The Australia Desk

Episode 736: Anniversaries abound, from marriages to Emiroo

Posted on February 8, 2023 by admin

February seems to be anniversary time in Oz as it’s a cracker time for a Summer wedding, but that’s not been the case this week as it’s been rather cold and we haven’t (yet) seen any snow, and certainly none in Sydney. Snow however, was exactly what greeted a Sydney bound passenger this week as confusion with the spelling of the airport’s name (and IATA code) when booking saw him arrive in a rather chilly Sidney, Montana.

Speaking of anniversaries, it’s been ten years since the Qantas and Emirates codeshare agreement was formed, giving rise to the unofficial name Emiroo and joke airline code QFEK. We look at what that has meant to Australian travellers

Meanwhile, Qantas is still in the sights of local media however, with another turnback, this time for a QantasLink Dash 8 due to severe turbulence. The event forced CEO Alan Joyce to go on the offensive, pointing out a few facts about turnbacks, comparing them not only to airlines overall, but specifically the local rival, Virgin Australia

Posted in Australia Desk | Tagged Alan Joyce, codeshare, Dash-8, Emirates, Emiroo, IATA, Montana, Qantas, QantasLink, QFEK, Sidney, snow, Summer, Sydney, turbulence, Virgin Australia, weather, wedding | Comments Off

Episode 735: Floods vs Gas, it’s all on in Steve’s sim session

Posted on February 1, 2023 by admin

Steve’s a little tired after being recertified as an instructor…not for airplanes…but for trains. We discuss the similarities in approaches to training between rail and aviation, including one of Steve’s more interesting sim sessions.

Meanwhile, across the Tasman Sea at New Zealand’s capital, Auckland, double hassles hit when first an Air New Zealand 777 took out runway edge lights on landing, forcing the runway to close temporarily. Then, after it was re-opened, the city and surrounding areas were hit with historic levels of flooding, leading to the airport’s closure for well over 24 hours, leaving passengers from all corners of the globe stranded for many hours in the terminal. There were also two international flights that turned around about half way to Auckland and returned to their departure airports. DOH!

Leaving the surface for a moment, Grant’s literally over the moon following Saber Astronautics’ plans to send Australian tech to the International Space Station in coming years, including beer in a specially made zero-G bottle.

Coming back to airports, flights were temporarily halted in and out of Sydney Airport this weekend when the control tower had to be evacuated following the smell of gaseous fumes in the ventilation system.

And finally, we pay tribute to local aviation photographer Matt Savage, of Mach One Aeromedia , who passed away recently after a long battle with illness. Matt was a man who shared our passion for aviation, and was a big supporter of our work. Though he left us way too soon, his skill with the lens will live on as a lasting legacy for all of us to enjoy.

Steve’s sim session may have gone off the rails?

Silhouetted Cessna (photo by Matt Savage)

Matt Savage has flown West :(

Posted in Australia Desk | Tagged 777, Air New Zealand, ASPI, ATC, Auckland, beer, Boeing, bottle, burp, collision, flooding, gas, instructor, ISS, Mach One Aeromedia, Malcolm Davis, Matt Savage, New Zealand, OJT, Saber Astronautics, simulator, space, Sydney, Tasman Sea, tower, trains, zero-g | Comments Off

Episode 734: Bonza, a smattering of military and Qantas maintenance woes

Posted on January 25, 2023 by admin

After the Geeks asking how long the boys have been producing the OzDesk, they start with a bit of history and how they started submitting news via email, then recording separately until, on Episode 52 in June 2009, the first OzDesk was heard. With almost 300 OzDesks produced, Grant’s very happy that he’s only had to admit this next bit very few times. Yes, Grant was wr… He was incorr… OK, yeah, he screwed up by saying that Bonza weren’t using travel agents at all. Bzzzzt! They are using agents but their clients still have to download Bonza’s app. Ooops…

Meanwhile, Bonza’s announced their first route which will be from the Sunshine Coast up to the Whitsundays, aka Prosperpine airport. Their first flight will be on 31st January so we’re looking forward to seeing how they develop from there.

Grant tries to head off the next big news item by diverting to military news, such as:

Australian troops are deploying to the UK to train Ukraine forces.
The paperwork has been signed to purchase 40 MH-60M Blackhawk helicopters to replace their existing MRH-90 Taipans that haven’t worked out as expected.
When the new MH-60Ms arrive, they will be based at Oakey (West of Brisbane) and Holsworthy in Sydney but not at Townsville where some of the MRH-90s are currently located.

Despite Grant’s best efforts, they have to talk about the Qantas maintenance news items which have been making headlines, but the biggest shock is that the boys are in agreement with Qantas management on this topic. Who knew, right?

A 737 makes a mayday call due to an engine failure while flying from Auckland to Sydney.
Another 737 enroute to Fiji returned to Sydney due to warnings of a possible mechanical issue.
A third 737 had to return to Melbourne following minor engine issues.
On the same day as the third 737 incident, a QantasLink 717 had a flap issue on climb out from Melbourne while flying to Canberra and had to return.

