Traffic

E190-100IGW VH-ZPD, which was withdrawn from service on January 31 after operating VOZ620 from Mackay to Brisbane, departed Brisbane on February 2 as VOZ9901 for Apia, Honolulu, Van Nuys and Nashville.

E190-100IGW VH-ZPG, which was withdrawn from service on February 26 after operating VOZ620 from Mackay to Brisbane, departed Brisbane on February 27 as VOZ9901 for Apia, Honolulu, Van Nuys and Nashville.

737-8FE VH-YFW msn 41047 was registered to Virgin Australia on February 18.

737-8FE VH-VOY (Traffic/March) is expected be the third of type to enter service with Tigerair and it ferried from Seletar to Brisbane as VOZ9942 on February 25. It then returned to service with Virgin Australia on February 28 when it operated VOZ449 from Brisbane to Darwin.

737-8BK VH-VUN, which ferried from Melbourne to Jakarta on September 15 ’15, was cancelled from the register on November 9 on termination of its lease. A Bulgarian operator planned to lease it as LZ-AWD, however, the aircraft remained in Jakarta. On February 10 the 737 was registered PK-CMQ to Sriwijaya Air, which placed the aircraft into service later in the month.

Virgin Australia Regional Airlines has withdrawn the remainder of its Fokker 50 fleet.

Fokker 50 VH-FNE was withdrawn from service on February 26 after operating VOZ2521 from Albany to Perth.

Fokker 50 VH-FNF was withdrawn from service on February 27 after operating VOZ2654 from Geraldton to Perth.

Fokker 50 VH-FNH was withdrawn from service on February 27 after operating VOZ2633 from Esperance to Perth.

Fokker 50 VH-FNI was withdrawn from service on February 26 after operating VOZ2639 from Esperance to Perth.

Fokker 50s VH-FNE, VH-FNF, VH-FNH and VH-FNI, which all still carry Skywest titles and colours, then joined Fokker 50s VH-FNA, VH-FNB, VH-FND and VH-FSL in storage at Perth.

Fokker 100 VH-FSW as VOZ994 ferried from Perth on February 11 to Port Hedland and Seletar for planned maintenance.

Fokker 100 VH-FNN as VOZ9942 returned to Perth on February 8 from Seletar and Port Hedland on completion of planned maintenance.

Tigerair 737-8FE VH-VUB ferried from Melbourne to Seletar as VOZ9945 on February 23 for planned maintenance.

Tigerair Australia has announced an extended five-year sponsorship deal with the Melbourne Storm NRL team. At a presentation at Melbourne Airport on March 1 A320-232 VH-XUH was named Cameron Smith after the current Storm captain and the aircraft also has the Melbourne Storm insignia painted on its fuselage.

A320-232 VH-VNB as TGW9003 ferried into Melbourne from Seletar on February 29 on completion of its planned maintenance.

Airline news

In this issue we report the delivery of a Fokker 70 to Air Niugini.

Air Niugini took delivery of Fokker 70 P2-ANT in Port Moresby on February 21 after the aircraft completed its ferry flight PX6397 from Subang and Denpasar.

Fokker 70 PH-KZO msn 11538 departed Amsterdam on February 2 for Belgrade, Trabzon, Al Ain, Ahmedabad, Chittagong and Seletar where it was later registered to Air Niugini as P2-ANU.

Air Vanuatu terminated its lease of Transavia 737-8K2/W PH-HSA on February 2 after the aircraft operated AVN21 from Brisbane to Santo Pekoa. On February 4 PH-HSA as flight AVN9910 ferried out of Port Vila for Denpasar, Male, Abu Dhabi and Amsterdam where it arrived on February 6.

Airwork took delivery of 737-476F ZK-TLK on January 31 (Traffic/March) and placed the aircraft into service on February 11 when it operated Pacific Air Express flight PAQ521 from Brisbane to Honiara.

737-476(F) ZK-PAK, which entered service with Airwork on December 15 (Traffic/March), was noted at Auckland on February 27 with Parcelair titles.

Parcelair is reported to be a joint venture between Airwork and Air Freight New Zealand.

