2017 - THE YEAR THAT WAS

I cant believe how fast the years go by, here we are at the end of another year. This year I did 51 flights, the main routes being Sydney and Melbourne, but I also did Hobart twice and both Cairns and Adelaide once each.
I have put together some highlights of the year, if you see a story and want more information just search for it under that month.
I hope you enjoy..

JANUARY

Shooting at Fort Lauderdale Airport

                             
Gunshots have erupted at the Fort Lauderdale airport in Florida yesterday, leaving five people dead.

Authorities say the gunman, who appeared to be acting alone, is in custody.

Here's the latest on what we know:

• Five people are dead, and 13 injured people were transported to hospitals, Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief told CNN.

• The gunman had a gun checked in his baggage and had declared the firearm, law enforcement sources told CNN.

• The suspect flew to Florida from Alaska, via Canada, the sources said. When he arrived at the airport, he retrieved his bag at baggage claim, he took out the gun and started firing, the sources said.

Turkish cargo plane crashes into Kyrgyzstan homes killing 32

                           
A Boeing 747-412F cargo plane was destroyed after crashing near Bishkek-Manas International Airport (FRU). All four crew members and 28 people on the ground were killed.
At least 15 buildings were destroyed and a number of children are reported to have been among those killed.
The plane came down shortly after 07:30 local time (01:30 GMT) in the village of Dacha-Suu, a popular holiday home area.
Flight TK6491 departed Hong Kong (HKG) on a cargo service to Istanbul, and a refueling stop was planned for Bishkek, KyrgyzstanOn the 27th Feb 2003 this aircraft started its life with Singapore Airlines as 9V-SFL

Aircraft Information
Aircraft: Boeing 747-412F
Operator: My Cargo Airlines
Owner: THY Turkish Airlines
Registration: TC-MCL
Serial Number: 32897
First Flew: 13-1-2003 (test rego was N5022E)
Age: 14 years old

Two killed in Australia Day Air Display

A Grumman G-73 Mallard flying boat was destroyed when it hit the water of Swan River in Perth, Western Australia late this afternoon. The aircraft was flying a display during the Australia Day City of Perth Air Show. The aircraft lost altitude in a turn and impacted the water nose down. The aircraft broke up on impact. Both occupants suffered fatal injuries.
Lord Mayor of Perth Lisa Scaffidi said the Skyworks  planed for tonight had been cancelled "Due to the operational need to conserve the integrity of the site and in respect for those killed and as per operational directives for such occurrences".
People have been urged to cancel their plans to approach the wider city area, with those already around the foreshore asked to leave.


Aircraft Information
Aircraft: Grumman G-73 Mallard
Operator: Private
Registration: VH-CQA
Serial Number: J-35
First Flew: 1948
Age: 69 Years


Here is a few pictures of the aircraft I took at an airshow last year.

FEBRUARY

Historic moment for QATAR

QATAR B777-3DZ A7-BAI (CN 36095)

It was a historic moment for Qatar Airways on 6th February as it launched its new record-breaking Auckland service on one of the country’s most significant days of the year – Waitangi Day. As the first Qatar Airways flight touched down on the North Island of New Zealand, just after sunrise – a new chapter in the airline’s history began. Celebrations to commemorate the launch of the world’s longest commercial flight, which took 17 hours and 30 minutes and covered a distance of 14,535 kilometers, began at the airport with a traditional water salute as the Qatar Airways Boeing 777 taxied down the runway. Qatar Airways’ first flight to New Zealand flew over the city of Auckland on its final approach to the airport.

