Jetstar launches $19 flights

JETSTAR A320-232 VH-VFL (CN 5489)

Jetstar, Australia's low cost carrier, has announced cut-price airfares and is offering 10,000 one-way fares for $19 on 22 routes, including Melbourne to Sydney, Sydney to Gold Coast, Melbourne to Ballina, Brisbane to Whitsunday Coast and Adelaide to Cairns.
Other routes have also been discounted, but not to the same extent.
Qantas is offering a deal to attract customers by offering triple points for frequent flyers on all routes as part of a plan to reboot domestic air travel. Customers of both airlines will also be given more flexibility to change flight dates without being hit with fees. Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce said almost 400,000 seats had been sold on Qantas and Jetstar's domestic networks in the past two weeks after some state borders opened . He hoped the sale and points offers would further boost and help tourism operators get back on their feet. Qantas and Jetstar will continue to reintroduce flights across their domestic network, in line with demand and the easing of border restrictions. The domestic sale comes after Qantas announced it would cancel international flights until late October 2020. The decision comes after federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said Australia’s international border would likely remain shut until 2021. Qantas signalled flights could resume if travel between Australia and other countries opened up.

Malaysia Airlines resumes flights

MALAYSIA A380-841 9M-MNB (CN 081)

As travel restrictions around the world are gradually lifted, Malaysia Airlines has unveiled plans to expand its domestic operations and resume international flights in July. The airline has said that it will adjust its network capacity from time to time before normalizing the schedule in October for both domestic and international destinations. Passengers are strongly advised to check entry and exit requirements of the country they wish to visit before purchasing their ticket. Malaysia Airlines’ Group Chief Executive Officer, Captain Izham Ismail said, “We are pleased to announce the resumption of our services by increasing capacity to our domestic and international routes and we look forward to welcoming our passengers back onboard. We shall continue to ensure their safety, health, as well as their comfort by introducing new initiatives aligned with international safety and health protocols, as part of our commitment to offer passengers peace of mind throughout their journey with us.” Malaysia Airlines has implemented various COVID19 safety measures including temperature checks, sanitization and disinfection of all properties and facilities, enforcement of social distancing, mandatory usage of face masks and the installation of protective screen barriers at check-in counters and transfer desks at KL International Airport (KLIA). All Malaysia Airlines frontliners on ground and onboard are required to wear personal protective equipment and their health is screened daily. Even upon arrival, passenger luggage will be sanitized. These health and safety precautionary measures will also be extended to the Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounges which is scheduled to re-open on 1 July 2020. Inflight dining has been modified to limit contact between cabin crew and passengers, whilst other inflight services such as reading materials and inflight duty-free remain suspended. Passengers are urged to perform online or mobile check-in to reduce interaction and avoid queues at the airport, especially those travelling on domestic and regional routes.

Qantas 747's - another one down - one to go

QANTAS B747-438 VH-OEJ (CN32914) 

If you never got to fly the Qantas Boeing 747, then you have missed your chance for good. Yesterday Qantas sent one of its last two Boeing 747 jumbo jets on their final flight to Mojave Dessert via Los Angeles, making an early retirement for the iconic jumbo jet. VH-OEE left Sydney around 10.25am to a water canon salute before a long lonely journey across the Pacific Ocean to Southern California's Mojave Desert, where they'll join three other Qantas Boeing 747 and hundreds of other aircraft deemed surplus to their owners. One of those red-tailed Boeing 747s sitting idle at the famous 'boneyard' has already lost her Qantas branding and the Flying Kangaroo logo, and is now listed for parts and scrap. While there's speculation that her siblings will share the same fate, it is understood that Qantas has for some months been in discussions with General Electric about the company buying at least one Boeing 747 to use as a testbed for its GE Aviation jet engines; a similar deal was previously done with Rolls-Royce. Not all jets that fly into the arid Californian desert never fly out again – many are being stored in the dry environment of Southern California Logistics Airport as airlines wait out the coronavirus pandemic, and are expected to return to the skies as demand for air travel picks up. But the writing was on the wall for the Qantas Boeing 747s long before Covid-19 arrived. Once the backbone of Qantas' international network, carrying travellers to London, Frankfurt, the USA and the key Asian routes of Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok, the Boeing 747 – which made its debut with Qantas in 1971, sporting a then-chic first class lounge in its upstairs 'hump' – was overtaken by the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787.