ANZ Link/Mount Cook placed ATR 72-600 ZK-MVO into service on February 8 when the aircraft operated NZ5304 from Christchurch to Hamilton.

ATR 72-600s ZK-MVJ msn 1319 and ZK-MVL msn 1328 should have been delivered to ANZ Link/ Mount Cook by the time this is read.

ANZ Link/Eagle Airways withdrew Beech 1900D ZK-EAD from service on February 5 after operating NZ2215 from Auckland to Hamilton.

Beech 1900D ZK-EAF was withdrawn from service on February 7 after operating NZ2215 from Auckland to Hamilton.

Beech 1900D ZK-EAO was withdrawn from service on February 9 after operating NZ2106 from Palmerston North to Hamilton.

Solomon Airlines ferried A320-211 H4-BUS as SOL4700 from Honiara to Brisbane on February 14 and then as SOL615 on February 19 from Brisbane to Darwin and Seletar.

Solomon Airlines then leased a 737-800 from Qantas to maintain services between Brisbane and Honiara and Honiara and Nadi with 737-838 VH-VXM operating most of the flights to date.

Tasman Cargo’s 757-236(F) VH-TCA ferried as flight TMN92 into Auckland from Seletar and Sydney on February 27 after completion of its planned maintenance. VH-TCA returned to service on March 1 when it operated TMN1 from Auckland to Sydney.

DHL 757-236(F) G-BMRI, which had been covering the down time on VH-TCA, operated its final service for Tasman Cargo on March 3 as TMN92 from Sydney to Auckland. G-BMRI as DHK1P then departed Auckland on March 4 for Darwin and Singapore on termination of its lease.

Qantas Group news

In this issue we report the departure of a stored Qantas 767-300ER.

767-338ER VH-OGS had been in storage at Alice Springs since November 10 ‘14 and was cancelled from the register on February 15. The same day it was registered N374CM to Cargo Aircraft Management of Wilmington, Ohio, then on March 24, with its Qantas titles and kangaroo removed, N374CM ferried from Alice Springs to Male.

A380-842 VH-OQA operated QF87 from Sydney to Hong Kong on February 16 and then ferried to Manila for planned maintenance with Lufthansa Technik.

Having completed its maintenance in Hong Kong, 747-438ER VH-OEF ferried to Sydney as QF6014 on March 2 (arriving March 3). The same morning VH-OEF returned to service when it operated QF127 from Sydney to Hong Kong.

QantasLink is planning to add another three Fokker 100s to its WA-based fleet.

Jetstar ferried A320-232 VH-VQU from Seletar to Melbourne as JQ7994 on February 18 after completing planned maintenance.

Regional airline news

In this issue we report the delivery of a Merlin IV to Air Taxi, a Kodiak 100 to New Tribes Mission and a Commander 690B to Talofa Airways.

Air Chathams became the registered owner of Commander 690A ZK-PVB on February 25. The Commander was previously operated by NZ Aerial Mapping.

Air Freight NZ withdrew Convair 5800 ZK-KFS from service on December 31 after the aircraft operated a flight from Christchurch to Palmerston North where the Convair is being prepared for return to Canada.

Air Taxi took delivery of Merlin IV C-GPCL msn AT-017 at Port Vila on February 12 after the aircraft completed its Pacific ferry from Santa Maria, California via Hilo, Christmas Island and Pago Pago. The Merlin IV was later registered to Air Taxi as YJ-AL4.

New Tribes Mission took delivery of Quest Kodiak N111KQ msn 100-0111 at Port Moresby on February 18 after the aircraft ferried in from Santa Maria, California via Hilo and Majuro.

Talofa Airways is planning to commence RPT services from Apia in April with two Commander 690B aircraft. Commander 690B N690GG msn 11411 was delivered to Apia on February 17 after ferrying in from Merced, California via Honolulu and Christmas Island, while Commander 690B N121ML msn 11526 will be added to the fleet at a later stage.

Travel Air ran into problems which grounded the airline in February, but on February 25 it announced a joint venture company with the Indonesian-based Trans Global Investments. Fokker 50 P2-TAH, which was parked at Port Moresby, departed for Kupang on February 27 with the aircraft being flown by Southern Cross as SXI1606.

