Traffic

Air Kangaroo Island has leased Emb-110P1 Vh-Fcg from National Jet Systems for operations on its route between Adelaide and Kangaroo Island. The Bandeirante, which was previously operated in New Guinea by Nationair as P2-Nab, was ferried to Cairns in February after reverting to its previous registration of Vh-Fcg.

Air Swift took delivery of Cessna 404 Vh-Jor at Cairns on April 10. The Cessna, which was previously operated by Lgw (Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter mbH) of Dortmund, Germany as D-Ieee, was ferried to Australia by a German crew.

Eastern Australia Airlines Emb-110P2 Vh-Wdf, which has been in storage for some months at Tamworth, has been sold to the Papua New Guinea regional operator Airlink. Registered P2-Alx, the Bandeirante departed Tamworth for Rabaul in late April. For the week ending April 1st, Eastern Australia carried 10,205 passengers, this being the first time that Eastern have carried more than 10,000 passengers in one week.

Flight West Airlines Emb-110P2 Vh-Xfm was noted in late April carrying special markings to promote the proposed Townsville Cowboys Rugby League team.

Gawne Airlines ceased operations on the Shepparton to Melbourne Tullamarine route on April 5 reportedly due to poor loadings. With Gawne only commencing operations on March 17, they surely must go down on record as the shortest-lived regional airline.

Hazelton Airlines will take delivery of a fifth Saab 340B in late June with the aircraft planned to enter service on July 10. The aircraft concerned, Vh-Tch msn 362, is a new model Saab 340B Plus from the production line at Linkoping, Sweden.

Impulse Airlines, previously Oxley Airlines, is painting its aircraft in a new colour scheme which with the exception of a plain dark blue fin is identical to the colour scheme recently adopted by airlines in the Ansett Australia regional group. An overseas magazine reports that Beech 1900D N82896 msn Ue-69 was noted at Paris, Le Bourget in January this year carrying the markings of Oxley Airlines. To date, however, there has been no sign of this aircraft being delivered to Australia.

Kendell Airlines withdrew Metro Ii Vh-Wgv from service on March 21 and later in the month sold the aircraft to Jetcraft in Brisbane who will use the aircraft on its freight contracts.

Link Airways sold its Wagga to Hay and Deniliquin route to Peninsula Airlines in mid-April. Link is still operating services from Wagga to Coolangatta and Brisbane; however, flights are only scheduled during school holidays and over the Christmas and New Year period.

Majestic Airlines commenced operations between Brisbane and Hervey Bay on May 2 using Mohawk 298 Vh-Hei.

Peninsula Airlines took delivery of Pa-31 Vh-Egf at its Essendon base on April 12. Hamilton and Warrnambool were added to the Peninsula network during April, while the Deniliquin to Wagga route came on line on April 15. Peninsula has been allocated the Iata code Zn.

Phillip Island Air Services added Tyabb to its network in mid-February with the inclusion of that port on their four times weekly service connecting Phillip Island with Burnie/Wynyard.

Skywest Airlines took delivery of Saab 340B Se-Kxa msn 311, at Perth on April 20. Se-Kxa, which has been leased by Skywest to cover heavy maintenance on the Jetstream 31 fleet, will be operated on routes from Perth to Albany, Esperance and Kalgoorlie. The Saab, which was previously flown by Gotia Shuttle Express, will initially operate with Skywest using its Swedish registration. The planned maintenance on the Jetstream 31 fleet, three of which are the highest-houred aircraft of their type in the world, has also resulted in Skywest Airlines leasing Citation 550 Vh-Wgj from Skywest Aviation and King Air 200 Vh-Skn from Flight West Airlines.

Southern Australia Airlines is advertising for sale Cessna 404s Vh-Bpo and Vh-Lad. Both aircraft are presently based at Essendon on the Victorian Air Ambulance contract.

Tamair Metro Iii Vh-Nek, which was previously operated in the United States as N615Av, was planned for delivery to Tamworth in mid-May. On May 2, Tamair commenced operations on the Tamworth to Forster route with four return services weekly.

With Air New Zealand And Qantas To Mecca

Air New Zealand and Qantas are playing a key role in this year’s Islamic ‘Haj’ with the uplift of thousands of Indonesian Muslim pilgrims between Jakarta and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Air New Zealand has ‘damp’ leased their Boeing 747-219B Zk-Nzz to Garuda Indonesia from mid-April for 11 weeks. Air New Zealand has also leased Boeing 747-236Bs 9M-Mhi and 9M-Mhj from Malaysia Airlines with the aircraft then being ‘damp’ leased in turn to Garuda. 9M-Mhj arrived in Auckland on March 21 and 9M-Mhi on March 27. Both aircraft were then fitted out in Auckland in an all-economy configuration and painted with Garuda Indonesia titles. For the duration of the ‘Haj’ uplift, the Malaysia Boeing 747s are being flown by Air New Zealand crews.

