Traffic

Qantas took delivery of 737-838 VH-XZD Moranbah in Melbourne on April 16 after the aircraft ferried in from Boeing Field via Honolulu and Nadi as QF6024.

737-838 VH-XZE msn 39369 Pine Creek was planned for delivery to Qantas in late April while 737-838 VH-XZF msn 39370 Cygnet was planned for delivery in May.

A380-842 VH-OQG ferried from Manila to Sydney as QF6016 on April 5 after completing its cabin reconfiguration work at Lufthansa Technik. VH-OQG returned to Qantas service on April 5 as QF127 from Sydney to Hong Kong.

747-438 VH-OJJ was withdrawn from service in Sydney on March 6 after the aircraft operated QF108/04 from New York and Los Angeles.

767-338ER VH-OGT operated a charter on March 9 QF6160/6030/6029, which took the aircraft from Brisbane to Townsville, Bandar Seri Begawan and back to Brisbane (arriving March 10).

Qantas replaced Singapore with Dubai on its Kangaroo Route to London effective March 31 thus effecting the following changes: The first flight routed through Dubai was QF9 of March 31, which was operated by A380-842 VH-OQI Melbourne-Dubai-London/Heathrow and this was closely followed by QF1 which was operated by A380-842 VH-OQJ Sydney-Dubai-London.

The final service London-Singapore was operated by A380-842 VH-OQH, which departed London on March 30 as QF10 London-Singapore-Melbourne.

Jetstar took delivery of A320-232 VH-VFN in Melbourne on April 7 after the aircraft ferried in from Toulouse via Singapore as JQ7992. VH-VFN is the first of type in the Jetstar Australia fleet to be fitted with Sharklets.

A330-202 VH-EBS was planned to be withdrawn from service in mid-April with the aircraft to be transferred to operations with Qantas. Jetstar Asia has terminated its lease on A320-232 9V-JSC and on April 2 the A320 now registered TC-JUG departed Seletar for New Delhi and Istanbul.

Jetstar Japan took delivery of A320-232 JA10JJ in Narita on March 17 after the aircraft ferried in from Toulouse via Dubai and Hanoi.

Network Aviation took delivery of Fokker 100 VH-NHI in Perth on March 11 after the aircraft arrived from Woensdrecht via Trabzon, Al Ain, Nagpur, Penang and Halim. Ferry flight SXI 1315 was operated by Southern Cross International. VH-NHI entered service with Network on March 20 when it operated NA3742 from Perth to Leonora.

Fokker 100 VH-NHJ, which is the final of type on order, is planned for delivery in May.

Airline news

In this issue we report the delivery of an A330-200 to Fiji Airways, a 737-300 to Our Airline, a BAe 146-200(QC) to Skyforce Aviation and an EMB-135 to JetGo.

Air New Zealand withdrew 737-3K2 ZK-NGK from service in Christchurch on March 20 after the aircraft operated NZ535 from Auckland.

Air Niugini-leased ATR 42-320F HB-AFC, which was operating as PX6090, arrived in Cairns from Port Moresby on March 8, before returning to Port Moresby on March 10.

Alliance Airlines placed Fokker 70 VH-JFE into service on March 19 when the aircraft operated QQ371 from Brisbane to the Granites. VH-JFE entered service with Alliance with a modified colour scheme which features elements from previous operators Air Panama and Ford Motor Company.

737-476 ZK-JTQ terminated its operations in Western Australia on March 14 after the aircraft operated QQ738 from Karratha to Perth. The 737, which was then returned to Airwork, departed Perth for Brisbane as AWK737 on March 16, and was then leased by Solomon Airlines (see below).

Fiji Airways took delivery of its first A330-243, DQ-FJT, in Nadi on March 19 after the aircraft ferried in from Toulouse via Hong Kong as FJ2230. The A330 entered service on April 2 when it operated FJ411/410 from Nadi to Auckland and return.

JetGo took delivery of EMB-135LR VH-JZG msn 145713 in Brisbane on April 8. As N836RP the EMB-135LR, which carried JetGo colours, departed Louisville, Kentucky on March 21 for Singapore before continuing to Brisbane via Halim and Broome. On its ferry flight the EMB-135LR was reported at Orkney, Malta, Sharm El Sheikh, Dubai and Male.

