Traffic #395 | Jet movements at Qantas and Rex

One has to wonder if the decision to repaint the jet to Qantas’ standard livery has anything to do with the plane’s age and its future longevity. Qantas has already publicly backed the Airbus A321 family as its new workhorse aircraft over its ageing Boeing 737 fleet, which means no matter which way it’s sliced, VH-VXQ must simply count its days. Ultimately, the jet needed new paint in one way or another, and it is near impossible to imagine that Qantas would allow for a Retro Roo to decay in the desert in years to come. Today, it’s currently unclear if Retro Roo I will also be returned to standard colours shortly, for similar reasons.

Last Rex 737 bids Australia adieu

’Tis the season to say bon voyage it seems! As of 9 November, the last Rex-branded Boeing 737 has officially left Australian shores in search of greener pastures – but not without a fight. VH-RQC departed from Adelaide on 6 November at 10:35am, however unsafe weather conditions saw the plane ultimately diverted to Melbourne Tullamarine after two hours.

The jet remained in Melbourne for two days after its diversion due to weather conditions. Another attempt was finally made on 9 November, at 1:21pm when the plane departed from Tullamarine en route to Nadi in Fiji, before travelling on to Honolulu, Hawaii. Notably, VH-RQC performed Rex’s very first Boeing 737 commercial flight, connecting Melbourne and Sydney, on 1 March 2021. It marked a highly ambitious move from Rex amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the (then) pitfall of Virgin Australia, with Rex going as far as to take over the leases of certain discarded Virgin 737s in its expansion.

However, once Virgin emerged from administration a smaller, streamlined, and stronger airline, both growing challenger Rex and new market entrant Bonza felt its wrath and ultimately crumbled. Rex continues to only operate on its regional fleet and network, while its Boeing 737s are returned to lessors. However, it appears that we could certainly expect some of the 10 ex-Rex jets (including those originally sourced from Virgin) to make their way back into the hands of Virgin Australia.

Qantas engine fire causes airport chaos

A Qantas Boeing 737-800, VH-VYH performing flight QF520 from Sydney to Brisbane, is planned to soon resume passenger operations, after completing an emergency landing at Sydney Airport shortly after takeoff on Friday, 8 November. According to reports, the aircraft’s right engine failed and caught alight, causing a grass fire on the grounds of the airport, before the crew performed a successful single-engine takeoff. Passengers onboard reported hearing a loud bang upon takeoff.

The jet completed a number of holding circles above the airport before ultimately making its safe and successful landing just 10 minutes after takeoff. Reports from the scene suggest that turbine engine parts, shrapnel, and other debris were found in the grass, close to where the fire struck, however, the ATSB is yet to release a formal report on the cause of the incident – fire or otherwise. Regardless of the cause, the fire’s smoke – which could be seen from kilometres away – caused quite a stir online!

Kangaroo-tailed B717 back in WA for a surprise (secret) visit

Just 10 days after marking “the end of an era” and celebrating the final passenger flight of its final QantasLink Boeing 717 in Sydney on 26 October, Qantas quietly brought one of its 717s, VH-YQW, out of retirement.

An alternative Kangaroo-tailed 717, VH-YQS was officially known to be the last 717 in the Qantas fleet and heralded amid the “final” goodbye flights for fans of the aircraft, between Sydney, Melbourne and Launceston. However, VH-YQW – which was among the final 717s continuously flying through up to 26 October – was ferried from Canberra to Perth on Tuesday 5 November, and since then has been performing a daily return service between Perth and Paraburdoo.

It seems the plane has been welcomed in as a reinforcement for FIFO mining runs, due to some unexpected maintenance on QantasLink’s Fokker fleet in Perth. It’s of course only expected to be a temporary reprieve, though fans in Western Australia are hardly complaining about the 717’s return to their skies! The Boeing 717 – originally known as McDonnell Douglas MD-95 or ‘Mad Dog’ before the company’s merger with Boeing in 1997 –  has been a QantasLink workhorse for over 20 years.

Alas, it is out with the old and in with the new! Like elsewhere in the Qantas Group fleet, the older Boeing airframes are planned to soon be replaced by brand-new Airbus alternatives – in this case, the 137-seater A220. Qantas has now welcomed four of its planned 29 A220s since December 2023, with more expected to touch down any day now. End of an era to be sure!