Last drinks in Brisbane for Malaysia Airlines

On the 25th of June Malaysia Airlines (IATO: MH -- ICAO: MAS) announced it would be pulling out of Brisbane due to poor passenger numbers; and the last flight will be on the 8th August. (See my blog on 25th June for the full story)
Malaysia will also be reducing flights into other Australian capital cities.
Sydney will see flights reduced from 3 daily flights to 2 daily flights as the airline drops MH 143 from the 3rd August and return leg MH 142 from the 4th August.
Melbourne is also cut from 3 flights a day to 2 each day, dropping MH 147 from 2nd August and MH 146 from the 3rd August.
Adelaide will be reducing from 6 flights a week back to 4 flights a week with the cancellation of MH 136 and MH 139 from 9th August.
Perth's 5 times-weekly flights MH 126 and MH 127 will be cancelled from the 15th August, the only daily flight MH 124 MH 125 remains untouched.

Tonight is the last flight for Malaysia Airlines flight MH 135 / MH 134 into Brisbane and 9M-MTI did the honours.
With Malaysia Airlines cancelling its daily services this means there will no longer be direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and Brisbane.
Malaysia Airlines, reeling from the disappearance of MH 370 and the shooting down of MH 17, is "technically bankrupt" and is in the midst of a massive operational upheaval.

TOASTING THE LAST ARRIVAL OF MALAYSIA AIRLINES

MALAYSIA A330-323 9M-MTI (CN 1337)

MALAYSIA PARKED UP IN BAY 80

Below are a few other photos I took tonight whilst at the airport

QANTAS B737-838 VH-XZM (CN 44574) WITH A P & O
CRUISE SHIP LEAVING BRISBANE

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA B737-8FE VH-VUI (CN 34441)

ETIHAD B787-9 A6-BLB (CN 39647)

ETIHAD 484 ARRIVING FROM ABU DHABI

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA GATES

EMIRATES A380-861A6-EDM (CN 042)

EMIRATES 435 PARKED UP AT BAY 75

BRISBANE TOWER WITH CITY IN THE BACK GROUND

AIRCRAFT PARKED AT OUR INTERNTIONAL

Hervey Bay / Bundaberg

I tell you 8 weeks comes around very quickly because it was time to head back up to Hervey Bay and Bundaberg. Having a huge promotion on means more work for me and very little time for spotting.

I didn't get a chance to call out to the Hervey Bay airport yesterday but I did manage to get down the water front and grab a few photos of the sun setting.

Hervey Bay Pier which is just under 1 km long (.62 miles)

Before heading off to Bundaberg I called into the airport to see what was around and there was nothing coming or going except for the 9.30 flight to Brisbane. But I managed to grab a few of the locals parked up.

 

QANTAS LINK DASH 8-315 VH-TQE (CN 596)

 

CESSNA T210M VH SDU (CN 21062253)

LADY ELLIOT ISLAND RESORT BRITTEN- NORMAN BN2A
VH-RUT (CN 165)

 

AERO COMMUTE AUSTRALIA CESSNA 402 VH-RDZ (CN 402A0125)

 

After that I headed off for the ninety minute drive to Bundaberg; then it was straight into it and again no time for spotting until just after 4pm. I sat there for an hour and, like Hervey Bay, nothing was moving except for a QANTAS Link Dash 8

 

CESSNA 208B VH-VCW (CN 208B1102)

 

QANTAS LINK DASH 8-315 VH-SBT (CN 580)

 

Xiamen Airlines adds Sydney to its network

Xiamen Airlines (IATA: MF and ICAO: CXA) will begin services to Sydney from both Xiamen and Fuzhou from late November.
The three-weekly Fuzhou-Sydney service will commence on the 30th November, followed by the twice-weekly Xiamen-Sydney service on the 6th December, subject to government approval. Both Xiamen Airlines routes will be operated by its new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft.

