Traffic

VH-OJC City of Melbourne was delivered to Qantas in Melbourne on October 14 ’89 after it arrived from London via Singapore as QF704/12.

A380-842 VH-OQA ferried from Hong Kong to Manila on March 8 as QF6003 for planned maintenance with Lufthansa Teknik.

A330-202 VH-EBQ ferried from Singapore to Brisbane as QF6006 on March 8 after it was painted in Qantas colours (Traffic/April). VH-EBQ, which now carries the name Wolgan Valley, entered service with Qantas on March 11 when it operated QF589 from Brisbane to Perth.

A330-202 VH-EBR, which was withdrawn from Jetstar service on February 18 (Traffic/April), was registered to Qantas on February 19. After maintenance in Brisbane VH-EBR departed on March 7 for Singapore as QF6005 and there it was painted in Qantas colours and named Lockyer Valley. On March 20 VH-EBR ferried from Singapore to Brisbane as QF6006 and entered service on March 21 as QF609 from Brisbane to Melbourne.

737-838s VH-XZL, VH-XZM, VH-XZN, VH-XZO and VH-XZP msn 44573-44577 were registered to Qantas on March 18.

QantasLink took delivery of 717-2BL N927ME on March 4 (Traffic/April) and registered the aircraftVH-YQV on March 7.

Jetstar cancelled A320-232 VHVQN from the register on March 13 as ‘exported to Ireland’. VHVQN was withdrawn from Jetstar service on October 6 ’13 and was ferried to Seletar on October 7 (Traffic/December). On March 18 it was registered EI-FEN to SMBC Aviation Capital, but as of late March was still parked at Seletar.

A320-232 VH-VQO was cancelled from the register on March 11 as ‘exported to Serbia’. VH-VQO was withdrawn from Jetstar service on December 29 and was ferried to Seletar on December 30 (Traffic/ April). It was then leased to Air Serbia as YU‑APG and on March 20 it departed Seletar for Abu Dhabi and Munich.

A320-232 VH-VQI was originally thought to be leased to Air Serbia (Traffic/April), but on March 21 it was cancelled from the register as ‘exported to Ireland’ and then registered EI-FER to HKAC Leasing. On March 29 it was ferried from Seletar to Hong Kong on delivery to HKAC Leasing.

A320-232 VH-VFH entered the maintenance hangar in Singapore on March 7 after operating JQ63 from Darwin. On completion of its maintenance it ferried from Seletar to Melbourne as JQ7994 on March 15.

A320-232 VH-VGF as JQ7993 ferried from Melbourne on March 15 to Darwin and Seletar for planned maintenance. On completion it ferried from Seletar to Melbourne as JQ7992 on March 30.

A320-232 VH-VQX as JQ7991 ferried from Singapore to Seletar on March 7 for planned maintenance and on completion it ferried from Seletar to Melbourne as JQ7992 on March 14.

A320-232 VH-VQY as JQ7991 ferried from Melbourne to Darwin and Singapore on March 12 for planned maintenance.

Airline news In this issue we report the delivery of an A320 to and the departure of a 737-300 from Air New Zealand.

AirCalin ferried A320-232 F-OJSB as ACI980 through Darwin on March 17 while en route from Noumea to Singapore for planned maintenance. On March 26 F-OJSB again transited Darwin while en route from Singapore to Noumea and its return to service.

Air New Zealand took delivery of A320-232/S ZK-OXE in Auckland on March 11 after the aircraft completed its ferry flight NZ6399 from Toulouse via Muscat, Singapore and Cairns. ZK-OXE entered service with Air New Zealand on March 13 when it operated NZ547 from Auckland to Christchurch.

737-37Q ZK-NGO, which was withdrawn from service on March 3 (Traffic/April), later had its Air New Zealand titles and koru removed. On March 25 ZK-NGO, which was ferried by Southern Cross as SXI1408, departed Christchurch for Apia, Honolulu and Goodyear/ Arizona.

ZK-NGO was delivered to Air New Zealand in Christchurch on October 9 ’02 after it ferried in from London/Gatwick via Shannon, Gander, Winnipeg, Los Angeles, Honolulu and Apia. ZK‑NGO entered service on November 3 when it operated NZ452 from Christchurch to Wellington.

