Traffic

Aus-Air commenced a three times weekly return service from Melbourne/Moorabbin to Merimbula on December 16.

Australian Commuter Airlines ceased operations on December 13 with its PA-31-350 VH-AUG transferring to Peninsula Airlines operations.

Flight West Airlines took delivery of its fifth EMB-120 Brasilia on December 27 when ZS-MIR, which was previously operated in South Africa by Sun Air, ferried into Brisbane. The Brasilia later entered service with Flight West as VH-XFQ.

Hazelton Airlines took delivery of Metro 23s VH-DMO and VH-HCB at its Cudal base on December 5 after the aircraft ferried in from Pago Pago, Norfolk Island and Sydney. Hazelton took delivery of its fourth Metro 23 VH-HWR at Cudal in late January. Hazelton added a sixth Saab 340B to its fleet in December when it took delivery of VH-SBA which had previously operated on lease to Skywest.

Impulse Airlines’ fifth Jetstream 41 VH-IMS was delivered to Brisbane on December 12. BAe 748-2B G-BCOF ferried from Darwin to Mount Isa and Sydney on November 29 on delivery to Impulse. G-BCOF was later flown across to Bankstown where it has joined Impulse Airlines’ other BAe 748-2B VH-IMI.

Promair ceased RPT services in November and the same month the company was being advertised for sale though it is presently still actively involved in charter operations.

Skywest Airlines terminated its lease on Saab 340B VH-SBA on December 14 with the aircraft then being delivered to Hazelton. Fokker 50 VH-FNF was delivered to Skywest at Perth on November 24 after the aircraft ferried in from Melbourne via Adelaide and Kalgoorlie.

Sunstate Airlines took delivery of its fourth Dash 8-100 VH-TNU in late January. Previously operated by Tyrolean Airways from Innsbruck, Austria as OE-LLM, the Dash 8 will initially be used by Sunstate to cover the repainting of the remainder of the Sunstate fleet. Sunstate is also reported to be considering the purchase of two Shorts 360s for delivery in the first quarter of 1995.

Tamair Metro III VH-NEL was leased to Airlines of Tasmania in early November. Metro III VH-NEM, which has been operating on lease to the Kuala Lumpur based Asia Pacific Airlines since June, returned to Australia in December for maintenance. Metro III VH-NEF msn AC-776B which was planned for delivery in November to be leased to Asia Pacific was never imported with the aircraft reportedly being sold in Mexico. Tamair added Gunnedah to its route network in November with the introduction of a twice daily Metro III service to Sydney via Tamworth.

Seaview Air, which was grounded by the CAA last October, recommenced charter operations on December 9 under the name of Trans Pacific Air.

Air Mauritius A340 Visits Australia

Air Mauritius had the honour of operating the first commercial service by an Airbus Industrie A340 into Australia when on December 21 AI A340-300 3B-NAU arrived in Melbourne on a charter flight from Mauritius. Air Mauritius took delivery of its first AI A340-300 3B-NAT ‘Pailles en Queue’ in May 94 with its second AI A340-300 3B-NAU ‘Pink Pigeon’ delivered on October 28. Operating flight MK950 on December 20 from Mauritius to Melbourne was 3B-NAU ‘Pink Pigeon’. The A340-300 departed the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, Mauritius on schedule at 2300 local (0600/21 EDST) for the 4671nm (8655km) flight to Melbourne. The flight was made under the command of the Chief Pilot of Air Mauritius Capt Dominique Paturau along with Capt Barry Lake from Melbourne. On board were three pilots, one ground engineer, 12 cabin crew and 230 passengers. The Air Mauritius A340 is configured to carry 301 passengers in a 12 First, 35 Business and 254 Economy class cabin. Full tanks on the Air Mauritius A340 is 108,000kg however on the flight from Mauritius to Melbourne the fuel uplift was 71,500kg with the burn up being 62,000kg. Due to favourable tailwinds the planned flight time was 9 hours and 5 minutes which resulted in the ‘Pink Pigeon’ arriving in Melbourne at 1520 local which was 55 minutes ahead of schedule.

Airline News

Ansett Australia took delivery of its sixth Boeing 767-200 at Melbourne on December 24 when -204 VH-RMK arrived on ferry from Seattle via Hilo and Nadi as the AN5981. VH-RMK has been leased from Britannia Airways with an option to purchase and was initially ferried from Britannia’s home base at Luton to Seattle on November 1. On arrival in Melbourne from Seattle VH-RMK carried Ansett Australia titles however the tail of the aircraft was an all-over blue and it was in this scheme that the Boeing entered service with Ansett on December 27. Over the following weeks VH-RMK gradually acquired the full Ansett Australia colour scheme. VH-RMK however like the other aircraft in the Ansett fleet that have been painted in the new corporate livery carries the Australian flag back to front on the starboard side of the aircraft. Following the mishap at Sydney Airport on October 19 Ansett Australia Boeing 747-312 VH-INH was grounded until December 9 when it was test flown prior to returning to service on December 11. Malaysia Airlines Boeing 747-3H6 9M-MHK terminated its lease to Ansett on December 11 after operating AN880 from Kansai. The following day 9M-MHK flew out of Sydney on its return to Kuala Lumpur. Ansett Australia withdrew BAe 146-300 VH-EWJ from service in Brisbane on December 14 after the aircraft operated the AN67 from Hamilton Island. The BAe 146-300 was then transferred to the Ansett New Zealand fleet and after overhaul and repaint in Brisbane it was ferried across the Tasman in mid January as ZK-NZM. Fokker F28-1000 VH-FKA was withdrawn from the Ansett fleet on December 9 with its last service being the AN263 from Mackay to Brisbane.

