Australian Aviation Thread - April 2022

tullamarine · Fri Apr 22, 2022 3:19 am

RyanairGuru wrote:
FiftyLitres wrote:
RyanairGuru wrote:

It’s never been publicly confirmed which two aren’t returning. OQA and OQE are the two perennial rumours/guesses.

It will be OQE and OQF being retired. The A380s need three tasks completed - maintenance, cabin refurbishment, and repaint, in that order of priority. That leaves A, E, F, and L.

OQA will remain as it has the lowest hours in the fleet. OQL has the second lowest.
OQE has none of the above tasks done. OQF has a repaint but no maintenance work or refurbishment completed.

Just to clarify, are you saying that OQE and OQF are confirmed internally, or are you staying an opinion?

While OQA has fewer hours, it is structurally heavier due to being both an early production model and the extensive repairs undertaken. That said, I totally understand that when the next HMV is due will be a determining factor, and that does count against OQF.

Given the whole fleet has less hours than would have been originally planned by virtue of sitting in the desert for the past 2 years, I don't know if cycles is an issue. I would have thought the determining factors would be D check maintenance, repainting and refurbishment. I would be surprised if the currently unrefurbed Nancy (OQA) survives given she is significantly heavier than the newer A380s in the fleet because of the post-production rewiring as well as the QF32 repairs.

qf2048 · Fri Apr 22, 2022 3:40 am

Bathurst local paper reporting Rex will cease operations on SYD- BTH by the end of May. Flypelican might be a better fit for that route if anyone would think about taking it on.

Link behind a paywall. https://www.westernadvocate.com.au/stor ... e/?cs=9402

FiftyLitres · Fri Apr 22, 2022 3:41 am

RyanairGuru wrote:
FiftyLitres wrote:
RyanairGuru wrote:

It’s never been publicly confirmed which two aren’t returning. OQA and OQE are the two perennial rumours/guesses.

It will be OQE and OQF being retired. The A380s need three tasks completed - maintenance, cabin refurbishment, and repaint, in that order of priority. That leaves A, E, F, and L.

OQA will remain as it has the lowest hours in the fleet. OQL has the second lowest.
OQE has none of the above tasks done. OQF has a repaint but no maintenance work or refurbishment completed.

Just to clarify, are you saying that OQE and OQF are confirmed internally, or are you staying an opinion?

While OQA has fewer hours, it is structurally heavier due to being both an early production model and the extensive repairs undertaken. That said, I totally understand that when the next HMV is due will be a determining factor, and that does count against OQF.

Opinion only. I also think that QF has a level of attachment to that airframe given its history with QF32. I wouldn't be surprised to see some sort of PR event when she returns to service.

qf002 · Fri Apr 22, 2022 4:15 am

What are the chances they bring all 12x A380s back? It wouldn’t be the first time they reverse course on this type of issue (how long did some of those 744s last in the end?).

Reactivating an extra 2x existing A380s is probably cheaper than the short-term acquisition of new capacity.

RyanairGuru · Fri Apr 22, 2022 4:43 am

qf2048 wrote:
Bathurst local paper reporting Rex will cease operations on SYD- BTH by the end of May. Flypelican might be a better fit for that route if anyone would think about taking it on.

Link behind a paywall. https://www.westernadvocate.com.au/stor ... e/?cs=9402

Looks like a good market for FlyPelican, who seem to be relatively successfully in Taree, Mudgee and Cobar.

qf2220 · Fri Apr 22, 2022 4:55 am

FiftyLitres wrote:
RyanairGuru wrote:
FiftyLitres wrote:

It will be OQE and OQF being retired. The A380s need three tasks completed - maintenance, cabin refurbishment, and repaint, in that order of priority. That leaves A, E, F, and L.

OQA will remain as it has the lowest hours in the fleet. OQL has the second lowest.
OQE has none of the above tasks done. OQF has a repaint but no maintenance work or refurbishment completed.

Just to clarify, are you saying that OQE and OQF are confirmed internally, or are you staying an opinion?