Guns N' Roses found in Brisbane

In the early hours of this morning Brisbane received a rare and unusual visitor in the way of a Boeing 767-300 chartered by the rock group Guns N' Roses. G N' R are here for their 'Not In This Lifetime' tour. I have been waiting for this aircraft to arrive ever since we had the huge "November Rain". If I got to meet the group I would say "Welcome to the Jungle" and we hope you enjoy your time here in Brisbane. Please "Don't Cry" but I cant make it to your concert. I did however go out to the airport to find your plane and with your name all over it "It's so Easy" to find. I know your "Pretty tied Up" but if you don't get to look around this amazing city then "You're Crazy"

AERONEXUS CORPORATION B767-35D ZS-NEX (CN 24865)

Plane crashes into shopping centre - Melbourne

                               

A light plane carrying five people has crashed into the DFO Shopping Centre near Essendon Airport killing all five people on board.
The plane, a Beechcraft B200 Super King Air VH-ZCR (CN BB-1544) was chartered for King Island and was being operated by Corporate and Leisure Travel, who had hired it from MyJet in Bendigo.
Minister for Police Lisa Neville said debris from the crash was also covering the freeway.
"It appears that a light plane which was a charter flight has impacted the DFO out at Essendon Fields. There is also debris that has been left on the Freeway. It is too early yet to know whether there have been any injuries or fatalities."

Flybe Dash 8 crashes on landing at Amsterdam-Schiphol

A Flybe Dash 8 Q 400 travelling from Edinburgh-Turnhouse Airport (EGPH) to Amsterdam-Schiphol International Airport (EHAM) with 59 POB suffered a landing accident at Amsterdam-Schiphol International Airport.
The aircraft landed on runway 22 in strong winds and apparently suffered a right hand main landing gear retraction. The aircraft departed Edinburgh on a scheduled passenger service to Amsterdam at 14:21 UTC. About 15:22 UTC the aircraft entered a holding pattern over the North Sea off the western coast of the Netherlands. It left the holding about 15:38 UTC and positioned for an approach to runway 22. The aircraft landed about 15:54 UTC.
During landing the right hand main landing gear apparently slowly folded back in. 

Aircraft Details are:
Aircraft Type: de Havilland Canada DHC-8-402Q Dash 8
Registration: G-JECP
Serial Number: 4136
Flight Number: BE 1284
First Flight: 17th August 2006 (10yrs 6 Months)

MARCH

Justin Bieber arrives in Brisbane

As mentioned in yesterdays blog we were on the hunt for Justin Bieber's plane as he is touring Australia on his "Purpose World Tour". The media last night reported he was going to land on the Gold Coast when in fact he arrived in Brisbane at 9.10pm last night.

A good friend of mine went out to get the aircraft arriving last night and of course to see Justin, and he was kind enough to share the photos with me.

World's best airports for 2017 revealed 

For the fifth year in a row Singapore's Changi Airport has been named "world's best airport" at the annual Skytrax World Airport Awards. 

The awards, announced during a ceremony in Amsterdam on March 14, are based on millions of international passenger surveys.

Among the amenities spread through its three terminals are two 24-hour movie theatres screening the latest blockbusters for free, a rooftop swimming pool and a butterfly garden. A fourth terminal has just been completed and is due to open in the second half of 2017.

Germany's Frankfurt Airport is the only newcomer to this year's World's Best Airports list, booting Osaka's Kansai International Airport from the top 10.

1. Singapore Changi Airport

2. Tokyo International Airport (Haneda)

3. Incheon International Airport (Seoul, South Korea)

4. Munich Airport (Germany)

5. Hong Kong International Airport

6. Hamad International Airport (Doha, Qatar)

7. Chubu Centrair Nagoya (Japan)

8. Zurich Airport (Switzerland)

9. London Heathrow Airport

10. Frankfurt Airport (Germany)

APRIL

Malindo's inaugural flight to Brisbane

IATA	ICAO	Callsign
OD	MXD	MALINDO

This morning Malindo Airlines made its inaugural flight from Kuala Lumpur via Denpasar to Brisbane.

Malindo Air, owned by the LION GROUP, is a Malaysian premium airline with headquarters in Petaling Jaya Malaysia. The airline is a very young one commencing operations on the 22nd March 2013
Malindo has a fleet of 42 aircraft and flies to 43 destinations.
The name Malindo comes from Malaysia and Indonesia.

