Traffic

747-438 VH-OJS departed Hong Kong for Melbourne as QF6016 on March 26 after completing planned maintenance.

787-9 VH-ZNA msn 39038 is reported to be the first 787-9 on order for Qantas with the aircraft planned for delivery in October.

737-838 VH-XZB is the first Qantas aircraft to be fitted with Wi-Fi. On April 7 as QF6160 from Sydney it was demonstrated to media wearing ‘High-Speed Wi-Fi on board’ decals (see feature elsewhere this issue – Ed). VH-XZB returned to service later that day as QF469 from Sydney to Melbourne.

QantasLink 717-200 VH-YQU was damaged by ground equipment during a storm at Brisbane back on November 13. It was ferried as QJE6202 from Brisbane to Townsville on April 8 for painting prior to it returning to service.

Fokker 100 VH-NHY, which had been in Seletar for planned maintenance since February 18 (Traffic/April), returned to Perth from Port Hedland as NWK6685 on April 6.

Dash 8-315 VH-SBW as QF6713 ferried from Brisbane to Townsville on March 15 where it was painted in an all-white colour scheme. On March 27 VH-SBW as QF1421 returned to Brisbane where it remained until April 5 when it was ferried to Norfolk Island and Auckland as QF2324. VH-SBW was ferried to New Zealand to allow Jetstar New Zealand Dash 8-315 VH-TQK to return to Australia for planned maintenance (see below).

Jetstar ferried A320-232 VH-VQL from Seletar to Melbourne on March 24 as JQ8994 on completion of planned maintenance.

A320-232 VH-VQU ferried from Seletar to Melbourne on March 23 as JQ8996 on completion of planned maintenance.

New Zealand-based Dash 8-315 VH-TQK has returned to Australia for maintenance and on April 8 it ferried from Auckland to Norfolk Island, Brisbane and Tamworth.

QantasLink Dash 8-315 VH-SBW (see above) was delivered to Jetstar in Auckland on April 5 and on April 6 it entered service when it operated JQ375 from Auckland to Nelson.

Airline news

Air New Zealand has withdrawn the Boeing 767 from service thus bringing to an end nearly 32 years of operation with the type.

767-319ER ZK-NCG was withdrawn from service on March 25 after operating NZ126 from Melbourne to Auckland (arriving March 26), while 767-319ER ZK-NCI was withdrawn from service on March 31 after operating NZ108 from Sydney to Auckland.

Both aircraft have been sold to an undisclosed buyer and will be converted to freighters.

777-319ER ZK-OKM as NZ6020 departed Singapore on March 26 for Auckland (arriving March 27) after completing planned maintenance.

Cobham ferried E190-100LR VH-NJA into Perth from Warsaw on April 1 after completing planned maintenance. Routing from Warsaw to Perth was via Trabzon, Madras, Kuala Lumpur and Port Hedland.

Virgin Group news

Virgin Australia ferried 777-3ZGER VH-VPF from Brisbane to Singapore as VOZ9941 on March 18 for planned maintenance. On completion VH-VPF ferried from Singapore to Melbourne as VOZ9940 on April 2. It then resumed Virgin Australia services on the Melbourne to Los Angeles route on April 4 when it operated VOZ23.

777-3ZGER VH-VOZ ferried from Brisbane to Singapore as VOZ9941 on March 5 for planned maintenance. On completion it ferried from Singapore to Brisbane as VOZ9940 on March 18.

A330-243 VH-XFG ferried from Paya Lebar to Melbourne as VOZ9944 on March 18 on completion of planned maintenance.

737-800/W VH-YFX Mackenzies Bay, which was registered to Virgin Australia on January 4, was noted at Boeing Field on April 7 so presumably its delivery was imminent.

Virgin Australia Regional Airlines/VARA ferried ATR 72-600 VH-FVZ as VOZ9948 from Brisbane to Nelson on February 27 for planned maintenance. On completion VH-FVZ ferried from Nelson to Brisbane as VOZ9949 on March 15.

VARA will withdraw its six ATR 72-500 aircraft – VH-FVH, VH-FVI, VH-FVL, VH-FVM, VH-FVU and VH-FVX – from service by July.