While OQA has fewer hours, it is structurally heavier due to being both an early production model and the extensive repairs undertaken. That said, I totally understand that when the next HMV is due will be a determining factor, and that does count against OQF.

Opinion only. I also think that QF has a level of attachment to that airframe given its history with QF32. I wouldn't be surprised to see some sort of PR event when she returns to service.

Whats the bet that this one turns into a museum piece somewhere (Albion Park/Longreach) when the time comes.

Obzerva · Fri Apr 22, 2022 5:33 am

Was just having a bit of a poke around in some of the airline schedules and noticed a conspicuous absentee of a flight that didn't seem to survive the WA border closure.
VA had a weekly A320 KGI-MEL (Fridays) returning MEL-KGI (Sundays).
Flight operated for years, but doesn't seem to have made a return.
(think it used to do a MEL-ADL turn or two on Saturdays while the A320 crew were in MEL).

Any other flights like this one that anyone's noticed haven't returned?

tullamarine · Fri Apr 22, 2022 5:43 am

Obzerva wrote:
Was just having a bit of a poke around in some of the airline schedules and noticed a conspicuous absentee of a flight that didn't seem to survive the WA border closure.
VA had a weekly A320 KGI-MEL (Fridays) returning MEL-KGI (Sundays).
Flight operated for years, but doesn't seem to have made a return.
(think it used to do a MEL-ADL turn or two on Saturdays while the A320 crew were in MEL).

Any other flights like this one that anyone's noticed haven't returned?

I have a feeling that flight was supported by a FIFO contract. Maybe the contract no longer exists so the flight is not viable.

Obzerva · Fri Apr 22, 2022 6:16 am

tullamarine wrote:
Obzerva wrote:
Was just having a bit of a poke around in some of the airline schedules and noticed a conspicuous absentee of a flight that didn't seem to survive the WA border closure.
VA had a weekly A320 KGI-MEL (Fridays) returning MEL-KGI (Sundays).
Flight operated for years, but doesn't seem to have made a return.
(think it used to do a MEL-ADL turn or two on Saturdays while the A320 crew were in MEL).

Any other flights like this one that anyone's noticed haven't returned?

I have a feeling that flight was supported by a FIFO contract. Maybe the contract no longer exists so the flight is not viable.

Would make sense, I noticed that VA have the full complement of A320s back (according to planespotters) so didn't think it was aircraft availability as the reason, thought there be must another reason behind it.

moa999 · Fri Apr 22, 2022 6:37 am

qf002 wrote:
What are the chances they bring all 12x A380s back?

Never say never.

But they really struggled to find destinations for all 12. Was really too big an aircraft for DFW, and often load limited on the return. And I don't see the summer schedule to HKG coming back any time soon.

And once Sunrise aircraft arrive I'd think even 10 is too many.

RyanairGuru · Fri Apr 22, 2022 6:41 am

Obzerva wrote:
tullamarine wrote:
Obzerva wrote:
Was just having a bit of a poke around in some of the airline schedules and noticed a conspicuous absentee of a flight that didn't seem to survive the WA border closure.
VA had a weekly A320 KGI-MEL (Fridays) returning MEL-KGI (Sundays).
Flight operated for years, but doesn't seem to have made a return.
(think it used to do a MEL-ADL turn or two on Saturdays while the A320 crew were in MEL).

Any other flights like this one that anyone's noticed haven't returned?

I have a feeling that flight was supported by a FIFO contract. Maybe the contract no longer exists so the flight is not viable.

Would make sense, I noticed that VA have the full complement of A320s back (according to planespotters) so didn't think it was aircraft availability as the reason, thought there be must another reason behind it.

It’s worth noting that a lot of interstate FIFO workers moved permanently to WA (and to a lesser extent Queensland) at the beginning of the pandemic. Presuming they don’t move back to their home states, that would likely decrease demand going forward on routes such as this one. In addition to VA MEL-KGI, which was served fairly consistently, QF had on-again/off-again flights from MEL/SYD-PHE/KTA which seemed to come and go at random but were usually once or twice a week when they did operate.

jrfspa320 · Fri Apr 22, 2022 7:04 am

RyanairGuru wrote:
Obzerva wrote:
tullamarine wrote:
I have a feeling that flight was supported by a FIFO contract. Maybe the contract no longer exists so the flight is not viable.