Sultan of Johor calls into Brisbane 

Yesterday the Sultan of Johor called into Brisbane in his beautiful gold and blue 737 BBJ. I couldn't get out there for the arrival but today, with my family in tow, we headed out to the airport for the departure and to grab a few Easter Sunday snaps.
The Sultan of Johor is a hereditary seat and the nominal ruler of the Malaysian state of Johor

SULTAN OF JOHOR B737-82Z 9M-III (CN 60686)

**

DEPARTING BRISBANE FOR PERTH

Malaysia 737 crashes in Sibu Malaysia

A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737 has suffered a landing accident at Sibu Malaysia. Flight 2718 was operating from Kuala Lumpur (KUL / WMKK) to Sibu (SWB / WBGS) with 61 passengers and 6 crew on board. MH 2718 landed on Sibu's runway 13 in very heavy rain at about 22.10 local time. Runway 13 is 2745 mtrs long but does not have an ILS. On touchdown the 737 went off the side of the runway and came to a stop on soft ground with the nose gear collapsed. No injuries were reported but the 737 has sustained significant damage.

Aircraft Information

Aircraft: Boeing 737-8H6 (WL)
Operator: Malaysia Airlines
Registration: 9M-MXX
Serial Number: 40161
First Flew: 14th August 2014 
Age: (2 years 8 months)
Test Registration: N1787B

MAY

100,000 hits Thank You

Tonight my blog hit the 100,000 mark.

I was so excited to see this number come up.

100,000 in just over 2 years, (that is 3,571per month or 892 per week) is really exciting.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you, my loyal followers wherever you are around the world for making this number possible.

I try and make this blog interesting and informative at all times.

Man arrested after trying to gain entry into cockpit

AMERICAN AIRLINES B777-323 N735AT (CN 32439)      File Photo

A man was subdued after he tried to breach the cockpit of an American Airlines flight to Honolulu, a source familiar with the situation told ABC News.

American Airlines said in a statement that law enforcement met the plane upon landing in Honolulu following a "disturbance" on the flight. The plane was escorted by two F-22 fighter jets for the duration of the flight following the disturbance.

A source at the TSA told ABC News that the man was waiting for the bathroom near the cockpit when a flight attendant asked him to sit down. He had a laptop with him and appeared to try the cockpit door before he was subdued, the source said.

JUNE

Qatar Airways may be in real trouble

QATAR A380-861 A7-APA (CN 137)                    File Photo

As Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates sever diplomatic relations with Qatar, the nations have also closed their airspace to its neighbour. Unfortunately for Qatar Airways, the lack of access to Bahrainian, Emirati, and Saudi airspace could have a devastating effect on its operations. “Losing Saudi, Bahrain and UAE airspace would effectively ground Qatar Airways,” CAPA — Centre for Aviation wrote in a report. That’s because Qatar actually has very little airspace relative to the size of the country. “It is largely surrounded by Bahrain airspace (the Bahrain FIR), a slither on the south is managed by Saudi Arabia while the UAE is on the eastern border,” CAPA stated. While losing access to Saudi airspace will force Qatar Airways into the costly manoeuvre of rerouting its Africa-bound flights, losing access to Bahrainian airspace could be catastrophic because it almost completely encircles Qatar.

Five countries cut links with Doha

This story was brought to my attention this afternoon.
I have read this story twice now and I still cant get over the seriousness of it all.
I wonder how QATAR will take all this???

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of destabilising the region.

They say Qatar backs militant groups including so-called Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda, which Qatar has denied.
The Saudi state news agency SPA said Riyadh had closed its borders, severing land, sea and air contact with the tiny peninsula of Qatar.
Qatar called the move "unjustified" with "no basis in fact".
The unprecedented move is being seen as a significant split between powerful Gulf countries, who are also close US allies.