Fokker 50 VH-FNB, which ferried from Perth to Halim on December 21 reportedly on its way to east Africa, was noted in early April parked at Seletar.

Fokker 50 VH-FNH, which ferried from Alice Springs to Darwin also on its way to east Africa, was noted in early April parked at Seletar.

Tigerair wet leased Fokker 100 VH-XWO from Alliance Airlines to assist with Easter capacity out of Melbourne. On April 7 VH-XWO operated Brisbane-Melbourne- Sydney-Melbourne-Sydney- Melbourne, while on April 8 and April 9 it operated Melbourne- Gold Coast-Melbourne-Adelaide- Melbourne.

Regional airline news

Air Chathams ferried Convair 340(F) ZK-KFJ ex storage at Palmerston North to Auckland on March 28.

Free Spirit Airlines returned Beech 1900C VH-EMK to its owner (Traffic/January) with the aircraft later being sold in the US. On March 23 VH-EMK departed Jandakot for Newman, Darwin and Biak and onwards ferry round the North Pacific to its final destination of Oklahoma City where it arrived on March 27. The Beech was later registered N159SF to Suburban Air Express on March 30.

HNZ Australia has added two Sikorsky S-92As to its fleet.

N923H msn 920104 was cancelled from the US register on March 15 and was registered VH-IPK to HNZ Australia on March 24. It departed Perth on March 29 on ferry to Broome via Carnarvon and Karratha.

N924R msn 920116 was cancelled from the US register on March 10 and was registered VH-IPX to HNZ Australia on March 15. It departed Perth on March 17 on ferry to Broome via Carnarvon and Karratha.

Hevilift has returned DHC 6-400 P2-IRN (Traffic/April) to operation after it was flown from Cairns to Port Moresby and Mount Hagen on March 8.

CHC Australia (Lloyd Helicopters) has added three Sikorsky S-92As to its fleet.

N255Q msn 920255 was cancelled from the US register on February 28 and was registered VH-LWJ to Lloyd Helicopters of West Perth on March 8.

N278S msn 920278 was cancelled from the US register on March 1 before being registered VH-LWQ to Lloyd on March 8.

N289G msn 920289 was cancelled from the US register on March 7 before being registered VH-LWU to Lloyd on March 10.

Pionair Australia ferried Convair 580(F) VH-PDW into Parkes on April 3 where on arrival the aircraft joined the Parkes Aviation Museum (see Warbirds this issue – Ed).

Skytrans cancelled Dash 8-311 VH-QQP from the register on December 2 (Traffic/Jan) with the aircraft reportedly sold in Canada. However, the Dash 8 remained in Cairns and on March 23 it returned to the Australian register as VH-BBU. The registered owner is listed as Aircraft Solutions of Edge Hill, Queensland while the registered operator is Air Fleet Management, also of Edge Hill.

Solomon Airlines ferried BN-2A-9 H4-AAI into the Gold Coast on March 26 from Port Vila, Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island.

Bizjet news

Gulfstream 650 VH-LAL ex N650PA was registered to Little Aviation of Tullamarine, Victoria on March 10 (Traffic/April).

Learjet 36A VH-SLF, which was operated by Pel-Air Aviation, was sold on February 15 with the new registered owner Air Affairs (Australia) of North Nowra, NSW and the new registered operator GoJet of North Nowra.

Learjet 35A VH-SLD, which was operated by Pel-Air Aviation, was sold on February 15 with the new registered owner Air Affairs (Australia) of North Nowra and the new registered operator GoJet of North Nowra.

Air Affairs (Australia) Learjet 35A VH-YPT was cancelled from the register on March 31 before being registered VH-LJU on April 2.

Citation Mustang N1956A, which arrived at Jandakot on February 28 (Traffic/April), was still resident there as of early April.

In propjet news King Air 350i VH-KQF was noted at Cairns on March 12 now carrying RAAF titles and roundels. The King Air, then registered N988KA, was delivered to Cairns on December 9 (Traffic/ March) before being registered VH-KQF to Hawker Pacific on December 15.

PC-12/47E VH-PIL msn 1693 was registered to Pilatus Australia of Adelaide Airport on March 28. It departed Stans for Heraklion on April 3 on the first leg of its delivery flight to Australia.

