Traffic

787-9 VH-ZNC ‘Quokka’ which was registered to Qantas on December 20 operated its maiden flight on January 12 as ‘Boeing 271’ from Paine Field to Moses Lake and return. VH-ZNC was delivered to Melbourne from Paine Field as QF6026 on January 24 and entered service on January 29 when it operated QF775 from Melbourne to Perth.

787-9 VH-ZNA operated its first international flight on December 15 when it operated QF95 from Melbourne to Los Angeles.

787-9 VH-ZND msn 63390/669 which is planned for delivery in early March will be painted in an indigenous design.

747-438ER VH-OEF operated a scenic charter flight from Melbourne to the Antarctic on December 31/January 1 as QF2904.

737-838/W VH-VYJ ferried from Brisbane to Townsville as QF6101 on January 1 where it was painted in the new Qantas colours. VH-VYJ returned to service on January 21 as QF967 from Townsville to Brisbane.

737-838/W VH-VZB operated QF978 on January 20 from Brisbane to Townsville where on arrival it entered the Flying Colours hangar for painting in the new Qantas livery.

QantasLink had Dash 8-402Q VH-QOB painted by Flying Colours in Townsville between January 4 and January 17 while Dash 8-402Q VH-QOC arrived at Townsville from Mount Isa as QF2475 on January 16 for painting.

Jetstar Pacific took delivery of A320-232 VN-A577 msn 7988 in Saigon on January 10 after the aircraft ferried in from Toulouse and Al Maktoum.

Airline news

In this issue we report the delivery of two Fokker 100 to Alliance, RJ-100 to Cobham and a BAe146-200QT to Pionair Australia while departing was an ATR 72-500 of ANZ Link.

Air New Zealand grounded 787-9 ZK-NZD on December 6, 787-9 ZK-NZE on December 4 and 787-9 ZK-NZH on December 6 due to engine problems.

To cover the down time with the 787-9 Air New Zealand wet leased aircraft from Hi Fly, Malta.

A340-313X 9H-FOX which was all white ferried into Auckland from Lisbon and Los Angeles as HFM671P on December 12 and entered service on December 15 when it operated NZ101 from Auckland to Sydney.

A330-223 CS-TQW ferried into Auckland on December 15 as HFM411P from Kingston, Jamaica and Papeete. CS-TQW which carried a special colour scheme ‘Clean Seas – Turn the Tide on Plastic’ entered service with Air New Zealand on December 16 when it operated NZ175 from Auckland to Perth. CS-TQW was withdrawn from Air New Zealand service on January 15 after operating NZ175 from Perth to Auckland (arrive January 16) and departed Auckland for Panama City as HFM361P on January 20.

Air New Zealand then leased A340-313X 9H-SUN from Hi Fly and on January 15 as HFM011P it arrived in Auckland from Cairo and Halim. A340-313X 9H-SUN entered service with Air New Zealand on January 16 when it operated NZ175 from Auckland to Perth.

ANZ Link/Mount Cook withdrew ATR 72-500 ZK-MCW from service on November 26 (Traffic/January) with the aircraft then having its titles and the Koru removed. ZK-MCW which was ferried by Southern Cross as SXI1814 departed Christchurch on January 5 for Brisbane, Darwin and Jakarta where it was prepared for delivery to Novoair. The ATR 72-500 now registered S2-AJK departed Jakarta on January 29 for Subang and Dhaka.

ANZ Link/Eagle Airways ferried their Beech 1900D ZK-EAE into Bankstown on October 18 ’16 with the aircraft then being registered VH-OYV on November 29 ’16.

VH-OYV then remained parked at Bankstown until January 24 when it departed for the Gold Coast and after overnighting it continued on ferry to South America via Apia, Papeete and Easter Island.

Airwork Flight Operations reportedly took delivery of 757-223 N689AA at Goodyear, Arizona on December 8 after the aircraft ferried in from Roswell, New Mexico. At Goodyear the 757-223 will be converted to a freighter configuration.

Fokker F27-500 ZK-PAX and Fokker F27-500 ZK-POH which were stored at Auckland have been sold to HARS. ZK-PAX which was cancelled from the New Zealand register on January 16 was then registered VH-EWH to HARS of Albion Park Rail, NSW on January 18. ZK-POH was also cancelled from the New Zealand register on January 16 and on January 18 it was registered to HARS as VH-TQN.

