New era for Virgin Australia has arrived

A new era has come for Virgin Australia as it takes delivery of the first of its new aircraft today, the latest in the Boeing 737 MAX family. The first aircraft was flown by a specialist Virgin Australia flight crew from Seattle, Washington, to Honolulu, then on to Nadi and then into Brisbane, the airline’s hometown.

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737 MAX 8 VH-8IA (MSN 65045)

The 737-MAX 8 aircraft is quieter and offers an even better experience for customers, with next-generation seats that feature device holders and in-seat power. It is also at least 15% more fuel efficient per flight compared to the 737-800 NG fleet.

Chief Operations Officer Stuart Aggs said that the new aircraft support Virgin Australia’s commitment to targeting net zero emissions by 2050. He explained: “While our approach to decarbonisation is multi-faceted, fleet modernisation is a critical part of progressing our sustainability ambitions and represents a significant opportunity to reduce our emissions intensity in the near-term.

“We expect our fleet renewal program, combined with other fuel efficiency initiatives, to support over 80 per cent of our 2030 interim target to reduce Virgin Australia’s carbon emission intensity by 22 per cent.”

33 new aircraft will join the Virgin Australia fleet over the next five years, complementing its simplified 737 fleet, which is already one of the youngest commercial fleets in Australia. The arrival of this MAX 8 brings their fleet of 737's to 85.

This new aircraft is called Monkey Mia – following Virgin Australia’s tradition of naming its aircraft after Australian bodies of water. It will fly the airline’s new Cairns to Haneda route, which also launched this week.

The first Australian airline to operate the MAX 8 was Bonza when it launched services in January, other airlines that fly the MAX 8 into Australia is Fiji Airways and Batik Airways.

Delta Aircraft lands without nose wheel.

DELTA BOEING 757-251 N545US (MSN 26492)

A Delta Airlines flight travelling from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, GA (ATL/KATL) to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, NC (CLT/KCLT) landed on runway 36L at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, NC (CLT) with the nose landing gear retracted.

The aircraft made its first approach to runway 36L at 8:21 local. The aircraft then made a missed approached, climbed and circled before it made a low pass over the runway at about 900 feet at 08:40. 

The aircraft finally landed safely on runway 36L at 08:52.

According to Delta, two pilots, three flight attendants and 96 passengers were on board.
The passengers and crew deplaned using an emergency slide and were being taken to the terminal on a bus.

Airline officials are working with other officials at the Charlotte airport to move the plane from the runway.

“Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people,” Delta said in a statement. “While this is a rare occurrence, Delta flight crews train extensively to safely manage through many scenarios and flight 1092 landed safely without reported injuries. Our next focus is to take care of our customers on this flight, including retrieving their bags and seeing them to their final destinations safely. We apologise to our customers for what they experienced; they went on to say.”

The runway the plane landed on was closed Wednesday until about 7 p.m. 

The aircraft was removed, and it was inspected before the runway reopened.

“The crew told us there was an issue with the landing gear and instructed us to go over safety information,” a passenger on the flight said. “We came in low once and then climbed again. Second time had us brace but the landing was smooth. No jarring or even loud noises. We were in the back so that may have been why. Everyone evacuated via slides extremely quickly. No injuries as far as I know. Crew and pilots were wonderful!”

Emotions were high and many of the travelers shared the same sentiments. They said they were thankful the pilot remained calm in the process. “It couldn’t have gone more smoothly, from the landing to the quick response from the emergency responders to the gate agents,” said another passenger. “Everything was just incredibly smooth, very impressed.”

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Delta Airlines

Code: DL/DAL

Aircraft: Boeing 717-2BD

Registration: N955AT

Serial number: 55017

Engines 2 x BMW RR BR715
First flew13/11/2000
Age 22.6 years

Lucky passenger gets private flight on American Airlines

AMERICAN AIRLINES BOEING 787-9 N838AA (MSN 40659)

Flights disruptions are undoubtedly one of the worst nightmares for passengers, as any cancelation or delay brings time wasted, additional costs, almost nerve-wracking frustration, and high blood pressure. But for one extremely fortunate American Airlines passenger, his nearly one-day flight delay awarded him one of the best outcomes anyone could've wished for.