Regional Express has commenced operations in Western Australia with flights from Perth to Albany and Perth to Esperance.

Saab 340B VH-ZLF arrived in Perth on February 24 after ferrying in from Wagga Wagga via Adelaide, Esperance and Albany as ZL9901. It entered service in WA on February 28 when it operated ZL2131 from Perth to Albany.

Saab 340B VH-ZRE as ZL9926 arrived in Perth from Albany on February 26 after ferrying in from Wagga Wagga via Adelaide, Ceduna and Esperance. VH-ZRE entered service in WA on February 28 when it operated ZL2375 from Perth to Esperance.

Saab 340B VH-ZRZ arrived in Perth on February 24 after ferrying in from Wagga Wagga via Ceduna, Esperance and Albany as ZL9913.

Saab 340B VH-ZXK, which was delivered to Adelaide on December 23 (Traffic/March), entered service on February 29 when it operated ZL4536 from Adelaide to Whyalla.

Saab 340B VH-ZXG, which was delivered to Wagga Wagga on December 16 (Traffic/March), was test flown from there on March 4 as ZL9942 ahead of entering service.

Bizjet news

In this issue we report the delivery of a Global 6000 and a Challenger 604. Departing were a Global Express and a Hawker 900XP while a Citation II was removed from the register.

Global 6000 N599CH msn 9515 was delivered to AVWest Aviation in Perth on February 10 after it arrived from Montreal via Los Angeles and Majuro.

Global Express N976CB msn 9428 has terminated its operation with AVWest Aviation and on January 29 it departed Perth for Majuro and Los Angeles. N976CB was delivered to AVWest on August 2 ’15.

Challenger 604 C-FKUL msn 5634 was delivered to Cobham SAR Services in Adelaide on March 4 with the aircraft ferrying in from Toronto via Tucson, Hilo and Nadi.

Hawker 900XP VH-NKD, which was operated by CML Aviation of Brisbane, was cancelled from the register on February 19 when sold in the US. VH-NKD was last reported departing Sydney for Noumea and Majuro on January 7 and on February 22 it was registered N313ZP to Avpro Inc of Annapolis, Maryland.

Citation II VH-PSM, which had been operated by Shortstop Jet Charter from Essendon, was cancelled from the register on February 26 as ‘no longer used as an aircraft’.

Learjet 35As VH-JCR, VH-LJA, VH-LJJ, VH-LPJ and VH-OVB changed their registered operator on February 9 from Pacific Flight Services of Condell Park, NSW to GoJet of North Nowra, NSW.

Learjet 35A VH-LJG, which is registered to Auswest Airlines (2010) P/L of Jandakot, was noted at Essendon on February 1 carrying Medical Air air ambulance titles on its starboard side.

In propjet news King Air 350i N136KF has been demonstrated in Australia. N136KF was displayed at the Singapore Airshow before arriving at Darwin on February 20. It was later noted at Longreach, Brisbane, Toowoomba, Canberra, Bankstown, Sydney, Essendon, Moorabbin, Ceduna and Perth before departing Broome for Halim and Don Muang on March 2.

Commander 690A VH-CLT was noted at Avalon on February 20 flying as Bird Dog 273 while in company with DC-10-30 N612AX.

King Air B200T VH-LAB changed its register operator on February 9 from Pacific Flight Services to GoJet.

Gulfstreams galore

Peak Enterprises Gulfstream 650 N4CP departed Sydney for Perth on February 18 before continuing to Melbourne on February 21. It departed Melbourne for Honolulu on February 22.

Gulfstream 650 N305CC arrived in Sydney from Honolulu on February 9 before departing to Cairns on February 14. It departed Cairns for Honolulu on February 16.

Gulfstream 650 N1777M as JAS61 arrived in Sydney from Honolulu on February 22 before continuing to Melbourne on February 23. It departed Melbourne for Beijing on February 24.

Gulfstream 650ER VP-CJJ arrived in Brisbane from Hong Kong on February 9 before returning to Hong Kong on February 10.