Qantas took delivery of Boeing 767-338ERs VH-OGN and VH-OGO last August with the aircraft planned to carry the names ‘City of Devonport’ and ‘City of Queanbeyan’. At a ceremony held at Sydney Airport on December 14, however, the two aircraft were christened ‘Partnership’ and ‘Unity’ respectively. Qantas is also reported to have sold F27-600s VH-TQS and VH-TQT, which have been stored in Brisbane for a number of years, to the Sydney based International Air Parts. On December 31 Qantas operated the first of a series of scenic flights to Antarctica from Sydney and Melbourne. The inaugural service was QF2601 flown by Boeing 747-338 VH-EBW routing from Sydney to Melbourne overhead Antarctica before returning to Melbourne and Sydney. On the southbound leg out of Melbourne VH-EBW was airborne for just over eleven hours.

Dc-8 For Australian Air Express

Australian air Express has leased a DC-8-70 freighter from Southern Air Transport to operate its Melbourne to Perth freight service while the Ansett Air Freight Boeing 727-277F VH-RMX which normally operates on the route is laid up for planned maintenance. Southern Air Transport DC-8-71F N872SJ entered service with Australian air Express on January 10 when it operated from Melbourne to Perth as SJ2441. The capacity of the DC-8-71F is being shared equally between Australian air Express and Ansett Air Freight on the four times weekly return service between Perth and Melbourne. It is expected that the Southern Air Transport DC-8-71F will remain in service with Australian air Express until March 10. Ansett Air Freight continues to operate the Arrow Air DC-8-62F N1804 on its four times weekly return service between Auckland and Sydney. On December 21 the Arrow Air DC-8 was noted at Noumea operating as Ansett flight 2849/2850 from and to Auckland, while the following day N1804 operated over the same route this time on lease to Air Caledonie International as the RKL9900/1.

Independent Air Freighters DC-9-33CF VH-IPF was rolled out at Melbourne on January 10 wearing a modified colour scheme. VH-IPF still carries its very attractive yellow and black colours with IPEC titles on the tail however on the fuselage the aircraft now carries a stylised IAF along with the words Independent Air Freighters.

Pacific Air Freighters based in Brisbane were planning to import a Douglas DC-4 VH-PAF, which was previously operated by Millardair in Canada, for freight operations between Brisbane and the Pacific Islands.

Premier Airlines leased DC-8-54F 3D-ADV from African International Airways during November while its Boeing 727-77C VH-TBS was undergoing planned maintenance with ASTA at Avalon. The DC-8 entered service with Premier, who operate on contract to DHL, on November 12 when it flew PN973 from Sydney to Auckland. 3D-ADV operated its last service for Premier on November 28 as PN974 from Auckland to Sydney.

New Zealand Fleet Update

Air New Zealand fleet changes continue at a rapid pace. Boeing 747-475 ZK-SUH which has been leased from ILFC arrived in Auckland on November 9. Air New Zealand is to lease a second Boeing 747-400 from ILFC with the aircraft which will be registered ZK-SUI, planned for delivery in April. It is believed that ZK-SUI like ZK-SUH before it was previously operated by Varig in Brazil. Air New Zealand has terminated its lease on the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 747-236B 9M-MHI with the aircraft returning to Kuala Lumpur from Auckland on December 14 as ANZ6062. 9M-MHI along with sistership 9M-MHJ were initially leased by Air New Zealand in April 94 for operation on the Haj uplift. Air New Zealand took delivery of its fifth Boeing 767-319ER ZK-NCI at Auckland on November 9 after the aircraft flew in from Seattle. Boeing 767-204 ZK-NBJ terminated its lease to LOT/Poland in late November with the aircraft returning to Air New Zealand service. Boeing 767-209ER ZK-NBH was noted at Auckland in December with its Air New Zealand marks removed. It is believed that Air New Zealand has terminated its lease on this aircraft. Boeing 737-2Y5 ZK-NAF, which carries the name ‘Pohowhera’ entered service with Air New Zealand on November 2. Air Malta Boeing 737-2Y5 9H-ABC ferried from Brisbane to Christchurch on December 19 with the aircraft later entering service with Air New Zealand as ZK-NAG. Air New Zealand has terminated its lease on Boeing 737-205 ZK-NAQ with the aircraft departing Christchurch on December 28 for Auckland, Apia and Honolulu. The ultimate destination and new operator for ZK-NAQ was unknown at time of writing.