Would make sense, I noticed that VA have the full complement of A320s back (according to planespotters) so didn't think it was aircraft availability as the reason, thought there be must another reason behind it.

It’s worth noting that a lot of interstate FIFO workers moved permanently to WA (and to a lesser extent Queensland) at the beginning of the pandemic. Presuming they don’t move back to their home states, that would likely decrease demand going forward on routes such as this one. In addition to VA MEL-KGI, which was served fairly consistently, QF had on-again/off-again flights from MEL/SYD-PHE/KTA which seemed to come and go at random but were usually once or twice a week when they did operate.

The east coast - Pilbara routes haven't operated for many years if I'm remembering correctly, not since the end of the previous mining boom - long before covid.
BME-SYD/MEL will be back for the dry season i think.

FL420FT · Fri Apr 22, 2022 9:29 am

RyanairGuru wrote:
FiftyLitres wrote:
RyanairGuru wrote:

It’s never been publicly confirmed which two aren’t returning. OQA and OQE are the two perennial rumours/guesses.

It will be OQE and OQF being retired. The A380s need three tasks completed - maintenance, cabin refurbishment, and repaint, in that order of priority. That leaves A, E, F, and L.

OQA will remain as it has the lowest hours in the fleet. OQL has the second lowest.
OQE has none of the above tasks done. OQF has a repaint but no maintenance work or refurbishment completed.

Just to clarify, are you saying that OQE and OQF are confirmed internally, or are you staying an opinion?

While OQA has fewer hours, it is structurally heavier due to being both an early production model and the extensive repairs undertaken. That said, I totally understand that when the next HMV is due will be a determining factor, and that does count against OQF.

From what I've heard, OQA (Nancy) wheighs about two tonnes heavier with repairs after the QF32 incident

Obzerva · Fri Apr 22, 2022 10:18 am

jrfspa320 wrote:
RyanairGuru wrote:
Obzerva wrote:

Would make sense, I noticed that VA have the full complement of A320s back (according to planespotters) so didn't think it was aircraft availability as the reason, thought there be must another reason behind it.

It’s worth noting that a lot of interstate FIFO workers moved permanently to WA (and to a lesser extent Queensland) at the beginning of the pandemic. Presuming they don’t move back to their home states, that would likely decrease demand going forward on routes such as this one. In addition to VA MEL-KGI, which was served fairly consistently, QF had on-again/off-again flights from MEL/SYD-PHE/KTA which seemed to come and go at random but were usually once or twice a week when they did operate.

The east coast - Pilbara routes haven't operated for many years if I'm remembering correctly, not since the end of the previous mining boom - long before covid.
BME-SYD/MEL will be back for the dry season i think.

I think Air Australia when they were trading under their original name also operated one or two of these before their collapse too.

ben175 · Fri Apr 22, 2022 12:25 pm

jrfspa320 wrote:
RyanairGuru wrote:
Obzerva wrote:

Would make sense, I noticed that VA have the full complement of A320s back (according to planespotters) so didn't think it was aircraft availability as the reason, thought there be must another reason behind it.

It’s worth noting that a lot of interstate FIFO workers moved permanently to WA (and to a lesser extent Queensland) at the beginning of the pandemic. Presuming they don’t move back to their home states, that would likely decrease demand going forward on routes such as this one. In addition to VA MEL-KGI, which was served fairly consistently, QF had on-again/off-again flights from MEL/SYD-PHE/KTA which seemed to come and go at random but were usually once or twice a week when they did operate.

The east coast - Pilbara routes haven't operated for many years if I'm remembering correctly, not since the end of the previous mining boom - long before covid.
BME-SYD/MEL will be back for the dry season i think.

BME-MEL is already back - I saw it on the departure screen today at MEL.

