Debrief

The Only Changes Are That Bacl Moved the Proposed Site Further Towards the Coast to Minimise Noise, and Today’s Traffic Projections Far Exceed 1980s Estimates.

Since the 1980s Plan Was Released People Have Continued to Build in Present and Likely Noise Affected Areas, Most Notably Along the Brisbane River Right Under the River Run Visual Route, From the Breakfast Creek Hotel to the Gateway Bridge, Which Was Introduced to Reduce Flights Over Various Suburbs. High Rises Have Proliferated and Now ‘northshore’, a High Rise Suburb, is to Be Constructed Directly Under the Final Approach (and Climb Out) of the New Runway 19l/01r.

While the N70 Noise Level on Which Limits/restrictions Hang is Inestimable by Humans, and Given Personal Perception and Motive Will Drive Complaints, No Doubt Residents of These Developments Will Seek Flight Restrictions or Compensation Against Aircraft Noise.

Promoting Public Acceptance of the Parallel Runway From a Noise Point of View Largely Revolved Around the Use of Simultaneous Opposite Direction Flightpaths Over Moreton Bay – or Sodprops (Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations) and Dodprops (Dependant Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations). Both Require a Dry Runway, the Former a 5kt Downwind Limit, the Latter 10kt.

Some Proponents Indulge in the Dodgy Methodology of Averaging Wind Roses to Calculate/enhance Likely Usability Times of Both. Winter Westerlies and Summer Sea Breezes Routinely Produce Lengthy Periods When Those Downwind Limits Are Exceeded, Which Can’t Be Reduced Through Averaging, and Brisbane is Subject to Thunderstorms, Which, Like the Intense Lows That Occasionally Form Off the Coast, Negate Fixed Track Sid/star (and Opposite Direction) Operations for Lengthy Periods. Sydney’s Hourly Breakdown Indicates Some Months Sodprops is Only Usable Around Three Per Cent of the Time.

Brisbane’s Sodprops Projected Hourly Capacity is 55 Movements, Dodprops 20. Bacl Predicts 2015 Peak Hour Movements of 50 Per Hour (With Night Movements Static Around 10 an Hour), Increasing to 120 by 2035 When Most Daylight Hours Will Be Above the Limit.

Therefore It Might Be Prudent if Bacl Built the Designated Southern Extension, Which Lies Wholly Within Planning for the Original Parallel Runway, From Day 1. Adding a Displaced 01l Threshold at the Presently Planned Threshold and Banning Intersection Jet Departures Off 19r Would Keep Overflight Altitudes Virtually Unchanged, Inconvenience No Flights and Might Also Be Shrewd.

V Australia

While Virgin Blue’s E-jet Deployment Begins, a Bigger Guessing Game Involves V Australia’s 777s for Long Haul International Ops.

The Initial Fleet of Seven Are Capable of Around 40,000 Flying Hours a Year. Given 10 Weekly Trips Across the Pacific Would Account for About 15,000 Hours Max, There’s Room for a Daily Return London Service (About 18,000 Hours) and a Daily Service to an Asian Port Such as in China. But the Virgin Atlantic/singapore Airlines Connections Complicate Matters.

Sister Carrier Virgin Atlantic Operates From London to Sydney via Hong Kong. Maybe V Australia Could Operate This Run for Virgin Atlantic, With the Latter Buying Codeshare Space.

Maybe Virgin Atlantic Will Continue to Sydney, While V Australia Could Operate to London via Singapore From Melbourne, With Both Airlines Codesharing on Each Others’ Services.

Maybe V Australia Will Fly From Brisbane to Hong Kong, Linking in With Virgin Atlantic Services There.

But if Singapore Airlines Retains Control of Virgin Atlantic, the Singaporeans May See V Australia as Too Big a Competitive Threat to Its Own Services Out of Australia to Allow Such Cooperation.

Watch This Space.

E-jets Vs Tiger (and Jetstar)

if Tiger Replicates Its Ex Melbourne Services With Similar Flights Ex Sydney and Brisbane, It, Like Virgin Blue and Jetstar, Will Also Find Its Aircraft Too Large to Provide Viable Frequency on Many Thinner Routes, Existing and New.

But Tiger Could Fairly Quickly Use Skywest, With Whom It Shares Links via Its Singaporean Owners, to Operate Codeshare Flights on Thinner Routes With Skywest Fokker 100s, Which, Like E‑jets, Can Be Rapidly Deployed at Existing Suitable Airports. Just Where These Smaller Jets – and Competing Q400s – Are Flying in Two Years’ Time Will Be Very Interesting.

Qantas Logistics

Qantas Would Benefit Greatly if All Its Freight Operations Were Rolled Into One Highly Visible Single Brand Multi-modal Global Operation.

The Present Collection of Variously Painted Trucks and Aircraft Are Hardly Eye Catching, and if Shareholders Could Discover What Australian Air Express and Star Track Express Earn Without Having to Scrounge the Australia Post Annual Report, Even Better.