Traffic

QantasLink ferried Fokker 100 VH-NHG as NWK6685 into Perth on August 16 from Seletar and Port Hedland after completing maintenance.

Fokker 100 VH-NHQ departed Perth on August 13 as NWK6684 to Port Hedland and Seletar for planned maintenance.

Dash 8-Q315 VH-SBT which arrived in Townsville on July 26 for painting (Traffic/September) returned to Brisbane as QF2514 on August 20. While in Townsville VH-SBT was named Rockhampton.

Dash 8-Q315 VH-SBW ferried from Brisbane to Norfolk Island and Auckland on August 29 to again commence operations with Jetstar in New Zealand (see below).

Dash 8-Q315 VH-TQZ ferried from Brisbane to Townsville on August 20 for painting and while there the aircraft was named Bundaberg. VH-TQZ ferried from Townsville to Brisbane as QF2459 on September 1 and return to service with QantasLink.

Jetstar ferried A320-232 VH-VQP as JQ8993 from Melbourne to Darwin and Seletar on August 14 for planned maintenance.

A321-231 VH-VWT as JQ8993 ferried from Melbourne to Darwin and Seletar on August 27 for planned maintenance.

Dash 8-Q315 VH-SBI was temporarily withdrawn from service in New Zealand on August 29 after operating JQ356 from Napier to Auckland. On August 31 VH-SBI departed Auckland for Norfolk Island, Gold Coast and Tamworth for planned maintenance.

Dash 8-Q315 VH-SBW replaced VH-SBI on Jetstar operations in New Zealand and on August 29 it ferried from Brisbane to Norfolk Island and Auckland. VH-SBW which is still in an all-white colour scheme entered service with Jetstar on August 30 as JQ373 from Auckland to Nelson.

Jetstar Pacific took delivery of A323-232 VN-A572 msn 7796 in Saigon on August 26 after the aircraft ferried in from Toulouse and Al Maktoum.

Airline news

In this issue we report the delivery of a Fokker 70 to Alliance while departing was an ATR 72-500 of ANZ Link/Mount Cook. An Alliance Fokker 70 which was used as a source of source of spares was cancelled from the register.

Air New Zealand was planning to take delivery of 787-9 ZK-NZL msn 43218 in October.

777-319ER ZK-OKR which ferried from Auckland to Singapore for maintenance on July 31 (Traffic/September) returned to Auckland as NZ6016 on August 27.

777-319ER ZK-OKS ferried from Auckland to Singapore as NZ6017 on August 28 for planned maintenance.

Air New Zealand Link/Mount Cook withdrew ATR 72-500 ZK-MCA from service on July 23 (Traffic/September). The ATR 72-500 then had its titles and the Koru removed before it departed Christchurch as ‘Southern Cross 1735’ on ferry to Saigon via Brisbane, Darwin and Kota Kinabalu. ZK-MCA which was removed from the New Zealand register on August 19 will reportedly be delivered to Novo Air of Bangladesh as S2-AHQ.

Alliance Airlines who took delivery of Fokker 70 PH-KBX at Brisbane on August 7 (Traffic/September) registered the aircraft VH-KBX on August 14. The registered owner of the aircraft is KBX P/L of Mudjimba, Queensland and the registered operator Alliance Airlines of Eagle Farm.

Fokker 70 VH-NKH which had been parked at Brisbane since May ‘14 was cancelled from the register on August 29. The Fokker 70 then registered OE-LFG and carrying the colours of Austrian Arrows was delivered to Brisbane on May 4 ’14 and was registered VH-NKH on May 8 ’14. VH-NKH however never entered service with Alliance with the aircraft used as source of spare parts before it was finally scrapped.

Fokker 70 VH-QQR which had been in Bratislava for maintenance returned to Perth on August 16 from Subang and Surabaya as SXI1725.

Fiji Airways ferried 737-86J/W DQ-FJM as FJI2005 from Nadi to Cairns and Seletar on August 13 for planned maintenance. DQ-FJM as FJI2006 departed Seletar on August 31 as FJI2006 to Sydney on completion of its maintenance.

737-8X2/W DQ-FJG as FJI2003 ferried from Sydney to Cairns and Seletar on August 31 however it was only there until September 2 before ferrying as FJI2004 from Seletar to Cairns and Nadi.

Fiji Airways announced on August 24 that they had ordered DHC-6-400 x 3 for delivery between October ’17 and February ’18.