Airwork Flight Operations has reportedly declared 737-3B7(SF) ZK-TLC an insurance write-off after it was damaged on landing at Honiara on January 26 (Traffic/ March).

737-476 ZK-JTQ departed Brisbane for Apia and Kona on March 18 destined for maintenance in the US.

Transpacific Heavylift operated its inaugural service on March 11 with DC-8-73CF OB‑2059-P when the aircraft operated Brisbane- Nauru-Brisbane as PVN 700/701. A second service was operated over the same route on March 25.

Vincent Aviation returned BAe 146-200 ZK-ECO to service in Australia on March 10 when the aircraft ferried from Wellington to Auckland and Brisbane (Traffic/ April).

Virgin Group news

In this issue we report the delivery of an A320 to Tigerair.

777-3GZER VH-VPE, which was painted in Virgin Australia colours in Singapore between February 17 and March 1, has been named Noosa Heads Beach.

A330-243 VH-XFD as flight VOZ9948 ferried from Manila to Perth on March 12 on completion of its planned maintenance.

A330-342 VH-XFE departed Perth on March 12 as VOZ9949 for Manila (arriving March 13) where it entered the Lufthansa Technik hangar for planned maintenance.

VH-XFE returned to Perth from Manila as VOZ9948 on March 21.

737-8BK VH-VOX ferried from Townsville to Brisbane as VOZ9946 on March 6 after being painted in the Virgin Australia scheme by Flying Colours. While in Townsville it was named Coolum Beach.

737-8FE VH-VUT ferried from Brisbane to Townsville as VOZ9947 on March 17 where it was painted in Virgin Australia colours. VHVUT now named Alma Bay returned to service on March 30 when it operated VOZ362 from Townsville to Brisbane.

737-8FE VH-VUU operated VOZ379 from Brisbane to Townsville on March 29 and on arrival entered the Flying Colours hangar to be painted in Virgin Australia colours.

E190-100IGW VH-ZPG, which was operating as VOZ9902, arrived in Brisbane from Chennai, Subang and Darwin on March 22 after completion of planned maintenance at Alverca, Portugal. While in Portugal VH-ZPG was repainted inthe colours of Virgin Australia and named Glenelg Beach.

E190-100IGW VH-ZPH as VOZ9901 departed Brisbane on March 23 for Darwin, Subang and en route stops to Alverca for planned maintenance.

Tigerair took delivery of A320‑232 VH-XUG in Melbourne on March 23 after the aircraft, which was operating as TGW8173, arrived on delivery from Toulouse via Al Maktoum and Singapore.

A320-232 VH-VNF as flight TGW8173 ferried into Melbourne on March 12 from Clark Field and Darwin after being painted in Tigerair colours.

Tigerair commenced a three times weekly direct service from Sydney to Proserpine on April 1. The inaugural TGW394/393 Sydney-Proserpine-Sydney was operated by A320-232 VH-VNH.

Regional news

In this issue we report the delivery of a PC-12/47E to the RFDS.

Advance Aviation registered Cessna 208 VH-FLL on March 3. It was delivered to Advance at Emerald as N908KA on February 15 (Traffic/ April).

Air Chathams ferried BN‑2A-27 ZK-LYP into the Chatham Islands on March 7 from Tonga via Auckland. ZK-LYP had been in Tonga since May 13 ’08 where it was operated by Chathams Pacific as A3-LYP.

Air Tahiti ferried ATR 72‑500 F-OIQC from Papeete to Nadi, Townsville and Darwin to Seletar where it arrived for planned maintenance on March 7.

Bond Helicopters ferried EC225LP VH-NWC from Jandakot to Meekatharra and Karratha on March 26 while EC225LP VHNWG ferried over the same route on March 27 (Traffic/April).

Pacific Sun ferried ATR 42‑500 DQ-PSB into Nadi on March 9 as flight FJI2002 from Subang via Ujung Pandang, Darwin and Brisbane after completing its planned maintenance at Subang.

Par Avion commenced RPT services between Griffith and Essendon on March 17 with a twicedaily return flight operated on a Mon/Wed and Fri. Cessna 404 VHWZM operated services during the first week with Cessna 404 VHCCN utilised during week two.

Pel-Air Aviation has sold EMB- 120ER VH-EEB in the US with the aircraft cancelled from the register on March 7. Later registered N510KT the EMB‑120ER, which has been in storage at Wagga Wagga, awaits ferrying to the US.

