A special treat for Brisbane

Yesterday, fellow plane enthusiasts and I were treated to a rare and special sight—a China Airlines Boeing 747-400 arriving from Christchurch, New Zealand. The queen of the skies certainly drew a crowd, with the turning circle packed and the top level of the P1 car park, where my wife and I stood, bustling with spotters. The queen was carrying the third-highest ranking person in the Chinese government, Mr. Zhao Leji. The Chinese politician is set to explore Brisbane and Canberra as a Guest of the Australian Parliament over the four-day trip. As if that wasn’t enough, the German Air Force A400 Atlas, which had been on the ground for a few days, took off as well. Just as we were leaving, a Gulfstream 550—rumored to have Lenny Kravitz on board—departed for Melbourne. What an incredible morning.

AVCAIR EMBRAER PHENOM 300E VH-NJR (MSN 50500774)

JETSTAR AIRBUS A320-232 VH-XNJ (MSN 5323)
JQ563 OFF TO MELBOURNE (MEL) 13 YEARS

QANTASLINK AIRBUS A220-300 VH-X4C (MSN 55288)
QF1259 OFF TO MELBOURNE (MEL) 1 YEAR

ALLIANCE FOKKER 100 VH-FGB (MSN 11446)
VA1235 OFF TO ROCKHAMPTON (ROK) 32 YEARS

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-VZC (MSN 34197)
QF165 OFF TO AIRAI (ROR) 17 YEARS

QANTASLINK DASH 8 400 VH-QOX (MSN 4287)
QLK546D OFF TO BARCALDINE (BCI) 16 YEARS

KOREAN AIR BOEING 787-9 HL7206 (MSN 34815)
KE408 OFF TO SEOUL (ICN) 7 YEARS

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES AIRBUS A321-271N RP-C9934 (MSN 8484)
PR221 ARRIVING FROM MANILA (MNL) 7 YEARS

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737 MAX 8 VH-8IC (MSN 66635)
VA175 OFF TO NADI (NAN) 2 YEARS

AIR NEW ZEALAND BOEING 787-9 ZK-NZK (MSN 43217)
NZ145 ARRIVING FROM AUCKLAND (AKL) 9 YEARS

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-303 VH-QPA (MSN 553)
QF61 OFF TO TOKYO (NRT) 22 YEARS

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-203 VH-EBL (MSN 976)
QF610 ARRIVING FROM MELBOURNE (MEL) 17 YEARS
SPORTING THE VERY FADED "PRIDE IS IN THE AIR" LIVERY

QANTASLINK EMBRAER E190AR VH-UYB (19000012)
QLK1862 OFF TO TOWNSVILLE (TSV) 20 YEARS

AMERICAN BOEING 787-9 N845MD (MSN 66010)
AA8 OFF TO DALLAS (DFW) 8 MONTHS

AIR NEW ZEALAND AIRBUS A320-271N ZK-NHB (MSN 8803)
NZ272 OFF TO WELLINGTON (WEL) 6 YEARS

SINGAPORE AIRBUS A350-941 9V-SHF (MSN 305)
SQ255 ARRIVING FROM SINGAPORE (SIN) 6 YEARS

CHINA SOUTHERN AIRBUS A350-941 B-320S (MSN 449)
CZ382 OFF TO GUANGZHOU (CAN) 4 YEARS

FIJI AIRBUS A330-243 DQ-FJT (MSN1394) 
FJ921 ARRIVING FROM NADI (NAN) 12 YEARS

CHINA AIRLINES AIRBUS A350-941 B-18903 (MSN 066)
CI53 ARRIVING FROM TAIPEI (TPE) 8 YEARS

JETSTAR BOEING 787-8 VH-VKL (MSN 36238)
JQ9 OFF TO TOKYO (NRT) 10 YEARS

AIR CHINA BOEING 747-4JS B-2472 (MSN 30158)
CHINA 31 ARRIVING FROM CHRISTCHURCH (CHC) 26 YEARS

AIR CANADA BOEING 787-9 C-FRSA (MSN 37175)
AC36 OFF TO VANCOUVER (YVR) 8 YEARS

GERMANY AIR FORCE AIRBUS A400 ATLAS 54+35 (MSN 105)
GAF444 OFF TO PORT HEADLAND (PHE) 

AXIS AVIATION GULFSTREAM G550 OE-LTC (MSN 5452)
OFF TO MELBOURNE (MEL) 12 YEARS
RUMOURED TO BE CARRY LENNY KRAVITZ

EMIRATES AIRBUS A380-861 A6-EOC (MSN 165)