It comes in the context of increased tensions between Gulf countries and their near-neighbour Iran. The Saudi statement accused Qatar of collaborating with Iranian-backed militias.

Malaysia Airlines drama as man tries to enter cockpit

MALAYSIAN AIRLINES A330-323 9M-MTI (CN 1337)    File Photo

A Malaysian Airlines A330 made an emergency landing in Melbourne last night after a passenger tried to enter the cockpit while claiming to have a bomb.
MH128 took off from runway 16 in Melbourne at 11.21pm bound for Kuala Lumpur before performing a small loop and landing again on runway 16 at 11.47pm.
The passenger, a Sri Lankan national who was apparently drunk, was overpowered by the plane's crew and later arrested at Melbourne's airport, Malaysia's Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi told AFP.

The man responsible is in custody and being interviewed by AFP and Victoria Police.

Engine explodes on China Eastern A330

CHINA EASTERN A330-243 B-5961 (CN 1569)           File Photo

A China Eastern aircraft heading to Shanghai from Sydney made an emergency landing after an engine fault was detected shortly after its take-off from Sydney last night.
Damage on the air inlet of the aircraft's left engine was noticed by a passenger who alerted the crew, and the captain made the decision to return. MU 736 took off from runway 34L at 20:42 local time. The aircraft climbed to 1,500 feet and maintained that altitude for a short period of time.
The captain radioed that they experienced a "number one engine fault" and initially requested to maintain the present heading. After one minute the aircraft continued it's climb to 5,700 ft, while circling back to the airport.
The aircraft landed back at Sydney Airport on runway 34L at 21:24 hours.
Reports say the no.1 engine, a Rolls Royce Trent 772B-60, inner cowling having been ripped open.

Nightmare for Qatar Airways

It was already turning into a tough year for Qatar Airways. Now things have gotten a whole lot worse.

The airline said on Tuesday it was suspending all flights to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt "until further notice" after those countries broke off diplomatic relations and transport links with Qatar.

The Arab states have accused their neighbor of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region. Qatar says the claims are "unjustified" and "baseless."

Qatar has repeatedly faced criticism for alleged support of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group considered a terrorist organization by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Analysts say the unprecedented diplomatic rift is also driven by the belief that Qatar is too closely aligned with Iran.
Saudi Arabia canceled Qatar Airways' license in the kingdom and will shut down its offices within 48 hours. Qatar Airways said it was arranging three charter flights on Tuesday from Jeddah to Muscat, Oman, for passengers stranded in Saudi Arabia.

Qatar Airways voted the World’s Best Airline in 2017

After all the issues QATAR have had in the past few weeks this is fantastic news for them.
Congratulations QATAR what an amazing effort.

QATAR B777-3DZ A7-BAF (CN 37661)               File Photo

Qatar Airways was today announced the World’s Best Airline at the SKYTRAX 2017 World Airline Awards. Voted Best Airline by travellers across the world in the annual passenger survey, the Doha based carrier has now won the prestigious Airline of the Year title for a fourth time. Qatar Airways enjoyed further success by winning major awards for the World’s Best Business Class, the World’s Best First Class Lounge and as the Best Airline in the Middle East.

Passengers prey for survival on Air Asia X flight

AIR ASIA X A330-343 9M-XXE (CN 1075)             File Photo

The pilot of a stricken AirAsia X plane told passengers to “say a prayer” after an apparent engine issue that forced the A330 to return to Perth this morning.

Air Asia has issued a statement saying: “We are investigating the technical issue — there is no indication its an engine issue.”

Passengers on flight D7-237 en route from Perth Airport (PER/YPPH) to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL/WMKK)  have told how they heard a bang and looked out the window to see the left engine vibrating violently under the wing.
The aircraft started shuddering and a strong engine smell wafted through the cabin for a couple of minutes before the pilot made a U-turn to head back to Perth Airport.