Skytraders operated a charter to Beirut in this period with A319-115CJ VH-VHD returning to Melbourne on August 12 from Beirut via Dubai, Singapore and Christmas Island. A319-115CJ VH-VHD later departed Christchurch for Phoenix Field on September 1 when it operated its first return flight of the season to Antarctica.

Virgin Group news

In this issue we report the delivery of a 737-800 to Virgin Australia while departing was a Virgin Australia E190.

Virgin Australia took delivery of 737-800/W VH-YFZ Lake St Clair in Brisbane on September 2 after the aircraft completed its ferry flight VOZ9940 from Boeing Field via Kona and Nadi.

737-800/W VH-YWA msn 41042 which was registered to Virgin Australia on August 24 operated its first flight on September 3 when it was moved from Renton to Boeing Field.

E190-100IGW VH-ZPN was withdrawn from service on August 12 after operating VOZ372 from Townsville to Brisbane. On August 14 as VOZ9940 VH-ZPN departed Brisbane on ferry to Nashville via Apia, Honolulu and Van Nuys.

The departure of VH-ZPN reduces the Virgin E190-100IGW fleet to just three units these being VH-ZPH, VH-ZPO and VH-ZPT.

Virgin Australia Regional Airlines/VARA ferried Fokker 100 VH-FZO from Seletar to Subang on August 3 for painting in VARA colours. On August 29 VH-FZO returned to Perth from Subang via Denpasar as VOZ9942.

Tigerair ferried A320-232 VH-VNB from Melbourne to Darwin and Clark for maintenance as TGG9002 on August 20. VH-VNB returned to Melbourne as TGG9003 on September 4 from Clark and Darwin.

Regional airline news

Air Kiribati will reportedly add Dash 8-102A C-FRXH msn 388 to their fleet. This aircraft was previously operated by Skytrans as VH-QQL
AMSA displayed Dornier 328-100 VH-PPG at the Paris airshow in June (Traffic/August ) was noted in early August operating surveillance flights out of Malaga, Spain. VH-PPG which still carries its AMSA colours is being operated by Easp Air.

Noted in storage at Darwin in mid-August were AMSA Dornier 328-100’s VH-PPF, VH-PPJ and VH-PPV.

Aviar took delivery of PC-12/45 VH-NQH at Karratha on August 14 after the former RFDS aircraft arrived from Jandakot.

Curtin Bros (QLD) has sold their Beech 1900D VH-VPZ to Tamara Niger Aviation with the aircraft to be registered 5U TNE(Traffic/September). On September 2 Beech 1900D VH-VPZ departed Cairns for Darwin and Surabaya and onward stops to Niger.

Southwest Air Charter ceased operations on August 3 with their DHC-6-300 P2-SWE moving to operations with Tropicair (see below). King Air B200 P2-SWZ which was also part of the Southwest fleet was initially parked at Port Moresby however on September 6 it departed for Cairns and Toowoomba.

Tropicair has added the former Southwest Air Charter DHC-6-300 P2-SWE to their fleet.

Bizjet news

In this issue we report the delivery of a Citation Mustang while departing was a Hawker 800XP.

Citation Mustang N510MW msn 510-0109 was delivered to Essendon from the US on August 13. Ferry route taken by N510MW from Sacramento/CA to Melbourne was via the North Atlantic, Europe and the Middle East with the aircraft arriving at Essendon from Seletar, Surabaya, Kupang, Darwin and Alice Springs.

Citation Mustang VH-FNI 510-0398 was registered on August 28 with the holder B P Finn of Cairns and the operator Graham Aviation Cairns of Cairns. The Citation Mustang then registered ZK-RJZ had earlier departed Wellington for Queenstown on August 13 before continuing the following day to Hobart/Cambridge and Bankstown. ZK-RJZ which was registered to Tirohanga Holdings of Wellington was cancelled from the New Zealand register on August 24.

Citation CJ-3+ N287AA msn 525B-0524 will reportedly be registered ZK-RJZ to Tirohanga Holdings as a replacement for their previously operated Citation Mustang. Delivery of the Citation CJ-3+ to Wellington is planned for late September.

Hawker 800XP VH-OVE 258366 was cancelled from the register on August 31 when sold in the United States. Registered holder of VH-OVE was Asia Pacific Jets P/L of Seletar while the registered operator was AP Jets of Artarmon, NSW. The Hawker 800XP was registered N123ED to EAL Leasing of Klamath Falls, Oregon on September 1.