RFDS/Western took delivery of PC-12/47E VH-OWX at Jandakot on March 31 after the aircraft ferried in from Chiang Mai via Subang, Lombok and Broome.

Skyforce Cargo utilised Convair 580F VH-PDW to operate a charter to Indonesia with the aircraft departing Port Moresby for Darwin on March 6 and after overnighting continuing to Denpasar. VH-PDW departed Denpasar on March 8 for Darwin and Port Moresby where it arrived on March 9.

Winrye Aviation cancelled Metro III VH-EEQ from the register on February 28 as ‘aircraft reduced to spare parts’.

On March 17 Winrye removedMerlin IIIs VH-SSD and VH‑SSM from the register with both aircraft shown as ‘repossessed by National Australia Bank and sold’.

Bizjet news

In this issue we report the delivery of a Challenger 604 and a Learjet 60 and the probable departure of a Falcon 7X. On the propjet scene we record the delivery of a King Air 250.

Challenger 604 VH-BLM msn 5407 was registered on March 21 with the holder Aircraft Acquisitions of Tugun, Queensland and the operator ExecuJet Australia of Mascot, NSW. Challenger 604 VH-BLM, which was previously registered in the US as N548LF, was delivered to the Gold Coast from Pago Pago on March 31.

Learjet 60 VH-NPP msn 60‑158 was registered on March 14 with the holder Chiron Flight Services of Seletar, Singapore and the operator Pacific Flight Service of Condell Park, NSW. VH-NPP was previously registered in the US as N838MA.

Falcon 7X VH-MQK, which was operated by MKAir7X of Newcastle, NSW was cancelled from the register on March 17 as ‘exported to the Isle of Man’ and later in the month it was noted at Zurich now registered M-GMKM.

VH-MQK was last noted in Australia on January 23 when it departed Sydney for Male. It had been registered to MKAir7X on January 25 ’13 and was delivered to Sydney on January 26 ’13.

Asia Pacific Jets Beechjet 400A/Nextant Aerospace 400XTi N868JL arrived at Essendon on October 20 ’13 and was registered VH-OVS on December 18. It departed Essendon on March 8 for Sydney, Mount Isa, Darwin and Seletar where it is now based.

Challenger 604 VH-URR changed its registered operator to ExecuJet Australia of Mascot, NSW on March 12.

Learjet 35A VH-LPJ changed its registered operator to Pacific Flight Services of Condell Park, NSW on November 29 ’13.

Learjet 35A VH-LJG changed its registered operator to Aus West Airlines (2010) of Jandakot, WA on March 13.

Cessna 680 Sovereign+ N510WD arrived at Bankstown on March 1 to start a demonstration tour of Australia (Traffic/April). The Cessna 680+ was later noted at Armidale, Essendon, Hamilton and Adelaide before departing Perth for Cocos Island and Male on March 8.

King Air 250 N5096U msn BY‑196 was delivered to Bankstown on March 15 with the aircraft ferrying in from Halim, Broome and Alice Springs. Earlier on March 8 N5096U had departed Wichita for Bangor, St Johns and Santa Maria. It was later registered VH-NMW to Auscott of Sydney on March 20.

PC-12/47E N9401S, which arrived at Jandakot on February 16 (Traffic/April), departed for Ceduna and the Gold Coast on March 26. It then continued to Charleville and Ayers Rock before departing Darwin for Denpasar on March 29.

Gulfstreams galore

Apache Corporation Gulfstream 550 N504AC arrived in Perth from Kahului and Darwin on March 5 before departing to Singapore on March 8.

Warbler Gulfstream 550 N505D arrived in Melbourne from Beijing on March 25 before continuing the same day to Canberra. It departed Canberra for Sydney on March 26.

Banc of America Gulfstream 550N551CS arrived in Sydney from Halim on March 4 and departed to Honolulu on March 7.

TAI Leasing Gulfstream 550 N803TM arrived at Melbourne from Nagoya on March 5 before returning to Nagoya on March 7.

GC Air Gulfstream 550 N3050 arrived in Brisbane from Honolulu on March 20.

Blackrock Financial Management Gulfstream 550 N3788B arrived in Sydney from Honolulu on March 30.

