Thai Airways reduces flights to Australia

THAI B747-4D7 HS-TGP (CN 26610)        File Photo     

Thai Airways has drastically reduced capacity to Australia over the Australian summer with flights to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane all cut from this month. Thai has also downsized the aircraft operating on the Perth-Bangkok route. The changes came into effect from 28 October 2018, which is the start of the northern winter scheduling period. It was previously reported that this capacity reduction would be re-instated at the end of March 2019, but this is no longer the case. The reductions appear now to be permanent.

Sydney will lose four of its eleven weekly Thai Airways flights, with the loss of TG 471 and TG 472. TG 471, operated by a 747 is the morning flight from Bangkok, while the latter is the 4pm departure from Sydney to Bangkok. 

THAI B787-8 HS-TQA (CN 35315)       File Photo

Brisbane loses 3 of its 7 weekly Thai Airways flights to Bangkok. TG 477 and TG 478, operated by 787 aircraft, are being suspended, meaning the loss of a day flight from Bangkok to Brisbane and an overnight flight back to Bangkok. 

Melbourne currently has 2 x daily flights to Bangkok. After 28 October, TG461 and TG462 will be trimmed back to 4x weekly. TG 465/ 466 will remain daily. 

Perth will be downgraded from a Boeing 787 to an Airbus A330. 

While Australia will be hit particularly hard by the reduction in Thai Airways flights, the airline is also reducing flights to many other cities across Asia and Europe during the northern winter. Thai Airways will continue to use a Boeing 747 on its daily flights from Sydney to Bangkok. But the 747s will have been withdrawn from Europe completely once the Bangkok-Munich route switches from a Boeing 747 to a Boeing 777 next month. The Thai Airways 747s have an outdated Business class product but a nice First class cabin. 

Qantas, Jetstar and Emirates also fly from Australia to Thailand. Qantas and Emirates both have daily Sydney-Bangkok flights, while Jetstar flies various routes to Bangkok and Phuket.




Story sourced from here.
https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/thai-airways-reduces-australia-flights/

Lion Air 737 crashed shortly after takeoff…killing all on board

A Lion Air flight traveling from Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK/WIII) Indonesia to Pangkal Pinang Airport (PGK/WIPK) Indonesia crashed shortly after take off this morning killing all 188 people on board. Lion Air flight JT610 took off from runway 25L at Soekarno-Hatta Airport at 06:21am local time and was due to land at around 7:30am in Pangkal Pinang. Weather at the time of departure was fine with light winds. The aircraft is believed to have gone down 13 minutes into the flight and about 34 nautical miles north-west of Jakarta. Officials said the plane had been carrying 178 adults, one infant and two babies, as well as two pilots and six cabin crew. Three of those cabin crew were in training and this was their first flight.
The aircraft itself, a Boeing 737-8 Max, is brand new having been manufactured earlier this year and Lion Air took ownership on the 15th August . The aircraft had only clocked up 800 hours of flying time. Lion Air flies to 126 destinations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and China and is the second largest low-cost carrier in south-east Asia after Malaysia's AirAsia. The low-cost carrier has had a poor safety record for many years. Since 2002, Lion Air has had more than a dozen major incidents or accidents. The most deadly was in 2004 when a plane overshot the runway and crashed into a cemetery in Surakarta, killing 31 people.


Aircraft Information
Airline: Lion Air
Code: JT / LNI
Aircraft Type: Boeing 737 MAX 8
Flight Number: JT 610
Registration: PK-LQP
Serial Number: 43000
Engines: 2 x CFMI - LEAP 1B
First Flew: 30/07/2018
Age: 3 months


Thoughts and prayers go out to the immediate family and friends who lost loved ones, our thoughts also go out to the staff of Lion Air
                                                   GOD BLESS

Two States - Two Airports - Today

After three busy days in Sydney it was time to come home, so after doing an urgent delivery for the company I got to the airport two hours before my flight. I did some plane spotting for an hour before returning the hire car and heading to the gate.

QANTAS B747-438 VH-OEF (CN 32910)
ONE WORLD LIVERY

BRITISH AIRWAYS B777-336 G-STBH (CN 38431)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA B737-8FE VH-VOQ (CN 33798)

AUSTRALIA'S BIG TWO

XIAMEN AIR B787-8 B-2769 (CN 41539)

TIGERAIR A320-232 VH-VNK (CN 3986)

CHINA EASTERN A330-243 B-6538 (CN 1267)

EMIRATES B777-31H A6-ECQ (CN 35588)

QANTAS A330-202 VH-EBD (CN 0513)

PELICAN AIRLINES JETSTREAM 3200 VH-OTQ (CN 975)

QANTAS B737-838 VH-XZP (CN 44577)
RETRO ROO I 

AMBULANCE SERVICE OF NEW SOUTH WALES
BEECHCRAFT B200C VH-AMS (CN BL-168)

QANTAS A380-842 VH-OQI (CN 055)

SCOOT B787-9 9V-OJF (CN 37119)

When I got to the gate the aircraft wasn't even there and it was then we were informed the boarding was going to be delayed. When the aircraft turned up I was pleasantly surprised as it was the Retro Roo II and this was my first time I have ever flown on this aircraft.

QANTAS B737-838 VH-VXQ (CN 33723)
RETRO ROO II
MY RIDE HOME FROM SYDNEY

When we landed in Brisbane I hung around to get a few afternoon arrivals.

SINGAPORE B777-212 9V-SVC (CN 28526)

ALLIANCE FOKKER F28 MK 100 VH-XWS (CN 11314)

AIR NEW ZEALAND A320-232 ZK-OJF (CN 2153)

QANTAS A330-202 VH-EBN (CN 1094)

EMIRATES B777-31H A6-ECV (CN 35594)

Spotting at Bankstown Airport

Even though I have a real love for commercial aviation (more like an obsession) I still love the bizjets and the smaller aircraft so I thought I would go out to Bankstown Airport for an hour or so in the hope of seeing some of the bigger bizjets. Unfortunately I didn't see any but I still enjoyed myself anyway.

BANKSTOWN TOWER

BRM AERO BRISTELL 23-1150 (CN 309 / 2018)

PIPER PA-28 181 VH-URD (CN 2843099)

BEECH 76 VH-DVF (CN ME-258)

BRM AERO BRISTELL NG5 23-8206

BRM AERO BRISTELL S-LSA 23-1166 (CN 316/2018) 



AEROPRAKT A.22LS FOXBAT 23-8796 (CN A22LS- 182)

PIPER PA 28-161 VH-VFC (CN 2816110)

BEECH 76 DUCHESS VH-JWW (CN ME-389)

PIPER AEROSTAR 601 VH-JHG (CN 61P-0582-7963256)

PIPER PA-31-350 VH-MZI (CN 31-815-2131)

SIKORSKY S-64E N176AC (CN 64003)

CESSNA 152 VH-IVA (CN 15282349)

BEECH 58 VH-GJZ (CN TH334)

CESSNA 208B CARAVAN PK-ICC (CN 733)

EUROCOPTER AS.355N VH-PHX (CN 5623) 

PIPER PA-44-180 VH-UNA (CN 44-96370)

BEECH SUPER KING AIR B200 VH-MWH (CN BB-2003)

ALPHA AVIATION R2160 VH-ZXI (CN 160A-0017)

LEONARDO AW139 VH-TJO (CN 31740)

ROBINSON R44 II  VH-WYU (CN 10721)

JETSTREAM 3200 VH-NTL (CN 982)



PIPER PA-44-180 VH-UNB (CN 44-96402)