Gulfstreams galore

White Marlin Gulfstream 650ER N22T arrived in Sydney from Honolulu on March 24. It was later noted at Ayers Rock on March 30 before arriving at Essendon from Kununurra on April 5.

Warbler Gulfstream 650 N40D arrived in Sydney from Beijing on March 21. It was later noted at Avalon, Essendon and Canberra before departing the Gold Coast direct to Los Angeles on April 2.

Gulfstream 650ER N706NR arrived in Sydney from Beijing on March 24 before departing to Shenzhen on March 25. JC Bamford Excavators Gulfstream 650 M-JCBB arrived in Melbourne from Los Angeles and Sydney on March 23 before returning to Sydney on March 27. It departed Sydney for Denpasar on March 30.

Gulfstream 650ER P4-GVI arrived in Perth from Male on March 6 before continuing to Alice Springs on March 18.

Gulfstream 650 VP-CYL arrived in Brisbane from Hong Kong on March 13.

Costco Gulfstream 550 N83CW arrived in Sydney from Honolulu, Brisbane and Newcastle on March 8 and then departed for Canberra, Essendon and Melbourne on March 9. It departed Melbourne for Kahului on March 10.

Oakmount Holdings Gulfstream 550 N366EB arrived at Essendon from Honolulu on March 1 before returning to Honolulu on March 11.

Millrock Aviation Gulfstream 550 N451GV arrived in Canberra from Honolulu on March 28 before continuing to Sydney on March 29. It departed Sydney for Honolulu on March 31.

Gulfstream 550 N550AA arrived in Sydney from Kona on March 3 before continuing to Melbourne on March 4. It departed Maroochydore for Kona on March 12.

Gulfstream 550 N607CV arrived in Sydney from Shanghai on March 28 before continuing to Melbourne on March 29.

Gulfstream 550 N793CP arrived in Brisbane from Honolulu on March 6 before returning to Honolulu on March 9.

Chevron Gulfstream 550 N5092 arrived in Perth from Singapore on March 30 and after overnighting departed to Honolulu.

Gulfstream V N102DZ arrived in Sydney from Haneda on March 18 before continuing to Melbourne on March 20. It departed Melbourne for Honolulu on March 21.

Jet Edge Gulfstream V N776RB as EDG76 arrived in Perth from Nadi on March 6. It was later noted at Melbourne, Brisbane and Maroochydore before departing Sydney for Auckland on March 18.

Odyssey Adventures Gulfstream 450 N442HM arrived in Sydney from Nadi on March 26 before continuing to Avalon on March 31. It was later noted in Cairns on April 5.

Overseas bizjets

Netjet Sales Global 6000 N141QS arrived in Sydney from Honolulu on March 26 and departed to Singapore on March 27.

TAG Aviation Asia Global 6000 B-KEZ as BWJ288 arrived in Melbourne from Hong Kong on March 26 before returning to Hong Kong on March 29.

VistaJet Global 6000 9H-VJI as VJT813 arrived in Melbourne from Hanoi on March 25 before returning there on March 26.

VistaJet Global 6000 9H-VJJ as VJT822 arrived in Perth from Hong Kong on March 30 and departed to Macau on April 1.

VistaJet Global 6000 9H-VJM as VJT951W arrived in Melbourne from Bombay on March 16.

VistaJet Global 6000 9H-VJP as VJT895 arrived in Sydney from Papeete on March 20 before continuing to Melbourne and Manila on March 21.

Delaware Trust Global 5000 N667BB arrived on Hamilton Island from Honolulu and Cairns on March 18. It departed Hamilton Island for Ayers Rock on March 22 before continuing to Essendon on March 23. N667BB then departed Essendon for Sydney on March 25 before continuing to Nadi on March 28.

Global 5000 N5000P as EJM55 arrived in Sydney from Kona on March 13. It operated a return flight to Melbourne on March 15 before departing to Kahului on March 16.

Tiriac Air Global 5000 YR-TIK transited Darwin on March 25 while en route from Don Muang to Dunedin.

Whitewind Company Global Express N711LS arrived in Melbourne from U-Tapao on March 19 and the same day operated a return flight to Sydney. It departed Melbourne for Queenstown and Sydney on March 21 before returning to Melbourne on March 23. N711LS departed Melbourne for Phuket on March 27.