ClassicLover · Fri Apr 22, 2022 12:47 pm

FL420FT wrote:
RyanairGuru wrote:
FiftyLitres wrote:

It will be OQE and OQF being retired. The A380s need three tasks completed - maintenance, cabin refurbishment, and repaint, in that order of priority. That leaves A, E, F, and L.

OQA will remain as it has the lowest hours in the fleet. OQL has the second lowest.
OQE has none of the above tasks done. OQF has a repaint but no maintenance work or refurbishment completed.

Just to clarify, are you saying that OQE and OQF are confirmed internally, or are you staying an opinion?

While OQA has fewer hours, it is structurally heavier due to being both an early production model and the extensive repairs undertaken. That said, I totally understand that when the next HMV is due will be a determining factor, and that does count against OQF.

From what I've heard, OQA (Nancy) weighs about two tonnes heavier with repairs after the QF32 incident

Where do you get your information on OQA being two tonnes heavier? This is completely wrong.

There is an Australian Aviation article here - https://australianaviation.com.au/2018/05/home-again-the-repairs-and-the-return-of-qantas-a380-vh%E2%80%91oqa-nancy-bird-walton/ - stating, "Further, the repairs added less than 100kg in extra weight to the aircraft, a tiny amount compared to the A380’s 560 tonne maximum takeoff weight."

So this whole 2 tonnes thing is a.net rumour and speculation. Therefore, OQA is just as capable as any other A380 in the fleet.

NZ516 · Fri Apr 22, 2022 7:15 pm

https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/04/21/nz-q ... on-planes/

This is a bit embarrassing for Qantas. They should at least provide screens so cabin crew cab have a bit of privacy to rest away from other passengers.

moa999 · Sat Apr 23, 2022 1:02 am

NZ516 wrote:
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/04/21/nz-qantas-flight-crews-building-blanket-forts-to-sleep-on-planes/

This is a bit embarrassing for Qantas. They should at least provide screens so cabin crew cab have a bit of privacy to rest away from other passengers.

Separate thread
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1472267

CraigAnderson · Sat Apr 23, 2022 8:36 am

ClassicLover wrote:
FL420FT wrote:
From what I've heard, OQA (Nancy) weighs about two tonnes heavier with repairs after the QF32 incident

Where do you get your information on OQA being two tonnes heavier? This is completely wrong.

Not according to Richard de Crespigny, who remarked on his Twitter account

Another complication for the entire QF A380 fleet is that the recent reconfiguation added a crazy 2,800kg to the basic weight.

https://twitter.com/RichardDeCrep/statu ... 2425354240

However, his next line is very wrong

This crazy change kneecapped the fleet (-28 pax!), making it dramatically less efficent than earlier versions.

But according to Wikipedia and Seatguru the pre-refurb A380s had 484 seats, the refurbs have 485, so a gain of +1 pax not a loss of -28 pax?

BAeRJ100 · Sat Apr 23, 2022 8:42 am

CraigAnderson wrote:
ClassicLover wrote:
FL420FT wrote:
From what I've heard, OQA (Nancy) weighs about two tonnes heavier with repairs after the QF32 incident

Where do you get your information on OQA being two tonnes heavier? This is completely wrong.

Not according to Richard de Crespigny, who remarked on his Twitter account
Another complication for the entire QF A380 fleet is that the recent reconfiguation added a crazy 2,800kg to the basic weight.

https://twitter.com/RichardDeCrep/statu ... 2425354240

However, his next line is very wrong
This crazy change kneecapped the fleet (-28 pax!), making it dramatically less efficent than earlier versions.

But according to Wikipedia and Seatguru the pre-refurb A380s had 484 seats, the refurbs have 485, so a gain of +1 pax not a loss of -28 pax?

But de Crespigny's talking about about the reconfigurations that were planned for the entire fleet, the posts you are quoting are debating the weight added after the QF32 repairs. Only the latter affects OQA specifically, and is completely irrelevant to de Crespigny's tweets.

a350lover · Sat Apr 23, 2022 9:18 am

Sorry if this is a bit awkward... I was just wondering if anyone here as active crew or flying on stand by ticket could give a hint on how lucky can stand by tickets to jump on the "direct" flight QF1 Sydney/Darwin-London? Is the flight restricted in terms of weight and thus doesn't accept stand by pax when close to limits? Easy to get stranded?

