Tag Archives: Boeing 747-400

Southern Air retires its last Boeing 747

Southern Air (2nd) (Cincinnati) has retired its last Boeing 747 freighter. According to ch-aviation, the former World Airways Boeing 747-412 (F) N743WA (msn 26562) was retired to Marana, Arizona on February 3.

Previously Southern Air retired its last Boeing 747-200F freighter (N783SA) on January 5, 2013.

Southern Air streamlined its fleet as part of its Chapter 11 reorganization.

Southern Air now operates a fleet of four Boeing 777F freighters and four 737-400 freighters mainly for DHL.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Sister ship Boeing 747-4EVF ER N558CL (msn 35171) lands at Anchorage.

Southern Air aircraft slide shows:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-UnitedStates-3/Airlines-United-States3-QZ/Southern-Air-2

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-UnitedStates-1/Airlines-UnitedStates-1/DHL-Southern-Air-2nd

QANTAS Airways to return to Vancouver with seasonal services

QANTAS Airways (Sydney) has announced it will return to Vancouver for the northern hemisphere summer season on the Sydney-Vancouver route starting on June 20. The restored route will be operated three days a week.

QANTAS will operate 33 roundtrip flights between Sydney and Vancouver – 13 in June/July, and 20 from mid-December to late January 2016, operated by a three-cabin, 364-seat refurbished Boeing 747-400 aircraft.

In other news, QANTAS is also making improvements to its Honolulu services with schedule changes to improve arrival and departure times in Honolulu. The new times will open up more onward connections to other Hawaiian Islands, and will also facilitate a fifth weekly service to operate on Mondays during peak seasons, from September 7 – October 19, 2015 and November 30, 2015 – January 25, 2016.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 747-438 ER VH-OEJ (msn 32914) in the special “Proudly Supporting the Socceroos” livery arrives at Los Angeles International Airport.

QANTAS aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Australia/Airlines-Australia-AZ/QANTAS-Airways

QANTAS Airways to preserve its first Boeing 747-400 in Australia

QANTAS Airways (Sydney) has saved historic Boeing 747-438 VH-OJA (msn 24354) from a Victorville scraping. Instead, the first QANTAS Jumbo will be preserved with the Historical Aviation Restoration Society (HARS) at Illawarra Regional Airport at Albion Park, south of Wollongong.

The airline issued this statement:

In a coup for New South Wales tourism, QANTAS will donate its first Boeing 747-400, known as City of Canberra, to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) in March.

It will be the first 747-400 in the world to be preserved for public display and the biggest aircraft by far to be on show at the HARS facility at Illawarra Regional Airport, Shellharbour.

HARS is home to the largest collection of both flying and static heritage aircraft in Australia and run by more than 450 volunteers, including dozens of retired QANTAS employees, who dedicate their time to the maintenance and restoration of some of aviation’s most iconic aircraft.

The newly retired 747 represents a key part of both Australian aviation and QANTAS history after it blazed its way in to the record books in 1989 for the longest nonstop commercial flight from London to Sydney in 20 hours, 9 minutes and 5 seconds. The record still stands.

Ironically, QANTAS will deliver the aircraft, registration VH-OJA, in early March on what will be the airline’s, and perhaps the world’s, shortest ever delivery flight with an expected flying time of approximately ten minutes from Mascot in Sydney to Illawarra.

The delivery flight from Sydney International Airport to Illawarra Regional Airport will be the first time a Boeing 747 has landed at the regional port. The QANTAS pilots operating the final flight will undergo special simulator training to prepare for the delivery and the airline is working with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to finalize approvals for the special landing.

Over the past few years, QANTAS has been gradually retiring its older Boeing 747s. Nine of its newest jumbos, the last of which was delivered in 2003, have been refurbished and will continue flying into the future. Since 2008, the QANTAS Group has taken delivery of almost 150 new aircraft, lowering its fleet age to an average of just over seven years.

The aircraft will join an impressive lineup of famed aircraft now located at HARS including a Lockheed Super Constellation, Catalina, Douglas DC-3 and DC-4 and a Desert Storm US Army Cobra.

The official handover will take place on March 15, 2015 to coincide with HARS monthly open days.

QANTAS Boeing 747-400 VH-OJA facts:

· 25.3 years in service

· 13,833 flights

· 4,094,568 passengers carried

· This aircraft has flown nearly 85 million kilometers, which is equivalent to 110.2 return trips to the moon

· VH-OJA was QANTAS’ first Boeing 747-400 aircraft and was named the City of Canberra

· It was delivered to QANTAS on August 11, 1989 and made its debut flight on August 16, 1989 from London to Sydney

· On Thursday August 17, 1989, it set the record for having flown the longest nonstop flight (London-Sydney) of any commercial airline (flight number QF 7441)

· The flight and subsequent media attention around the world at the time underlined QANTAS’ role as the leader in long-range commercial aviation.