Gulfstream 550 N405GA departed Sydney for Cairns and Honolulu on February 15.

Gulfstream 550 N550A arrived in Perth from Honolulu and Cairns on February 12 before returning to Cairns and Honolulu on February 15.

McDonald Aviation Gulfstream 550 N560DM as flight EJM550 arrived at the Gold Coast from Kahului on February 21 and after overnighting departed to Honolulu.

Air 7 Gulfstream 550 N575PK arrived in Sydney from Honolulu on February 13 before visiting Essendon, Newcastle, Adelaide and Brisbane. It departed Sydney for Auckland on February 18.

Norlease Gulfstream 550 N866BB arrived in Adelaide from Papeete on March 3, departing for Sydney on March 5.

Yumi Brands Gulfstream 550 N870CM arrived in Sydney from Auckland on February 10 before continuing to Brisbane on February 13. It departed Brisbane for Honolulu on February 20.

Gulfstream 550 B-LSM arrived in Hobart from Hong Kong on February 8 before continuing to Adelaide on February 11 and Sydney on February 13. It departed Sydney for Hong Kong on February 15.

Deer Jet Gulfstream 550 B-8126 arrived in Sydney from Hong Kong on February 9 before continuing to Melbourne on February 14. It departed Melbourne for Beijing on February 16.

Hanergy Group Gulfstream 550 B-8131 arrived in Cairns from Guangzhou on February 10 and after overnighting departed for Beijing. Later it arrived at Hamilton Island from Beijing and Cairns on February 14 before returning to Cairns and Beijing.

Gulfstream 550 B-8256 arrived in Cairns from Beijing on February 20 and after overnighting continued to Hamilton Island, Cairns and Beijing.

Nanshan Jet Gulfstream 550 B-8260 arrived in Sydney from Seletar on February 14 before continuing to Melbourne on February 18. It departed Sydney for Yantai Laishan on February 21.

Gulfstream 550 B-8261 arrived in Sydney from Beijing on February 16 and departed to Macau on February 18.

Gulfstream 550 B-KCK arrived at the Gold Coast from Clark on February 7 before returning to Clark on February 13. It later arrived in Sydney ex Chongqing on February 28 before returning to Chongqing on March 3.

Gulfstream 550 B-LDL arrived in Sydney ex Chongqing on February 28 before returning to Chongqing on March 3.

TAG Aviation Asia Gulfstream 550 M-GVSP as TBJ10 arrived in Perth from Hong Kong on February 5 and departed to Learmonth on February 8. It departed Learmonth for Darwin and Hong Kong on February 14.

Flower in the Field Gulfstream V N776RB as EDG76 arrived Perth from Seletar on February 3 before continuing to Melbourne on February 4. It later visited Brisbane and Sydney before departing Melbourne for Honolulu on February 10.

Gulfstream V N881HS arrived in Brisbane from Halim on February 8 before returning to Halim on February 13.

USAF Gulfstream V/C-37A 97-0401 callsign ‘SAM 371’ arrived in Darwin from Osan on February 6. It was later seen in Sydney before departing Canberra for Pago Pago on February 10.

USAF Gulfstream V/C-37A 01-0030 callsign ‘Spar 31’ arrived in Canberra from Wellington on February 23 before continuing to Alice Springs on February 25. The C-37 departed Alice Springs for Cairns and Honolulu on February 26.

Transnational Management Systems Gulfstream IV N772AV arrived in Melbourne from Nadi on February 15 before visiting Sydney, Auckland and Perth. It departed Perth for Nadi on February 26.

Gulfstream III N173PA arrived in Sydney from Honolulu and Pago Pago on February 16 and departed to Nadi and Honolulu on February 18.

Low Country Trading Gulfstream II N510AG arrived in Brisbane from Guam and Port Moresby on February 26 before continuing to RAAF Amberley on March 1. This aircraft is operated by Northrop Grumman and is extensively modified as a communications relay aircraft.

Air Mandarin Gulfstream 280 B-8280 callsign ‘Air Manda 783’ arrived in Perth from Clark and Darwin on February 12 and departed to Denpasar on February 16.