Alliance Airlines took delivery of Fokker 100 OE-IIC msn 11406 at Brisbane on December 16 after the aircraft ferried in from Kupang. Fokker 100 VH-VIF ex OE-IIC was registered on December 19 with the owner VIF Aircraft P/L of Sydney and the operator Alliance Airlines of Eagle Farm. The Fokker 100 VH-VIF will enter service in mid 2018 in the high end charter aircraft market.

Alliance took delivery of Fokker 100 VH-FGB at Brisbane on January 17. The ferry flight was operated by Southern Cross as SXI1801 from Norwich, UK to Brisbane initially via Trabzon and Al Ain and latterly via Kupang and Townsville. Fokker 100 VH-FGB which was previously registered VH-UQG carried a special colour scheme commemorating the 90th anniversary of the first ever Trans-Pacific flight.

Cobham Aviation took delivery of RJ-100 G-CFAH msn E-3384 at Adelaide on January 18 after the aircraft completed its ferry flight from Cranfield, UK via Denpasar and Darwin. RJ-100 VH-NJE ex G-CFAH was registered to Cobham Aviation on January 24.

JetGo will reportedly take delivery of ERJ-140LR VH-JGK msn 145318 ex N14923 in February.

Pionair Australia took delivery of BAe 146-200QT G-OTIF msn E2056 at Bankstown on February? The BAe 146-200QT which will be registered VH-SOF ferried in from Warton, UK via Geneva, Heraklion, Jeddah and ????????.

Virgin Group news

In this issue we report the delivery of a 737-800 to Virgin Australia while departing was an EMB 190-100IGW.

Virgin Australia registered 737-800 VH-YWE msn 41015 on January 3 and on January 21 as ‘Boeing 827’ it made its first flight from Renton to Moses Lake and Boeing Field.

VH-YWE ‘Dreamtime Beach’ was delivered to Brisbane on January 31 as VOZ9940 from Boeing Field, Kona and Nadi.

EMB 190-100IGW VH-ZPT was withdrawn from service on December 30 after operating VOZ642 from Sydney to Canberra and later that day VH-ZPT was ferried from Canberra to Brisbane as VOZ9901. VH-ZPT as VOZ9941 was later ferried from Brisbane to Darwin and Clark Field in the Philippines.

EMB 190-100IGW VH-ZPH which is the last of type in the Virgin fleet is planned to be withdrawn from service in early February.

A330-243 VH-XFC departed Melbourne for Singapore as VOZ9943 on January 16 for planned maintenance.

Virgin Australia Regional Airlines/VARA ferried Fokker 100 VH-FZI as VOZ9941 from Perth to Port Headland and Seletar on January 7 for planned maintenance on January 7.

ATR 72-600 VH-FVZ which was damaged in a hard landing at Canberra on November 19 remained there until January 24 when it was ferried to Brisbane as VOZ9907.

Regional airline news.

In this issue we report the delivery of two ATR 72-600 to Air Caledonie, two Saab 340 to Air Chathams and a Cessna 208B to Great Barrier Air while departing was an ATR 72-500 of Air Caledonie.

Air Caledonie took delivery of ATR 72-600 F-OZKN msn 1459 at Noumea/La Tontouta on December 16 after the aircraft ferried in from Toulouse via Seletar, Broome and Cairns.

ATR 72-600 F-OZNO msn 1472 was delivered to Air Caledonie at Noumea on December 23 after the aircraft ferried in from Toulouse via Seletar, Broome and Cairns.

Air Caledonie has withdrawn ATR 72-500 F-OIPS from service on termination of its lease and on January 19 now registered 9N-AMF it departed Noumea for Cairns, Kupang and Seletar where it was prepared for delivery to Buddha Air of Nepal.

Air Chathams took delivery of Saab 340A(QC) N135GU msn 340A-135 at Auckland on January 9 after the aircraft which was previously operated by Skydive Guam ferried in from Guam and Honiara. Saab 340A ZK-CIY ex N135GU was registered to Air Chathams on January 24.

Saab 340B N357GU msn 340B-357 which was also operated by Skydive Guam was delivered to Air Chathams at Auckland on January 13 after it ferried in from Guam and Honiara. Saab 340B ZK-CIZ ex N357GU was registered to Air Chathams on January 24.

Convair 580 ZK-KFJ was cancelled from the register on January 29 as withdrawn from use.