· All of QANTAS’ Boeing 747-400 aircraft were named ‘Longreach’ as a tribute to our place of origin and to demonstrate the long-range of the aircraft.

In other news, QANTAS together with Samsung Electronics Australia has launched a new trial entertainment service that uses Samsung virtual reality (VR) technology to give customers a spectacular three dimensional experience in a 360 degree style interactive format.

QANTAS’ VR headsets will transport customers to an immersive virtual world at the click of a button and showcase the sights and delights of network destinations, new QANTAS products and the latest inflight blockbuster movies.

As part of the trial, a number of Samsung Gear VR headsets will be made available to customers in Sydney and Melbourne International First Lounges as well as in the First Class cabins on select A380 services. QANTAS will be the only airline to offer a virtual reality entertainment experience inflight.

The trial will run for three months to assess customer feedback on how this kind of VR offering might add to their overall travel experience on long-haul flights.

Top Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. VH-OJA (msn 24354) was a frequent visitor to Los Angeles before the Airbus A380s.

QANTAS aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Australia/Airlines-Australia-AZ/QANTAS-Airways

Centurion Cargo to return to Amsterdam

Centurion Cargo (Miami) will restore the Miami-Amsterdam route on February 19 with Boeing 747-400F freighters per Cargo Facts. The carrier dropped its only European route last year. The company is restoring services and redeploying its previously parked aircraft.

Centurion Cargo aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-UnitedStates-1/Airlines-UnitedStates-1/Centurion-Cargo

Delta to bring the Boeing 717 to the West Coast, will resume Atlanta-Honolulu Boeing 747-400 flights

Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) is bringing its leased Boeing 717-200s to the U.S. West Coast on four routes. Los Angeles-Las Vegas, Los Angeles-Portland, Oregon, Salt Lake City-Kansas City and Salt Lake City-Las Vegas will be changed to Boeing 717-200 equipment starting on June 4 per Airline Route.

In other news, Delta is bringing back the Boeing 747-400 on the Atlanta-Honolulu route starting on May 1.

Copyright Photo: Gilbert Hechema/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 717-231 N927AT (msn 55077) departs from Montreal (Trudeau).

Delta Air Lines aircraft slide (current livery):

EVA Air retires its last Boeing 747-400 Combi

EVA Air (Taipei) today (January 5) operated its last Boeing 747-400 Combi revenue flight. Flight BR 868 operated from Taipei (Taoyuan) to Macau with the pictured Boeing 747-45E (M) B-16409 (msn 28093). This leaves three passenger Boeing 747-45E aircraft (B-16410, B-16411 and B-16412) which are due to be retired from passenger service later this year.

The unique combi model seats 28 in first class, 86 in business and 162 in economy with a special cargo section.

EVA Air continues to operate the Boeing 747-400 as a freighter for its cargo division.

EVA Air aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Asia-1/Airlines-Asia1-AE/EVA-Air

Virgin Atlantic flight VS 43 to Las Vegas returns safely to London Gatwick with a main gear problem

Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) flight VS 43 from London (Gatwick) to Las Vegas today encountered a technical problem after departure with its main landing gear. After dumping fuel over the Atlantic Ocean and circling south of LGW, the Boeing 747-400 landed safely at LGW. One of the main gears was not fully locked.

Virgin Atlantic tweeted this message:

Virgin Atlantic can confirm that flight VS 43 has landed safely back at Gatwick. Our priority now is to look after our passengers and crew.

Above Twitter photo by GorseFires Collectif. Boeing 747-443 G-VROM (msn 32339) circles over Brighton with the unsafe gear.

Below Copyright Photo: Robbie Shaw/AirlinersGallery.com. A close-up of the main gear moments before it landed at London Gatwick. The right outboard main gear did not deploy fully.

Read the full report from The Guardian: CLICK HERE

Video of the landing minus one main gear:

Virgin Atlantic aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Europe-3/Airlines-Europe3-QZ/Virgin-Atlantic-Airways

Pullmantur Air rebrands as Wamos Air

Pullmantur Air (Madrid) on December 17 was rebranded as Wamos Air while repainted one of its Boeing 747-400s.

Copyright Photo: José Luis Celada Euba. Boeing 747-412 EC-KSM (msn 27178) pictured at the Madrid base was the first to be repainted.

Pullmantur Air aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Europe-2/Airlines-Europe-2/Pullmantur-Air

Malaysia Airlines’ third quarter loss widens to $167.4 million

Malaysia Airlines (Kuala Lumpur) reported its third quarter loss expanded to MYR 576.1 million ($167.4 million) for the three months ending on September 30, deepened from a deficit of MYR 375.4 million ($109.1 million) in the same quarter of 2013.