Xiamen Airlines, which is a member of the Skyteam alliance, would be the fifth carrier from China to call into Sydney alongside China Southern, China Eastern, Air China and Sichuan Airlines. Cathay Pacific also serves Sydney from its Hong Kong hub.

Xiamen Airlines is the first privately owned airline in the People's Republic of China. Established 25th July1984 and based in Xiamen, it operates scheduled passenger flights out of Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport and Fuzhou Changle International Airport. The airline is owned by China Southern Airlines (51%), Xiamen Construction and Development Group (34%), and Jizhong Energy Group (15%). Xiamen is the only major Chinese carrier which operates an all Boeing fleet.
Xiamen was honored with the title of "The Best Airline In Mainland China" for 6 consecutive quarters in the "Airlines Service Survey" made by CARNOC.com.
The airline operates 218 domestic routes along with 26 international routes and it flies over 3,600 flights per week.

Xiamen will depart Fuzhou as an overnight service on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, with the return flight; a midday departure from Sydney on Wednesdays, Fridays and Mondays.
The Xiamen-Sydney flights will depart on Wednesdays and Saturdays evenings from Xiamen and return from Sydney at noon on Thursdays and Sundays.

Xiamen's current fleet stands at
Boeing 737-700         17 in service
Boeing 737-800         93 in service
Boeing 737-MAX 8   30 on order
Boeing 757-200         6   in service
Boeing 787-8             5   in service 1 on order

Boeing's own 737 BBJ pays Brisbane a visit

Knowing there was a Boeing 737 BBJ from Boeing itself coming in today I carefully planned my (slightly extended) lunch break around 2pm so I could get a photo of this aircraft.

BOEING AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURER B737 BBJ

N836BA (CN 30756)

CALLSIGN WAS "NOVEMBER 836 BRAVO ALPHA''









 

 

While I was waiting I had a nice little surprise in the way of the Hi Fly A340 depart and a Bombardier CL600 come in. I also noticed a Falcon and another Bombardier parked over on logistics apron. 







Hi FLY AIRBUS A340-314 CS-TQY (CN 190)

CALLSIGN ''AUSSIE 21''

THAI 474 TAXIING UP FOR RUNWAY 19

THAI BOEING 777-300ER HS-TKR (CN 41527)

BUSINESS AVIATION SOLUTIONS BOMBARDIER CL600-2B16

VH-BLM (CN 5407)

SINGAPORE 236 TAXIING UP FOR A RUNWAY 19 DEPARTURE

SINGAPORE AIRBUS A330-343 9V-STZ (CN 1477)

TIGER AIRWAYS AIRBUS A3320-232 VH-VNP (CN 2952)

QANTAS LINK BOEING 717-200 VH-YQV (CN 55193)

GAM (GENERAL AVIATION MAINTENANCE) DORNIER
VH-VJD (CN 8157)

BOMBARDIER BD700 1A10 N9253V (CN 7024)

BUSINESS AVIATION ASIA DASSAULT FALCON 7X

B-8023 (CN 133)

BOEING BBJ, BOMBARDIER BD700, DASSAULT FALCON 7X
AND THE BOMBARDIER CL600 IN THE BACKGROUND

Customs staff in nationwide strike

Customs and Immigration staff have walked off the job for two hours at airports and seaports across the country, as well as in some offices in the capital cities. 

Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) members had been striking at airports over the past fortnight, but today was the first time the action took place at the same time in every major airport. About 2,000 Customs and Immigration staff walked off the job from 9:00am (AEST).

It was protected industrial action in response to what the union said was a Federal Government attack on workers' rights and conditions. Terry Price from the Australian Border Force said it was prepared for the strike and had measures in place to prevent delays and had asked passengers to allow for extra time to be processed at the airport.

The union said the Government had a bargaining policy that put workers at a disadvantage and would see them lose up to $8,000 a year in allowances. Employment Minister Eric Abetz said their call for a 12.5 per cent pay rise in the current climate was out of step with community expectations.