The passenger in question was Phil Stringer, who was trying to catch his scheduled flight home from Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport (OKC/KOKC) to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT/KCLT) on Sunday morning with American Airlines. As Stringer told reporters, his flight with the Oneworld alliance member, AA 1952, was initially supposed to depart at around 06:20 a.m.

But his flight home was repeatedly delayed due to what was told to him as maintenance issues. Stringer also noted that although his flight was fully booked, he was unaware if or how many of his fellow passengers were rebooking a different flight. And despite trying to change his flight several times, Stringer highlighted that his initial flight was the only one that fit his schedule, as he genuinely needed to reach home.

After waiting in the airport for approximately 18 hours, Stringer could finally board his flight, which was scheduled to leave at around midnight. While he would get home much later than expected, at least it was much better than having to wait a few hours later for the following day's scheduled flight. But when Stringer entered the gate hold room, he was in for quite a shock.

Excluding himself and the airline crew, Stringer noticed the gate was empty - no other passengers were in sight. Thinking that perhaps everyone else had already boarded, he checked with the airline staff, and they confirmed that he was, in fact, the only passenger flying on the flight.

Feeling bad that everyone was called on this flight just for him, Stringer apologised profusely and explained his situation. Fortunately for the anxious Stringer, the airline staff weren't mad in the least bit and even joined in on teasing him, saying:

"Really bro, you couldn't have left a few hours later?"

And despite the nearly one-day-long delay and feeling bad for being the only passenger, Stringer experienced one of his most memorable flights once AA 1952 finally took off at around 00:23. Not only did the cabin crew allow him to choose his preferred seat, but they even threw him a private party for the under two-hour flight journey.

If you thought you misread it, you certainly didn't, as Stringer did have a party with the cabin crew in first class and he highlighted this surreal experience on TikTok. It began with the inflight safety demonstration, where flight attendants further teased Stringer by saying that the public announcements and demonstration were especially just for him.

And throughout the flight, the flight attendants were full of joy and laughter as they traded light-hearted jokes with Stringer and served the lone passenger whatever beverage or food he asked for. Eventually, at the end of the flight, when AA 1952 landed at around 03:15, everyone became fast friends and even exchanged numbers. Although Stringer considered himself an inconvenience to the flight, cabin, and ground crew of this once-in-a-lifetime 'private' flight, the public reacted positively to his demeanor. Several also identified themselves as flight attendants and emphasized that such a flight experience would be more of a dream work situation for them than an inconvenience.

Overall, it's impressive that everything worked out for Stringer as he managed to get home while also having an indescribable flight experience that commercial aviation passengers could only dream of. And to end everything off, he even made new friends and probably made that flight one of the best for the airline staff too, a win-win all around.

Spotting at Brisbane Airport

Since I hadn't been to the airport plane spotting for a while, yesterday I spent around four hours at Brisbane airport.

EMIRATES AIRBUS A380-861 A6-EEU (MSN 147)
TOLL BOEING 737-484 ZK-TLL (MSN 25362)

ALLIANCE FOKKER 100 VH-UQG (MSN 11520)
VA600 ARRIVING FROM MACKAY (MKY)

NATIONAL JET EXPRESS DASH 8 Q400 VH-IYP (MSN 4530)

QANTASLINK EMBRAER E190AR VH-UYY (MSN 19000212)
QF1903 OFF TO CANBERRA (CBR)

ALLIANCE EMBRAER E190AR VH-UYO (MSN 19000098)

AIR NEW ZEALAND AIRBUS A321-271 ZK-NNB (MSN 8542)
NZ143 ARRIVING FROM AUCKLAND (AKL)