EMB-145LR N852EC msn 14500852 is the first of type to be added to the JetGo fleet and not the aircraft we mentioned in Traffic/April.

Our Airline took delivery of 737-36N N325MS msn 28555 at Melbourne on March 16 after the aircraft ferried in from Denpasar. The 737 was registered VH-PNI to the Nauru Air Corporation trading as Our Airline on March 28.

Skippers Aviation’s first Fokker 100, VH-XKN msn 11420, was noted at Bratislava on April 2 after being painted in Skippers colours.

Fokker 100 PH-KXR msn 11410, which is also reported to have been purchased by Skippers, was ferried from Maastricht to Bratislava for painting on March 11.

Skyforce Aviation took delivery of BAe 146-200(QC) G-ZAPN msn E2119 at Bankstown on April 9 after the former Titan Airways aircraft ferried in from the UK via Medan, Denpasar, Darwin and Alice Springs.

The ferry flight commenced at London/Stansted on April 4 and operated via Istanbul, Sharm El Sheik and Singapore.

Skyforce is also planning to add BAe 146-200(QC) G-ZAPK msn E2148 to its fleet later this year.

Solomon Airlines wet leased Airwork 737-476 ZK-JTQ between March 17 and March 25 to cover operations between Brisbane and Honiara, Nadi and Port Vila. This as a result of Solomons A320- 211 H4-BUS being in Manila for maintenance (Traffic/April). H4- BUS returned to Brisbane from Manila and Cairns on March 26 and returned to service on March 27 as SOL701 Brisbane to Honiara.

Tiger Airways resumed services between Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast on March 27 with A320-232 VH-VNQ operating TGW252.

Tiger commenced flights between Sydney and Cairns on April 4 with A320-232 VH-VNB operating the inaugural TGW945.

Virgin Australia fleet update

A330-243 VH-XFG msn 1407, which is planned for delivery in mid-April, carries the name Terrigal Beach .

737-8FE VH-YFN is planned for delivery in mid-May with 737-8FE VH-YFP following at the end of the month.

ATR 72-600 VH-FVY Marcoola Beach , which was delivered to Perth on March 5 (Traffic/April), departed there on March 30 as VOZ1933 for Kalgoorlie and Brisbane.

ATR 72-600 VH-FVZ msn 1087 was planned for delivery to Perth in May.

Skywest was planning to take delivery of A320-232 VH-YUD msn 1922 in mid-April.

Fokker 100 VH-FSQ, which had been at Seletar for maintenance, departed on March 16 for Port Hedland and Townsville where the aircraft entered the Flying Colours hangar for painting in Virgin Australia colours.

Fokker 50 VH-FNA arrived in Townsville on February 25 and was planned to be the first Skywest aircraft to change its colours to Virgin Australia, but this did not eventuate. The all-white VH-FNA, which still retained its Skywest rudder, ferried out of Townsville on March 13 for Alice Springs and Perth before returning to service as such on March 13.

Regional airline news

In this issue we report the delivery of a Cessna 441 to Chartair while departing were a Dash 8-100 of Skytrans and a Jetstream 32EP of de Bruin Air.

Air Rarotonga ferried its Saab 340A E5-EFS to Auckland March 8 and after overnighting it continued to Tonga and Rarotonga. The Saab had been in Nelson for planned maintenance since January 14 (Traffic/March).

Chartair took delivery of Cessna 441 N337C msn 441-0126 in Darwin on March 24 after the aircraft completed its trans-Pacific ferry from Merced, California via Honolulu and Majuro.

de Bruin Air sold Jetstream 32EP VH-OAB to Alphaland Aviation in the Philippines with the aircraft departing Mount Gambier on March 22 for Leigh Creek, Alice Springs and Darwin. After overnighting the J32 continued its ferry to Ambon.

Milford Sound Flights ferried BN-2B-26 ZK-MFN from Queenstown to Archerfield where it arrived on March 9 via Kerikeri, Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island and the Gold Coast. ZK-MFN was cancelled from the New Zealand register on March 21 as ‘exported’ and on March 28 it was registered VH-ZOU to Colville Aviation Services of Archerfield.

OK Tedi Mining has leased Dash 8-103 VH-JSJ from National Jet Express. VH-JSJ was painted in OK Tedi colours in Adelaide before departing there on March 23 for Ballera and Cairns. While in Cairns the registration of the Dash 8 was changed to P2-NAT prior to it entering service on March 28 from Cairns to Horn Island and Tabubil.

