Traffic

Horizon Air commenced operations between Kalgoorlie and Ayers Rock on April 9 with a weekly service using Cessna 441 equipment. From late July Horizon will increase the number of flights operated weekly between Perth and Kalgoorlie from 12 to 14. Horizon has replaced Cessna 441 VH-SMO in its fleet with Cessna 441 VH-LEM which has been leased from Ashton Mining.

Impulse Airlines Beech C99 VH-OXD was noted at Sydney on June 1 carrying the full colour scheme of Ansett Australia. On June 14 Impulse announced a closer alliance with Ansett which took effect from July 1. From that date Impulse aircraft officially carried the colours of Ansett Australia while all Impulse flights operate under the Ansett AN flight designator.

Kakadu Air Services took delivery of GAF N-24A Nomad ZK-ECM at its Jabiru base on May 26 with the Nomad later being registered VH-KNA. The Nomad will be utilised by Kakadu Air mainly on the uplift of tour groups visiting the Northern Territory however in late July/early August it will be operated on Kakadu Air’s proposed RPT service connecting Jabiru with Cooinda, Darwin and Katherine. Kakadu Air was formed in 1981 and presently operates a fleet of 11 aircraft – Cessna 207 VH-GKZ, -KAX, -LFU, -NIV, -UBW; Cessna 210N VH-TFL; P-68B VH-PFP; P-68C VH-UUP; Cessna 402B VH-KQA, -TWX and GAF N-24A VH-KNA.

Kendell Airlines Metro II VH-WGX flew from Wagga to Bankstown on May 17 on delivery to International Air Parts of Sydney. In turn International Air Parts has leased VH-WGX to Newcastle Aviation with the Metro noted the following month wearing the colours of Newcastle Aviation. Metro IIs VH-WGY and VH-BIS which are planned for withdrawal from Kendell service in July will follow VH-WGX to International Air Parts.

Majestic Airways commenced operations on the Bundaberg to Brisbane route from June 14 with 19 return flights weekly scheduled between the two ports. At the same time Majestic introduced into service its second Mohawk 298, VH-HIX.

Sydney Harbour Seaplanes DHC-2 Beaver floatplane VH-AQU sank at its moorings in Rose Bay on May 26 when high winds hit the area.

Tamair Metro III VH-NEK was named ‘Tamworth Country Queen’ at Tamworth on June 21. Metro III VH-NEM departed Tamworth on June 25 for Kuala Lumpur where it will operate on lease to Asian Pacific Airlines.

Pacific Island Fleet Changes

Air Caledonie International dry leased Qantas Boeing 737-376 VH-TJD from May 22 thru May 27 inclusive while its own Boeing 737-33A F-ODGX was undergoing maintenance with Qantas in Melbourne.

Airlink finally took delivery of EMB-110P2 P2-ALX from Eastern Australia Airlines at Tamworth in early July. Another addition to the Airlink fleet is DHC-6-200 P2-RDE which was purchased from Talair on June 4. After refurbishment at Townsville the Twin Otter was registered P2-ALS before delivery to Airlink in Rabaul.

Menzies Aviation based in Auckland has sold its GAF N-24A ZK-ECM to Kakadu Air (as previously mentioned) as VH-KNA. The Nomad was reported ferrying from Brisbane to Jabiru via Longreach, Mt Isa and Tindal on May 26. As a replacement for the N-24A Menzies Aviation has purchased an EMB-110P1 from Aeromil. This aircraft was delivered to Aeromech at Maroochydore in early June as N130EM.

Milne Bay Air took delivery of Dornier 228-200s P2-MBV ex N267MC and P2-MBW ex N268MC on June 11 to bring its fleet type to six. Milne Bay has also ordered a Beech 1900D which is planned for delivery to Port Moresby in early August. The Beech 1900D concerned is msn UE-106 which is a new production aircraft to be registered P2-MBX with Milne Bay Air. King Air B200s VH-OXA and VH-OXL which were previously operated by Oxley Airlines joined the Milne Bay fleet on June 1. These late model King Airs have replaced in the Milne Bay fleet King Air 200s P2-MBM and P2-SMB which were operated on lease from Skywest Aviation and have thus reverted to their former Australian registrations of VH-TLX and VH-SPQ respectively.

Polynesian Airlines Boeing 767-269ER 5W-TEA entered service on June 9 when it operated flight PH4639 from Apia to Rarotonga and Papeete. The Boeing, which was purchased by Polynesian from Kuwait Airways through Fortis Aviation arrived in Sydney from Kuwait and Singapore on May 13 as flight KU8415. After repainting and refurbishing by Qantas 5W-TEA departed Sydney for Apia on June 8 still using flight number KU8415. Boeing 767-333ER C-FMWP operated its last service for Polynesian out of Sydney on May 15 with the aircraft later being returned to Air Canada on termination of its lease. Between May 18 and June 5 Polynesian leased DC-10-30 equipment from the Dallas, Texas based Express One International with F-OKBB and OH-LHA being noted.