Posted in Australia Desk | Tagged 717, 737, ADF, Auckland, Blackhawk, Bonza, Brisbane, Canberra, engine, Fiji, flaps, history, Holsworth, maintenance, management, mayday, MH60, MH60M, MRH90, Oakey, Proserpine, Qantas, QantasLink, Sunshine Coast, Sydney, Townsville, travel agents, UK, Ukraine, Whitsundays, wrong | Comments Off

Episode 733: Bonza gets its AOC & there’s an Ozzie constellation in space

Posted on January 18, 2023 by admin

It’s been only a week and the boys are back with a new OzDesk which could be setting a bit of a trend, but they had to come back to talk about the big big news. Yes, it was rumour when they recorded last week and it was still rumour when the Geeks released Episode 732, but now it’s fact: Bonza has received its Air Operators Certificate (AOC). The boys note that Bonza will be avoiding Brisbane and Sydney, which has annoyed some travel agents, while Grant also points out how similar Bonza’s approach is to the original Virgin Blue.

Meanwhile, the big three Chinese airlines are coming back to Australia in force now that China has dropped their quarantine requirements for visiting their country.

Finally, the boys cover the Australian company Skykraft which early in January launched a constellation of five satellites via Space-X and has now completed their initial checks and verifications, allowing the satellites to commence operations. These Australian-built satellites are using majority Australian developed components and are working with Airservices Australia to provide ADSB & VHF coverage for aircraft operating in areas without coverage, such as a large part of Australia and the oceanic regions around the country. Skykraft’s goal is to expand the constellation over time so that it eventually provides global coverage.

Posted in Australia Desk | Tagged ADSB, Air China, AirServices Australia, AOC, Australia, Bonza, Brisbane, China, China Eastern, China Southern, Chinese, Constellation, fact, Melbourne, rumour, satellite, Skykraft, Sydney, VHF, Virgin Blue | Comments Off

Episode 732: Fatal helicopter collision and Bonza’s still awaiting their AOC

Posted on January 11, 2023 by admin

Wow, it’s 2023 and the boys are back so hopefully they can get a few extra episodes into the feed this year. Meanwhile, Grant’s been loading historical OzDesk segments into the Australia Desk website and hopes to get the full backlog loaded soon.

The big news at present is the fatal collision of two tourist helicopters from the Sea World marine park on the Gold Coast in Australia. It was rather horrific and amazing that any people survived at all. Spectator and on-board videos have been released but the guys are waiting for the ATSB to issue their preliminary report.

On the Airline front, Bonza, Australia’s latest start-up, is still saying they’ll be charging passengers fares based on a rate of $50 per hour despite the fuel price going up significantly since they first announced the rate. Meanwhile, they still haven’t received their Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) despite working on it for well over a year, but rumours are running that it’s just been issued. Grant reached out to Bonza to see if this could be confirmed and received the following from CEO Tim Jordan:

“We remain focussed on the final stages of the regulatory process and look forward to sharing an update as soon as it’s right to do so.”

Hmmmm. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer!

Posted in Australia Desk | Tagged AOC, ATSB, Australia, Bonza, CEO, fares, fatal, fuel costs, Gold Coast, horror, report, rumour, Sea World, spectator, Tim Jordan, video | Comments Off

Episode 711: It’s Bonza, Mate!

Posted on August 10, 2022 by admin

Steve & Grant note that since the last episode we’ve lost Glen Towler from NZ and Grant’s Dad Jim while also noting the anniversary of Steve’s father’s passing. After a small discussion on how both fathers were influential in the boys getting into aviation, we get into a couple of news stories.

Australia’s newest airline is called Bonza(IATA: AB). Strewth, right? Bonza‘s first aircraft has arrived in Oz and they’ve announced their first routes, many of which are targeted at people escaping the cold south to get to sunny beaches.
The RAAF are going to keep flying their F-35s despite some being grounded in the USA due to ejection seat issues.

Grant’s father Jim with his Sunderland model

Posted in Australia Desk | Tagged 737, 737 MAX, airline, Bonza, dads, ejection seat, F-35A, Jim, MAX, parents, problems, RAAF, routes | Comments Off

Episode 701: So much news, so little time…

Posted on May 11, 2022 by admin

The boys knew they’d be back with AusDesk episodes in 2022 but didn’t think it would take quite *this* long to get one produced. Suffice to say, they’ve picked one of the busiest times in aviation Down Under to come back with lots of things to cover, so lets crack on with them:

We start with the big news from Qantas, but it’s not their long awaited purchase of Alliance Aviation
- Instead, it’s Qantas’ purchase of A350-1000s for use on their Project Sunrise flights.
- These flights will connect Sydney & Melbourne to London and New York with no stops enroute and will involve an A350-1000 with way less seats than usual to allow for more fuel to be carried.
Of course, this is just another step in Qantas’ transition away from an all Boeing fleet as it’s yet another Airbus they’re purchasing, in addition to their large order for A320 family aircraft we’ve previously reported on.
There’s also plenty of news on the air show front with:
- The Pacific Air Show coming to Australia to hold an air show at the Gold Coast in 2023.
- The RAAF announcing the Amberley Air Tattoo for October this year.
- The World Championship Air Race confirming their Australian race will be held at Lake Macquarie in November this year.