The government-owned airline has been suffering from the aftermath of two tragic Boeing 777-200 accidents.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

In other news, previously the company issued this statement on November 10 concerning missing flight MH 370 concerning media speculation:

Malaysia Airlines refers to recent news articles speculating on an official declaration of loss of flight MH 370.

Addressing the speculation to family members via letters, the airline highlighted that any course of action is always guided by the advice of the technical team in charge of the search operations.

The assurances given to us are that the ongoing search and recovery operations will remain and will not be discontinued.

Recent speculation in the press regarding a declaration of loss followed the expression of a personal opinion only. Any information regarding MH 370, the search and recovery operations and any matters related to the missing aircraft will only be communicated by the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC).

Malaysia Airlines is hopeful that we will find closure to this tragedy and we support and thank our government as well as the governments of Australia and China for their invaluable assistance in this time of crisis.

The airline shares the pain and anguish of family members in having to deal and come to terms with this situation, as such we have assured them that locating the aircraft and recovering the flight data recorders remain the key priority. Every party involved in this complex operation is as determined as the families and Malaysia Airlines to find answers to our many questions.

With regard to the level of compensation available pursuant to the Montreal Convention, or similar applicable legal regime, the airline has made it very clear that payments are determined by law to take account of proven passenger and family circumstances and will be assessed accordingly.

Malaysia Airlines and its insurers remain steadfast to ensure that fair and reasonable compensation is paid to the families of all MH 370 passengers in accordance with the law when the families are ready to discuss the issue. We have stated this publicly on many occasions and we reiterate that the airline will honor any commitments that we have made.

The well-being of the family members is always our main priority, and we will continue to communicate on any updates as and when we have them.

Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families of passengers and crew of MH 370.

Copyright Photo: David Apps/AirlinersGallery.com. Malaysia Airlines is down to one remaining passenger Boeing 747-400, the pictured 747-4H6 9M-MPP (msn 29900), which is mainly used as a back-up aircraft for the Airbus A380s.

Malaysia Airlines aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Asia-2/Airlines-Asia2-FP/Malaysia-Airlines

British Airways fits ZEUS, a volcanic ash detector, on a Boeing 747-400

British Airways (London) has issued this statement concerning its part in volcanic ash detection research:

In response to the Icelandic volcanic eruption in 2010 which caused widespread flight disruption to travellers, scientists at the Met Office and Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) have developed a prototype ash detection device, capable of detecting small amounts of ash in the atmosphere. In time, this research could aid ash forecasting and also help airlines more accurately plan their flight and engineering operations.

The device, aptly named ZEUS after the Greek God of the skies, has been fitted on a British Airways 747 and data has already been successfully downloaded from its first flight to Johannesburg and will be analysed by the Met Office. It will continue to fly on long-haul routes around the world for a year, collecting data for analysis.

ZEUS was developed after a pilot in a research aircraft noticed that static levels created by low levels of volcanic ash in the atmosphere caused his hair to stand on end. Met Office and NERC scientists seized on this phenomenon to develop and patent the device which uses measurements of static as a tool to detect ash.

An early prototype of ZEUS has been flying on the NERC/Met Office dedicated research aircraft and a Flybe Bombardier Q400 passenger aircraft since 2012, gathering background data from around Europe. This data was used to demonstrate that the ZEUS sensor can distinguish between the levels of electrostatic charge on the aircraft when flying in normal conditions and when volcanic ash is present.

The advanced ZEUS prototype will be on the British Airways aircraft for a year and will build up a picture of background electric field in normal atmospheric conditions around the globe. When information from ZEUS is downloaded and correlated with flight data – including weather conditions, speed, altitude, location – it can help scientists build a picture of volcanic ash distribution. Aircraft engineers can also use this data to schedule post-flight inspections of engines and aircraft systems.

British Airways’ Captain Dean Plumb said: “We were very keen to be involved in this pioneering research which will be of great value to the aviation industry and beyond. Aircraft regularly encounter small quantities of ash in flights around the world, perfectly safely, and pilots use expert forecasts to plan their routes to avoid more dense ash clouds. ZEUS has the potential to provide a clearer picture of ash distribution and could be used to inform decision making-processes in the event of future volcanic eruptions.”

Ian Lisk, Met Office Head of Natural Hazards said: “This is a very exciting development and a great result of cross-industry collaboration, including British Airways, Flybe, NERC and the Met Office. While further development is still required, we are delighted with progress with this prototype volcanic ash sensor to date and the findings we have so far received from the tests are very promising.”

The Met Office is an expert in aviation forecasting, with responsibility for providing international aviation meteorological services and advice. The London Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC), one of nine VAACs worldwide, is hosted and run by the Met Office as part of its aviation forecast operations. London VAAC provides advice on the likely dispersion of ash clouds emitted from eruptions originating in Iceland and the North East Atlantic, and this information is used by the aviation industry to help make decisions on airspace management.

British Airways aircraft slide show: