Morning Tea in Sydney

After flying back from Sydney last Friday morning I found myself back in the air this morning once again heading to Sydney for an important business meeting, morning tea with one of our suppliers.
My Qantas flight wasn't until 7am but I got to the airport at 5.45am so I could get the early morning Emirates.

KOREAN AIR A330-303 HL-8026 (CN 1638)

EMIRATES A380-861 A6-EDZ (CN 107)

After Emirates landed I went into the airport and after clearing security I went straight to gate 24 where my aircraft VH-VYG (CN 33995) was waiting. We began boarding at 6.41am and I took my seat in 8A. The doors where closed right on 7am and we pushed back at 7.04am. We taxied at 7.09 and taxied out for the full length of runway 19. After waiting for two arrivals we lined up and got airborne at 7.19. We did the normal left and right banks then set course for Sydney, climbing to 380. Our track took us over Beaudesert and Armidale and the flight was really smooth. We began our descent at 8.05am and after tracking down the coast line we landed from the south on runway 34R at 8.40, but of course due to daylight savings we had to add an hour so my arrival time was 9.40am.
Sitting on the left hand side of the aircraft I was able to capture a few aircraft as we taxied in

CHINA SOUTHERN A330-343 B-6087 (CN 889)

KOREAN AIR A380-861 HL-7627 (CN 130)

QANTAS A380's

FEDEX MD11 N603FE (CN 48459)

After the meeting finished I had just over an hour of spotting time as I wasn't leaving until 1.00pm.
The below photos were taken through thick glass and some didn't turn out as perfect as I hoped.

LATAM B787-9 CC-BGG (CN 38461)

QANTAS A330-303 VH-QPF (CN 595)

AMERICAN B777-323ER N733AR (CN 33524)

SINGAPORE A380-841 A6-SKC (CN 006)

CHINA SOUTHERN A380-841 B-6137 ( CN 036)

FIJI AIRWAYS A330-243 DQ-FJV (CN 1465)

UNITED B787-9 N13954 (CN 36405)

QANTAS A380-841 VH-OQL (CN 074)

DELTA B777-232LR N710DN (CN 40560)

GARUDA A330-243 PK-GPN (CN 1261)

SINGAPORE A380-841 9V-SKJ (CN 045)

VIETNAM AIRLINES B787-9 VN-A863 (CN 35153)

XIAMEN AIR B787-8 B-2763 (CN 41543)

Well the time had come for me to head home on my final flight for this year, so I headed down to gate 12 where I found, even though it was only 12.40pm, they had already boarded and there were only a few stragglers like me coming in. The aircraft for this sector was VH-VYB (CN 33763) and I was in 11A.
The doors closed at 12.57 and we pushed back at 1.02pm, we taxied at 1.05pm and taxied out for the furthest point possible from the terminal. We lined up on runway 34R and we got airborne at 1.19. After flying over the city we banked left and travelled up the coastline to Newcastle; from there it was direct to Coolangatta, climbing to 370. We began our descent at 2.02pm and landed in Brisbane from the north on runway 19 at 2.31pm. We had to adjust the time as we loose an hour making our arrival time 1.31pm

Sydney - Brisbane Flight (Demember Trip)

I normally fly back to Brisbane late on a Thursday afternoon because of regular ongoing commitments every Friday; but because we had our Christmas party for the Sydney branch last night I stayed on. So having an 8.30am flight out of Sydney I got up at 4.30am, not knowing what to expect as far as Sydney traffic, left the motel at 5.30 and with my manager in tow we headed to the airport.
We got to the airport at 6.45 (an hour and fifteen on what is normally thirty five minutes) and headed to the Qantas lounge for breakfast, after a bite to eat we headed down to the Qantas Museum for a look but unfortunately it was closed.
I love taking photos of aircraft as you know but today everything was against me; the weather was bad; the lighting inside the lounge was reflecting on the glass really badly and there were poles everywhere. Below are a few of the many photos I took that are kind of reasonable. (the rest got dumped)

THAI B747-4D7 HS-TGO (CN 26609)

THAI B747-4D7 HS-TGA (CN 32369)

EMIRATES A380-861 A6-EOH  (CN 074)

CATHAY A330-343 B-LAQ (CN 1349)

SINGAPORE A380-841 9V-SKI (CN 034)

At 8am we headed to gate two where our Qantas aircraft was waiting, it was the usual 737-838 and this time the aircraft was VH-VZO (with the prostate cancer blue ribbon on the side).

QANTAS B737-838 VH-VZO (CN 34191)

We began boarding at 8.04 I was in 17E and my manager was in 17F
Our departure time was 8.30 but due to paper work getting lost we pushed back at 8.41 and started taxing at 8.44.  We taxied out for runway 16L and became airborne at 8.56am.
Although it was raining and visibility was low the climb out was smooth. After departure to the south we had a long slow bank to the left and headed north; our track took us east of Newcastle then west of Grafton. Over the Gold Coast we banked left and headed inland to Archerfield before landing on runway 01 at 10.05am. Due to Queensland not having daylight savings we had to turn the time back 1 hour making our arrival 9.05am.
Being the National Sales Manager I now have to go back to Sydney on Monday for the day to attend a business meeting.

Happy Birthday China Airlines

IATA ICAO Callsign CI CAL DYNASTY

CHINA AIRLINES 747-409 B-18215 (CN 33737)
Photo: Judy Berry

China Airlines is the flag carrier and the largest airline of the Republic of China. With its head office at Taiwan's Taoyuan International Airport it was established on the 16th December 1959 with its shares completely held by the Republic of China Government. It was founded by a retired air force officer and initially concentrated on charter flights using two PBY Amphibians. Early 1960, China Airlines was able to establish its first scheduled international route from Taipei to Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), marking the official start in international aviation. Then in October 1962, a flight from Taipei to Hualien became the airline's first domestic service. Later, with the introduction of Caravelle and Boeing 727-100s, the airline introduced international flights to South Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Japan. With the airlines first two Boeing 707 aircraft, trans-Pacific flights to San Francisco via Tokyo were initiated on the 2nd February 1970. During the 1990s and early 2000s, China Airlines placed orders for various airliners including the Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Boeing 737-800, and the Boeing 747-400. Prior to introducing the current "plum blossom" livery in 1995, the livery of China Airlines featured Taiwan's flag on the tail. The livery-change was due to political pressure from the Chinese government. The mainland government prohibited any aircraft displaying Taiwan's flag to land in the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau. It also pressured other countries to carry out similar bans. This forced China Airlines to change its corporate identity in order to avoid having operations affected. In June 2014, China Airlines announced plans to, by the end of 2017, retire all Boeing 747-400 aircraft delivered before 2004, partially retire the Boeing 737-800 fleet, while fully retiring their Airbus A340-300 fleet.
China Airlines currently has 86 aircraft servicing 118 destinations and employs 11,200 people.

The heat is on at Sydney Airport

When I arrived from Brisbane this morning I knew Sydney was going to be hot; around the 35-36 degree mark; but nothing prepared me for what was to come.
Out and about with one of my reps the temp reached 41 degress, but it was the hot stuffy wind that made it worse. As the office closed and the guys were heading home to shower and knock back a few cold ones I was heading to the airport for my fix of A380's. When I arrive at 5.30pm the temperature was still in the low 30's and the hot wind was still unbearable ... but I persisted.

SINGAPORE B777-312ER 9V-SWZ (CN 42239)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA A330-243 VH-XFC (CN 1293)

JETSTAR B787-8 VH-VKL (CN 36238)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA B777-3ZGER VH-VPF (CN 37940)

ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE B737-7DF A36-002 (CN 30790)

QANTAS B747-438 VH-OJU (CN 25566)

QANTAS A330-202 VH-EBO (CN 1169)

While I was there watching them all come and go Qantas seventy three; a Boeing 747-438 VH-OJU bound for San Fran, taxied out past me and in turn lined up. After they started rolling I heard the roaring engines stop and they rolled slowly to a taxiway and taxied off the runway; after a few minutes stopped on the taxiway (probably to let the brakes cool) seventy three taxied back up to the holding point and once again waited patiently in turn. After lining up for a second time theycommenced rolling, and once again they aborted the take off and rolled off the runway. This time they taxied back to the bay but I am not sure what happened.