Aircraft Information

Aircraft: Airbus A330-343
Operator: Air Asia X
Registration: 9M-XXE
Serial Number: 1075
Engines: RR Trent 772B-60
First Flew: 10th November 2009
Age: 7 yrs 6 months
Test Registration: F-WWKS

JULY

Rare Sight for Brisbane

Today Brisbane was treated to a very rare site indeed, the treat was in the way of a Brazilian Air Force Embraer KC-390 PT-ZNJ (CN 39000002). This aircraft is flying around the world showing itself off to countries interested in looking to buy this amazing aircraft.
The Brazilian manufacturer is taking the KC-390 to New Zealand in support of its bid for the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s future air mobility and future air surveillance capability requirements to replace the C-130H and P-3K2 Orion maritime surveillance aircraft.
The KC-390 first touched down at Port Hedland in Western Australia’s north west, having flown in from Kuala Lumpur. The aircraft was on the ground for about five and a half hours before flying to Brisbane. It was on the ground here for 12 hours, arriving at 1.48am and departing at 1.58pm.

Four men arrested over ''allegedly" plotting to blow up an aircraft 

Four men are in custody this morning and 'assisting police' after heavily armed counter-terrorism officers raided four Sydney properties over an alleged terrorist plot that reportedly involved blowing up an aircraft here in Australia.
Wearing gas masks and ballistic armour, backed by fire crews and specially trained paramedics, officers from the Joint Counter Terrorism Team stormed three properties in Sydney’s west — at Sproule St, Lakemba, Renown Ave, Wiley Park, and Victoria Rd, Punchbowl — and a terrace on Goodlet Lne, Surry Hills, in the inner city.

Scoot and Tigerair to merge from today

From today Scoot, Asia/Pacific’s low cost airline, is set to get bigger as Scoot and Tigerair (Singapore) complete their integration and operate all flights under the Scoot brand.
Since May 2016, Scoot and Tigerair has been working to integrate reservation systems, flight schedules and connections, conditions of carriage, check-in counters and call centres. Those integrations have now been completed.
Today Scoot and Tigerair will merge to operate under a single brand, Scoot. With the merger, Tigerair will operate under the Scoot brand, however the Scoot designator code (TZ) will be re-designated as TR. This merger is part of our long-term growth strategy and to enable a more seamless travel experience for all our guests.

AUGUST

U. S MV-22 Osprey plane crashed into the sea

UNITED STATES MARINE OSPREY VMM-265               File Photo

The US military is searching for three missing marines after their Osprey aircraft carrying 26 personnel crashed off the central Queensland coast yesterday.
A search and rescue operation is under way off Queensland's coast for three marines who are still missing after a US military plane crashed into the sea.
The plane, an MV-22 Osprey, (also known as a tiltrotor) was carrying 26 personnel including crew when it crashed about 4pm on Saturday off the central Queensland coast at Shoalwater Bay.
It had taken off from the USS Bonhomme Richard and was on regularly scheduled operations when it hit the water in a "mishap", a statement from the US military says.

Ospreys grounded temporarily

The Commandant of the US Marine Corps is temporarily grounding all of its aircraft following the crash of an Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft in Australia that killed three troops.
"Gen. Robert B. Neller, of the US Marine Corps, directed US Marine Corps aviation units to conduct an operational reset for a 24 hour-period where no flight operations will take place but no operational commitments will be impacted," the Marine Corps said in a statement.
A Marine MV-22 Osprey crashed last Saturday afternoon around 4pm during an exercise off the Australian coast, killing three service members out of the 26 that were on board.

SEPTEMBER

President Trump wants cheaper Air Force One

AIR FORCE ONE LANDING AT AMBERLEY  NOV 2014        (File Photo)

President Donald Trump said the projected cost of new Air Force One aircraft was too high, so the U.S. Air Force found a way to lower it: by buying a pair of Boeing 747 jetliners abandoned by a bankrupt Russian airline.
Air Force officials are now finalizing a contract with Boeing for the two planes, according to three defence officials with knowledge of the deal. The Pentagon could publicly announce the deal as soon as this week.
“We’re working through the final stages of coordination to purchase two commercial 747-8 aircraft and expect to award a contract soon,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said in a statement.