Posted in Australia Desk | Tagged 717, 737, 787, A220, A319, A320, A321, A350, A350-1000, Air Race, Airbus, Alliance Airlines, Amberley, Boeing, Gold Coast, Lake Macquarie, Pacific Air Show, Qantas, RAAF, tattoo | Comments Off

Episode 684: The Blackhawks are dead, long live the Blackhawks

Posted on December 22, 2021 by admin

There’s been a grave disturbance in the Force as another military platform gets retired (but not for long) and Qantas announces it’s replacing its Boeing 737-800s with aircraft from the A320 family. You bet the boys will have commentary and opinions on these matters, so here they are:

Army have withdrawn their S-70-A9 Blackhawk fleet from service in a subdued ceremony right around the same time that the government announced that the MRH-90 Taipan fleet (the replacement for the Blackhawk) will be replaced 10 years ahead of schedule by up to 40 new build UH-60M Blackhawks.
While the Australian military seems to be doing all it can to dump European platforms for American, Qantas has announced its intention to replace its Boeing 737-800 fleet over the next ten years with Airbus A320s and A321s…but will they actually do it??

Army Blackhawk over Sydney Harbour (Seth Jaworski)

Army Blackhawk A25-203 over Sydney Harbour (photograph by Seth Jaworski from March 2012)

Posted in Australia Desk | Tagged 737, A320, A321, Airbus, Airbus Helicopters, Army, Blackhawk, Boeing, MH60, MH60M, MRH90, Qantas, S70, Sikorsky, Taipan | Comments Off

Episode 682: Farewell to the Classic Hornet

Posted on December 15, 2021 by admin

With the sad news that the RAAF have withdrawn the F/A-18 A & B aircraft from service this week, the boys are joined by Stewart Wilson, a well known aviation author and historian in Australia, to discuss their history in RAAF service. They even mention why these models are referred to as “Classic Hornets” in Australia rather than “Legacy Hornets” as the US military calls them.

We also have a blooper for this episode which you can play via the player below:

RAAF F/A-18A Hornet A21-8 at Wings Over Illawarra - Image by Jai Balmer

RAAF F/A-18A Hornet A21-8 (msn 306/AF-08 – delivered 28 Aug 1986) in 75SQN markings, departs RWY16 at Shellharbour Airport (NSW) for its final public display at the Wings Over Illawarra Airshow – 28 Nov 2021 (Image by Jai Balmer)

Group Captain Jason Easthope shuts down A21-8 (image by Jai Balmer)

Group Captain Jason Easthope – aka “Easty” – shuts down A21-8 after the final public display of the RAAF F/A-18A Hornet at WIngs Over Illawarra, 28 Nov 2021 (image by Jai Balmer)

Posted in Australia Desk | Tagged Classic, F18, history, Hornet, industry, Legacy, operations, RAAF, retire, Stewart Wilson | Comments Off

Episode 679: Opened borders allow a QF A380 to return plus RAAF rumours galore

Posted on November 17, 2021 by admin

The boys are back and Grant’s had to get Steve up at the crack of noon to record an Oz Desk much earlier than usual, but there’s so much to discuss and so much to do, like maybe flying somewhere outside of Melbourne?

First up, Australia’s international borders are open again, admittedly only for fully vaccinated Australian citizens and visa holders, but it’s a start!
Grant’s really happy that Virgin Australia has re-opened its Melbourne lounge so it’s worth flying again :)
Meanwhile, Qantas has returned its first A380 to flight and it touched down in Sydney earlier this week. They’ll start crew workups and get it back onto international flying early next year
Meanwhile, rumours are running that the RAAF may get another 28 F-35As and stand up a new SQN for them at Tindal
How about those RAAF AP-3C ISREW and P-8A aircraft flying out of Singapore and heading off into the South China Seas. What are they up to???

No photos of the boys recording this episode as “I just woke up” is not a good look :)

Posted in Australia Desk | Tagged 79SQN, A380, AP3C, border, Butterworth, citizen, double-jabbed, ELINT, F-35A, international, ISREW, JSM, Kongsberg, LRASM, Malaysia, open, Orion, P-8A, Poseidon, Qantas, QF, RAAF, Singapore, South China Sea, Spratley Islands, squadron, Sydney, Tindal, travel, vaccinated | Comments Off