Red Line Air Global Express N838SC arrived in Melbourne from Hong Kong on March 25.

Sanctuary Aviation Global Express G-SANL as GMA165 arrived in Sydney from Male on March 29 and then operated a return flight to Adelaide on March 30.

Skye Gryphon Challenger 605 N525SD arrived in Hobart from Queenstown on March 21 before continuing to Adelaide on March 26. It departed Adelaide for Nadi on March 30.

Royal Canadian Air Force Challenger 601-1A/CC-144C 144614 as CFC3027 arrived in Darwin from Christchurch and Sydney on March 28.

Challenger 350 M-SGJS transited Adelaide on March 10 while en route from Seletar to Auckland. It later arrived on Hamilton Island from Queenstown and the Gold Coast on March 18 before departing to Darwin and Seletar on March 20.

HAAS Automation Falcon 7X N728GH arrived at Essendon from Honolulu on March 23 before returning there on March 26.

Canadian Utilities Falcon 7X C-GCUL arrived in Perth from Cape Town on March 13 and departed to Dubai on March 16.

Deer Jet Falcon 7X B-8202 arrived in Melbourne from Seletar on March 30 and departed to Sydney and Seletar on April 3.

Flying Lions Falcon 7X VP-BZE (Traffic/April) departed Brisbane for Sydney on March 9 before continuing to Queenstown on March 10. Falcon 900LX F-HRAY arrived in Sydney from Don Muang on March 29. After overnighting it departed to Wellcamp, Darwin and Halim.

Alten Consulting Falcon 900EX N826K arrived in Brisbane from Nadi on March 11. It departed on March 15 to the Gold Coast and Queenstown.

Phenom 300 N666DM arrived in Perth from Subang and Broome on March 13 with the aircraft later noted at Adelaide, Essendon, Tamworth, Archerfield and Cairns before it departed Darwin for Surabaya on March 23.

Ferry flights

AT-802A N23577 departed Santa Maria, California for Honolulu on March 13 before continuing to Majuro, Honiara and the Gold Coast where it arrived on March 17. The ferry flight, which was operated by Hazair, then continued to Albury and Ballarat.

AT-802A VH-MMN ex N23577 was registered to Bundumbar P/L of Warren, NSW on March 31.

AW189 9M-AWX is on a demonstration tour of Australia and departed Essendon on March 31 for Adelaide, Ceduna, Kalgoorlie and Jandakot where it arrived on April 1. From Jandakot the AW189 continued to Perth where it arrived on April 3.

Baron G58 VH-HUG has been sold in the US and departed Brisbane for Pago Pago on March 10. It was registered in the US on March 22 as N47WK.

Cessna 208B/EX N271EX (Traffic/April) departed Noumea for Brisbane and Townsville on March 22. It continued its ferry from Townsville to the McArthur River mine and Darwin on March 24 and after overnighting departed to Kupang.

Cessna 208 N1458Q arrived at Redcliffe on April 1 after completing its trans-Pacific ferry from Merced, California via Honolulu, Apia and the Gold Coast. N1458Q, which was registered to the Gateway Air Center at Merced, departed Redcliffe for Moruya on April 2.

Cessna 208 N332SV 208-00373, which is a Texas Turbines conversion, arrived at Auckland on March 18 from Honolulu and Apia.

Cessna 208B N208TD (Traffic/ April), which was delivered to Wollongong on March 7, was registered VH-FMX to Skydive the Beach group on March 10.

Cessna 182T VH-NIH has been sold in New Zealand and on March 20 it departed Bankstown for Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, Kerikeri and Auckland where it arrived on March 21. It was registered ZK-TLC on April 6.

Cirrus SR22 N313CD arrived on Norfolk Island from Darwin and the Gold Coast on February 24 on a round-the-world flight.

Airvan 8 VH-ANE msn GA8-TC-320-17-238 is reported to be on delivery to Poland and ferried out of Latrobe Valley on March 24 for Mildura, Ayers Rock, Broome and Denpasar where it arrived on March 29.

Airvan 8 B-10NF msn GA8-16-226 was registered to Jing Gong (Beijing) General Aviation on April 5.