Gulfstream 150 VH-PFW which was registered to ST Aerospace Engineering of Seletar on July 17 (Traffic/September) reportedly made its first visit to Australia in the period under review. VH-PFW arrived at Melbourne from Darwin on September 1 before returning to Seletar via Darwin on September 2.

Citation 1 VH-HKX which is registered to Metropolis City Promotions P/L of Elsternwick, Victoria has reportedly been parted out at Maroochydore with components being trucked out in late August.

Textron Aviation Citation Sovereign+ N578AB which toured Australia and New Zealand between July 29 and August 8 (traffic/September) returned to Sydney from Denpasar on August 31.

Textron Aviation Citation Latitude N985BC arrived in Darwin from Songshan on August 31 before continuing to Sydney on September 1. The same day N985BC operated a return flight from Sydney to Mudgee before operating a return flight to Hamilton Island on September 3. N985BC departed Sydney for Darwin and Seletar on September 4.

In Propjet news King Air 350i N817AP msn FL-1017 arrived at Bankstown on August 15 from Halim and Broome. The King Air was reported earlier departing Benton/Kansas for Portland/Maine on August 8 before crossing the North Atlantic via Goose Bay and Reykjavik.

Gulfstreams galore

China Tian Yuan Manganese Gulfstream 650ER N650TY arrived Perth from Yinchuan on August 14 before returning to Yinchuan on August 15.

TAI Leasing Gulfstream 650ER N805TM arrived Melbourne from Nagoya on August 29 before departing to Songshan on September 1.

Deer Jet Gulfstream 650 B-3255 arrived Brisbane from Hong Kong on August 29 and the same day operated a return flight to Roma. B-3255 returned to Hong Kong from Brisbane on August 30.

Gulfstream 650ER VP-CYL arrived Brisbane from Singapore on August 11.

Northrop Grumman Gulfstream 550 N38NG arrived Canberra from Honolulu on August 21 before departing to Narita on August 23.

Suntrust Equipment Gulfstream 550 N73M arrived Sydney from Auckland on August 28 and departed to Shanghai on August 29.

Chevron USA Gulfstream 550 N443M arrived Canberra from Beijing on August 16 before continuing to Onslow and Port Hedland on August 17 and Honolulu on August 18.

John Deere Gulfstream 550 N550JD arrived Perth from Honolulu and Cairns on August 21 before departing to Cairns and Honolulu on August 25.

Gulfstream 550 N550PR arrived Brisbane from Suva on August 26.

Chevron USA Gulfstream 550 N5092 arrived Perth from Don Muang on August 10. N5092 departed Perth for Barrow Island and Onslow on August 12 and after over-nighting continued to Port Hedland and Honolulu. The Gulfstream arrived Perth from Nadi on August 22 before returning to Nadi on August 25.

Gulfstream 550 TC-KHG arrived Melbourne from Don Muang on August 27 before departing to Sydney and Brisbane on August 28. TC-KHG departed Brisbane for Don Muang on August 29.

Khosla Ventures Gulfstream V N85NV arrived Cairns from Kona on August 26 before departing to Kahului on September 2.

MJets Gulfstream V HS-WEH arrived Melbourne from Don Muang on August 26 before departing to Sydney and Brisbane on August 28.

US Navy Gulfstream V/C-37B 166377 arrived Rockhampton from Darwin on August 8.

Macrolink Group Gulfstream 450 B-8290 arrived Sydney from Subang and Darwin on August 25 before continuing to Melbourne on August 27. B-8290 departed Melbourne for Darwin and Singapore on August 28.

ICA Global Services Gulfstream IV N888FR arrived Perth from Singapore on August 23 before departing to Cairns on August 24. N888FR departed Cairns for Seletar on August 26.

Blue Bay Investments Gulfstream IV VP-CSH arrived Perth from Subang on August 31 before returning to Subang on September 3.

US Marine Corps Gulfstream IV/C-20G 165153 ‘Ghost 53’ arrived Darwin from Kwajalein on August 30.

Gulfstream Aerospace Gulfstream 280 N280GL arrived Brisbane from Nadi on August 12 before continuing to Perth on August 13. N280GL departed Perth for Essendon on August before operating a return flight to Sydney on August 15. The Gulfstream 280 departed Essendon for Nadi on August 19.

Overseas bizjets

NetJet Sales Global 6000 N160QS which arrived Melbourne from Sydney on August 8 (Traffic/August) departed to Mumbai on August 9.

US Bank National Global 6000 N504R arrived Sydney from Canberra on August 29 before departing to Kahului on August 30.

