trying not to get any, but in a couple of other photos there were a few.

Great pictures Henry - I especially like the colours of the dawn shot .

Thanks, Birma. It was a beautiful sight out the window. Often, airliner windows have lots of fine scratches on them, but this was a new plane and there were no scratches, smudges, or dirt on it. Very clear and inviting me to take a few photos as we were approaching the end of the long flight.