VH-XZJ QF Special Livery

As previously mentioned on this blog, Qantas have re-introduced the Aboriginal art special livery on their soon to be delivered Boeing 737-838 VH-XZJ.

With the arrival of VH-XZJ coming closer, Qantas have introduced a countdown timer to delivery which can be viewed HERE 

VH-XZJ is named Mendoowoorji and the first photos of it have now appeared online

Photo from Airliners.net © Bernie Leighton 2013 

Mendoowoorji is based on a painting that "captures the heart of the Kimberly" but there has already been some criticism online of this scheme as it is not "all over" like the previous liveries and does look "half finished" but I think it will grow on me.

Have your say on this new livery in the comments

Latest safety video offering from NZ

Air New Zealand have released their latest incarnation of their safety video - this one featuring Betty White and going "old school style"

Check it out for yourself below & comment letting me know what you think of it

VH-VKA nears home

With Jetstar's first Boeing 787-8 VH-VKA set to touch down on Australian soil tomorrow its a great time to showcase an awesome video from Boeing (via ausbt.com.au) of the aircraft coming together.

Route news

Australian Aviation have published a slew of new or adjusted routes from local airlines so here is a summary

TigerAir Australia have announced they will introduce SYD-PER directly operating a new 6x weekly back of the clock (red-eye) service with departure from SYD at either 1955 or 2155 and return from PER at either 2250 or 0100.

Read more HERE

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Virgin Australia have announced the introduction of a twice weekly BNE-CNJ (Cloncurry) service operating with Embraer E190 aircraft.  This marks the return of direct links between Cloncurry and the state capital.
Read more HERE

Virgin has also announced an increase to PER-KTH (Karratha) services adding 2x weekly F100 services bringing VA to a total of 38 weekly services on the route
Read more HERE

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Air New Zealand have made some adjustments to their ROT-SYD service including suspending it during winter. The Sept-April service will now operate on Mondays and Thursdays allowing for more weekend visitors to ROT
Read more HERE

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Jetstar have launched a new service PER-LOP (Lombok) the first airline to fly direct from Australia to Lombok.  The new service will operate 4x weekly with the Jetstar staple Airbus A320
Read more HERE

QF Special livery

After what most thought was the end of the special Aboriginal art schemes on Qantas jets after the retirement of Boeing 747-300 VH-EBU 'Nalanji Dreaming' and the repaint of Boeing 747-400 VH-OEJ 'Wunala Dreaming' back into standard colours, leaving just Boeing 737-838 VH-VXB 'Yananyi Dreaming', Qantas have announced its return.

VH-VXB will be joined by a second Boeing 737-838 in a new Aboriginal Art scheme with the new Boeing set to be painted into the livery at the Boeing factory before being delivered to Qantas.  As yet Qantas have not announced the name of the scheme or the Aboriginal artist who designed it.

Read more on the 'revival' of the aboriginal art schemes at austbt HERE

Boeing 737-838 VH-VXB Yananyi Dreaming (commons.wikimedia.org - Chris Finney)