Biz/Prop News

For the second month in a row we are able to record some movement in this sector of the industry so perhaps there finally is some light at the end of the tunnel.

The Jewel supermarket chain has operated Merlin IIIB VH-AWU for a number of years however in May it took delivery of Cessna S550 Citation S/II VH-IWU. The Citation was last operated by Carl Healy & Associates of Colchester, Vermont as N820FJ. Another prospective Citation operator is the Adelaide based Arrowcrest Group. For a number of years Arrowcrest has operated Beech King Air B200 VH-ARZ however in May the aircraft was sold to King Air Services in Sydney with the registration being changed to VH-JJR. It is reported that Arrowcrest has reserved its former registration of VH-ARZ for its new bizjet.

Citation 500 VH-HVM which was owned by Yulgibar Holdings and was based at the Melbourne Jet Base has been sold to Rosemount Wines in the Hunter Valley. By the time this is read it is expected that the Pel-Air Falcon 20C VH-JSZ will have commenced operations with Christmas Island Airlines. The Falcon will replace in service PA-31T VH-DRV which was previously used by Christmas Island Airlines. In July Traffic we mentioned that Tilling Associates had purchased a Cessna 560 Citation V Ultra to replace its present Cessna 560 VH-NHJ. In light of this it is interesting to note that in March Tilling Associates’ Learjet 31A VR-CHJ, which has also visited Australia, was reregistered VR-CGS.

King Air B200 VH-OXA and VH-OXL which were previously operated by Oxley Airlines and were held in storage by Hawker Pacific were sold to Milne Bay Air on June 1. Noted at Muscat on May 9 were four Beech King Air 200T aircraft purchased by the Royal Malaysian Air Force through Hawker Pacific. The aircraft concerned were N15509, N80024, N80027 and N80048 and they have since entered service with the Royal Malaysian Air Force as M41-01 thru M41-04 respectively.

Mitsubishi MU-2L F-GDHV which transited Townsville in January this year on delivery to Air Oceania crashed into the sea near Tahiti-Faa airport on May 28 with all five persons on board being killed.

Qantas/Solomons Boeing 737 Swop

Solomons Airlines and Qantas have come to a mutual agreement over a Boeing 737 equipment exchange as a result of the Honiara based airline having difficulty in meeting its monthly lease payments on its ILFC Boeing 737-400. The agreement sees the Solomons Boeing 737-4Q8 H4-SOL joining the Qantas fleet while Qantas Boeing 737-376 VH-TJB now operates for both Solomons and Qantas. Solomons introduced the Boeing 737 into service in June 1990 when 737-2T5 H4-SAL was leased from ILFC. In May 1992 the Boeing 737-2T5 was replaced by the current Boeing 737-4Q8 H4-SOL which was a new production aircraft. Initially H4-SOL flew for both Solomon Airlines and Royal Tongan however this agreement was later dissolved. H4-SOL was withdrawn from Solomons service on June 16 with the aircraft being flown to Melbourne for repainting and refurbishment before entry into service with Qantas. Now registered VH-TJV and named ‘Swan’ the ex Solomons aircraft entered service with Qantas on July 1.

Boeing 737-376 VH-TJB, which still carried the colours of Australian Airlines, was withdrawn from service on May 27. VH-TJB was then surprisingly painted in the full Solomons colour scheme and named ‘Guadalcanal’. Resplendent in the Solomons scheme VH-TJB operated its first flight for Qantas on June 11 as QF644 from Melbourne to Cairns while its first flight for Solomons came on June 18 as IE701/ QF271 from Brisbane to Honiara. Present schedules show VH-TJB operating for Solomons on Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday while the aircraft flies for Qantas on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. On Mondays VH-TJB flies for Qantas in the morning and for Solomons in the afternoon.

Australian Airlink Bae 146 Fleet Update

Australian Airlink is to lease three BAe 146-200 and two BAe 146-300 from National Jet Systems in Adelaide. Presently Airlink operates BAe 146-100 aircraft VH-NJC, -NJR, -NJY and -NJZ which are also leased from National Jet Systems. Airlink will base the three BAe 146-200s VH-NJG, -NJH and -NJJ in Brisbane and Canberra while the two BAe 146-300s VH-NJL and -NJM will be based in Perth and Darwin. The BAe 146-200s, which will be operated in an 8/68 business/economy configuration, were previously operated by Meridiana, while the BAe 146-300s, which will operated in an 8/79 configuration, have been in storage since coming off the production line. Whether the four -100s presently in service will be retained on delivery of the three -200s and 2 -300s has yet to be ascertained.

