Traffic #391 | A380, Dreamliner & 777 help repatriations

Despite being relatively slow-moving compared to other WWII-era planes, the Catalina’s range and water capabilities made it a useful frontline aircraft by the RAAF for missions around the
In mid-October, as commercial flights cancelled in droves, several airlines from near and far stepped up to repatriate Australian citizens struggling to exit Israel amid growing tensions in the region.

Qatar Airways was – ironically – the first government-assisted repatriation airline to touch down in Sydney on 17 October, reuniting over 230 Australians with their families at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport. The Qatar Boeing 777-300ER, registration A7-BAL, picked up stranded Aussies in Dubai who had already been flown out of Israel via ADF operations. Operating as flight QR7424, the aircraft departed Dubai at 9:32pm on 16 October, travelled for 13.5 hours, and landed in Sydney just after 6pm on 17 October.

While Qatar is well known for performing repatriation flights to Australia after setting a significant precedent throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the move was a surprise to many, given that just earlier in the year Australia had blocked Qatar’s bid to operate a further 28 commercial services to Australia per week. Virgin Australia came out to say it had helped arrange the flight via its codeshare partnership with Qatar.

However, Qantas of course also answered the repatriation call, enlisting the use of its flagship Airbus A380. The QF A380, VH-OQL, joined a 787 Dreamliner in a tag-team service from Tel Aviv to Sydney, via London and Dubai.

On 13 October, Qantas was successful in transporting citizens out of Tel Aviv to London using its smaller Boeing 787 Dreamliner, VH-ZNN. Notably, the airline was unable to bring its four-engine A380 the whole way to Tel Aviv, due to landing limitations at Ben Gurion Airport.

However, it took a total of four days before Qantas was able to perform its first A380 repatriation flight out of London after cancelling several planned repatriation flights due to “continued deterioration of conditions on the ground” in Israel. VH-OQL, eventually departed from London at 9:16am on 17 October, one day after Qatar, with the Royal Australian Air Force callsign ASY1172 and around 300 Australians onboard. After a three-hour layover in Dubai, the A380 continued on to Sydney, landing just before 6pm on 18 October.
Pacific. From 1942 until the end of the War, Australian Catalinas assisted allied forces with mine-laying missions in enemy harbours, detecting Japanese naval vessels, and rescuing allied troops from the ocean.

The ups and downs of Virgin’s 737s

Two Virgin Australia 737-800s were grounded in September after it was discovered that uncertified engine parts had been installed by a third party. VH-VUT and VH-YFR were both grounded due to two different engine parts that were identified as suspect, and both were procured via UK-based parts broker AOG Technics.

It came to light that the parts broker had falsified certification documents prior to installing these components on multiple Boeing 737-800 CFM56 engines. Over 60 engines in use with multiple airlines – including Virgin and Southwest Airlines in the US – were impacted by the discovery. AOG remains tied up in a lawsuit over the claims.

VH-VUT was found to have had an uncertified low-pressure turbine blade installed, that was quickly replaced, and the aircraft soon resumed regular passenger service. Meanwhile, VH-YFR was ferried to Brisbane to have one of its high-pressure turbine nozzle seals replaced. The process took about five days to complete, with the plane resuming passenger service on 21 September.

Elsewhere in the Virgin fleet, the airline continues to grow its Boeing 737 MAX fleet, after welcoming its second MAX. The new MAX, named ‘Kirra Beach’ and registered as VH-8IC, was delivered from Boeing Field on 27 September, after brief stopovers in Hawaii and Fiji. The aircraft was put into service immediately on domestic routes between Cairns, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth, and as of 7 October, joined the original Virgin MAX, VH-8IA, in performing the airline’s longest current international service connecting Cairns and Tokyo Haneda Airport.

At that time, Virgin also revealed to Australian Aviation that it intends to ramp up its domestic and medium-haul international operations using its growing MAX fleet, with six MAX 8s still to be delivered, along with 25 larger MAX 10 aircraft. Virgin said it plans to utilise its new fleet across domestic destinations of Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Cairns, as well as international destinations like Fiji, Bali and Samoa.

Rex takes on new 737s amid pilot pillage

Rex Airlines has agreed to lease a 10th secondhand Boeing 737 aircraft just weeks after welcoming its ninth 737 into its fleet. VH-8JS was ferried from Singapore to Brisbane, touching down on 22 September, after spending nearly 18 months on the ground at Changi Airport. The new lease was announced as the airline prepared to launch its latest capital city route connecting Adelaide and Brisbane, marking another milestone in its goal to ultimately service all capital city pairings with its 737 fleet.

The news came despite the airline’s numerous laments that it has been forced to cut regional routes on its Saab fleet due to struggling to maintain its pilot numbers. Rex has stated that larger airlines, including Qantas and US carriers, continue to poach its staff. Australian Aviation understands that Rex has lost around 100 of its pilots in the last 12 months, most of which appear to have jumped ship to rival Qantas.

Qantas reveals first of two A330P2Fs in Brisbane

The first of two Qantas Airbus A330s to be converted from passenger aircraft to dedicated freighters was revealed in October, sporting new Australia Post livery under the airline’s $1.4 billion deal with the national postal service.

The A330-200, VH-EBF, recently received a name-change from ‘King Valley’ to ‘Hercules’, following its 10-month stint in Dresden, Germany for its P2F (passenger to freighter) conversion.

The aircraft performed its final passenger service as QF654 on 7 November, 2022, before being ferried to Dresden the next day via Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Singapore. VH-EBF landed in Germany at 12:51pm on 10 November, where it was welcomed by the talented engineers of the Airbus and ST Engineering joint venture Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW).

After a total interior conversion to accommodate for up to 62,000kg of cargo, the jet was test flown from Dresden on three occasions on 6, 7 and 8 September 2023. Following this, the plane promptly began its journey from Germany back Down Under at 6:32pm on 8 September, stopping over in South Korea instead of Singapore, as planned. Hercules was successfully delivered to Qantas’ Brisbane hangar on 21 September at 8:03pm.

Australia Post hailed the new arrival, stating the A330P2F will double the cargo capacity of its current largest freighter, and will focus on StarTrack and Express Post deliveries across the east coast. The two A330P2Fs will also serve as the replacements of part of Australia Post’s ageing B737F fleet.

 747 imports six air bombers home to Australia

A Boeing 747-800 freighter was met with a water cannon salute at Wellcamp Airport in October, after successfully delivering six local firefighting helicopters back from Greece to Australian soil ahead of Australia’s bushfire season. After spending time abroad assisting in European wildfire missions, the six Bell 214 helicopters were finally returned home in the belly of a 747-800F, registration VQ-BVB.

Operated by charter operator Chapman Freeborn, and performed by Azerbaijani airline Silk Way West, VQ-BVB departed from Athens on 16 October as flight 7L5540, landing in Baku 2.5 hours later. From there, the plane travelled on to Singapore, before making its final jump to none other than the Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport – no stranger to the 747.