Chevron USA Gulfstream 550 N5092 arrived in Canberra from Halim on March 19 before continuing the same day to Perth.

It departed Perth for Honolulu on March 21.

Metrojet Gulfstream 550 B-LDL arrived in Sydney from Beijing on March 6 and after over-nighting returned to Beijing.

Gulfstream V N102DZ departed Essendon for Honolulu on March 3 (Traffic/April).

Gulfstream V N888XS arrived in Melbourne from Macau on March 7 before returning to Macau on March 9.

US Air Force Gulfstream V/C- 37A 01-0065 callsign ‘Spar 65’ arrived in Canberra from Pago Pago on March 10 before continuing to Sydney on March 15. It departed Sydney for Hanoi on March 16.

Falcon Aviation Services Gulfstream 450 A6-FLH arrived in Sydney from Singapore on March 24 and departed to Christchurch on March 28.

Las Vegas Sands Casino Gulfstream IV N988LS arrived in Darwin from Halim on March 5 and returned to Halim on March 7.

Overseas bizjets

Banc of America Global Express N302AK arrived in Canberra from Haneda on March 24 and the same day continued to Sydney. It departed Sydney for Kona on March 25.

CR Holdings Global Express N528MP arrived in Sydney from Honolulu on March 21 before returning there on March 23.

China Eastern Global Express B-8101 arrived in Sydney from Hong Kong on March 24. It departed to the Gold Coast on March 28 before returning to Sydney the following day.

B-8101 departed Sydney for Shanghai on April 1.

Zyb Lily Jet Global Express B-8196 as flight MZT9601 arrived Perth from Sanya, China on March 26 before returning there as MZT9602 on March 30.

Saputo Global Express C-GSAP arrived in Melbourne from Honolulu on March 9 before returning there on March 14.

Pacific Global Global Express M-BTAR as TBJ53 arrived at Essendon from Manila on March 20 and later the same day continued to Auckland. It departed Auckland for Sydney on March 21 and after overnighting continued to Hong Kong.

Netjets Global 5000 N101QS arrived in Sydney from Singapore on March 28 and departed to Hong Kong on March 30.

Rainbow Aviation Global 5000 N755RA arrived in Brisbane from Auckland on March 5 and latervisited Essendon and Adelaide before departing Sydney for Seletar on March 16.

Eon Aviation Global 5000 VT‑DBA arrived at Melbourne from Singapore on March 13 before returning to Singapore on March 17.

China United CRJ700 B-4063 was test flown at Essendon on March 20 after maintenance. It departed on March 22 for Cairns, Darwin and Kota Kinabalu.

AVN Air Challenger 604 N810TK arrived in Sydney from Nadi on March 19 and departed Sydney for Nadi on March 23.

Flying Star Challenger 601/3A N405TC arrived in Sydney from Pago Pago on March 12 and departed to Brisbane on March 14. It returned to Sydney on March 15 before continuing to Melbourne on March 19 and departing for Pago Pago on March 20.

JPC Falcon 1109 Falcon 7X N577CF arrived in Sydney from Honolulu on March 22. It carries the word ‘Calamos’ (thought to be the US-based global investment firm) by the forward passenger door and visited Adelaide on March 25 and Essendon on March 27/28 before departing Sydney for Honolulu on March 29.

Emerson Electrics Falcon 7X N8000E (Traffic/April) departed Essendon for Halim on March 5.

Canadian Utilities Falcon 7X C-GCUL arrived in Perth from Nadi on March 10 and departed to Hong Kong on March 13.

Paceli Beteiligungs Falcon 7X M-ROLL transited Brisbane on March 9 while en route from Auckland to Seletar.

Air Alsie Falcon 7X OY-JDE callsign ‘Mermaid 594’ arrived at Essendon from Krabi, Thailand on March 12 and departed to Queenstown on March 16.

Condor Aviation Falcon 900EX G-SIRO, which had been parked at Bankstown since November 11, departed on March 13 for Sydney and Tonga. It returned to Bankstown on March 14 from Papeete and Sydney.

Lodgings 2000 Falcon 2000EX M-ALRV arrived in Sydney from Singapore and Broome on March 6 before departing to Broome and Singapore on March 13.

Rivett Ventures Falcon 50 N566L arrived in Cairns from Nadi on March 7 before departing to Darwin on March 12. It returned to Cairns on March 14 and departed for Majuro on March 16.