Skytrans has sold Dash 8-102 VH-QQE to Air Creebec of Timmins, Ontario and on March 5 it ferried out of Cairns to Majuro, Honolulu and en route stops to Toronto. VH-QQE, which was cancelled from the register on March 13, was registered to Air Creebec as C-GUXF on March 19.

Dash 8-102 VH-QQA was noted at Cairns on March 26 carrying the colours and titles of Maroomba Airlines. VH-QQA presumably will replace VH-QQE in the Maroomba fleet, but as of early April it continues to operate for Skytrans.

Real Tonga has leased AVIC Y-12 IV YJ-AV5 from Air Vanuatu and on March 13 the aircraft was delivered to Tonga.

Vincent Aviation has removed its colours from Beech 1900D VH-VNT and Beech 1900D VH-VAQ, with VH-VNT first noted all-white at Darwin on March 19 and VH-VAQ noted in a similar scheme on March 29.

Bizjet news

In this issue we report the departure of a Beechjet 400A and a Citation I while added to the Australian register was a Citation II from PNG and a Citation Mustang from New Zealand.

Citation II VH-VBK was registered on March 19 with the holder being Shazo Holdings of Brisbane and the operator Professional Jet Aviation of Coolangatta. The Citation II is no stranger to the Australian register as it previously carried the marks VH-CFO before being cancelled on May 18 ’12 when moved to operations with Airlines PNG as P2-SOS. P2-SOS arrived at Maroochydore on March 14 after flying in from Port Moresby via Cairns and Rockhampton.

Citation Mustang VH-MSU was registered on March 19 to David Fisher of Surrey Hills, Victoria. Previously operated by Acernus Aero as ZK-MUS the Mustang arrived at Bankstown from New Zealand on February 24 (Traffic/April) and was cancelled from the New Zealand register on March 13.

Beechjet 400A VH-IPG, which was operated by the International Publishing Group, was cancelled from the register on March 6 as ‘exported to Thailand’. On March 2 VH-IPG departed Bankstown for Mount Isa and Darwin before continuing on March 3 to Makassar and Don Muang where it was later registered HS-EMM.

Citation I VH-EGK, which has been static at Essendon since 2007, has been reduced to components with the work commencing on March 8.

Challenger 850 VH-LEF, which was cancelled from the register on March 1 as ‘exported to Canada’, was registered C-GVFT to Flying Colours Corporation of Peterborough, Ontario on March 19. As of early April the Challenger was still resident at Essendon.

Hawker 800XP VH-VLI, which was cancelled from the register on February 19 on its sale in the United States as N800GN (Traffic/April), was still resident at Essendon as of early April.

We reported in Traffic/March that Network Jets Falcon 2000EX N818BH had departed Auckland on November 10 ’12 on its return to the United States. This apparently is not the case as N818BH returned to Auckland on April 17.

Gulfstream IV VH-WXK changed its registered operator on March 8 to Revesco Aviation of Belmont, WA.

Global Express VH-FMG changed its registered operator on March 5 to FMG Air of East Perth.

Gulfstreams galore

JP Morgan Chase Bank Gulfstream 550 N1JN arrived in Sydney from Pago Pago on March 8 and later that day departed for Christchurch. N1JN later transited Darwin on March 13 while en route from Queenstown to Sanya, China.

Peak Enterprises Gulfstream 550 N83CP arrived in Sydney from Queenstown on March 10 and departed to Honolulu on March 12.

Gulfstream 550 N504AC arrived in Sydney from Perth on March 4 and departed for Kona on March 7.

AVN Air Gulfstream 550 N671LE arrived at Hamilton Island from Yogyakarta and Townsville on April 2.

Gulfstream 550 N989AR arrived in Brisbane from Honolulu on March 24 before continuing to Melbourne on March 26. N989AR departed Melbourne for Honolulu on March 28.

Chevron USA Gulfstream 550 N5092 arrived in Canberra from Honolulu on March 14 before continuing later that day to Perth. N5092 departed Perth for Honolulu on March 16.

Hong Kong Jet Gulfstream 550 B-KHJ arrived in Adelaide from Hong Kong on March 10 and after overnighting continued to Incheon.