The very last Jumbo OEJ is ear marked to leave Sydney early July after a full on fan fair.

As I write this VH-OEE is still on the ground in LA but will soon leave for Mojave.

Below are the last six Qantas 747's and their departure dates

QANTAS B747-438 VH-OEF (CN 32910)

Registration   C/N          Joined             Departure          Destination

VH-OEF         32910       31/10/2002     13/02/2020      SAN BERNADINO

VH-OEG         32911       21/12/2002      05/04/2020           MOJAVE

VH-OEH        32912       16/01/2003      19/05/2020            MOJAVE

VH-OEI         32913       26/06/2003      03/06/2020            MOJAVE   

VH-OEE        32909       06/12/2002      16/06/2020            MOJAVE

VH-OEJ         32914       31/07/2003     ON THE GROUND IN SYDNEY       

QANTAS B747-438 VH-OEE (CN32909)

QANTAS B747-438 VH-OEH (CN 32912)

VietJet suffers runway excursion

VietJet Air, a Vietnamese low-cost carrier operating flight VJ322 from Phu Quoc-Duong Dang Airport (PQC/VVPQ) to Ho Chi Minh City-Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN/VVTS) has suffered a runway excursion while landing at Ho Chi Minh airport, stopping about 1100 m from the runway threshold. Images on the net indicate that the Airbus A321 aircraft plowed through several meters of muddy ground before coming to a stop, with the right-side of its main undercarriage heavily buried in mud. The outer layer of its right-side tyre also appears to have been sheared off. The aircraft’s right-side CFM56 engine is also seen resting in the mud. Images suggest rainy, wet conditions in Ho Chi Minh City were a major factor to the incident. The weather data for the airport for the time of the arrival was listed as rain showers, with thunderstorm activity and gusting winds in the vicinity. The aircraft appears to have conducted its approach to runway 25L. NOTAM information for the airport states that 25L/07R is not available for departures or arrivals, owing to the “disabled aircraft” on the runway. The airplane, passengers and crew are all safe, says VietJet. ”All passengers were disembarked and transferred to the airport’s arrival terminal as normal.”

Aircraft Information

Airline: VietJet Air

Code: VJ / VJC

Aircraft: Airbus A321-211 (WL)

Registration: VN-A657

Serial Number: 8215

Engines: 2 x CFMI CFM56-5B3/P

Age: 2 Yrs 2 Mts

A Etihad cabin crew member could face jail

ETIHAD A380-861 A6-APH (CN 199)

A Etihad Airways cabin crew member who recently lost his job in a wave of redundancies because of the COVID-19 pandemic says he faces being sent to jail because he can no longer afford the repayments on a $100,000 loan used to invest in Bitcoin at the height of the cryptocurrency craze. The 34-year-old French national says he is expected to pay back $2,230 every month until the end of 2021 to clear the 338,000 Dirham loan. Unlike many countries, failing to repay a debt is a criminal offence in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where debtors could be sent to jail for up to three years. The British charity, Detained in Dubai (which helps in criminal cases across the UAE) say they have witnessed an uptick in what they describe as “aggressive” tactics from banks which include criminal enforcement. In the past, expat residents had fled to their home country to renegotiate debt in relative safety but Radha Stirling, the chief executive of Detained in Dubai says there’s been an “upswing in the amount of Interpol threats” for expat debtors who return home to avoid unpaid loans.

Alliance looks to expand its fleet

ALLIANCE FOKKER F28 MK100 VH-FKJ (CN 11372)

Regional air operator Alliance Aviation will buy 20 to 25 new planes - expanding its fleet by about half - as it aims to grow its share of the charter flight market and fill a void left by Virgin Australia.