Qantas has ‘damp’ leased Boeing 747-338s Vh-Ebt and Vh-Eby to Garuda on termination of their two-year lease to Japan Air Lines. Vh-Ebt operated its last flight for Japan Air Lines on March 28 when it flew from Narita to Brisbane as the Jl775. Vh-Ebt then proceeded to Sydney as the Qf212 and on arrival its Japan Air Lines markings were removed and replaced by that of Garuda Indonesia. Vh-Ebt was reconfigured with 483 economy seats before it departed Sydney for Jakarta/Halim as the Qf8530 on April 12.

Boeing 747-338 Vh-Eby operated its last flight for Japan Air Lines as the Jl771 of April 1 from Narita to Sydney. After being reconfigured and repainted with Garuda Indonesia titles, Vh-Eby departed Sydney on April 13 as the Qf8532 for Jakarta. Vh-Eby, which was the third Qantas Boeing 747-338 leased to Japan Air Lines, operated its last service as the Jl497 of April 1 from Narita to Sydney. From then until April 12 when Vh-Eby entered the hangar to be painted in Qantas colours, the Boeing operated for Qantas but still carrying its Japan Air Lines markings.

Airline News

Air Nauru Boeing 737-217C C2-Rn3 flew into Christchurch from Nadi on March 13 for a period of storage. Boeing 737-217 C2-Rn6, which had been static in Auckland, returned to service on March 14 when it operated the On1932 to Nadi and Nauru.

Ansett Australia returned Boeing 727-277 Vh-Ane to service in mid-April after the aircraft, which previously carried Eastwest colours, was painted in Ansett Australia markings. Ansett Australia will add a 20th Boeing 737-300 to its fleet in June with the delivery of Boeing 737-33A Vh-Czu, which is a new-build aircraft leased from Ansett Worldwide.

Ansett Worldwide Boeing 767-33Aer N768Ta will terminate its lease to Taca International of El Salvador in September. The leases of Boeing 757-23As Xa-Skq and Xa-Skr were transferred last December from Aeromextour to Aeromonterrey with the aircraft being reregistered Xa-Smd and Xa-Sme respectively.

Australia Asia Airlines Boeing 747Sp Vh-Eaa entered service on March 26. Qantas Boeing 747Sp Vh-Eab has also been painted in Australia Asia markings. Vh-Eab flew for the first time in Australia Asia colours on April 10 when it operated the Qf29 from Sydney to Denpasar. As well as operating four return services weekly for Australia Asia on the Sydney to Brisbane and Taipei route, the Boeing 747Sps can be seen on the Qf51/52 which operates from Sydney to Brisbane and Singapore. Meanwhile, Australia Asia Boeing 767-338Er Vh-Oga was repainted in Qantas colours in early May.

Australian air Express put Boeing 737-3Q8Qc Vh-Nje into service in mid-April. Vh-Nje, which carries the markings of National Jet Systems, who is leasing the aircraft to Australian air Express, arrived in Adelaide from Auckland on April 3 on termination of its ferry flight from the United States.

National Jet Systems Dhc-8-103 Vh-Nid was withdrawn from Australian air Express operations in April and on the 13th it was ferried to Tamworth for a repaint and refurbishment by Eastern Australia Airlines. National Jet has recently been awarded a three-year contract commencing in May to supply a Dhc-8 to carry personnel and equipment between Perth and the Scuddles Mine. On completion of its overhaul in Tamworth, Vh-Nid will be reregistered Vh-Njd before being ferried to Perth to commence operations. As part of the contract, National Jet Systems will also base a Bandeirante in Geraldton.

Ferry Flights

Dakota Downunder Douglas Dc-3 Vh-Can departed Bankstown on April 7 on ferry to New Zealand where it will operate with Vincent Aviation out of Wellington as Zk-Amy.

South Pacific Douglas Dc-3 N65388, which was delivered from Honolulu in October 1993, was ferried to Camden in late March. It is reported that N65388 will be placed on the Australian register by South Pacific.

Metro Iii N614Av ferried Honolulu to Nadi on March 11 and Nadi to Brisbane on the 12th. N614Av, which is the Mmsa (Multi-Mission Surveillance) demonstration aircraft, previously visited Australia last September/October when it was shown to a number of operators who were planning to bid for the Coastwatch contract.

Talair Dhc-6-200 P2-Rdb, which was stored at Mareeba in North Queensland, was sold in March to Downunder Inc., of Wayneville, Ohio. As N669Jw the Twin Otter departed Cairns on March 24 for Port Moresby on the first leg of its trans-Pacific ferry flight.

Other Twin Otter news concerns Sunflower Airlines in Nadi who has added Dhc-6-300 Dq-Fie to its fleet. Papua New Guinea-based trade store Kss Transport, who presently operates King Air 200 Vh-Ibf, is planning to take delivery of a Dhc-6-300 in late April. The Twin Otter, which was previously operated in Norway by Wideroe as Ln-Fka, will be delivered to Cairns by Scott Aircraft Sales of Minnesota.

Cessna 180H P2-Rog ferried from Archerfield to Lord Howe Island on April 18.