MDL Consulting Associates Gulfstream V N516GH arrived in Sydney from Gimpo on March 13.

Jet Greene Gulfstream V N808JG arrived in Melbourne from Singapore on March 16 and departed to Auckland on March 19.

Falcon Aviation Services Gulfstream 450 A6-FLH arrived in Sydney from Manila on March 9 and departed for Kuala Lumpur on March 11.

Metrojet Gulfstream 450 B-LCK arrived in Melbourne from Clark, Philippines on March 21 and departed for Denpasar on March 23.

Tail Wind Gulfstream 450 VP-BTB arrived in Hobart from Singapore on March 21 and after overnighting departed for Devonport and Sydney. VP-BTB departed Sydney for Seletar on March 23.

Gulfstream IV N137WS arrived in Sydney from Nadi on March 30.

Gulfstream IV N168PK arrived in Melbourne from Papeete on March 3 and departed to Hobart on March 6. N168PK departed Hobart for Nadi on March 8.

Thomas H Lee Capital Gulfstream IV N327TL departed Sydney for Nadi on March 9.

Las Vegas Sands Corporation Gulfstream IV N588LS arrived in Melbourne from Singapore on March 16 and departed to Denpasar on March 18.

N444SS LLC Gulfstream IV N726RW callsign ‘Peg 26’ transited Cairns on March 27 while en route from Kota Kinabalu to Pago Pago.

Air Engiadina Gulfstream IV HB-JUS callsign ‘Swiss Jet 232’ arrived in Sydney from Clark on March 21. HB-JUS departed Sydney for Perth and Male on March 31.

Asia Jet Gulfstream 300 N388AJ transited Cairns on March 24 while en route from Manila to Auckland.

Overseas bizjets

Liberty Mutual Insurance Global Express N51SE arrived in Sydney from Honolulu on March 26 before returning to Honolulu on March 28.

Global Express N375G departed Sydney for Haikou, China on March 20. AVN Air Global Express N700GB arrived in Melbourne from Honolulu on March 14 before continuing to Sydney on March 17. N700GB departed Sydney for Honolulu on March 19.

Vale Mining Global Express PP-VDR arrived in Brisbane from Hong Kong on March 20 before departing to Noumea on March 21.

Amira Air Global 5000 OE-III, which was operating as XPE10, arrived at Essendon from Langkawi on March 14. OE-III departed Essendon for Hamilton Island on March 18 before continuing to Townsville and Kuala Lumpur on March 21.

Global 5000VP-CWN arrived in Sydney from Hong Kong on March 14 before returning to Hong Kong on March 17.

Challenger 605 N15VC arrived in Sydney from Denpasar on March 8. N15VC later visited Hamilton Island, the Gold Coast and Sydney before departing Perth early on March 24 for Hong Kong.

Jet Executive Learjet 35A D-CCCA, which was operating a medevac flight, arrived in Perth from Halim on March 19 before departing later that day to Halim.

RBGT Embraer E-135BJ N373RB arrived in Melbourne from Sydney on March 4 and departed for Apia on March 13.

Cat Aviation Falcon 7X HB-JST, which was operating as CAZ701, arrived in Sydney from Beijing on March 27 before departing later that day for Singapore.

Redline Air Falcon 900EX N900MV arrived in Sydney from Nadi on March 11 and departed the following day for Darwin and Taiwan.

Red Bull Falcon 2000LX HS-RBR arrived at Essendon from Don Muang and Darwin on March 15 and departed for Darwin and Singapore on March 18.

QMC Aviation Falcon 50 N750LQ arrived in Adelaide from Pago Pago and Brisbane on March 24. The Falcon 50 later visited Moomba and Alice Springs before departing Adelaide for Brisbane and Pago Pago on March 28.

Airmed International Hawker 800 N838JL arrived in Brisbane from Kupang on March 20 and after overnighting departed for Darwin and Seletar.

Executive Jets Asia Hawker 700B RP-C5998, which was operating a medevac flight, arrived in Adelaide from Denpasar and Broome on March 14. After overnighting the Hawker 800 departed to Broome and Johor Baru.

Ferry flights

AS-350B3 P2-THS departed Mackay for Townsville and Cairns on March 27 before continuing to Horn Island on April 4.

