An hour at Gold Coast Airport

Having some appointments down the coast today I thought, since I haven't been to Cooly airport for some time I would call into Coolangatta airport (also known as Gold Coast airport) for an hour to get the few early morning internationals.

TIGERAIR A320-232 VH-VNO (CN 4053)

JETSTAR A320-232 VH-VFY (CN 6362)

AIR GOLD COAST BEECH 76 DUCHESS VH-ZUA (CN ME-351)

AIRWAYS AVIATION CESSNA 172S VH-XBM (CN 172S-10013)

AIR ASIA X A330-343 9M-XXZ (CN 1612)

BEECH V35 VH-DYC (CN D-8334)

HONG KONG AIRLINES A330-343 B-LNO (CN 1384)

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

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA B737-8FE VH-VUT (CN 36608)

Samoa Airways adds Brisbane to its network

This really exciting news, another new airline coming to Brisbane.
I saw this aircraft in Auckland in March and it is a nice looking plane.

SAMOA AIRLINES B737-86N  I-NEOS (CN 32733)      File Photo

Samoa Airways is excited to announce that it has added Brisbane, Australia to its list of destinations.
Just a few months shy of its one-year anniversary, the national carrier has announced that (subject to regulatory approval) it will fly direct between Apia and Brisbane, twice weekly, on Tuesday and Sunday, using its 737-800 aircraft.
The launch flight is scheduled to take off on November 13th to mark one year since Samoa Airways took to the skies. It’s the latest milestone in the airline’s short history, and one which promises great potential. “The Brisbane area is home to a large Samoan population and I am particularly pleased that the national carrier, with the support of Brisbane Airport, is able to respond to calls by our community who travel frequently between Samoa, American Samoa and Brisbane for family, church and cultural obligations, for improved air access”, said Tupuivao Seiluli Alvin Tuala, CEO of Samoa Airways. At the announcement today, Tupuivao has signed a partnership agreement, acknowledging the relationship between Queensland and Samoa, and the collaborative approach by Brisbane Airport and the national carrier to establish non-stop air services, with Gert-Jan de Graaff, CEO of Brisbane Airport Corporation.

CEO Tupuivao says Brisbane presents an excellent opportunity for Samoa Airways for many reasons.
Brisbane Airport is Australia's third busiest, with total annual passengers of 23 million in 2017.
It is a key gateway which serves 32 international ports and 52 domestic destinations and Brisbane Airport is an award winning airport offering world class facilities.
Brisbane also has a large and wealthy passenger catchment of around five million people.
This includes 2.3 million people in the Brisbane area which includes a strong and growing Samoan community.
Around 1.1 million people live in the surrounding regions which are within a 90 minute-drive, including the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and northern New South Wales, with a further 1.6 million in northern and inland Queensland in areas such as Mackay, Townsville and Cairns.
Brisbane is also home to some of Australia’s well known travel brands and improved air access from this key gateway will support leisure tourism opportunities for Samoa as a destination.
The new flights will be available for bookings soon.

Notes – Samoa Airways is the designated national carrier of Samoa. It operates scheduled international air services using a Boeing 737-800 aircraft offering both business and economy class. The airline offers daily flights between Apia and Auckland and twice weekly flights between Apia and Sydney. Samoa Airways also operates a fleet of Twin Otter turbo-prop aircraft which fly multiple times daily between Fagalii and Pago Pago, in addition to domestic services within American Samoa.

Samoa Airways / Polynesian Airlines Fleet

Aircraft	In Service	Orders	Passengers			Notes
			C	Y	Total
Boeing 737-800	1	—	8	162	170	Operated by Neos
De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter	3	—	—	19	19
Total	4	—

Runway excursion writes off aircraft

A UTAir flight, travelling from Moskva-Vnukovo Airport (VKO/UUWW) to Adler/Sochi Airport (AER/URSS) with 166 pax and 6 crew suffered a runway excursion accident after landing at Adler/Sochi Airport, Russia. The 737 departed Moscow's Vnukovo Airport at 00:32 (local time) on a domestic flight to Sochi.
Weather at Sochi was poor due to the presence of a thunderstorm in the area. The aircraft descended for an approach to runway 06. At 02:25 flight 579 did not turn onto runway heading but instead climbed to 7000 feet and repositioned for a new approach to runway 06.
This approach was aborted close to the runway threshold, at 02:45 hours local time and a go around was executed. The aircraft circled for another approach and touched down at 02:57. It was unable to stop on the remaining runway and overran. The aircraft crashed through a fence and came to rest on a dry and rocky surface in a river bed.
Eighteen passengers were injured and taken to local hospitals for check ups.
The aircraft sustained serious damage and was therefore written off.
In June, a UTAir plane carrying Peruvian soccer fans from the World Cup city of Ekaterinburg to Tyumen in Siberia had to land due to an engine failure that caused the cabin to fill with smoke.




