Traffic #393 | Bonza repossessions, A220s, A330 and E190s

Two other Bonza jets are currently grounded and stored in the Sunshine Coast – VH-UKH and VH-UJT – while VH-UJK remains nearby at Coolangatta Airport in the Gold Coast. One aircraft, VH-UIK, remains stationed and stored at the airline’s Melbourne base.

While it’s likely that this move has caused irrevocable damage to Bonza, Jordan has not yet admitted defeat, and continues to state the airline is “working as quickly as possible to determine a way forward that ensures there is ongoing competition in the Australian domestic aviation market”. National accounting group Hall Chadwick has been assigned to oversee the administration process.

Aged Qantas A330 suffers engine failure in Perth

On 25 March, a Qantas Airbus A330-200, suffered an engine failure on approach to Perth Airport, resulting in a panic throughout the cabin and a PAN PAN call to air traffic control. Passengers onboard the 21-year-old aircraft reported hearing a “very loud bang” shortly after the airline began its descent into Perth, after travelling over four hours from its take-off point in Melbourne.

The crew onboard told ATC they had a left engine failure with no fire present, and ultimately shut down the impacted engine as they continued their safety checklist. The crew were able to safely land the jet with one engine with no other incidents of concerns reported. They were met by emergency services upon landing but were able to taxi back to the gate unassisted.

At just under 22 years of age, VH-EBA is the oldest A330 in the Qantas fleet, and among the oldest planes currently operating for the Flying Kangaroo. If you’ve flown this jet – or any of the Qantas A330s – you might not be surprised to hear this fact, as the plane interior is certainly showing signs of age. Qantas executives have recently been criticised by its staff for not being proactive enough with its international fleet renewal plans, after revealing its decisions to sign a wet-lease agreement to use overseas aircraft and crew on Qantas flights to Singapore and Bangkok last year and convert two of its existing international A330 jets to P2F freighters.

QF A220s in action

Three months after taking delivery of its first Airbus A220, VH-X4A, the Qantas Group has performed its first A220 passenger flight – on a different plane. It was its second A220, VH-X4B, that took the honour of the inaugural flight, though both aircraft were ultimately enlisted into passenger service on 1 March 2024. X4B took off from Melbourne at 10:24am, bound for Canberra, while X4A later took off for Brisbane.

The A220, which has officially been ushered in to replace QantasLink’s ageing fleet of Boeing 717 aircraft, however with nearly twice the flight range of its predecessor, the planes may well represent the next generation of regional, domestic, and short-haul flying for the group – alongside the 20 A321-XLRs on order.

A total of 29 A220s are currently bound for Qantas, including the two currently on the ground, with a third plane due for delivery in June this year. A further four are expected to be delivered by mid-2025. As the planes are delivered, Qantas will expand its network to connect its Melbourne A220 hub to Hobart, Coffs Harbour and Launceston, before exploring more route options.

Alliance re-jigs E190 fleet amid delayed deliveries

Alliance Airlines has been forced to re-arrange its E190 fleet plans for 2024 due to ongoing delivery delays. The airline had now downgraded anticipated E190 deliveries for the year to 12 aircraft – five less than originally expected – and delayed the dismantling of four of its older planes to compensate.

The airline has been bullish with its E190 program, which saw wild success over the COVID-19 pandemic through numerous wet-lease agreements that have continued to expand ever since. Its largest and most lucrative contract, held with Qantas, saw the larger airline attempt to – unsuccessfully – purchase Alliance as a subsidiary, and continue to expand on its wet-lease agreement.

Most recently increasing its order for wet-leased Alliance E190s from 22 to 26 jets and brought forward the service entry of four aircraft. Under the wet-lease deal, Alliance owns and operates the jets, and provides the staff and maintenance, however, the planes operate on slimmer Qantas routes throughout central and northern Australia and don QantasLink livery.

To keep up with this increasing demand, Alliance has penned deals for a total of 30 more E-jets and was expecting to welcome 17 of these to its fleet in 2024. The planes are being purchased from Ireland-based aircraft lessor AerCap, however, unexplained delays mean Alliance will now only see 12 jets delivered this year. To partly compensate for the delay, the airline also revealed that it will hold back four jets in service operation, which were originally scheduled to be parted out.