Spotting from Amsterdam's Polderbaan

Living in Brisbane, we watch the live stream from Amsterdam's Polderbaan every time they go live. As we were planning our trip to Amsterdam, we included a few days of plane spotting. I am very excited to say, yesterday my wife and I visited the Polderbaan for a few hours.

KLM EMBRAER E190 PH-EXF (MSN 19000690)
KL1820 ARRIVING FROM BERLIN (BER)

DELTA AIRLINES AIRBUS A330-323 N806NW (MSN 0578)
DL144 ARRIVING FROM SEATTLE (SEA)

KLM BOEING 737-8KE PH-BCA (MSN 37820)
KL1186 ARRIVING FROM BERGEN (BGO)

TRANSAVIA BOEING 737-8K2 PH-HSI (MSN 42148)
HV52356 ARRIVING FROM FARO (FAO)

VUELING AIRBUS A320-232 EC-MBT (6128)
VY1377 ARRIVING FROM ALICANTE (ALC)

EASYJET AIRBUS A320-214 G-EZOF (MSN 6525)
U23301 ARRIVING FROM EDINBURGH (EDI)

EASYJET EUROPE AIRBUS A319-111 OE-LQB (MSN 3808)
U24233 ARRIVING FROM NAPLES (NAP)

TRANSAVIA BOEING 737-8K2 PH-HXK (MSN 62157)

CHINA SOUTHERN CARGO BOEING 777-F B-222W (MSN 67820)
CSG2576 OFF TO GUANGZHOU (CAN)

KLM ASIA BOEING 777-206 PH-BQN (MSN 32720)
KL744 ARRIVING FROM LIMA (LIM)

DELTA AIRLINES AIRBUS A330-323 N808NW (MSN 591)
DL164 ARRIVING FROM MINNEAPOLIS (MSP)

EMIRATES BOEING 777-F A6-EFT (MSN 67462)
EK9918 ARRIVING FROM AGUADILLA (BQN)

FINNAIR AIRBUS A330-302 OH-LTN (MSN 1007)
AY1302 OFF TO HELSINKI (HEL)

BRITISH AIRWAYS EMBRAER E190 G-LCYV (MSN 19000255)
BA8489 ARRIVING FROM LONDON (LCY)

AVION EXPRESS AIRBUS A320-232 9H-SWG (MSN 4736)
BA2826 ARRIVING FROM LONDON (LGW)

LOT EMBAER 195LR SP-LND (MSN 19000516)
LO263 ARRIVING FROM WARSAW (WAW)

ICELAND AIR BOEING 767-319 TF-ISW (MSN 28745)
FI500 ARRIVING FROM REYKJAVIK (KEV)

SAUDIA CARGO BOEING 747-45E 9H-AKF (MSN 27898)
SV933 ARRIVING FROM RIYADH (RUH)

CHINA AIRLINES CARGO BOEING 747-409 B-18708 (MSN 30765)
CI5685 ARRIVING FROM MUMBAI (BOM)

GERMAN AIRWAYS EMBRAER E190LR D-AWSI (MSN 19000074)
KL1986 ARRIVING FROM BASEL (BSL)

KLM BOEING 777-306 PH-BVA (MSN 35671)
KL622 ARRIVINF FROM ATLANTA (ATL)

CHINA CARGO BEOING 777-F B222K (MSN 67771)
CKK205 ARRIVING FROM SHANGHAI (PVG) 

TRANSAVIA BOEING 737-8K2 PH-HXI (MSN 62151)
HV6144 ARRIVING FROM ALICANTE (ALC)

AIR FRANCE EMBRAER E170 F-HBXI (MSN 17000310)
AF1820 ARRIVING FROM MARSEILLE (MRS)

TAP AIRBUS A320-214 CS-TNX (MSN 2822)
TP674 ARRIVING FROM LISBON (LIS)

KLM EMBRAER E195 PH-NXF (MSN 19020061)
KL1456 ARRIVING FROM NANTES (NTE)

LUFTHANSA AIRBUS A319-114 D-AILI (MSN 0651)
LH992 ARRIVING FROM FRANKFURT (FRA)

ETF AIRWAYS BOEING 7378K5 9A-LAB (MSN 30882)
HV5094 ARRIVING FROM ZAKYNTHOS (ZTH)

VUELING AIRBUS A319-112 EC-MKV (MSN 3102)
VY6814 ARRIVING FROM FLORANCE (FLR)

QATAR BOEING 777-3DZ A7-BEC (MSN 43216)
QR273 ARRIVING FROM DOHA (DOH)

EMIRATES AIRBUS A380-861 A6-EEL (MSN 133)
EK147 ARRIVING FROM DUBAI (DXB)

SCANDANAVIAN CRJ900 EI-FPV (MSN 15440)
SK547 ARRIVING FROM COPENHAGEN (CPH)

KLM EMBRAER E175 PH-EXS (MSN 17000702)
KL1180 ARRIVING FROM LINKOPING (LPI)

BRITISH AIRWAYS AIRBUS A319-131 G-EUPG (MSN 1222)
BA434 ARRIVING FROM LONDON (LHR)

TURKISH AIRBUS A330-303 TC-JNT (MSN 1476)
TK1957 ARRIVING FROM ISTANBUL (IST)

AEROMEXICO BOEING 787-8 N966AM (MSN 35311)
AM25 ARRIVING FROM MEXICO CITY (MEX)

Plane spotting from Singapore's Changi Airport

Yesterday my wife and I flew into Singapore from Brisbane on our way to Amsterdam. Having a 7-hour layover, I decided to take advantage of the 2 hours before sunset and do some spotting. 

PHILIPPPNES AIRBUS A321-231 RP-C9925 (MSN 7015)
PR501 ARRIVING FROM MANILA (MNL)

SINGAPORE BOEING 737-MAX 8 9V-MBH (MSN 44252)
SQ142 OFF TO PENANG (PEN)

FINNAIR AIRBUS A350-941 OH-LWD (MSN 22)
AY131 ARRIVING FROM HELSINKI (HEL)

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-202 VH-EBK (MSN 0945)
QF71 OFF TO PERTH (PER)

BANGKOK AIRWAYS AIRBUS A319-132 HS-PGX (MSN 3424)
PG961 ARRIVING FROM KOH SAMUI (USM)

SINGAPPORE BOEING 747-412F 9V-SFN (MSN 32899)
SQ7848 OFF TO SHANGHAI (PVG)

BRITISH AIRWAYS BOEING 787-9 G-ZBKP (MSN 38632)
BA15 ARRIVING FROM LONDON (LHR)

INDIGO AIRBUS A320-251N VT-IIW (MSN 10719)
6E1014 OFF TO DELHI (DEL)

ETIHAD BOEING 787-10 A6-BMA (MSN 60755)

CHINA SOUTHERN AIRBUS A320-251 B-30AK (MSN 9183)
CZ3040 OFF TO GUANGZHOU (CAN)

JAPAN AIR BOEING 787-9 JA870J (MSN 25425)
JL37 ARRIVING FROM TOKYO (HND)

BATIK AIR BOEING 737-86N PK-BGR (MSN 38032)
ID7150 OFF TO JAKARTA (CGK)

KLM BOEING 777-306 PH-BVO (MSN 35946)
KL835 OFF TO DENPASAS (DPS)

MYANMAR BOEING 737-86N XY-ALB (MSN 43405)
UB2 OFF TO YANGON (RGN)

SINGAPORE AIRBUS A380-841 9V-SKY (MSN 247)
SQ319 ARRIVING FROM LONDON (LHR)

QATAR AIRBUS A350-1041 A7-ANF (MSN 161)

AIR CGHINA AIRBUS A320-271 B-305J (MSN 8594)
CA404 OFF TO CHENGDU (TFU)

SCOOT AIRBUS A320-232 9V-TRT (5375)

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES AIRBUS A330-343 RP-C8781 (MSN 1460)
PR508 OFF TO MANILA (MNL)

SCOOT AIRBUS A321-271NX 9V-NCH (MSN 10373)

SHENZHEN AIRLINES AIRBUS A320-232 B-8633 (MSN 7270)
ZH9023 ARRIVING FROM SHENZHEN (SZX)

CHINA EASTERN BOEING 777-39P B-2023 (MSN 43275)

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-XZA (MSN 39367)
QF `83 OFF TO NORFOLK ISLAND (NLK)

SINGAPORE AIRLINES AIRBUS A350-941 9V-SHV (MSN 75)
SQ256 OFF TO SINGAPORE (SIN)

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Qatar Airways restarts direct flights to Auckland

QATAR AIRBUS A350-1041 A7-ANH (MSN 229)

Last Friday Qatar Airways celebrated the return of its longest direct route - Doha (DOH/OTHH) to Auckland (AKL/NZAA). The airline has deployed its Airbus A350-1000 fleet to operate the 16-hour 30-minute journey, which will run on a daily schedule. 

The airline will operate a daily service on the following schedule:

QR920 - Departs Doha at 08:20, arrives in Auckland at 09:15 +1.
QR921 - Departs Auckland at 15:00, arrives in Doha at 23:15.

The aircraft on the inaugural flight was A7-ANM (MSN 350)

The airline's first direct flight from Doha to Auckland since the pandemic successfully touched down Saturday morning, marking the return of Qatar's longest direct route. The flight took off from Doha Hamad International Airport at 09:02, twenty minutes behind its 8:40 departure time, arriving in Auckland Airport at 09:41+1.

The airline hasn't flown direct to Auckland in over three years since suspending services over the COVID pandemic. However, it has continued to provide services to New Zealand's biggest city with stopovers at Brisbane, then Adelaide, which it continued up until August 31st.

After grounding much of its A350 fleet over the pandemic, Qatar Airways has gradually reactivated its widebodies this year. By January 2023, seven of the airline's 19 A350-1000s were listed as parked - having taken delivery of five more this year, all 24 of Qatar's longer A350 variants are in service, with only ten of its -900s still on the ground.

Qantas to replace A330s with Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s

It's a shame this hasn't happened now, as my wife and I are flying on a Qantas A330-200 this coming Tuesday to Singapore.

It’s out with the old and in with the new, or at least the newer, as Qantas moves to replace its workhorse Airbus A330s with a fresh tranche of two dozen Airbus A350's and Boeing 787 orders from 2027-2028.

Yes, you read that right: there won’t be a straight 1:1 swap where the 28 A330s make way for 28 of another single type of jet. Instead, Qantas will share post-A330 duties between 12 Airbus A350-1000s and 12 Boeing 787s.

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-202 VH-EBO (MSN 1169)

Those A350s will be separate to their Project Sunrise siblings, although Executive Traveller understands they will be fitted with the same seats as the Sunrise jets, including private business class suites, but without first class or the Project Sunrise Wellbeing Zone.

Meanwhile, the Boeing 787 order will be split between four Boeing 787-9s, of which Qantas already has 14 in its hangars, and eight of the ‘stretched’ 787-10 version, which can carry more passengers but over a slightly reduced range.

Qantas Chief Financial Officer and incoming CEO Vanessa Hudson tells Executive Traveller the twin-aisle upgrade program “will start with replacing the (first) A330 in 2027” on a Boeing 787.

First to the knackery will be the oldest A330s, while younger jets scheduled to leave the fleet towards the end of the replacement program will “undergo a cabin refurbishment” beginning in 2025-2026, including new economy seats and a refresh and modernisation of the interiors, although the same original-gen business class seats will remain in place.

Hudson says Qantas also holds additional purchase rights and options with both Airbus and Boeing “to give flexibility for future growth.”

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-303 VH-QPA (MSN 553) 

Domestic Dreamliners

Like the Airbus A330s, the 787s and potentially A350s will feature on key domestic routes such as Sydney-Perth and Melbourne-Perth as well as short- to medium-range routes to New Zealand and Asia, while also being able to tackle longer treks to North America as well as direct European destinations from Perth.

Hudson said the flexibility of these jets fitted into what Qantas calls its ‘right aircraft, right route’ approach, which will also leverage the vastly extended range of the forthcoming Airbus A220 and A321XLR jets over the Boeing 717s and 737s they replace.

Story source from here

Qantas to replace A330s with Airbus A350s, Boeing 787s - Executive Traveller

Remembering Swiss Air flight 111

Swissair Flight 111 was a scheduled international passenger flight from New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY (JFK/KJFK), United States of America to Genève-Cointrin Airport (GVA/LSGG), Switzerland. On the 2nd of September 1998, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 performing this flight crashed into the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Halifax Stanfield International Airport at the entrance to St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia. The crash site was 8 kilometers (5 miles) from shore. 

All 229 passengers and crew on board the MD-11 were killed, making the crash the deadliest McDonnell Douglas MD-11 accident in history.

At 20:18 Swissair flight SR 111, departed New York-JFK Airport (JFK/KJFK) on a flight to Geneva Switzerland (GVA/LSGG). Forty minutes later the copilot contacted Moncton ACC, reporting FL330. At 21:10 the pilots detected an unusual odour in the cockpit and began to investigate. They determined that some smoke was present in the cockpit, but not in the passenger cabin. Four minutes later a Pan Pan Pan radio call was made to Moncton ACC. The pilots reported that there was smoke in the cockpit and requested an immediate return to a convenient place. The pilots named Boston, which was about 300 nm behind them.

At 21:24, both pilots almost simultaneously declared an emergency. The co-pilot indicated to the controller that they were starting to dump fuel and that they had to land immediately. Last radio contact was one minute later when they again declared an emergency. By now the fire had propagated, causing severe disturbances of the electric system. In the last minutes of the flight, the electronic navigation equipment and communications radios stopped operating. The aircraft descended over the dark waters off the coast of Nova Scotia until it stuck the water in a 20 degrees nose down and 110 degrees right bank.

The search and rescue response, crash recovery operation, and investigation by the Government of Canada took more than four years and cost CA$57 million. The investigation carried out by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) concluded that flammable material used in the aircraft's structure allowed a fire to spread beyond the control of the crew, resulting in the crash of the aircraft. Several wide-ranging recommendations were made which have been incorporated into new US Federal Aviation Administration standards.

Swissair Flight 111 was known as the "UN shuttle" because of its popularity with United Nations officials traveling between the organization's two biggest centers. The flight also carried business executives, scientists, and researchers.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Swiss Air

Code: SR/SWR

Aircraft: McDonnell Douglas MD-11

Registration: HB-IWF

Serial Number: 36041

Engines: 3 Pratt & Whitney PW4462

First Flew: 01/06/1991