Australia’s Alliance Aviation is looking to raise around A$122 million ($85 million) in equity capital, for acquiring aircraft to take advantage of growth opportunities. This comprises $A91.9 million via a fully underwritten institutional share placement and a A$30 million target from a non-underwritten share purchase plan extended to existing shareholders. The grounding of airline fleets globally “presents significant opportunities for Alliance to expand its fleet”, the company said today in a disclosure to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). “Alliance has continued to operate profitably due to its focus on contract flying, a diverse business model and its ability to react quickly to the changing aviation environment. Alliance believes it is now in an enviable position and is looking to invest for future growth.” Alliance Airlines operates an all-Fokker fleet, comprising 30 F100s, 16 F70s, and five F50s, between 24 and 31 years old. “The capacity, range, aerodrome accessibility and other features of Alliance’s aircraft continue to be of importance to Alliance’s existing customers, as they provide an optimum combination of features for regional services,” it says. “Alliance also considers that these features are likely to be valuable to prospective customers, particularly because 100- and 80-seat jet aircraft are the ideal aircraft size for prospective customers wishing to launch new regional services.” The company is offering 31.1 million shares to eligible institutional investors at A$2.95 each, fully underwritten by Ord Minnett as lead manager. The placement price represents a 5% discount to the previous close of A$3.10 on the 10th June, prior to a trading halt ahead of the announcement.

The 31.1 million new shares represent approximately 24.4% of the company’s existing issued share capital, which means it does not have to seek shareholder approval under the ASX’s class waiver decision on temporary extra placement capacity, dated 23 April. “The Australia domestic aviation sector is currently undergoing significant change, and Alliance believes this will require existing operators and any potential new sector participants to adapt to a new operating and competitive environment,” it says. It adds: “While it is not possible to determine how long these changes will last, Alliance believes they will be prolonged as Australia continues to navigate the pandemic and critical industries reassess their risk profiles.”

Virgin Australia back in the air

Virgin Australia, the country's second-biggest carrier entered voluntary administration in April, owing nearly $7 billion to creditors, but has been flying a limited government-supported network during the coronavirus pandemic that has decimated travel. Virgin Australia announced yesterday that from early July it will be increasing its domestic flying and introduce new safety and wellbeing measures as state travel restrictions begin to ease and more travellers return to the skies. The additional services will double capacity, adding approximately 30,000 seats across 320 flights per week to the airline’s domestic schedule. “It’s early days but these services will be a welcome boost to Australia’s tourism industry and help the nation’s economy and aviation sector to rebuild. Virgin Australia will also introduce a comprehensive new set of safety and wellbeing measures including pre-departure eligibility and health screening, contactless check-in, more frequent cleaning onboard and at the airport, and expanded social distancing measures. The measures, which will be fully implemented by the 12th June have been developed in close collaboration with airlines and airports across Australia as part of the Australian Aviation Recovery Coalition. It says that the measures will continue to be reviewed in line with any changes to its schedule, the latest medical advice, government restrictions and guest feedback. Virgin Australia Group Medical Officer Dr Sara Souter said the new measures will ensure that the airline appropriately manages the latest advice from the government and remain vigilant when it comes to hygiene and personal protection. “We will be adopting contactless check-in, new sequenced boarding and disembarkation process and guests will see more frequent cleaning of high touch surfaces on the aircraft and within the airport. In addition, a new health questionnaire will be rolled out as part of the check-in process to ensure passengers are fit to fly and to assist with contact tracing,” said Dr Souter. “Everyone has a role to play, which is why we are asking guests to be mindful of their own personal protection and others when moving around the cabin. Team members and guests are being encouraged to regularly wash their hands and avoid touching their face, and hand sanitiser and masks will be available to all guests on request. “Wherever possible, we will try to do our best to keep an empty seat between guests travelling alone, however, this may not always be available. Families and travelling companions will be able to sit together.” Virgin has stated there will be expanded capital city connections and frequencies between Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. They will also be resuming services between Brisbane-Adelaide, Brisbane-Canberra, Brisbane-Perth and Sydney-Perth.