Many thanks!

qf789 · Mon Apr 25, 2022 11:09 am

There is a Xiamen 789 about an hour from PER, assume its following the other recent arrivals carrying RATS from China of late such as HI-Fly A332, A333 and A343's doing SZX-PER runs and Sichuan A332 and A333's from CTU

NTLDaz · Wed Apr 27, 2022 12:22 am

Flew out of Mackay on Qantas on Sunday and visited the small Qantas Club. It got me thinking that surely it's time for Newcastle to have a lounge. Today the QF group have 12 flights out of Newcastle. Space may be a problem though.

qf2220 · Wed Apr 27, 2022 1:10 am

So, this thread somewhat surprised me. US FAs are not paid until the flight starts - is that right?

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1472361

Im right in Australia to assume that FAs have a designated sign on and off time, in between which happens the flights and things they are rostered to do?

ArtV · Wed Apr 27, 2022 1:49 am

qf2220 wrote:
So, this thread somewhat surprised me. US FAs are not paid until the flight starts - is that right?

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1472361

Im right in Australia to assume that FAs have a designated sign on and off time, in between which happens the flights and things they are rostered to do?

I have read these before, and always have the same question....which I just don't see how this would be legal or acceptable (at least with my Australian labour/staffing mindset). It would be like having a call centre, and only paying staff when they are actually on a phone call....although if they worked for Qantas, then that would probably wouldn't be an issue right now.....but you get my point.

moa999 · Wed Apr 27, 2022 1:56 am

As I understand it - that's always been the way in most US airlines. Probably driven by the fact that it's also only flight hours that count for monthly and annual maximums, so it's easier just to keep track of one set of hours.

Reality is if they paid you for all hours, the hourly rate would likely be lower.

DanielK · Wed Apr 27, 2022 5:02 am

qf789 wrote:
There is a Xiamen 789 about an hour from PER, assume its following the other recent arrivals carrying RATS from China of late such as HI-Fly A332, A333 and A343's doing SZX-PER runs and Sichuan A332 and A333's from CTU

Currently 4x scheduled.
25, 27, 30 APR and 02 MAY. ETA 1915/2025 and ETD 2230/2350. *Depends on select days.

FL420FT · Wed Apr 27, 2022 9:52 am

a350lover wrote:
Sorry if this is a bit awkward... I was just wondering if anyone here as active crew or flying on stand by ticket could give a hint on how lucky can stand by tickets to jump on the "direct" flight QF1 Sydney/Darwin-London? Is the flight restricted in terms of weight and thus doesn't accept stand by pax when close to limits? Easy to get stranded?

Many thanks!

QF9 MEL/DRW/LHR under the current routing is a better bet because of the earlier arrival into LHR than QF1. However both are pretty iffy at the moment.
There are significant numbers of pax (and bags) being offloaded in DRW. If I can recall correctly, during the warmer months, pre covid the QF9 MEL PER LHR had to off load pax and bags (happy for clarification if this offload was for the return QF10.)

For what it's worth, if your plans are flexible enough, wait for QF1 to return via SIN with the A380 from 19 June

EK413 · Wed Apr 27, 2022 11:37 am

ArtV wrote:
qf2220 wrote:
So, this thread somewhat surprised me. US FAs are not paid until the flight starts - is that right?

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1472361

Im right in Australia to assume that FAs have a designated sign on and off time, in between which happens the flights and things they are rostered to do?

I have read these before, and always have the same question....which I just don't see how this would be legal or acceptable (at least with my Australian labour/staffing mindset). It would be like having a call centre, and only paying staff when they are actually on a phone call....although if they worked for Qantas, then that would probably wouldn't be an issue right now.....but you get my point.

I believe this is the norm, the crew have a sign on and sign off time but are paid block on and block off times. Do recall this was brought up at an Emirates induction day my partner attended and I was god smacked when she told me crew were paid once the aircraft is off blocks.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Doublecatered · Wed Apr 27, 2022 12:17 pm

I remember meeting a Delta flight attendant on one of the flights I was operating on (she was here on holidays )
Anyway we were comparing contracts (we were both on legacy contracts) and I was gobsmacked by her hourly rate. It was something like
USD69 an hour or something …maybe not that much but it was waaaaay higher than mine.
I couldn’t figure it out until it struck me later…she wouldn’t be paid for all the time on the ground hence the higher overall hourly rate.
It all made sense then and in the end, our pay wasn’t hugely different after all

Velocity7 · Wed Apr 27, 2022 9:16 pm

Looking out over BNE airport just now and was surprised to see a QF A380 sitting at the international terminal. It's VH-OQD which was operating QF12 and diverted.
Poor weather in SYD this morning? It seems most others got in around the same time?

EK413 · Wed Apr 27, 2022 11:35 pm

Velocity7 wrote:
Looking out over BNE airport just now and was surprised to see a QF A380 sitting at the international terminal. It's VH-OQD which was operating QF12 and diverted.
Poor weather in SYD this morning? It seems most others got in around the same time?

Not sure if it’s weather related, most likely a scheduled diversion due to payload restrictions as -OQD has just landed in SYD.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Kent350787 · Wed Apr 27, 2022 11:40 pm

EK413 wrote:
Velocity7 wrote:
Looking out over BNE airport just now and was surprised to see a QF A380 sitting at the international terminal. It's VH-OQD which was operating QF12 and diverted.
Poor weather in SYD this morning? It seems most others got in around the same time?

Not sure if it’s weather related, most likely a scheduled diversion due to payload restrictions as -OQD has just landed in SYD.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Agreed, not local weather at SYD. Headwinds may have required the diversion to BNE - it happened around 45-50mins out of SYD.

evanb · Thu Apr 28, 2022 12:58 am

Kent350787 wrote:
EK413 wrote:
Velocity7 wrote:
Looking out over BNE airport just now and was surprised to see a QF A380 sitting at the international terminal. It's VH-OQD which was operating QF12 and diverted.
Poor weather in SYD this morning? It seems most others got in around the same time?

Not sure if it’s weather related, most likely a scheduled diversion due to payload restrictions as -OQD has just landed in SYD.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Agreed, not local weather at SYD. Headwinds may have required the diversion to BNE - it happened around 45-50mins out of SYD.

Quite an odd one. It was seemingly a rather late decision as well. Looking at the flight data, they made the decision about 45 minutes out of BNE. They were practically abeam BNE at that point, maybe even a little past it. From a distance perspective, only marginally closer to BNE than SYD. Possibility that they were running lower than expected and wouldn't have had sufficient hold fuel for SYD and QF's SOPs maybe require significantly more hold fuel for SYD compared to BNE.

As indicated, no weather in SYD and everyone else got in ok. Looking at other aircraft, nobody held and there weren't any particularly long vectors for final approaches. Had they continued on to SYD, they probably would have been on the ground 15 minutes later than they got on the ground in BNE. Not sure what could have been that urgent!

EK413 · Thu Apr 28, 2022 1:44 am

evanb wrote:
Kent350787 wrote:
EK413 wrote:
Not sure if it’s weather related, most likely a scheduled diversion due to payload restrictions as -OQD has just landed in SYD.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Agreed, not local weather at SYD. Headwinds may have required the diversion to BNE - it happened around 45-50mins out of SYD.

Quite an odd one. It was seemingly a rather late decision as well. Looking at the flight data, they made the decision about 45 minutes out of BNE. They were practically abeam BNE at that point, maybe even a little past it. From a distance perspective, only marginally closer to BNE than SYD. Possibility that they were running lower than expected and wouldn't have had sufficient hold fuel for SYD and QF's SOPs maybe require significantly more hold fuel for SYD compared to BNE.

As indicated, no weather in SYD and everyone else got in ok. Looking at other aircraft, nobody held and there weren't any particularly long vectors for final approaches. Had they continued on to SYD, they probably would have been on the ground 15 minutes later than they got on the ground in BNE. Not sure what could have been that urgent!

Seems to be no coverage at UTC 04:41 & recovered at UTC 05:47.

I’d say BNE was always on the cards.

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Chipmunk1973 · Thu Apr 28, 2022 6:48 am

I've been thinking this week at what would be the most likely routes that would commence once SWZ (Western Sydney International - Nancy Bird Walton) Airport opens.

My feeling is that the majority of the schedule would be domestic focussed, but I expect some international ops, both passenger and freight.

The obvious ones that come to mind are:
Domestic
MEL
BNE
PER
ADL
OOL
CNS
HBA
HTI

International
AKL
SIN

Any other key destinations I might have missed or other thoughts?

Thanks in advance and cheers.

Kent350787 · Thu Apr 28, 2022 7:06 am

Recognising that pre-Covid there were flights from up to 15 mainland Chinese airlines, I would expect links to some Chinese cities. AirAsia (if they survive international) could probably be attracted for KUL if the price was right.

Domestically, I'd think that many holiday destinations with higher than daily flight from SYD will gain SWZ servcie.

tullamarine · Thu Apr 28, 2022 7:23 am

Chipmunk1973 wrote:
I've been thinking this week at what would be the most likely routes that would commence once SWZ (Western Sydney International - Nancy Bird Walton) Airport opens.

My feeling is that the majority of the schedule would be domestic focussed, but I expect some international ops, both passenger and freight.

The obvious ones that come to mind are:
Domestic
MEL
BNE
PER
ADL
OOL
CNS
HBA
HTI

International
AKL
SIN

Any other key destinations I might have missed or other thoughts?

Thanks in advance and cheers.

Like at AVV in Melbourne, it is possible that Garuda's Citilink could consider services to DPS.

eta unknown · Thu Apr 28, 2022 7:49 am

Kent350787 wrote:
Recognising that pre-Covid there were flights from up to 15 mainland Chinese airlines, I would expect links to some Chinese cities. AirAsia (if they survive international) could probably be attracted for KUL if the price was right.

Domestically, I'd think that many holiday destinations with higher than daily flight from SYD will gain SWZ servcie.

Yeah that was also pre trade war..., don't expect all those flights to come back or for Australia t necessarily maintain favoured nation status.

RyanairGuru · Thu Apr 28, 2022 7:51 am

eta unknown wrote:
Kent350787 wrote:
Recognising that pre-Covid there were flights from up to 15 mainland Chinese airlines, I would expect links to some Chinese cities. AirAsia (if they survive international) could probably be attracted for KUL if the price was right.

Domestically, I'd think that many holiday destinations with higher than daily flight from SYD will gain SWZ servcie.

Yeah that was also pre trade war..., don't expect all those flights to come back or for Australia t necessarily maintain favoured nation status.

+1

In addition, many of the secondary Chinese routes were subsidised by the local governments and ended as soon as the subsidy ran out. I remember at least HU SYD-XIY and another Hainan route that’s completely escaped me where this happened.

melpax · Thu Apr 28, 2022 8:04 am

tullamarine wrote:
Like at AVV in Melbourne, it is possible that Garuda's Citilink could consider services to DPS.

Or Air Asia

NTLDaz · Thu Apr 28, 2022 8:07 am

Chipmunk1973 wrote:
I've been thinking this week at what would be the most likely routes that would commence once SWZ (Western Sydney International - Nancy Bird Walton) Airport opens.

My feeling is that the majority of the schedule would be domestic focussed, but I expect some international ops, both passenger and freight.

The obvious ones that come to mind are:
Domestic
MEL
BNE
PER
ADL
OOL
CNS
HBA
HTI

International
AKL
SIN

Any other key destinations I might have missed or other thoughts?

Thanks in advance and cheers.

I'd expect either Doha or Dubai to take advantage of curfew free operation.

melpax · Thu Apr 28, 2022 8:16 am

In a way not too dissimilar from how EK service multiple airports in London

smi0006 · Thu Apr 28, 2022 8:30 am

NTLDaz wrote:
Chipmunk1973 wrote:
I've been thinking this week at what would be the most likely routes that would commence once SWZ (Western Sydney International - Nancy Bird Walton) Airport opens.

My feeling is that the majority of the schedule would be domestic focussed, but I expect some international ops, both passenger and freight.

The obvious ones that come to mind are:
Domestic
MEL
BNE
PER
ADL
OOL
CNS
HBA
HTI

International
AKL
SIN

Any other key destinations I might have missed or other thoughts?

Thanks in advance and cheers.

I'd expect either Doha or Dubai to take advantage of curfew free operation.

Or cargo operators?

I wonder if JQ would giv

Chipmunk1973 · Thu Apr 28, 2022 9:11 am

tullamarine wrote:
Like at AVV in Melbourne, it is possible that Garuda's Citilink could consider services to DPS.

Fair call on that. I thought anything passenger international from SWZ, in the beginning, would focus on either leisure markets or connection to a key hub. Which is why AKL and SIN stood out for me. Given how many Aussies love going to Bali, DPS seems a given.

Cheers.

Chipmunk1973 · Thu Apr 28, 2022 9:22 am

NTLDaz wrote:

I'd expect either Doha or Dubai to take advantage of curfew free operation.

Not sure how I didn't think of this. There are lots of people in western Sydney from Middle-Eastern and African backgrounds. So a connection to DXB would certainly be very useful.

Also, if the likes of EK and QR are using a 773ER, then they'd also have some reasonable level of freight capacity as well.

I have no idea of stats' regarding O&D, but as a very rough guess, I'd think EK could do three 773's a week.

Cheers.

anstar · Thu Apr 28, 2022 9:38 am

qf2220 wrote:
So, this thread somewhat surprised me. US FAs are not paid until the flight starts - is that right?

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1472361

Im right in Australia to assume that FAs have a designated sign on and off time, in between which happens the flights and things they are rostered to do?

Definetely works different in the US and generally the pat goes up after years of service so you could as an example have a junior FA on $35 an hour working alongside a senior on say $80 an hour. The more senior ones then end u bidding for international as the flight times are longer meaning more $$$. Whereas in Australia/Europe its usually a base salary with additional $ per flight hour/sector.

RyanairGuru · Thu Apr 28, 2022 10:50 am

Chipmunk1973 wrote:
NTLDaz wrote:

I'd expect either Doha or Dubai to take advantage of curfew free operation.

Not sure how I didn't think of this. There are lots of people in western Sydney from Middle-Eastern and African backgrounds. So a connection to DXB would certainly be very useful.

Also, if the likes of EK and QR are using a 773ER, then they'd also have some reasonable level of freight capacity as well.

I have no idea of stats' regarding O&D, but as a very rough guess, I'd think EK could do three 773's a week.

Cheers.

To be blunt, I think EK could go daily from day one. Sub-daily isn’t really their thing anyway, but if there was one airline who could crack SWZ international they would be my bet. The market is almost custom made for them; Western Sydney has massive VFR demand and the largest non-seaport freight and logistics hub in the country. Late night turn, probably via SIN to top-up some front end traffic and ensure they can move 100% cargo payload, will be a winner for them. Yes, it will definitely be lower yielding than SYD, but overall has the potential to be very lucrative for an airline that (1) has perfected the art of being a mass-demand hauler unlike any other airline and (2) is coupled with the juggernaut that is Emirates SkyCargo.

Don’t forget that SWZ will be more convenient than SYD for something like 2 million people. We are talking about a population roughly equivalent to Perth. Yes, this includes some fairly low income areas, but that’s not the entire story. Western Sydney is a lot more prosperous than most people east of Five Dock seem to realise.

VHTAE · Thu Apr 28, 2022 11:55 am

Would anyone know why VH-OQB has been parked in Sydney for over a month?

moa999 · Thu Apr 28, 2022 12:06 pm

VHTAE wrote:
Would anyone know why VH-OQB has been parked in Sydney for over a month?

Had read it was getting the interior refurb in SYD
(Previous 380s were done in Dresden and Abu Dhabi)

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