Tag Archives: Sydney

Jetstar Airways to phase out the Airbus A330-200s on international routes

Jetstar Airways (Melbourne) is replacing its Airbus A330-200s on international routes with new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners. According to Airline Route, the last international A330-200 flight will be on September 15 between Melbourne and Singapore. By this date, the 787s will operate all Jetstar international routes.

Copyright Photo: John Adlard/AirlinersGallery.com. Jetstar Airways (Jetstar.com) (Australia) Airbus A330-202 VH-EBB (msn 522) departs from Sydney.

Jetstar Airways aircraft slide show:

Fiji Airways announces its highest ever operating profit for 2014

Air Pacific Ltd, trading as the Fiji Airways Group (Fiji Airways) (Nadi), has announced its financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014. Mr. Nalin Patel, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Air Pacifc Ltd., trading as Fiji Airways said the airline and its consolidated group (Fiji Airways Group) made record operating profits. The Group comprises of Fiji Airways, Fiji’s National Airline, its subsidiaries Fiji Link & Pacific Call Comm Ltd, and a 38.75% stake in the Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa on Denarau Island, Nadi. Fiji Airways reported another record breaking year in terms of revenue and passenger numbers.

Fiji Airways reported a profit before income tax of $65.2 million compared to a profit before income tax of $8.3 million for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2013.

Air Pacific Ltd (the Group) reported a profit before income tax of $60.8 million compared to a profit before income tax of $14.2 million for nine-month period ended December 31, 2013.
On a net basis, Fiji Airways reported an after tax profit of $55.6m and the Group reported an after tax profit of $52.9m (versus after tax profits of $8.7m and $14.5m respectively for the nine-month period ended 31st December 2013.

These results are more than two times better than the best operating profit achieved in the history of APL back in 2005.

“The airline is already prepared for a busy year ahead, with the addition of a Boeing 737-800 and a new Airbus A330-300 to its fleet, the launch of new routes (Nadi-Wellington) and increased frequencies to key destinations. It is also assessing a new long-haul route in Asia. Our guests can also look forward to further enhancements to our on-board offering, as well as further enhanced customer service at its airports and new Reservations Centre.”

In other news, Fiji Airways is planning to commence a new nonstop route linking Fiji with the Solomon Islands, with Saturday only Nadi – Honiara flights with Boeing 737-700 aircraft from April 4 per Airline Route. The airline currently operates once-a-week flight on the Nadi – Port Vila – Honiara route on Tuesdays.

Fiji Airways aircraft slide show:

Route Map:

The final flight of QANTAS’ historic Boeing 747-438 VH-OJA will be on March 8

QANTAS Airways (Sydney) has confirmed its plans to ferry its first Boeing 747-400, the pictured 747-438 VH-OJA (msn 24354), on Sunday, March 8 to the Historical Aviation Restoration Society (HARS) facility for on-going display. VH-OJA will be ferried to Albion Park (near Wollongong) at the Illawarra Regional Airport as flight 6121 from Sydney. The last flight is expected to take around 20 minutes.

QANTAS Airways aircraft slide show:

Thai to operate its last Airbus A340-600 revenue flights in March

Thai Airways International (Bangkok) is also planning to retire its Airbus A340-600s. According to Airline Route, the last revenue flight for the aging type is currently scheduled for the Frankfurt – Bangkok route as flight TG 293, departing on FRA late on March 28 and arriving the next day at BKK.

Copyright Photo: John Adlard/AirlinersGallery.com. Thai Airways International Airbus A340-642 HS-TND (msn 710) approaches the runway in Sydney.

Thai aircraft slide show:

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 introduces its upgraded international Airbus A330 cabin, also introduces the Orton amenity kit

QANTAS Airways’ (Sydney) first upgraded international Airbus A330 cabin was introduced on January 16 on the Melbourne-Singapore route.

Passengers on flight QF 35 from Melbourne to Singapore were the first QANTAS customers to fly on the reconfigured international aircraft (see video below). It follows the introduction of the first domestic Airbus A330 last month, now operating on east-west services and key domestic routes.