Biz/Propjet News

Falcon 900 N104Fj, which is operated by Brierley Investments out of Wellington, is being advertised for sale by Hawker Pacific. Brierley Investments’ first Falcon 900 was N42Fj, which recently starred in the film ‘The Pelican Brief’; however, in December 1991, N42Fj was traded in on N104Fj.

Learjet 35A Vh-Ult, which is operated by Fleet Support out of Nowra, has been reregistered Vh-Fsw. This brings the Learjet into line with three of the Fleet Support Learjet 35s which already have become Vh-Fsx, -Fsy and -Fsz. The one Fleet Support Learjet now awaiting a change is Vh-Fox.

Cessna 500 Vh-Ljl, which has been based in Christchurch for some months, was registered Zk-Ljl to Pdl Holdings of Christchurch on March 16.

Hawker Pacific presently has in stock a number of new and used King Air aircraft. On hand at Bankstown are King Air 350 N80663, which was delivered in December 1993, and King Air B200C Vh-Ajm, which was previously operated by Oxley Airlines and was returned to Hawker Pacific in mid-1993. King Air B200s Vh-Oxa and Vh-Oxl were also operated by Oxley Airlines and were returned to Hawker Pacific earlier this year.

King Air C90 Vh-Amh, previously P2-Dca, which is in Brisbane, was accepted as a trade-in from the Government of Papua New Guinea last July on their newly delivered King Air 350 P2-Png. Hawker Pacific however are now well placed to serve upcoming contracts for the Coastwatch and the Victorian Air Ambulance with these King Air aircraft in stock. Also with Hawker Pacific is King Air 200 Vh-Myu. This aircraft was traded in last November by Clambeck & Hennessey after they took delivery of their new King Air B200 Vh-Myo. In early April, Vh-Myu was cancelled from the register as sold in the United States; however, before departure, a buyer was found for the King Air in Australia.

Hawker Pacific has also sold four Special Mission King Air 200Tbs to the Malaysian Government. The King Airs N15509 msn Bt-35, N80024 msn Bt-36, N80027 msn Bt-37 and N80048 msn Bt-38 are presently being ferried from Wichita to Malaysia by Hawker Pacific.

Mitsubishi Mu-2N Vh-Mit was cancelled from the register on March 2 as being sold in the United States to a Redondo Beach, California-based company. As of mid-April, however, Vh-Mit continues to be parked at Bankstown still carrying its Australian registration.

A new propjet delivery in this period was Piper Pa-31T N300Bp which ferried from Pago Pago to Auckland on March 9. Later registered Zk-Rom to Airwork in Auckland, the Cheyenne operates out of Wellington on an Ibm contract.

Visit Of The Agar

It is not often that we write about military aircraft in ‘Traffic’; however, this month we have something special to talk about. The launching of a Us Government communications satellite from Cape Canaveral in mid-April brought to Australia four United States Air Force Boeing Ec-135E and Boeing Ec-18B aircraft. These aircraft are operated by the 4950th Test Wing of the Air Force Material Command based at Edwards Air Force Base, California, and all four aircraft have been modified with the very distinctive ‘Duckbill Platypus’ nose which houses a 2m (7ft) diameter parabolic dish antenna. Aircraft with this modification were initially used as Aria (Apollo Range Instrumented Aircraft) for the Apollo/Saturn space programmes; however, when these ended, the aeroplane mission was redesignated as A/Ria (Advanced Instrumented Range Aircraft).

Boeing Ec-18B 81-0891 using callsign ‘Agar 91’ in company with Boeing Ec-18B 81-0894 callsign ‘Agar 94’ arrived in Perth from Diego Garcia on April 14 before departing the following day for Pago Pago. C-18 was the designation given by the United States Air Force to a number of Boeing 707-323C aircraft purchased from American Airlines in January 1982. Of these, at least three, including 81-0891 and 81-0894, are known to have been converted to Ec-18 status with the ‘Duckbill Platypus’ nose. 81-0891 was originally built as a Boeing 707-323C for American Airlines as N7598A and was delivered to them in August 1967 while 81-0894 was delivered to American Airlines as N8403 in November 1967.

Boeing Ec-135E 60-0374 ‘The Bird of Prey’ callsign ‘Agar 27’ flew into Melbourne direct from Diego Garcia on April 16 while Boeing Ec-135E 61-0329 callsign ‘Agar 24’ arrived in Melbourne from Pago Pago on April 18. On the night of the 23rd, Agar 24 and Agar 27 from Melbourne and Agar 91 and Agar 94 from Perth departed on a mission to the south of the Continent. 60-0374 ‘Agar 27’ then departed Melbourne on the 25th for Pago Pago, Hickam and Edwards, while 61-0329 ‘Agar 24’ was planned to follow over the same route on the 28th.

Another interesting military visitor in this period was the Indian Air Force Boeing 737-2A8 2412 which was carrying the Indian Vice President. Using callsign ‘Indian Air Force 2412’ the Boeing arrived in Perth from Denpasar on April 15 before continuing to Sydney the following day.