Sander Geophysics Cessna 208B C-GSGA departed Jandakot for Broome on March 13 before continuing to Denpasar on March 15.

Fugro Airborne Surveys Cessna 208B VH-FAY arrived in Darwin from Kupang on March 21 and after overnighting continued to Groote Eylandt and Cairns.

Cessna R172K VH-LSH, which was a competitor in the New Zealand Air Safari 2013, crossed the Tasman on March 17 from Lismore to Lord Howe Island and Kerikeri. VH-LSH departed Kerikeri on March 31 for Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island.

Cirrus SR22 D-EKLF arrived in Darwin from Denpasar and Kupang on March 11. The SR22 was later reported at Alice Springs, Broken Hill, Bankstown, Archerfield, Proserpine, Mt Isa and Ayers Rock before departing Darwin for Kupang on March 25.

Rampart Aviation DHC-6-300 N162DE, which had been on a survey contract in Australia, departed Kununurra for Darwin on March 27 and after overnighting continued to Kupang, Denpasar and Halim.

Bristow Helicopters EC-225LPs G-ZZSH and G-ZZSP, which had been shipped from the UK to Melbourne, arrived at Essendon by road on March 22.

PA-46-310P/JetProp DLX N49HF commenced a round-the-world flight from Bremen, Germany on February 16. N49HF arrived at Broome from Denpasar on March 11 and later visited Alice Springs, Essendon, Bankstown, Moree and Hamilton Island before departing the Gold Coast for Port Vila on March 27. The routing of the PA-46 can be followed on www. worldflight2013. de Erickson Air-Crane Sikorsky S-64F N179AC/740 Elvis in company with S-64F N217AC/743 Malcolm and S-64E N218AC/741 Elsie ferried from Essendon to the Melbourne docks on March 30 for shipment back to the United States. S-64F N159AC/735 Camille and S-64E N189AC/731 Gypsy Lady ferried from Essendon to the docks on April 1 for shipment to Greece.

Heavy metal

DC Aviation A319-115CJ D-ACBN, which was operating as DCS867, arrived in Sydney from Cebu on March 15 and departed for Manila on March 21.

USAF KC-135R 61-0302/HH callsign ‘Reach 075’ arrived in Darwin from Hickam AFB on March 27.

USAF KC-135R 63-8011/ZZ ‘Young Tigers’ callsign ‘Reach 51’ departed Townsville for Guam on March 8.

USAF KC-135R 68-0056 callsign ‘Reach 75’arrived in Darwin from Hickam AFB on March 26.

GC Air 737-73Q/BBJ N834BA arrived in Canberra from Honolulu and Brisbane on March 11 before returning to Honolulu on March 12.

Royal Jet 737-7BC/BBJ A6-DFR arrived in Cairns from Singapore on March 31 before continuing to Ayers Rock and Sydney on April 1. A6-DFR departed Sydney for Norfolk Island on April 2.

US Navy 737-7AF/C-40A 166695 ‘Convoy 7762’ arrived in Darwin from Atsugi NAS, Japan on March 26 and the following day operated Darwin-Tindal-Darwin-Atsugi again as ‘Convoy 7762’.

US Navy 737-7AF/C-40A 166696 ‘Convoy 7222’ departed Townsville for Atsugi on March 8.

US Navy C-130T 164762/CW ‘Convoy 7602’ arrived in Townsville from Guam on March 11 before returning to Guam on March 13.

US Navy C-130T 164996 ‘Convoy 7542’ arrived in Townsville from Guam on March 28.

US Navy C-130T 165159 ‘Convoy 7182’ arrived in Townsville from Guam and Port Moresby on March 7 and after overnighting returned to Guam.

USAF/AMC KC-10A 85-0032 callsign ‘Reach 55’, which had a McGuire tail band, arrived in Brisbane from Hickam AFB on March 9 and departed to Guam on March 10.

USAF/AMC KC-10A 86-0029 callsign ‘Reach 65’, which had a Travis tail band, arrived in Brisbane from Hickam AFB on March 9 and departed to Guam on March 11. 86-0029 returned to Australia on March 25 as ‘Reach 061’ when it arrived in Cairns from Hickam AFB and after overnighting departed for Guam.

Airlift International (Ghana) DC-8-63F 9G-RAC, which was operating as ALE900, arrived at RAAF Amberley from Kuala Lumpur on April 4.