Safire Falcon 20GF F-GBTM, which had been working in Northern Australia since January 12 on atmospheric research (Traffic/March), departed Darwin for Denpasar on March 17.

Ferry flights

King Air 300 F-GICA, which had completed its planned maintenance at Cairns, departed on March 24 for Brisbane and Noumea.

Air Laucala King Air B200 DQ-LIR, which had completed its planned maintenance at Cairns, departed on March 26 for Honiara.

Baron G58 N388BE msn TH‑2388, which was being ferried by Windward Aviation, was delivered to Bankstown on March 18. N388BE started its ferry flight from Wichita and operated via Tracy/California, Hilo, Pago Pago and the Gold Coast.

Cessna 208B 5X-AMK 208B2128 arrived at Broome on March 30 from Colombo and Cocos Island. It departed Broome on March 31 for Alice Springs and Birdsville.

Bristow Helicopters EC225LP VH-ZFC departed Essendon on Bristow Helicopters EC225LP VH-ZFC during a test flight at Essendon. It departed there for Broome on March 24. gordon reidMarch 24 on a three-day ferry to Broome via Mildura, Ceduna, Forrest, Kalgoorlie and Newman.

PA-24-250 ZK-BAZ arrived at the Gold Coast from Kerikeri and Norfolk Island on March 24 and after overnighting continued to Bourke.

Commander 500B N520DR ex DQ-DLR arrived at Hilo from Pago Pago on March 22. It was being ferried by Windward Aviation from Pago Pago to Tracy, California.

Heavy metal.

Minth Group A318-112CJ B-77777 transited Darwin on March 29 while en route from Port Moresby to Denpasar.

United 747-422 N107UA operated the airline’s final service by type into Australia on March 30 with the aircraft scheduled on UA839/28 Los Angeles-Sydney-Melbourne and UA840/870 Melbourne-Sydney-San Francisco. The United service into Australia is now operated by 777‑200ERs with 777-222ER N225UA operating UA863/27 into Sydney from San Francisco on March 29 and UA839 into Melbourne from Sydney on March 31.

Southern Air 747-412(BDSF) N743WA as flight SOO1820 arrived at RAAF Amberley from Incheon on March 21. It then continued to Brisbane on March 24 and the same day departed for Guam again as SOO1820.

ANA 777-381ER JA788A as flight ANA1953 arrived in Canberra from Wellington on March 18. As ANA1954 the 777 continued to Sydney on March 20 and after overnighting departed for Haneda as ANA1970.

Aeronexus Corporation 767‑216ER ZS-DJI as flight ARN88H arrived in Perth from Singapore on March 16 as a prelude to the start of the Rolling Stones’ concert tour. However, the tour was later postponed and the 767 departed Perth as flight ARN87I for Bateen, UAE on March 20.

Thomson Airways 757-28A G-OOBD as flight TOM962 arrived in Hobart from Auckland on March 25. It later visited Adelaide and Ayers Rock before departing Darwin for Kota Kinabalu on April 1.

Gainjet 757-23N SX-RFA as flight GNJ59 arrived in Melbourne from Papeete and Sydney on March 21 and departed on March 24 for Sydney and Denpasar.

Sands Aviation 737-74U/BBJ N887LS arrived in Melbourne from Halim on March 15 before returning there on March 18.

Hamilton Jets 737-7HE/BBJ M-YBBJ transited Darwin on March 10 while en route from Hong Kong to Auckland.

US Air Force C-130H 74‑1682/YJ callsign ‘Kanto 88’ transited Brisbane on March 5 while en route from Koror and Darwin to Whenuapai. On March 24 74‑1682 transited RAAF Amberley while en route from Whenuapai to Darwin.

US Air Force C-130H 74-2067/YJ callsign ‘Kanto 89’ transited Brisbane on March 5 whileen route from Koror and Darwin to Whenuapai. On March 24 it transited RAAF Amberley while en route from Whenuapai to Darwin.

US Air Force KC-10A 79-1950 AMC/Travis callsign ‘Reach 94’ arrived in Brisbane from Guam on March 22 before returning to Guam on March 24.

US Air Force KC-10A 83-0077 AMC/Travis callsign ‘Reach 84’ arrived in Brisbane from Guam on March 22 before returning to Guam on March 24.