16 Years on - September 11 still deep in our thoughts

On the 11th September 2001 the world as we knew it changed forever.

What happened on September 11th (or 911 as it is known in the states) has touched everyone deeply.

Hainan adds Brisbane to its network from today

On the 1st July this year I posted a story about Hainan Airlines adding Brisbane to its network.
Today the long awaited flight arrived in the river city, touching down on runway 01 twelve minutes ahead of its scheduled arrival time of 9.30am. I have seen this airline in both Sydney and Melbourne but it is exciting to see another airline coming into Brisbane on a regular bases. The aircraft used for the inguinal flight was their A330-243 B-5936 (CN 1573)

HAINAN A330-243 B-5936 (CN 1573)

Fuel crisis in Auckland means diversions for long haul

Travellers heading out of Auckland will have some of their flights cancelled again tomorrow and ticket sales will be restricted, as the airlines deal with the ongoing fuel shortage. The shortage is due to a pipeline that supplies fuel to Auckland Airport being shut off over the weekend after a leak was discovered on Thursday. Air New Zealand also confirmed today it was sending a Boeing 777-200 aircraft to Wellington with just the pilots on board to fill up and return to Auckland for further long-haul flights.

Riverfire rehearsals

With the 2017 River Fire tomorrow night the RAAF did a rehearsal run today over the city with their RAAF EA-18 Growler and the Roulettes with their Pilatus PC9 aircraft.

OCTOBER

MONARCH Airlines goes bust and future bookings cancelled

“We are sorry to inform you that, as of 2 October 2017, all future holidays and flights provided by these companies have been cancelled and are no longer operating,” said a message on Monarch’s website under the logo of Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority.

“All Monarch flights from the UK are cancelled, DO NOT go to UK airports,” said a post on Monarch’s Twitter feed.

The airline has gone bust and all its future bookings have been cancelled.

Monarch, the UK's fifth biggest airline is the largest ever to go into administration and has left 110,000 passengers stuck overseas. The collapse of  Monarch will see the biggest ever peacetime mission to repatriate Brits whose flights have been cancelled

Emirates to axe its Melbourne-Auckland and Brisbane-Auckland fights

EMIRATES A380-861 A6-EDZ (CN 107)   File Photo

This is a little disappointing for those that like to fly EK to Auckland, its the only chance most people get to fly on the amazing A380.  Not only that but Auckland was the only airport outside of Dubai to have four Emirates A380's on the ground at once.

Emirates will axe its Melbourne-Auckland and Brisbane-Auckland fights as of 25th March 2018, handing the bulk of its trans-Tasman flying over to partner Qantas.

Brisbane Open House = Roulettes over Archerfield

Today Archerfield Airport hosted a Brisbane Open House event which included a display by the Air Force Roulettes. There were airside bus tours, the LifeFlight’s Heavy Maintenance Hangar was open for the public; Gods Acre static display & the historic terminal was also open for viewing and a few vintage cars gave the area in font of the terminal that ol' fashion vintage feel.

The main draw card was of course the RAAF Roulette's aerobatic display which started right on time at 10am and featured their world-class formation flying. During the aerial display the Pilatus PC-9/A aircraft were flying as close as 3m apart and reached speeds of 460km per hour, and sometimes came as low as 80m. 

Air Asia X Emergency causes concerns.