Overseas bizjets

EDF Global 6000 N497EC arrived in Melbourne from Honolulu on February 8 and after overnighting departed to Sydney and Bandar Seri Begawan.

Tag Aviation Asia Global 6000 N9099H as TBJ79 arrived in Perth from Hong Kong on February 9 before continuing to Sydney on February 11 and the Gold Coast on February 15. It departed the Gold Coast for Jeju City, South Korea on February 17.

Vista Jet Global 6000 9H-IGH as VJT880 arrived in Townsville from Male on February 13 before continuing the same day to Hamilton Island and Mackay. It departed Mackay for Cairns on February 19 and Cairns for Seletar on February 24.

Vista Jet Global 6000 9H-VJA as VJT821 arrived in Melbourne from Auckland on February 15 and departed to Hong Kong on February 18.

Vista Jet Global 6000 9H-VJI as VJT817M arrived in Launceston from Auckland on February 12 and departed to Hong Kong on February 13.

MT Holdings Corporation Global Express N320GX arrived at the Gold Coast from Papeete on February 21 before continuing to Alice Springs and Sydney on February 23. It departed Sydney for Kona on February 24.

Global 5000 N689WM transited Brisbane on February 9 while en route from Don Muang to Auckland. It again transited Brisbane on February 14 while en route from Auckland to Hong Kong.

Execujet Middle East Global 5000 A6-ACE transited Darwin on February 12 while en route from New Delhi to Napier. It arrived in Sydney from Napier on February 13 before departing to Hong Kong on February 21.

Global 5000 B-98888 arrived in Brisbane from Taipei on February 10 before continuing to Sydney on February 13. It departed Sydney for Taipei on February 16.

Global 5000 VP-CGM arrived in Sydney from Hong Kong on February 21 before departing for Guangzhou on February 24.

Global 5000 VP-CWQ arrived in Perth ex Shenzhen on February 10 and later visited Melbourne and Cairns before departing Sydney for Auckland on February 18.

Challenger 605 N312HX arrived in Sydney from Clark and Darwin on February 14.

Tag Aviation Asia Challenger 605 M-AAAA arrived in Perth from Seletar on February 9.

75 Express Challenger 604 N75KH arrived at the Gold Coast from Pago Pago on February 7 and later visited Hamilton Island and Brisbane before departing Sydney for Majuro on February 19.

Swiss Air Ambulance Challenger 604 HB-JRC transited Cairns on February 6 while en route from Subang to Christchurch. It then transited Canberra on February 8 while en route from Christchurch to Denpasar.

KJP Challenger 300 N228PK arrived in Sydney from Queenstown on February 26 and departed on February 27.

Sunwest Aviation Challenger 300 C-GPDQ callsign ‘Chinook 821’ arrived in Cairns from Nadi on February 2. The Challenger later visited Hamilton Island, Brisbane and Sydney before departing Cairns for Pago Pago on February 14.

Falcon 7X B-8205 arrived in Melbourne from Palmerston North on February 15 and departed to Hong Kong on February 18.

Air Alsie Falcon 7X OY-EJD as MMD655 arrived in Essendon from Hokitika and Christchurch on February 25 and departed to Mauritius on February 27.

Morris Communications Falcon 50EX N3BM arrived in Perth from Singapore on February 19 and later visited Melbourne and Sydney before departing Brisbane for Nadi on February 27.

Plane Folk Too Falcon 50 N496PT arrived in Cairns from Auckland and Honiara on February 27.

Aurogold Aviation Embraer EMB-135BJ N106EC arrived in Sydney from Don Muang and Darwin on February 7. It departed Sydney for Canberra on February 10 and after overnighting continued to Essendon. N106EC departed Essendon for Darwin and Don Muang on February 13.

Phenom 300 N9688R arrived in Perth from Subang and Port Hedland on February 6 before departing for Christmas Island and Subang on February 10. Hawker 900XP PK-JBH arrived in Canberra from Denpasar and Darwin on February 25 before returning to Darwin and Denpasar later the same day.

