A total of 16 of the superjumbos, including 15 from Emirates as well as VH-OQI from Qantas, have been affected by a European Union Aviation Safety Agency airworthiness directive mandating inspections of their wing spar components.
The inaugural flight, VA218 to Melbourne, took off from Adelaide just before noon on Tuesday with two Chihuahuas on board alongside its human passenger contingent. Adelaide has now joined Melbourne, the Sunshine Coast, and the Gold Coast as a destination for the new services.
Flight VA127 took off aboard 737 MAX 8 VH-8IK (similar aircraft pictured) shortly before 4:30pm on Monday, with services to operate three times per week, adding more than 40,000 seats annually. Virgin now flies to Bali from Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast.
The Timor-Leste flag carrier operated flight 8G271 from Dili to Darwin on Saturday morning, with A320 4W-AAL landing shortly after 10am. Aero Dili will fly twice per week across the Timor Sea between Dili and the NT capital.
The carrier, one of China’s “big four”, touched down at Adelaide Airport as flight MU781 at 6:47am on Sunday, operated by the A350-900 B-32FP. China Eastern will operate three flights per week until August, then return in December.
The specially configured planes, which will fly from Sydney to London starting in October 2027 with Sydney to New York to follow, will carry just 238 seats, including six in first-class, 52 in business, 40 in premium economy, and 140 in economy including Economy Plus.