QANTAS B747-438 VH-OJU (CN 25566)

EMIRATES B777-F1H A6-EFD (CN 35606)

EMIRATES A380-861 A6-EDM (CN 042)

ATLAS AIR B747-47UF N493MC (CN 29254)

QATAR A380-861 A7-APA (CN 137)

Hi-FLY A340-313 CS-TQZ (CN 202)

CROWN TOWERS BOMBARDIER BD-700 VH-CCD (CN 9297)

FED EX MD11-F N608FE (CN 48548)

HAWAIIAN A330-243 N386HA (CN 1302)

AIR NEW ZEALAND B767-319ER ZK-NCG (CN 26912)

ETIHAD A380-861 A6-APG (CN 198)

Brisbane to Sydney (December trip)

Well it was time to head to Sydney again for a few days and the last trip for the year.

Qantas has dropped the 5.30am flight so I opted for the 6.05am. I set my alarm for 4am and arrived at the airport at just before 5am. I have a window seat on my Qantas profile but when I checked in on line I got 28B... B the dreaded middle seat. Anyway when I got to the Qantas lounge I spoke to the lovely lady behind the counter and she moved to 10F. Once inside the lounge i had the usual breakfast, bircher muesli and orange juice.

Our flight, QF505, was leaving from gate 20 and boarding was at 5.45, so I made my way up to the gate. Our aircraft today was a Boeing 737-838 and the registration was VH-VZZ

We began boarding right on 5.45, it was a full flight and it took the whole 20 minutes to board everyone. We pushed back at 6.07 and commenced taxiing at 6.11am. 

We taxied out for the full length of runway 19 and we got airborne at 6.12am.  

After departure we banked slightly left for a few seconds and then banked right setting course for Sydney. Our track took us over Laravale, Armidale and then on to Sydney, we climbed to 380 and the flight was very smooth and comfortable. We began our descent into Sydney at 7.10 and usual flew over the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House before landing on 34R at 7.40. 

Due to daylight savings we had to add an hour so our arrival was actually 8.40am

PIA ATR 42-500 Crashes in Pakistan

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has crashed while travelling from Chitral to Islamabad.
The crash of flight PK661, an ATR 42-500 with 47 souls on board, occurred after one of the plane's two turboprop engines failed at around 4:15 pm (1115 GMT).

Rescuers, including hundreds of villagers, pulled the charred remains from the wreckage of the aircraft, parts of which were found hundreds of metres away from the main site near the village of Saddha Batolni.
"No one survived," said a Civil Aviation Authority spokesman. His comments were confirmed by Danyal Gilani, a spokesman for Pakistan International Airlines.
An AFP reporter at the site said part of the plane was still on fire more than five hours after the crash, as rescuers picked up torn human remains with their hands and placed them in bags before they were taken by ambulance to Islamabad for identification.
Addressing a press conference, Azam Saigol, the airline's chairman said the plane was an ATR-42 turboprop aircraft, which contacted ground authorities after one engine failed and issued a Mayday call at 4:14 pm.
It began descending a minute later before disappearing from radar at 4:16 pm.
"This plane was technically sound, and was checked in October," he said, adding the captain had flown more than 12,000 hours and the aircraft was nine years old.
"Our focus now is to retrieve all the dead bodies," he added, vowing a full investigation.
A senior rescue official on the site who requested anonymity added: "The villagers told us that the plane was shaky before it crashed. It was about to hit the village but it seems that the pilot managed to drag the plane towards the hills.

The registration of the ATR was AP-BHO (CN 663) It had its first flight in 2007 and was delivered new to Pakistan International Airlines. In 2009 the aircraft was damaged during a landing attempt at Lahore. It was repaired and returned to service.

Aircraft history

3rd May 2007	F-WWLU	ATR	First flight
14th May 2007	AP-BHO	PIA	Delivered to PIA
30th May 2009	AP-BHO	PIA	Damaged in runway accident, Lahore

My thoughts and prayers go out to the immediate family and friends and of course everyone at Pakistan International Airlines.

GOD BLESS