"I would encourage those that are thinking about strike action or undertaking strike action in the public service to think about their fellow Australians who will be paying for any wage increase that they are seeking," Senator Abetz said. CPSU secretary Nadine Flood said the strike action would not threaten security. "Our members take their work very seriously. This action will not affect safety of life at sea, on land, national security or counter-terrorism operations," she said.

"But the Government can resolve this dispute at any point they sit down to reach a sensible agreement." Ms Flood said workers from other affected government departments could take part in future strikes. "We will take further industrial action when it is needed and we will see that across border protection and other Commonwealth agencies. But Government can resolve this dispute at any point," she said. In a joint statement, Customs and the Department of Immigration said it had negotiated to develop an enterprise agreement that provided the best possible outcome in a "challenging operational and fiscal environment".

Information sourced from  http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-01/customs-staff-to-strike-at-major-airports

QANTAS adds Tokyo to its network

QANTAS is launching a double daily services between Australia and Tokyo as of this weekend, and to celebrate Brisbane International airport kicks things off with Japanese-themed activity and a water cannon salute.

Qantas 25, which was operated by a Boeing 747-400 VH-OEF (with the One World livery) departed  Sydney for Tokyo’s Haneda Airport last night from runway 34L at 9.05pm (11.05 UTC) followed by the departure of QF61 from Brisbane to Narita Airport today. This flight was operated by an Airbus A330, VH-QPB operated this flight and it departed from runway 01 at 11.16 am (01.16 UTC).

This new service however brings to an end another QANTAS service and that is QANTAS 21 / 22; Sydney - Narita and VH-OEI performed this flight arriving into Sydney last night.

Traditional Japanese ceremonies marking Qantas’ new Tokyo – Australia services will take place at both Narita and Haneda Airports later that evening.
But that’s not all in store to mark the occasion, with guests on-board flights departing to Narita and Haneda and in Qantas International Lounges in Sydney and Brisbane being treated to Japanese-inspired menus for the first week of August, including Tuna Tataki Nigiri in Business, and Green Tea flavoured Kit Kats in Premium Economy and Economy.
Qantas International’s ceo Gareth Evans said the almost doubling of capacity to Tokyo marked a new era for the national carrier’s presence in Japan, especially with the travel market soaring to such impressive heights.
“This significant capacity expansion has been extremely well-received by Qantas customers and especially by corporate travellers heading directly to downtown Tokyo, who can now save up to one and a half hours on their airport commute by flying into or out of Haneda,” Evans said.

“Customers travelling on the new Brisbane-Narita route can explore Tokyo or beyond with popular holiday destinations across Jetstar Japan’s extensive domestic network, like Sapporo, Fukuoka and Osaka.”

“We’ll be working closely with our tourism partners to showcase all that Australia has to offer for the Japanese audience, and with a free trade agreement in place we’re anticipating healthy demand for travel in both directions.
Qantas’ Brisbane-Narita launch flights will be operated by the airline’s refurbished A330 aircraft, with lie-flat seats in Business, brand new Economy seats and new inflight entertainment.
“The new Haneda-Sydney service will help drive visitation to Sydney and Regional NSW and encourage Japanese visitors to experience Australia’s number one State,” Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer, Sandra Chipchase said, with the campaign part of a milestone $30 million three-year partnership with Qantas to promote Sydney and Regional NSW to the world.

“More than 140,900 visitors from Japan travelled to NSW as at year ended December 2014, and contributed approximately $307 million into the State’s economy.”

Qantas has today launched sale fares to Tokyo, with return Economy fares available to Narita from $799 and to Haneda from $899 until 10 August 2015, unless sold old out prior.
Selected travel dates and days apply. For terms and conditions and to book, visit http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/flights-japan/au/en.

Main Source from Travel Weekly
Wording in bold is my own research