ALLIANCE FOKKER 70 VH-NKQ (MSN 11572)
QQ2832 ARRIVING FROM MORANBAH (MOV)

BATIK AIR BOEING 737 MAX 8 9M-LRL (MSN 43012)
OD158 OFF TO DENPASAR (DPS)

QANTASLINK BOEING 717-231 VH-NXO (MSN 55096)
QF1787 ARRIVING FROM GLADSTONE (GLT)

REX BOEING 737-8FE VH-MFM (MSN 42805)
ARRIVING FROM SYDNEY (SYD)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737-7FE VH-VBY (MSN 34323)
VA775 OFF TO CAIRNS (CNS)

LINK METROLINER VH-VEK (MSN DC-845B)
FC5181 OFF TO COFFS HARBOUR (CFS)

ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR KING AIR 360C VH-FDW (MSN FM-99)

KOREAN AIR BOEING 777-2B5 HL-7766 (MSN 34213)
KE408 OFF TO SEOUL (ICN)

JETSTAR A321-231 VH-VWQ (MSN 7384)
JQ813 OFF TO SYDNEY (SYD)

JETSTAR AIRBUS A321-251 VH-OFW (MSN 11380)
JQ565 OFF TO MELBOURNE (MEL)

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-202 VH-EBM (MSN 1061)
QF119 OFF TO AUCKLAND (AKL)

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-XZP (MSN 44577)
QF613 OFF TO MELBOURNE (MEL)

SINGAPORE AIRBUS A350-941 9V-SHB (MSN 263)
SQ256 OFF TO SINGAPORE (SIN)

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-XZJ (MSN 39365)
QF183 OFF TO NORFOLK ISLAND (NLK)

Virgin 601 bound for Mackay from Brisbane departed Brisbane 50 minutes late at 6.57 a.m. flew for 1 hour 25 minutes, held in a holding pattern for three circuits, then returned to Brisbane, arriving back at 9.39 a.m. 

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737-7K2 VH-NHW (MSN 39257)
DIVERTING BACK TO BRISBANE

QANTASLINK BOEING 717-2BL VH-YQW (MSN 55194)

ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR KING AIR B200 VH-VQD (MSN BB-1880)

JETSTAR AIRBUS A320-232 VH-VQM (MSN 2608)
JQ834 OFF TO PROSERPINE (PPP)

AIR NEW ZEALAND AIRBUS A321-271 ZK-NHF (MSN 10589)
NZ272 OFF TO WELLINGTON (WLG)

SINGAPORE AIRBUS A350-941 9V-SHL (MSN 371)
SQ255 ARRIVING FROM SINGAPORE (SIN)

LINK SAAB 340B VH-VEP (MSN 340B-377)
SF34 ARRIVING FROM BUNDABERG (BDB)

AIR VANUATU BOEING 737-8SH YJ-AV8 (MSN 42052)
NF21 OFF TO PORT VILA (VLI)

AIR CANADA BOEING 787-9 C-FGDZ (MSN 37173)
AC36 OFF TO VANCOUVER (YVR)

FIJI AIRWAYS BOEING 737 MAX 8 DQ-FAE (MSN 64309)
FJ921 ARRIVING FROM NADI (NAN)

CHINA AIRLINES AIRBUS A350-941 B-18902 (MSN 057)
CI52 ARRIVING FROM TAIPEI (TPE)

PHILIPPINE AIRBUS A321-271 RP-C9934 (MSN 8484)
PR221 ARRIVING FROM MANILA (MNL)

UNITED BOEING 787-9 N15969 (MSN 60142)
UA97 OFF TO SAN FRANCISCO (SFO)

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-202 VH-EBP (MSN 1174)
QF51 OFF TO SINGAPORE (SIN)

ROYAL FLYING DOCTORS PILATUS PC-24 VH-VWO (MSN 105)

REX SAAB 340B VH-ZLO (MSN 340-383)
ZL5722 OFF TO ROMA (RMA)