An Indonesia AirAsia flight on its way from Perth in Western Australia (PER/YPPH) to Denpasar Indonesia (DPS/WADD) was forced to return Perth Airport following a rapid loss of cabin pressure. The aircraft, an Airbus A320, took off from runway 21 at 11:23 hours local time, bound for Bali, Indonesia. The aircraft was approaching FL340 in the climb when a loss of cabin pressure occurred at 11:52. Oxygen masks deployed in the cabin while the flight crew initiated a rapid descent to FL100.  Descending to around 10,000 feet (3,048 meters), means it is an altitude to which cabins are pressurized and at which oxygen masks are no longer needed.

Passengers on the Indonesia AirAsia flight described a panicked flight crew announcing an emergency and oxygen masks dropping from the ceiling after their airliner lost cabin air pressure and rapidly descended.
The flight returned safely to the airport where many of the 145 passengers spoke to media about the fear and confusion on board. "The panic was escalated because of the behaviour of the cabin crew who were screaming, they looked tearful and were shocked," passengers told reporters.

"Now I get it said another passenger, but we looked to them for reassurance and we didn't get any, we were more worried because of how panicked they were,".

Last Flight for Air Berlin

IATA ICAO Callsign AB BER AIR BERLIN

Insolvent German carrier Air Berlin has flown its last flight. It was a heartfelt event for many passengers and employees.
The last flight for the German airline landed late Friday evening, ending almost 40 years of history for Germany's second largest airline.
Flight AB 6210 from Munich landed at Berlin-Tegel airport at 23:45, but not before the pilots changed the flight number to BER4EVER.
The last flight was operated by an Airbus A320-214 D-ABNW (CN 2627)

NOVEMBER

THE BEST AIRLINE FOR 2018 IS...

For the fifth consecutive year, Air New Zealand has been named the “Airline of the Year” in the U.S. by Airline Ratings.com Various factors were taken into consideration, but the carriers record-breaking financial performance helped it to beat out competitors. Despite earnings before taxes falling to $527 million in 2017 from $663 million in 2016, the airline still experienced its second-most highest earnings in the company’s history.

In addition to profits, Air New Zealand also took the top spot thanks to in-flight innovations, environmental leadership, safety, and a young fleet of aircrafts. It also doesn’t hurt that New Zealand has been experiencing a tourism boom. In the last year, 3.7 million international tourists have visited the island nation so far this year, up 9% from 2016.

Air New Zealand was also named as the airline with the Best Premium Economy. Singapore Airlines won for Best First Class experience, Virgin Australia won for Best Business Class experience, and Korean Air won for Best Economy Class.

Here is the complete list of the top 10 airlines for 2018:

1. Air New Zealand
2. Qantas
3. Singapore Airlines
4. Virgin Australia
5. Virgin Atlantic
6. Etihad Airways
7. All Nippon Airways
8. Korean Air
9. Cathay Pacific
10. Japan Airlines

World's longest aircraft crashes in England - two injured

Two people have been injured after the world's longest aircraft, the Airlander 10, crashed in a field close to the aircraft hangars in Cardington, Bedfordshire .
Two staff members suffered minor injuries when the 92 metre long Airlander 10 broke free of its moorings. One woman was taken to hospital but has since been discharged and another person was injured "dealing with the aftermath" of the incident.
Manufacturers Hybrid Air Vehicles said the hull of the ship had been ripped open and the aircraft deflated when the breakage activated an automatic safety system.

DECEMBER

Emirates increases Brisbane flight to 3 x daily.

As of today Emirates airlines will call into Brisbane 3 times a day after introducing their new flight, EK 430 direct from Dubai landing in Brisbane around 6.30pm.

Air China calls Brisbane home

Brisbane's international airlines grew by one today going from 21 to 22 with Air China calling Brisbane home. The inguinal flight, CA795, departed Beijing right on time at 2.30am (local) and landed in Brisbane on runway 19 at 3.00pm. I called out to the airport with my wife and she went up to the top level carpark while I went to the turning circle viewing area. The photos marked with an ** were taken by my wife Judy.

AIR CHINA A330-243 B-6113 (CN 0890)

I hope you have enjoyed this as much as I have enjoyed posting it.