Ansett New Zealand added the former Ansett Australia BAe 146-300 VH-EWJ to its fleet in January as ZK-NZM. The first Ansett New Zealand aircraft to enter service in the new colour scheme was BAe 146-300 ZK-NZL. BAe 146-200 ZK-NZA is planned to enter the Ansett Australia fleet in February as VH-JJU.

Mount Cook Airline F27-100 ZK-BXF lost its Mount Cook titles just before Christmas with the aircraft planned for overseas sale. Air Post Metro 23 ZK-POF was operating on lease to Mount Cook during November.

Pacific Island News

Air Caledonie International commenced operations on January 10 from Noumea to Auckland and Papeete and return. For this weekly service Air Caledonie dry lease an MDC DC-10 from AOM French Airlines.

Air Marshall Islands plans to take delivery of its two Saab 2000s in April and October. BAe 748-2B V7-8203 departed Christchurch on December 20 en route to Auckland and Nadi on completion of maintenance by Mount Cook.

Air Nauru has sold its three Boeing 737-200s to the Brazilian operator VASP. Boeing 737-2L7 C2-RN6 and Boeing 737-2L9 C2-RN8 were registered PP-SPG and PP-SPH respectively before departing Auckland on December 3 for Brisbane and Darwin. Boeing 737-2L7C C2-RN3 was registered PP-SPF before departing Christchurch for Brisbane and Darwin on December 31.

Air Niugini terminated its three month lease on the Charter Cruise Air F27-700 VH-JCC in late December with the Friendship being noted back in Brisbane on the 29th.

Air Pacific took delivery of Boeing 737-33A DQ-FJD at Nadi in mid January. The Boeing 737-33A has been leased from Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services and will be jointly operated by Air Pacific and Royal Tongan Airlines and will be operated in a split colour scheme with Air Pacific on the port side and Royal Tongan on the starboard. Ansett Worldwide initially took delivery of this Boeing in May 1994 before leasing the aircraft to the Portuguese operator Air Columbus as CS-TKG. In November, Air Columbus ceased operations and CS-TKG along with its sister aircraft CS-TKF were ferried to Phoenix for refurbishment. Air Pacific withdrew Boeing 767-205ER DQ-FJA from service at Nadi on September 28 after the aircraft was replaced by Boeing 767-3X2ER DQ-FJC. On November 3 DQ-FJA now registered N695NC departed Auckland for Honolulu on delivery to Trans World Airlines.

MAF DHC-6-300 P2-MFS crashed near Selbang on December 17 during a flight from Tabubil to Selbang. The pilot, flight attendant and 26 passengers onboard the Twin Otter were killed.

Ferry Flights

Massim Exploration Grumman G-44 Widgeon P2-WET ferried from Port Moresby to Cairns on December 7. On December 10 the Widgeon departed Brisbane on its TransTasman crossing with its final destination being Whitford in New Zealand. Gippsland Aeronautics GA-200 VH-PRT crossed the Tasman on December 28/29 with its final destination being Omaka in New Zealand. Noted at Adelaide on December 7 was Rockwell Commander 500S N45WS msn 3071 which had arrived on delivery to National Jet Systems. Sahakol Air PA-31-350 HS-SKC was noted at Bankstown on November 10 with the aircraft being imported by an Australian operator.

Biz’prop News

Cessna 560 N456FB msn 0009 was delivered to HP Holdings in Perth on November 19 after the aircraft ferried in from Darwin. The delivery routing taken by N456FB from the United States to Australia is worthy of special mention. Though N456FB was previously based at Orange County Airport in Southern California its delivery flight started from Van Nuys Airport in North Los Angeles. For N456FB its ferry routing took it around the rim of the North Pacific through Seattle, Anchorage and Nome to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskij. From there N456FB continued on its flight south to Darwin and Perth. HP Holdings has reserved the registration VH-HEY for its Citation.

The Neilsen & Moller Cessna 500 VH-NMW was cancelled from the register on December 20 with the aircraft being sold through Aeromil to a company in the United States.

Hawker Pacific has sold a King Air 350 to Westrac Aviation in Perth with its previously operated Commander 695A being taken as a trade in. King Air 350 N8279P was delivered to Hawker Pacific in late October before being registered VH-MKA to Westrac Aviation. Commander 695A VH-GAB, which was traded in on the King Air 350, was initially ferried to Bankstown before being sold in the United States. On January 9 VH-GAB now registered N695NC departed Sydney on its trans Pacific ferry flight. Hawker Pacific took delivery of King Air 350 N1562Z msn FL-122 in late December. Mitsubishi MU-2G N80CR was delivered to International Air Parts in Sydney in November with the aircraft later being registered to them as VH-IAM. On December 21 while operating on lease to Newcastle Aviation VH-IAM crashed on final approach to Melbourne Airport with the resultant destruction of the aircraft and the loss of the pilot.

Australian Jet Charter, the Australian agents for the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, is planning to deliver a number of machines to local operators in the coming months. February will see the delivery of a Cessna 208B to Ngaanyatjarra Air in Alice Springs and to Red Dust Air in Perth, while in March Uzu Air in Cairns and Slingair in Kununurra will add the Grand Caravan to their fleet.