Global 6000 N566ZJ arrived Cairns from Seletar on August 12 and departed the same day to Macau.

Millrock Aviation Global 6000 N914BA arrived Melbourne from Kona on August 27 before continuing to Sydney on August 30. N914BA departed Sydney for Kahului on September 1.

Global 6000 N2020Q which arrived at the Gold Coast from Narita on August 8 (Traffic/August) returned to Narita on August 12.

Global 5000 N2QE arrived Sydney from Hong Kong on August 30.

Global 5000 T7-TAA arrived in Darwin from Subang on September 1 before continuing to Perth on September 2. T7-TAA departed Perth on September 3 for Esperance and Melbourne before continuing to Halim on September 6..

Global Express T7-CAM arrived in Sydney from Seletar and Melbourne on September 2. T7-CAM departed Sydney for Honolulu on September 4.

New Axis Airways Challenger 604 D-AONE arrived Melbourne from Subang on August 31and departed to Cebu on September 2.

Textron Aviation Citation X+ N510CX arrived Sydney from Noumea on September 1 before departing to Darwin and Seletar on September 2.

TAG Aviation (UK) Falcon 7X G-STMT transited Darwin on August 30 while en-route from Queenstown to Seletar.

Air Alsie Falcon 7X OY-TSS ‘Mermaid 3333’ arrived Perth from Subang on September 1 before returning to Subang on September 3.

Falcon 900EX N970SF arrived Hamilton Island from Majuro and Cairns on August 19. The Falcon was later noted at Brisbane, Canberra and Sydney before departing Port Hedland for Don Muang on August 24.

Astra SPX C-FRJZ arrived Brisbane from Honolulu and Pago Pago on August 31 before departing on September 1 to Pago Pago and Honolulu.

Ferry flights

Air Tractor AT-802A N1001H msn 0717 was delivered to the Field Air hangar at Ballarat on August 29. The ferry flight which was operated by Hazair departed Olney, Texas on August 23 and was routed via Santa Maria/California, Honolulu, Majuro, Gold Coast and Albury.

Cessna 208B N1244V msn 208B-1009 completed its Pacific crossing at the Gold Coast on August 22 after ferrying in from Merced/California via Honolulu and Apia. From the Gold Coast N1244V continued its ferry to Redcliffe before moving south to Wollongong on August 23.

Cessna 208 N1126L msn 208-00280 arrived at the Gold Coast on August 30 from Merced via Honolulu and Apia. From the Gold Coast N1126L continued to Redcliffe on August 31.

Cessna 182T VH-JSQ ferried from Port Macquarie to Paraparaumu between August 9 and 11 via Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and Auckland.

Cessna 172S VH-AVR departed Archerfield on August 19 for Lord Howe, Norfolk Island, Kerikeri and Ardmore where it arrived on August 20.

Diamond DA-42 OE-UDL arrived Broome from Denpasar on September 3 before continuing to Ayers Rock and Broken Hill on September 5 and Bankstown on October 6.

P-750XL VH-XLS which was registered to Xlerator P/L of Nagambie has been sold in New Zealand and between August 12 and 14 it ferried from Port Macquarie to Tauranga via Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and Kerikeri. P-750XL VH-XLS was cancelled from the Australia register on August 25 and was registered ZK-XLR to Northern Southern Holdings of Otane on August 28.

PA-23-250 C-GFCN msn 27-7754031 arrived at Archerfield on September 2 after crossing the Pacific from Hollister/California via Hilo, Christmas Island, Pago Pago, Nadi and Brisbane.

TBM-900 VH-LZJ departed Norfolk Island for the Gold Coast and Moruya on August 10 before continuing to Port Augusta and Forrest on August 11 and Jandakot on August 12.

Vans RV-7A VH-SDG has reportedly been sold in New Zealand and on August 30/31 it crossed the Tasman from Mallacoota to Tauranga via Lord Howe Island and Kerikeri.

Three ‘Round the World’ aircraft transited Australia in this period.

Bonanza A36 N364ER ‘Dreams Soar’ arrived Darwin from Denpasar on August 17 before continuing to Cairns on August 19. N364ER departed Cairns for Noumea/Magenta on August 22.

PA46-310P Malibu N662TC arrived Darwin from Denpasar on August 15 before continuing to Townsville and Archerfield. N662TC departed Archerfield on August 22 for Norfolk Island and Raratonga.