Airline News

Air New Zealand Boeing 767-204ER ZK-NBJ has been transferred to LOT/Poland for the northern summer as part of a long standing lease arrangement. As NZ1050 ZK-NBJ departed Auckland on May 13 for Nadi, Honolulu, Los Angeles and Chicago where the aircraft was handed over to LOT. Boeing 737-219 ZK-NAR which was retired from Air New Zealand service in March after termination of its lease from ILFC is now believed headed for TACA International Airlines of El Salvador and not SAETA of Ecuador as first thought. ZK-NAR was planned to ferry across the Pacific from Auckland to San Salvador in mid June.

Ansett Australia Boeing 747-312 aircraft due on delivery from Singapore Airlines in August will be registered VH-INH and VH-INJ, these being ex 9V-SKD and 9V-SKA respectively. Boeing 737-33A VH-CZU was delivered on May 29. As AAA5981 VH-CZU was ferried from Dothan Alabama to Melbourne via San Diego, Hilo, Pago Pago and Nadi. The two Fokker 50 aircraft that were to be leased to Raj Air of Bombay have been painted in Ansett colours though both aircraft now carry Ansett Australia titles. Fokker 50 VH-FNA was also noted at Melbourne on June 15 carrying Ansett Australia titles. By the time this is read Raj Air Fokker 50 VT-RAA will have returned to Melbourne where it will rejoin the Ansett fleet as VH-FNF.

Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services took delivery of Boeing 737-33As CS-TKF and CS-TKG on May 16 and May 17 respectively. The same day the two Boeings were leased to the Madeira, Portugal based airline Air Columbus. Qantas Boeing 747-338s VH-EBT and VH-EBY returned to Sydney on June 24 and June 23 respectively on termination of their wet leases to Garuda Indonesia. VH-EBT was then planned to return to Qantas service on July 10 after being painted in Qantas colours while VH-EBY was due back on line in late August. Former Qantas Boeing 747-238Bs VH-EBA and VH-EBB which are presently in storage in the United States could be flying again soon with new startup airline Star Airlines Express of Los Angeles. Qantas is planning to accept delivery of Boeing 767-338ER VH-OGN ‘City of Devonport’ at Seattle on August 16 and Boeing 767-338ER VH-OGO ‘City of Queanbeyan’ on August 25.

Return Of Frigate Bird

It is quite a coincidence that after commenting on the loss of Grumman Widgeon VH-WET from Australia to Papua New Guinea that we can report in this issue the arrival of a third Grumman on delivery to the Paspaley Pearling Company. On June 5 Grumman Frakes Turbo Mallard N73AH ferried into Darwin from Noumea and Cairns on completion of its ferry flight from Fort Lauderdale in Florida. N73AH is no stranger to Australia as the Mallard was originally imported in March 1983 by Air Whitsunday as N2419X. Later registered VH-JAW and named ‘Frigate Bird’ it operated from Airlie Beach until purchased by Vowell Air Services of Tyabb in 1986. Vowell, who later became Helicopter Resources, based VH-JAW at Karratha where the Mallard worked on a resources contract. In late 1989 VH-JAW was retired at Tyabb and in June the following year it was registered N73AH before being ferried to Fort Lauderdale where the Mallard was parked until its recent return to Australia. With the Paspaley Pearling Company N73AH has reverted to its previous registration of VH-JAW.

Also imported into Australia in this period were three Cessna 208 Caravans. The aircraft concerned were N9824F msn 00227 which is reportedly for Ngaanyatjarra Air in Alice Springs, while N3212D msn 00003 will be used for parachute jumping in Queensland. The third Cessna 208 imported has been registered VH-PRW and will be operated by Monkey Mia Airlines in Western Australia. Arriving at the Victorian Helicopters hangar at Essendon on June 2 was Kawasaki BK 117B JA-6668. To be registered VH-BKL this is the third of its type to be imported this year by Victorian Helicopters.

Spaceship Regos Recall Past Era

Ansett Australia’s new Boeing 747-300 ‘Spaceships’ have been allocated registrations once proudly worn by Douglas airliners of an era long past. The two 747-300s are due to be delivered to Australia in August, and will be registered VH-INH and VH-INJ, registrations previously worn by a DC-6 and a DC-4 respectively. The original VH-INH was delivered to Australian National Airways in 1952. Named Bungana, it later became part of the Ansett-ANA fleet from 1957. Between February 1960 and August 1966 INH was leased to TAA under Two Airline Policy regulations that saw TAA in return lease Viscounts to Ansett-ANA. INH was ultimately sold to Sterling Airways in Denmark, before being destroyed on a fire dump in Copenhagen in March 1972.

DC-4 VH-INJ was first delivered to Ansett in 1963. Built in 1946 it had previously served with SAS as Sigmund Viking, and then with JAL as Zao. In 1965 it was converted in the UK into a Carvair freighter (featuring the raised flightdeck and nose freight door). INJ remained with Ansett until 1973. Following its sale INJ changed hands many times, its final operator being Air Cambodge of Cambodia. It was in Cambodia at Phnom Penh in 1975 that INJ was last noted, derelict and abandoned.