Ferry flights

Cessna Aircraft demonstrator Cessna 182T N517CS was assembled by Flightline Aviation at Ardmore in January before arriving at the Gold Coast on February 22 from Kerikeri, Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island. It was later noted at Tumut, East Sale, Mount Gambier and Moorabbin.

Cirrus SR22 N288SC completed its trans-Pacific crossing at the Gold Coast on March 2 after arriving from Santa Maria via Kahului and Pago Pago.

Cirrus SR22 N168EE departed Bankstown on February 10 for Charleville, Mount Isa, Tennant Creek and Darwin where it arrived on February 11. After overnighting it departed for Kupang.

Cirrus SR20 N712AA arrived at the Gold Coast on February 13 after ferrying in from Santa Maria, Kahului and Pago Pago.

PAC 750XL ZK-KNS msn 200 departed Hamilton on February 8 for Kerikeri, Lord Howe Island, Gold Coast, Charleville, Alice Springs, Broome and Denpasar where it arrived on February 11. The PAC 750XL carried ‘100th’ titles and was later displayed at the Singapore Airshow.

PA-31P-350 ZK-WTH, which was operated by Air Wanganui Commuter, departed Palmerston North for Auckland and Kerikeri on February 15 before continuing to Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island and Bankstown where it arrived on February 17.

PA-34 VH-DIG departed Broome for Denpasar on February 29.

Quest Kodiak N150KQ has been on a demonstration tour of Australia, New Zealand and PNG and arrived in Darwin from Denpasar and Dili on February 22. After touring PNG the Kodiak departed Port Moresby for Cairns on February 26 to start the Australian segment of its tour.

Heavy metal

Emirates A380-861 A6-EEF was operating UAE406 from Dubai to Melbourne when it sustained damage on landing at Melbourne on February 12. An Emirates Sky Cargo 747-4HAF (see below) flew spares to Melbourne but it was February 28 before the A380 departed on ferry to Dubai as UAE2665.

BH Air A330-223 LZ-AWA as BGH1002 arrived in Sydney from Papeete on March 2 and departed to Surakarta on March 4.

Rotana Jet Aviation A319-115 A6-RRJ arrived in Adelaide from Jinan, China and Darwin on February 7. It departed for Darwin and Jinan on February 10.

K5-Aviation A319-115(CJ) D-ALXX transited Cairns on January 25 while en route from Auckland to Don Muang.

Cargolux 747-8R7/F LX-VCL arrived at Avalon from Singapore on February 18 carrying equipment for the Superbike races at Phillip Island. Later the same day as ‘Cargolux 853’ LX-VCL departed Avalon direct to Cotopaxi, Ecuador.

Emirates Sky Cargo 747-4HAF(ER) OO-THD as UAE2664 was carrying spare parts for Emirates A380-861 A6-EEF when it arrived in Melbourne from Al Maktoum on February 14. It departed Melbourne for Al Maktoum on February 15 as UAE2665.

Indian Air Force C-17A CB8006 callsign ‘IFC3016’ arrived at RAAF Amberley from Singapore on February 26. The following day the C-17 operated Amberley-Suva- Amberley carrying relief supplies to Fiji. It departed Amberley for Singapore on February 29.

Dehong South Asian Airlines 737-7ZW/BBJ B-5818 as DLC888 arrived in Sydney from Guangzhou on February 4 before departing to Auckland on February 8. It returned to Sydney from Auckland on February 13 and continued to Guangzhou on February 16.

USAF 737-7CP/C-40C 05-4613 callsign ‘Spar 18’arrived in Sydney from Pago Pago on February 15 and departed to Darwin and Paya Lebar on February 17.

Volga Dnepr Il-76TD-90VD RA- 76952 arrived at Port Hedland from Colombo on February 12 as flight VDA7243. It departed the following day as VDA4812 for Yangong.

Coulson Lockheed EC-130Q N130FF has completed its fire attack contract and on March 2 it departed Avalon for Norfolk Island en route to the US.

10 Tanker Air Carrier DC-10-30 N612AX departed Avalon for Pago Pago, Honolulu and Albuquerque on February 26. The DC-10 had been in the country on fire attack duties, initially arriving at RAAF Richmond on September 29 ’15.