PA46T-350P Malibu Mirage D-EGAC arrived Darwin from Seletar and Kupang on August 3. D-EGAC was later seen at Broome, Ayers Rock, Broken Hill, Bankstown, Gold Coast, Gladstone, Cairns and Normanton before departing Darwin for Kupang on August 24.

Heavy metal

Erickson SA-330J N366EV call sign Puma 3 was noted at Gladstone on August 26.

KC-30A/A330-203MRTT MRTT039 which was on delivery to the RAAF arrived at RAAF Amberley from Honolulu on September 1. The A330-203 was previously operated by Qantas as VH-EBH will be allocated the serial A39-006 with the RAAF.

French Air Force A310-304 F-RADA call sign ‘COTAM 1012’ transited Darwin on August 8 while en-route from Kuala Lumpur to Noumea. The A310-304 returned over the reverse route on August 11.

Volga Dnepr An-124 RA-82077 as VDA4962 which was carrying Republic of Singapore Air Force CH-47SD x 2 arrived at Rockhampton from Paya Lebar on August 22. The following day the An-124 as VDA4963 departed Rockhampton for Johor Bahru. RA-82077 as VDA4964 returned to Rockhampton on August 25 from Paya Lebar this time carrying RSAF AH-64D x 4. RA-82077 departed later the same day as VDA4965 to Kuala Lumpur. The RSAF CH-47SD and AH-64D later took part in exercise Wallaby 2017.

Antonov Airlines An-124 UR-82009 as flight ADB2154 arrived in Perth from Bangkok on September 1 before departing to Cairns as ADB260F on September 2. UR-82009 then operated Cairns-Port Moresby-Cairns-Port Moresby on September 3 as ADB2160/261F/2161. On September 4 the An-124 operated ADB216F from Port Moresby to Cairns.

Ukraine Air Alliance An-12BK UR-CNT arrived in Perth from Kuala Lumpur and Port Hedland on September 2 as UKL5076 and later the same day departed for Kota Kinabalu as UKL5075.

Beech C-12F/King Air 200 84-0155 call sign ‘CATS 72’ which carried United States of America titles arrived at Darwin from Manado on August 20 before continuing the following day to Cairns and Rockhampton. On August 28 the C-12F departed Rockhampton for Cairns and Darwin before continuing to Manado on August 29.

Beech C-12J/1900C-1 86-0082 call sign ‘CATS 83’ which also carried United States of America titles travelled in company with the Beech C-12F (see above).

National Airlines 747-428F N952CA as NCR801 arrived in Adelaide from Los Angeles, Honolulu, Pago Pago and Brisbane on September 4 and after over-nighting departed as NCR613 to Hong Kong.

United Arab Emirates 787-8 A6-PFC call sign ‘Sultan 4’ arrived in Brisbane from Al Ain on August 19 before returning to Al Ain on August 26.

737-800/P-8A N849DS msn 63182 which is planned for delivery to the RAAF as A47-006 made its first flight on August 25 when it was moved from Renton to Boeing Field.

Miami Air International 737-8Q8/W N738MA call sign ‘Biscayne 153’ arrived in Darwin from New Chitose and Guam on August 24 before operating a return flight to RAAF Amberley on August 25. As BSK253 N738MA departed Darwin on August 25 for Port Moresby and Guam.

Sultan of Johor 737-82Z/BBJ2 9M-III arrived at Perth from Johor Bahru on August 17 before returning to Johor Bahru on August 23.

Polywise Holdings 737-7JB/BBJ VP-CKG arrived in Sydney from Guangzhou on August 28 before departing Sydney on August 31.

PAL Express Dash 8-Q402 RP-C3031 which arrived Cairns for maintenance on June 4 (Traffic/August) departed for Biak on August 6.

RSAF Lockheed C-130H 732 call sign ‘Singa 9768’ in company with Lockheed C-130H 735 call sign ‘Singa 9767’ acted as escorts for six RSAF F-16D+ ferrying from Paya Lebar to RNZAF Ohakea via Darwin and Amberley on August 29/30.

RSAF Lockheed C-130H 730 call sign ‘Singa 9783’ arrived Rockhampton from Darwin on August 29.

Indonesian Air Force Lockheed C-130H A-1333 which was the former RAAF A97-001 departed RAAF Richmond for Darwin on August 23 before continuing to Malang on August 24.

Coulson Aviation Lockheed L-382G N405LC call sign ‘BMR132’ arrived at Richmond from Oakland, Honolulu, Majuro and Honiara on August 26.