Aircraft Information
Airline: UTAir
Code: UT/UTA
Flight Number: UT579
Aircraft Type: Boeing 737-8AS
Registration: VQ-BJI
Serial Number: 29937
Engines: CFMI CFM56-7B26
First Flew: 30/10/2002
Age: 15 Yrs 10 Mts

Inaugural Qantas Dreamliner flight Brisbane - Los Angeles

Back in January this year Qantas announced the start date of  September 1 2018 for the daily Dreamliner service between Brisbane and Los Angeles. It will replace the daily Boeing 747-400 currently operating this route. The current 747 QF 15 / QF 16 terminates in Los Angeles but the Dreamliner will  continue on as QF11/12 operating from Los Angeles and New York (JFK), picking up passengers connecting from Sydney and Melbourne services as well as from Brisbane. Between September and December 2018, the daily Brisbane – Los Angeles Dreamliner service will be complemented by up to four weekly Boeing 747 flights to meet seasonal demand. Once Qantas’ eighth Dreamliner has been delivered by the end of 2018, the airline will replace the four weekly 747 services between Brisbane and Los Angeles with a second year-round Dreamliner service, operating four times a week. Qantas’ Dreamliner carries 236 passengers across three cabins compared with 364 passengers on the 747-400 currently operating the route. The Dreamliner features the latest version of the airline’s Business Suite, nicknamed “mini First Class” by some frequent flyer's, as well as a next generation Premium Economy seat and a significantly improved Economy seat with extra storage compartments and device charging outlets. 

Schedule information for BNE-LAX – 1 December onwards

Route        Flight   Dep Time         Arr Time   Frequency            
BNE-LAX   QF 15     1010                 0600              Daily                         
LAX-JFK     QF 11     0820                1630               Daily                          
BNE-LAX   QF 55     1750                1355      Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat       

LAX-BNE   QF 56    2105                 0500+2    Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat     
JFK-LAX     QF 12    1800                2055                 Daily                                     
LAX-BNE   QF 16    2350                0615+2             Daily      

QF16, the daily 747-438 from Los Angeles, landed at 6.03am this morning and instead of staying on the bay for the return flight, it was towed to a hard stand. There it will sit all day and tonight at 5.50pm QF55 will depart Brisbane for Los Angeles. This is a new flight number and LA service for Brisbane.

QANTAS B747-438 VH-OEF (CN 32910)

I was hoping to get a better shot of the water arch but unfortunately this is the best I could do. Qantas 15 being operated by VH-ZNB pushed back 10.05 (5 minutes ahead of schedule) and began taxiing at 10.16, it taxied out to A1 for full length runway take-off. QF 15 got airborne at 10.24am.

QANTAS B787-9 VH-ZNB (CN 39039)

Below are some other photos I took today.

Today is the last of the B777's in the morning as of tomorrow Brisbane returns to A380 service and A6-EEF will do the honours.

QANTAS A330-202 VH-EBN (CN 1094)

EMIRATES B777-31H A6-EGF (CN 38987)

CHINA SOUTHERN A330-323 B-5940 (CN 1519)

QANTAS B737-838 VH-VYA (CN 33762)

MALINDO B737-8GP 9M-LND (CN 38316)

OPERATED BY BATIK AIR MALAYSIA

JETSTAR B787-8 VH-VKJ ( 36236)

QANTAS A330-202 VH-EBN (CN 1094)

KOREAN AIR A330-323 HL-8003 (CN 1590)

ALLIANCE FOKKER F28 MK 100 VH-UQW (CN 11367)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA B737-8FE VH-YIV (CN 40698)

NAURU AIRLINES B737-3H6 VH-VLI (CN 27125)

ALLIANCE FOKKER F28 MK 100 VH-UQC (CN 11468)

PHILIPPINE A321-271 RP-C9933 (CN 8242)

WEATHER BALLOON

E V A AIR A330-203 B-16311 (CN 0693)

SINGAPORE A350-941 9V-SME (CN 041)

CATHAY PACIFIC A330-343 B-LAL (CN 1222)

QANTAS B737-838 VH-VZM (CN 34192)

SINGAPORE A350-941 9V-SMC (CN 031)

CHINA SOUTHERN A330-323 B-5940 (CN 1519)

CHINA EASTERN A33-243 B-6538 (CN 1267)

AIR CANADA B787-8 C-GHPT (CN 35258)