Australian F1 Grand Prix

The Australian F1 Grand Prix which was run in Melbourne on March 15 attracted a number of interesting freighter aircraft into Melbourne and Avalon.

British Airways World Cargo 747‑8F G-GSSE arrived at Avalon on March 7 as BAW3453 from Stansted, Zaragoza, Bahrain and Singapore and after unloading it departed the same day for Hong Kong.

Etihad Cargo 747-87UF N855GT was reported in Traffic/April making its first trip to Avalon on March 2 and on March 8 it returned to Avalon from Singapore as ETD9960. Early the following morning as ETD9961 N855GT departed for Hong Kong.

Emirates Sky Cargo 747-4HA(ERF) OO-THC as flight UAE4866 arrived at Avalon on March 8 from Bahrain and Singapore and later the same day departed as UAE4858 for Hong Kong.

Atlas Air 747-47UF N496MC as flight GTI8150 arrived at Avalon on March 9 from Al Maktoum and Singapore and later the same day departed for Tianjin as GTI8151.

Atlas Air 747-47UF N497MC asflight GTI8152 arrived at Avalon from Al Maktoum on March 11 and later the same day departed for Hong Kong as GTI8153.

Etihad Cargo 777-FFX A6‑DDB as flight ETD9936 arrived in Melbourne direct from Abu Dhabi on March 6 and after unloading departed the same day for Hong Kong as flight ETD9937.

Search for MH370

The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines 777-2H6ER 9M-MRO moved to the southern Indian Ocean on March 18 and as a result search aircraft from the RAAF, RNZAF, US Navy, PLA‑AF (People’s Liberation Army Air Force), JMSDF (Japan Maritime Self Defence Force), Japan Coast Guard, RoKAF (Republic of Korea Air Force) and RoKN (Republic of Korea Navy) and the RMAF (Royal Malaysian Air Force) started arriving at RAAF Pearce and Perth.

On March 18 arriving at Perth from Subang was US Navy P-8A Posiedon 168429. While in the search area 168429 used the callsign ‘Rescue 74’.

RNZAF P-3K NZ4203 flight KRC795 arrived at Pearce from Butterworth while RNZAF P-3K NZ4204 ‘Kiwi 027’ arrived at Pearce from Whenuapai.

Arriving at Perth from Subang on March 22 were PLA-AF Il‑76TDs 20541 callsign ‘China Air Force 541’ and 21045 callsign ‘China Air Force 045’.

While in the search area the PLA-AF Il-76TDs use the call-signs ‘Rescue 801’ and ‘Rescue 802’ respectively.

JASDF P-3C 5056 callsign ‘Japan Navy 56’ in company with JASDF P-3C 5060 callsign ‘Japan Navy 60’ arrived Pearce on March 23 from Subang.

RoKAF C-130H 05183 which used the callsign ‘Rescue 86’ and RoKN NP-3C 950905 which used the callsign ‘Rescue 87’ arrived in Perth from Subang on March 25.

Japan Coast Guard Gulfstream V JA500A arrived in Perth from Subang on March 26 and later used the callsign ‘Rescue 933’.

Royal Malaysian Air Force C-130H-30 M30-12 in company with RMAF C-130H-30 M30‑16 arrived at RAAF Pearce on March 29 from Subang and Halim. While operating over the search area they used the callsign ‘Rescue 281’ and ‘Rescue 282’ respectively.

US Navy 737-8FV/P-8A Poseidon 168430 callsign ‘Talon 101’ arrived in Perth from Kadena on March 28.

RAAF E-7A Wedgetail A30-005 arrived Perth from Williamtown on March 31.

The RAAF has also been operating AP-3Cs A9-753, A9-759, A9-659, A9-662 and A9-664 on search missions over the southern Indian Ocean.

Also used in the search were A319-115 VH-VHD, Gulfstream 650 ZK-KFB, Gulfstream 550 VH-LAL and Global Expresses VH‑TGG, VH‑ICV and VH‑OCV.

Kalitta Air 747-222B N794CK as flight CKS562, which was carrying a TPL-25 towed pinger locator, arrived at Perth on March 26 from New York/JFK via Anchorage and Hong Kong. It departed Perth for Hong Kong as flight CKS9201 in the early hours of March 27.