Kiwi Air P-750XLs ZK-FNZ and ZK-XLE departed Hamilton on March 13 for Auckland, Lord Howe Island, Gold Coast, Alice Springs, Broome and Denpasar where they arrived on March 16.

Heavy metal

Azerbaijan Airlines A319-115(CJ) 4K-8888 arrived in Canberra from Halim on April 2 before returning to Halim on April 5.

Volga-Dnepr An-124 RA-82081 as VDA2080 arrived in Darwin from Narita on March 9 and departed as VDA2081 to Ujung Pandang on March 13.

Air Bridge Cargo 747-8F VQ-BVR as ABW 9136 arrived at Avalon from Hong Kong on March 19 before returning to Hong Kong as ABW9037 on March 20.

Cargo Logic Air 747-8F G-CLAB as CLU9134 arrived at Avalon from Penang on March 19 and later the same day departed to Hong Kong as CLU9035.

Atlas Air 747-47UF N418MC as GTI8054 arrived at Avalon from Bahrain on March 19 and later the same day continued to Auckland as GTI8053.

Atlas Air 747-47UF N415MC as GTI8011 arrived at Avalon from Singapore on March 19 before continuing the same day to Auckland.

Cargolux 747-8R7(F) LX-VCG arrived at Avalon from Singapore on March 13. It departed to Hong Kong on March 14.

Air China 747-4J6 B-2447 as CCA002 was on a state visit to Australia and New Zealand when it arrived in Canberra from Beijing on March 22. It departed Canberra for Sydney on March 24 before continuing to Auckland on March 26.

Air China 737-89L/W B-1761 as CCA002A transited Darwin on March 23 while en route from Guangzhou to Auckland. On March 28 it arrived in Sydney from Auckland before departing to Darwin and Guangzhou on March 29.

ACM Air Charter 737-8JM/BBJ2 D-AACM arrived in Brisbane on February 16 (Traffic/April) and remained parked there until March 25 when it departed for Auckland as ‘Bavarian 10’.

737-7BC/BBJ N666ML arrived in Sydney from Hong Kong on April 2.

Nanshan Jet 737-7GJ/BBJ B-5286 arrived in Brisbane from Shenzhen on March 23, returning to Shenzhen on March 27. It later arrived in Sydney from Yantai on March 28 before visiting Hobart, Melbourne and Brisbane, departing Sydney for Yantai on April 2.

Magenta Aviation 737-74T/BBJ VP-BEL arrived in Brisbane from Singapore on March 24 and later visited Sydney and the Gold Coast. VP-BEL departed Brisbane for Phuket on March 30.

Jet Aviation 737-7JB/BBJ VP-CKG arrived in Sydney from Hong Kong on March 18 and departed to Guangzhou on March 27.

10 Tanker Air Carrier DC-10-30 N612AX, which had been based at Richmond on firefighting duties since October 30 ’16, departed on March 2 for Pago Pago, Honolulu and Albuquerque. Conair RJ85 C-GVFK, which had been based at Avalon on firefighting duties since December 5, departed on March 24 for Brisbane, Honiara, Majuro, Honolulu and Abbotsford.

Royal Air Force C-17A ZZ172 arrived in Perth from Amberley on March 23, and departed to Diego Garcia on March 31.

USAF/Illinois ANG KC-135R 59-1500 ‘Reach 086’ arrived in Brisbane from Guam on March 23 before returning to Guam on March 25.

USAF/AFRC KC-135R 61-8280 ‘Reach 096’ (which had a March tail band) arrived in Brisbane from Guam on March 18 before returning to Guam on March 24.

USAF KC-10A 79-1951 ‘Reach 074’ departed Melbourne for Guam on March 29.

USAF KC-10A 86-0034 ‘Reach 064’ departed Brisbane for Guam on March 31.

USAF KC-10A 86-0038 ‘Reach 082’ (Traffic/April) departed Melbourne for Guam on March 8.

USAF KC-10A 87-0123 ‘Reach 064’ arrived in Brisbane from Hickam on March 28 and departed to Guam on March 29.

Timberline Helicopters Sikorsky UH-60A N434TH, which had been in the country since January 12 on fire attack duties with Pays Helicopters, departed Scone on March 24 for Brisbane where it was shipped back to the US.