The new A330 experience offers lie-flat Business Suites, designed in collaboration with Marc Newson, with a unique feature that allows customers to recline in their seat from take-off through to landing. A next-generation model of the award-winning Recaro seat has been introduced in Economy, and customers in all cabins will enjoy the latest inflight entertainment technology.

More than half of QANTAS’ 28 A330 aircraft are expected to be refurbished by the end of December 2015, with the project to be completed by the end of 2016.

Customers in Economy will enjoy QANTAS’ new inflight dining experience, launched on Singapore flights earlier this week, offering more choice, larger meals and improved service.

In other news, QANTAS has welcomed Oroton onboard as the latest designer brand to create the airline’s coveted Business amenity kit (above).

The limited edition Business Sleep Collection amenity kit features a signature Oroton styled bag paired with exclusive ASPAR products by Aurora Spa.

The unisex amenity kit has been designed to hold QANTAS’ signature Business pyjamas, eye mask, socks, toothbrush, toothpaste and earplugs comfortably inside.

QANTAS International Head of Customer Experience & Creative Development Kylie Morris said the limited edition Oroton amenity kit was timed to celebrate the inaugural flight of the upgraded international A330 from Singapore to Melbourne.

The QANTAS Business Sleep Collection will be offered to customers travelling in the Business cabin from today on select Qantas international flights from Asia operated by the refurbished A330 aircraft.

Copyright Photo: John Adlard/AirlinersGallery.com (all others by QANTAS). Airbus A330-201 VH-EBA (msn 508) in the old CityFlyer markings arrives at the Sydney hub.

QANTAS aircraft slide show:

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

Video: QANTAS. A sneak peek of QF’s domestic A330 aircraft which gets reconfigured with its lie-flat Business Suites, designed in collaboration with Marc Newson, and next generation model of the award-winning Recaro seat in Economy.

QANTAS Airways bids farewell to the Boeing 767

QANTAS Airways (Sydney) yesterday (December 26) operated its last passenger Boeing 767 revenue flight (flight QF 767) from Melbourne to Sydney. The airline issued this statement:

QANTAS on December 26 said farewell to its last Boeing 767, as the aircraft conducted its final flight – with the special flight number of QF 767 – from Melbourne to Sydney.

QANTAS last 767-300 flight arrives in Sydney (QANTAS)(LR)

Above Photo: QANTAS Airways. Boeing 767-338 ER VH-OGL (msn 25363) is saluted on its arrival in Sydney.

The Boeing 767 has been in the QANTAS fleet since July 1985 and for a time was the ‘workhorse’ of the fleet, carrying nearly 168 million passengers on over 927,000 flights.

QANTAS Head of Flying Operations and Boeing 767 pilot, Captain Mike Galvin, said the 767 had served Qantas extremely well over the past 29 years.

“While it’s sad to say goodbye, it’s definitely time to retire the 767s as we have been bringing in newer aircraft that are more advanced and fuel efficient. It’s also part of reducing complexity in our fleet by reducing the number of different aircraft types we fly from 11 down to seven.”

QANTAS had a total of 41 Boeing 767 in its fleet over the years, which collectively flew more than 1.8 billion kilometers – the equivalent of 2,438 return trips to the moon.

A widebody aircraft capable of carrying about 250 people, the Boeing 767 was used in recent years flying between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, as well as from the east coast to Perth.

Much of the flying done by the Boeing 767s will be taken over by QANTAS’ fleet of newer and larger A330s, which are receiving a major interior upgrade and seat around 300 people. The remainder of the flying will be done through increased utilization of the airline’s smaller Boeing 737-800s.

The final QANTAS Boeing 767 flight departed Melbourne at 5 pm (1700) and performed a flyover of Sydney CBD, before landing at the airport at 6.25 pm (1825).