Air Kiribati took delivery of Dash 8-102A C-GRXH msn 388 at Tarawa on October 30 (Traffic/December) and by December 1 had registered the aircraft T3-AKA.

Air Sanga has added DHC-6-200 P2-ASL to their fleet. The DHC-6-200 then registered

P2-MCR was previously operate by PNG Air.

Fiji Link took delivery of DHC-6-400 C-GUVT on October 30 (Traffic/December) and

later registered the aircraft DQ-FJS.

DHC-6-400 DQ-FJQ msn 959 ex C-FZVM and DHC-6-400 DQ-FJR msn 961 ex C-GVSW are planned for delivery to Fiji Link.

Great Barrier Air took delivery of Cessna 208B N2057 msn 208B2057 at Auckland on January 19. The ferry flight which was operated by Rangeflyers had earlier departed Wichita on January 11 for Auckland via Santa Maria/CA, Hilo and Apia. Cessna 208B ZK-SDC ex N2057 was registered to Great Barrier Air on January 24.

Sharp Airlines took delivery of Metro 23 VH-OYN at Launceston on December 10 after the former Pearl Aviation Australia Metro ferried in from Darwin and the Gold Coast. On December 18 VH-OYN was ferried from Launceston to Adelaide and the following day it entered service from Adelaide to Challenger.

Metro 23 VH-OYG changed operators on November 13 from Pearl Aviation to Sharp Airlines.

Bizjet news

In this issue we report the delivery of a Global Express and a Challenger 650

Global Express VH-UPH msn 9281 was delivered to Bluefield P/L of Abbotsford, Victoria at Melbourne on November 16.

Challenger 650 VH-LEF msn 6100 was registered on December 7 with the owner Linfox Express Charter P/L of South Melbourne and the operator Air National Australia P/L of Essendon Fields. Challenger 650 VH-LEF which is the first of type in the region was delivered to Essendon from Nadi on December 10.

In propjet news King Air 350i N817AP msn FL-1017 which was delivered to Bankstown on August 15 (Traffic/October) was ferried to Cairns on November 26 where it was registered VH-ZPE to Hawker Pacific on December 18.

King Air 350i N5062T msn FL-962 which was delivered to Bankstown on December 20 from Biak and Cairns was registered VH-ZPG to Hawker Pacific on January 4.

King Air 350i N979KA msn FL-979 which was delivered to Bankstown on December 18 from the US via Saipan, Biak and Cairns was registered VH-ZPJ to Hawker Pacific on January 4.

King Air 350 VH-NDT departed Toowoomba on November 11 for Mount Isa, Darwin and Denpasar where it arrived on November 12. The King Air 350 was later reported arriving at Chester, UK on November 23 after arriving from Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic VH-NDT was cancelled from the register on November 29 when sold in Canada.

King Air B200 F-OIAA msn BB-932 which was delivered to Perth on October 18 (Traffic/December) was registered VH-PFT to Airflite P/L of Perth Airport on December 12.

Aero Rescue King Air 200T VH-OYT which had been in storage at Darwin was cancelled from the register on December 11.

Ferry flights

Monashee Helicopters Bell 212 C-GSRH which was unloaded from a Cathay Pacific freighter at Toowoomba/Wellcamp was later assembled at Casino. On January 27 C-GSRH departed Casino for Redcliffe and the following day it was noted at Townsville, Cairns, Lockhart River and Horn Island on its way to operations in PNG.

Nautilus Aviation Bell 505 VH-VSB msn 65030 in company with Bell 505 VH-VTB msn 65031 arrived at Bankstown in containers on December 4.

Cessna 208B/EX N85PF msn 208B5407 completed its Trans-Pacific ferry at Cairns on December 22 when it arrived from Wichita via Santa Maria/CA, Honolulu and Majuro.

Cessna 208B/EX VH-PQX ex N85PF was registered to the State of Queensland on January 24.

Pacific Air Holdings Cessna 208B N842PH msn 208B1174 ex VH-IOV was noted at Moorabbin on December 13 and it remained there until January 23 when it departed for Charleville, Cairns, Horn Island and Biak where it arrived on January 24.

SkyWest Aviation of Albuquerque Cessna 340 N1022W arrived at Broome from Johor Bahru on December 19. The Cessna 340 was later noted at Carnarvon, Ceduna, Port Lincoln, Launceston, Essendon, Portland, Flinders Island, Burnie and Lilydale before continuing to Coldstream on January 6.

DHC-6-400FP N153QS arrived at Brisbane from Nadi and Noumea on January 8 and after overnighting continued to Mackay and Cairns.

PAC-750XL ZK-KDJ msn 207 which returned to Hamilton from Darwin on November 23 (Traffic/January) departed again from Hamilton on December 9 for the Gold Coast, Longreach, Darwin and Manado and onward delivery to the Chinese Sport Parachute Industry.

RAAF Pilatus PC-21 HB-HWK c/s PCH44R in company with Pilatus PC-21 HB-HWL c/s PCH44R arrived at RAAF East Sale on January 22 after ferrying in from Stans, Switzerland via Kupang, Darwin, Alice Springs and Adelaide. The two aircraft have since been allocated RAAF serial numbers A54-011 and A54-012 respectively.

Commander N9116N which was delivered to Essendon on December 5 (Traffic/January) was registered VH-XAS to Kennedy Aviation of Gunnedah on January 25.

Thai Aviation Services Sikorsky S-92A HS-HTH which had been in maintenance with Helitek (Traffic/November) departed Brisbane on December 25 for Emerald and Normanton before continuing to Groote Eylandt and Darwin on December 26.

Heavy metal

Global Jet Luxembourg A-319-115(CJ) P4-MIS arrived Sydney from Kansai on December 29 before continuing to Queenstown on January 1. P4-MIS then arrived at Brisbane from Dunedin on January 4 before continuing the same day to Mackay. P4-MIS departed Mackay for Hamilton Island, Cairns and Honolulu on January 8.

RMAF A-319-115(CJ) 9M-NAA was noted at Melbourne on December 24 before continuing to Perth on December 29. 9M-NAA departed Perth for Kuala Lumpur on January 2.

Ukraine Air Alliance Antonov An-12BP UR-CGV as UKL5060 arrived in Perth from Johor Bahru on December 28 and departed in the early hours of December 29 as UKL5061 to Johor Bahru.

Antonov Airlines An-124 UR-82007 as ADB2355 arrived in Port Hedland from Shanghai on January 23 and continued to Perth on January 24. The An-124 departed Perth for RAAF Scherger and Cairns on January 25 before continuing as ADB308F to Phu Cat, Vietnam on January 30.

Antonov Airlines An-124 UR-82008 as ADB2302 arrived in Adelaide from Honolulu and Brisbane on December 12 and later the same day as ADB206F departed to Mattala/ Sri Lanka.

Antonov Airlines An-124 UR-82073 as ADB2303 arrived Adelaide from Honolulu and Brisbane on December 19 before departing the same day to Mattala as ADB206F.  The

An-124 UR-82073 later arrived Perth on January 25 as ADB2346 from Johor Bahru and Darwin and as ADB246F departed for Johor Bahru on January 26.

CGG Aviation (Canada) Basler BT-67 C-GGSU arrived at Port Moresby from Ambon on January 26. The BT-67 which was noted crossing the North Atlantic from Iqaluit to Reykjavik on January 12 was later seen at Southampton, UK on January 16.

Crystal Luxury Air 777-29M(LR) P4-XTL operating as CXB772 arrived Sydney from Singapore on December 30 and departed to Honolulu on January 1.

Silk Air 737-8MAX 9V-MBC operated the inaugural service by type into Australia on January 7 when it operated SLK801/802 Singapore-Darwin-Singapore.

RAAF 737-8FV/P-8A A47-006 was delivered to RAAF Edinburgh on January from Renton via Honolulu and Guam.

Coulson EC-130Q N130FF ‘Bomber 390’ arrived at Avalon on January 4 from Majuro and Brisbane as a replacement for Lockheed L-382G N405LC – see below.

Coulson L-382G N405LC call sign ‘BMR132’ which arrived at Richmond on August 26 (Traffic/October) was later moved south to Avalon. N405LC remained on fire-watch at Avalon until January 6 when it departed for Cairns and Port Moresby.

Volga Dnepr Il-76-90VD RA-76950 as VDA3142 arrived in Alice Springs from Kuala Lumpur and Darwin on January 25. On board the Il-76 was a replacement engine for Malaysian Airlines A330-323E 9M-MTM which had diverted into Alice Springs on January 18. The Il-76-90VD departed Alice Springs for Darwin and Kuala Lumpur on January 27.