Traffic #388 | Santa drops A321neos to Jetstar

VH-OFP and -OFQ marked the third and fourth long-range A321neos delivered to Jetstar, joining VH-OFE, which touched down in July, and VH-OFL, which landed earlier in December. Two weeks after Christmas, on 9 January 2023, another Jetstar A321neo was added to the CASA register as VH-OFU. It will be the fifth of eight A321LR jets bound for Jetstar by May 2023, with a further 10 expected by mid-2024. Looking further ahead, Jetstar hopes to take delivery of an additional 20 A321XLR — or extra-long-range — jets, which will add an extra 700nm to their range between 2024 and 2029.

Third Bonza jet touches down, four MAXs now registered.

Last edition, we reported that Bonza had taken delivery of its first two Boeing 737 MAX jets, VH-UJT, dubbed ‘Shazza’ and VH-UIK, ‘Bazza’. Since then, the third Bonza MAX, VH-UJK, touched down on the Sunshine Coast and was officially named ‘Sheila. Readers may remember that we previously revealed that the third Bonza jet had been quietly registered with CASA as VH-UBI. However, that registration seems to have disappeared, with VH-UJK swooping in to take its place.

A fourth 737 MAX bound for Bonza has now been added to the CASA register, with the registration VH-UJZ. Some sources still report VH-UBI as registered and belonging to Bonza, though the aircraft is currently being stored in Arizona.

CEO Tim Jordan originally stated his new airline would launch with a small initial fleet of “two to three” aircraft but changed his estimate long before launch to at least eight MAX jets. Meanwhile, in another win for the upcoming budget carrier and after a long 15-month wait, Bonza finally received the green light from CASA and secured its Air Operators Certificate in January.

An-124s Down Under

At least two Antonov An-124 aircraft have graced us with their presence since December, causing a stir — understandably — among planespotters in Queensland and the ACT. Both operated by Ukrainian international charter freight company Antonov Airlines, the two planes also carried inspiring messages to the Ukrainian people on their fuselages.

On 7 December, UR-82008 paid a visit to RAAF Base Amberley, bearing the phrase ‘Be Brave Like Okhtyrka’, referencing a small city in the north-eastern Sumy region of Ukraine, which was heavily targeted by Russian forces in February 2022, including the bombing of a kindergarten. Just over one month later, another An-124, UR-820209, spent two nights at Canberra Airport and was loaded up with containers. Its fuselage now reads ‘Be Brave Like Bucha’, a city that faced some of the worst atrocities of Russia’s offensive towards Kyiv. Defence later confirmed that UR-820209 was performing a charter operation on behalf of the ADF but did not confirm the contents of the containers.

Of course, the presence of the An-124 causes one to think of its one-of-a-kind big sister, the six-engine An-225, known as the largest cargo aircraft in the world, which was destroyed near Kyiv amid a Russian air strike last year. Dubbed ‘Mriya’, which means ‘Dream’ in Ukrainian, the jet was reportedly under repair and routine maintenance at the Antonov Company site in Gostomel Airport when it was destroyed in February 2022. The Ukrainian government has pledged to rebuild the unique aircraft — which carries bigger payloads than the Airbus Beluga and the Boeing Dreamlifter — at a cost of US$3 billion.

Another Qantas superjumbo is back in the air

Half of Qantas’s pre-pandemic Airbus A380 fleet is now back in the skies, with the sixth A380 reinstated to passenger service just days before Christmas. VH-OQG is now regularly on the flight schedule for services from Sydney to LA, London, and Singapore. VH-OQG is named Charles Ulm in honour of the pioneering Australian aviator who served as co-pilot to Sir Charles Kingsford Smith on their first trans-pacific flight. The A380 re-joins five Qantas superjumbos already back in the air, including VH-OQB, -OQD, -OQH, -OQK and -OQJ. Simultaneously, one of the two A380s that remained in long-term storage in the Californian desert, VH-OQL, was ferried to Abu Dhabi on 18 December to begin its cabin refurbishment.

That leaves us with just one QF A380 still in Victorville (VH-OQI) and three in Abu Dhabi (-OQL, -OQA and -OQC). Charles Ulm’s return to service means that half of Qantas’s pre-pandemic operational fleet is back in action. Of the 12 A380s serving the Flying Kangaroo in 2019, unfortunately only 10 will return, with VH-OQE and VH-OQF already removed from the Australian register and being dismantled for parts.

Alliance grows E190 fleet to 30

Alliance has continued gradually increasing its fleet of Embraer E190s, which it purchased for a steal amid the 2020 downturn. The carrier has welcomed an additional six aircraft in as many months, with VH-XVB, -XVO, -XVX, -XVT, -XFC and XVP all added to the register and delivered to Alliance since October. Since its first delivery in November 2020, Alliance has grown its fleet from zero to 30, with at least another two still on the way.

The airline said it could secure this many aircraft in 2020 when prices were subdued. Plus, Alliance had the cash after seeing an increase in charter and FIFO operations while domestic aviation came to a standstill. The carrier intends to use the new assets to bolster its position in the wet lease market. Most notably, Alliance holds a lucrative wet lease agreement with Qantas and is currently operating 12 jets on behalf of QantasLink. Qantas has already agreed to extend the contract to include up to 18 wet-lease planes.

Under the deal, Alliance owns and operates the jets and provides the staff and maintenance. However, the aircraft in operation for Qantas do bear the QantasLink livery. Alliance ended up in a spot of bother last year when rumours began to swirl that it had engaged an overseas recruiter to tap British type-rated E190 pilots to come and work in Darwin. The rumours understandably caused a stir in Australia’s general aviation scene. However, the airline has denied the allegations. Alliance later admitted in its 2021–22 financial results posting that it was having trouble recruiting and retaining staff, with many of its pilots leaving the airline “to take roles overseas”.