The last flight was operated with Boeing 767-338 ER VH-OGL (msn 25363). QANTAS has sold four Boeing 767-338 ERs to Boeing Capital which are reportedly going to WestJet.

Top Copyright Photo: John Adlard/Airlinersgallery.com. VH-OGL once wore this special New Wallabies rugby team color scheme. VH-OGL taxies past the camera at Sydney.

Below Copyright Photo: Rob Finlayson/AirlinersGallery.com. Rob Finlayson got this unique view of VH-OGL making its special low pass over the famous Bondi Beach in Sydney before landing.

Below Copyright Photo: Rob Finlayson/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 767-338 ER VH-OGL (msn 25363) arrives in Sydney to the traditional water cannon salute.

QANTAS aircraft slide show:

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

Malaysia Airlines suspends the trading of its shares as it becomes an entirely-owned state airline

Malaysia Airlines (Kuala Lumpur) has suspended the trading of its shares. The beleaguered airline which is majority owned (70 percent) by the state investment fund Khazanah Nasional, is acquiring the remaining shares. The fund will delist the stock and take it private according to the Business Insider.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Malaysia Airlines aircraft slide show:

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

The ordeal of United Airlines flight UA 863 to Australia

United Airlines (Chicago) flight UA 863 from San Francisco to Sydney did go as planned. That is an understatement for the 251 passengers on board the flight.

The aircraft, a Boeing 777-200 ER, after the long flight from San Francisco to Sydney was diverted to Canberra due to debris on the runway at Sydney. The runway at SYD was closed for only 35 minutes but two United aircraft were on reserve fuel and had to divert. The flight when it was arrived at Canberra was unable to process its passengers by Customs and Immigration because they were unavailable to process the passengers at the mainly domestic airport. The flight crew also was out of legal flying time. The passengers were stuck on the tarmac for 7 hours. Some passengers had been traveling for over 30 hours.

Read the full account from ABC News: CLICK HERE

Read the passenger accounts on #UA863: CLICK HERE

Top Twitter Photo by Catherine Devine: Passengers were feed on the tarmac.

United Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery):

QANTAS Airways’ “RetroRoo” arrives in Sydney

QANTAS Airways (Sydney) released this statement about its first retrojet “RetroRoo” arriving in Sydney:

The newest addition to the QANTAS Airways fleet has touched down on Australian soil, proudly carrying a retro livery and bearing the name of trailblazing former CEO James Strong.

The design is a flashback to the livery that adorned QANTAS Boeing 747s in the 1970s and is a flying tribute to mark seven decades of the Flying Kangaroo logo, which falls this month.

QANTAS Airways CEO Alan Joyce joined past and present staff and executives, Boeing executives and other guests to welcome the aircraft after it was given a water cannon salute from Air Services Australia.

The aircraft is named after former CEO James Strong. James was instrumental in the making of the modern QANTAS, including the merger with Australian Airlines.

James Strong was QANTAS CEO from 1993 to 2001 and later served on the QANTAS Board until his death in March 2013. His wife Jeanne-Claude and son Nicholas were at the hangar to christen the aircraft.

“QANTAS aircraft are traditionally named after Australian places, with the exception of our fleet of Airbus A380s, which are named for Australian aviation pioneers. We’re very proud to break with tradition to name this aircraft James Strong – another great leader of the Australian aviation industry.”

The new Boeing 737-800, the 75th of the aircraft type, will begin services across the QANTAS domestic network from next week. It is the 11th new Boeing aircraft that the QANTAS Group has taken delivery of this year.

The delivery of the “retrojet” coincides with the week of QANTAS’ 94th birthday, which was celebrated on Sunday November 16. The Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited (QANTAS) was registered as a business on November 16, 1920.

Update: VH-XZP entered revenue service on November 22, operating flight QF 611 from Brisbane to Melbourne according to Australian Aviation.

Copyright Photo: Rob Finlayson/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-838 VH-XZP (msn 44577) “James Strong” (now with a bowtie) sits proudly on the Sydney ramp.

Video: