Final ex VA(NZ) frame returns to service

The final first flight happened today with VH-VUQ ex ZK-PBL operating this morning,  Wednesday 18-March-2015, VA308 BNE-MEL.

This brings to the end the transition of the former VA(NZ) fleet back into VA International.

To date the following ex ZK aircraft have operated international routes
PBA VH-VOO
PBB VH-VOP
PBF VH-VOR
PBJ VH-VUB
All have seen domestic Australian service however just VH-VOR and VH-VUB have graced New Zealand/South Pacific skies again, with VH-VOO & VH-VOP operating only on international services to Bali.

Meanwhile as noted in THIS post - VH-YID now wearing full Virgin Samoa colours has hopped around the network operating Trans-Tasman, to Fiji, domestically in Australia, on FIFO flights in WA and to Denpasar from Perth.

2015 Comings and Goings to date

The first two and a half months have seen quite a few changes to the New Zealand & Australian aircraft registers in terms of passenger aircraft.  Here is a look at some other the comings and goings.

Air New Zealand had a net gain of two aircraft in the period welcoming the following 3 arrivals;
ZK-MVF ATR 72-600 registered 14-January-2015
ZK-OXG Airbus A320 registered 20-February-2015
ZK-OXH Airbus A320 registered 27-February-2015

This was offset by the departure of a Boeing 737-33A
ZK-NGP Boeing 733 deregistered 16-March-2015 exported to storage awaiting its future

As per my previous posts between 30-January-2015 and 14-March-2015 Virgin Australia returned their fleet of 10 Boeing 737-8FE aircraft to the Australian register - see HERE for more. 
Virgin Australia also received one new build Boeing during this time
VH-YIY Boeing 738 registered 5-February-2015

Airwork Flight Operations Limited who are the preferred contractor to Toll Freight in Australia farewelled one of their Boeing 737 Freighters

ZK-TLF Boeing 734 deregistered 10-March-2015 and exported to unknown whereabouts

As mentioned in THIS post last year, Vincent Aviation unfortunately went into receivership in October-2014.  Their fleet has begun to move on.

ZK-ECO BAe 146 re-registered to ANCL Investments Ltd 12-March-15 but took effect on 5-October-2014 - despite leaving the country this aircraft remains on the New Zealand register.

ZK-VAB Beech 1900D deregistered 25-February-2015 exported unknown future

ZK-VAH Jetstream 32 deregistered 18-March-2015 exported unknown future

ZK-JSH & ZK-LFW Jetstream 31 re-registered on 9-March-2015 but took effect on 17-October-2014 to Air Freight NZ Ltd

This leaves just Jetstream 32 ZK-VAI as the remaining passenger aircraft owned by Vincent Aviation on the New Zealand register.

Alliance Airlines added one frame during the period

VH-NKU Fokker F28Mk70 (F70) registered 17-February-2015

Qantas saw 3 of their previously departed aircraft leave the Australian register during the period, all three were exported to the USA where they will be prepared for their new owners.

VH-OGJ Boeing 767-338 deregistered 19-January-2015 to C-FOGJ with WestJet in Canada

VH-OGN Boeing 767-338 deregistered 6-March-2015 to WestJet in Canada

VH-TJS Boeing 737-438 deregistered 30-January-2015 due to return to the region with Airwork NZ

There were two changes for Jetstar during the period with two aircraft leaving their fleet

VH-VQB Airbus A320 deregistered 20-January-2015 exported to Mexico as XA-VAH with VivaAeroBus

VH-EBJ Airbus A332 transferred to Qantas 13-March-2015

VA(NZ) the (visible) end

The final New Zealand registered Virgin Australia aircraft ZK-PBL finished up last night Friday 13-March-2015 as VA161 AKL-BNE, bringing a visible end to VA(NZ).  

VA(NZ) will no doubt still have paperwork to complete and staff to transition across to VAI before it hands in its AOC but the visible face the 10 ZK registered aircraft have returned to Australia.

ZK-PBL will return to her previous Aussie registration VH-VUQ

VH-VUP ex ZK-PBK re-entered service today Saturday 14-March-2015 as VA607 BNE-MKY, while newly Virgin Samoa branded VH-YID operated this morning Saturday 14-March-2015 as VA152 BNE-AKL

Pacific Blue/Virgin Australia (NZ) commenced flying in 2004 between its home base of Christchurch and Brisbane a flight that continues daily to this date.  In 2007 it announced it would enter the New Zealand domestic market and indeed flew between Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin from November-2007 to October-2010.

With the withdrawal of ZK-PBL the New Zealand register connection ends after 11 years of aircraft on the New Zealand register. 23/01/04 - 14/03/15

And the winner is.......

And the winner is ZK-PBL the final VA(NZ) bird

Boeing 737-8FE ZK-PBK flew her final flights as VA171/170 BNE-VLI-BNE on Monday 09-March-2015 before entering the Virgin Australia hanger.  She was struck from the New Zealand register today Tuesday 10-March-2015 and will enter the Australian register as VH-VUP.

VH-VOR ex PBF at time of writing has not entered service but will no longer carry the Virgin Samoa titles.  ***UPDATE*** VH-VOR operated her first flight as VA1384 BNE-ADL today Tuesday 10-March-2015

VH-YID flew from Brisbane to Townsville on Tuesday 03-March-2015 as VA9939 where she entered the paint hanger and was given the Virgin Samoa titles and Tupu'itea name.  Unlike PBF she does not sport the tribal colour band on the engines.  She returned to Brisbane as VA9938 on Sunday 08-March-2015 and at time of writing has not flown since.

VH-VOR/ZK-PBF arriving at AKL in the old Polynesian Blue colour scheme ©nzompilot

Another first for Virgin Australia goes to VH-VUB ex ZK-PBJ which takes the honour of the first ex ZK bird to return to New Zealand.  VH-VUB operated VA160 BNE-AKL on Monday 09-March-2015

Then There Were two

Thursday 05-March-2015 saw Virgin Samoa branded Boeing 737-8FE ZK-PBF operate her final flight on the New Zealand register flying VA161 AKL-BNE.  Upon completion she was towed across the airport and entered the Virgin Australia hanger for business class upgrade and entry to the Australian register.  She will take up VH-VOR.

Meanwhile VH-VUH ex ZK-PBI re-entered Virgin Australia service on Tuesday 3-March-2015 as VA773 Brisbane to Cairns

VH-VUD ex ZK-PBG re-entered Virgin Australia service today Friday 06-March-2015 as VA304 Brisbane to Melbourne

Into The Final Countdown

VA(NZ) has entered the final countdown with just 3 frames remaining on the New Zealand register.

ZK-PBG operated its final service as VA161 AKL-BNE Sunday 01-March-2015 before entering the Brisbane hanger for her business class upgrade and entry to the Australian register as VH-VUD. She was struck from the New Zealand register today Monday 02-March-2015.

ZK-PBG arriving into a stormy AKL in 2007 ©nzompilot

At time of writing VH-VUH ex ZK-PBI had not yet re-entered Virgin Australia service.

Meanwhile despite having flown Business Class equipped aircraft on various Tasman routes for most of the past month, Virgin Australia officially launched Business Class across the Tasman with VA144 SYD-AKL on Saturday 28-February-2015.  From this date all SYD-AKL flights will offer business class.  The 3 remaining ZK registered aircraft will continue to operate but will not operate on SYD-AKL.  Currently PBL is operating out of BNE, PBF on AKL-MEL and AKL-PI services and PBK is on SYD-NAN and SYD-CHC routes.

Read more about the Business Class offering on Tasman services via
austbt.com.au HERE
Australian Aviation HERE

Then there were 4

The Virgin Australia(NZ) fleet has dwindled to just 4 frames with the latest entering the Brisbane hanger for reintroduction to the Australian register and business class upgrade.

ZK-PBI operated its final flights as VA120/121 BNE-DUD-BNE on Sunday 22-February-2015 with its scheduled flight on Monday 23-February-2015 VA171/170 BNE-VLI-BNE cancelled. It was removed from the New Zealand register today Tuesday 24-February-2015.

Meanwhile its predecessor in the hanger VH-VOY (ZK-PBD) made its first flight this morning Tuesday 24-February-2015 as VA1384 BNE-ADL.

The CASA register has been updated and shows that 4 of the 5 ex NZ aircraft (excluding PBI) have been registered to Virgin Australia International with just VH-VUO (PBM) being registered to Virgin Australia (Domestic)  This gives the opportunity for these frames to once again fly the Tasman and Pacific Island routes with the New Zealand based crews.

However to this point only VH-VOO (PBA) and VH-VUB (PBJ) have flown international and both have operated on the Denpasar Bali routes.  Besides the remaining VA(NZ) aircraft the Tasman/Pacific Island routes have all been flown by the newer VH-YI* series aircraft.

VA(NZ) halfway through reintegration into VAI

The Virgin Australia NZ fleet currently sits at half of what it was, with the 5th frame heading into the Brisbane hanger for return to the Australian register and to have its business class upgrade.

ZK-PBD operated its final flight as VOZ175/176 BNE-NAN-BNE on Wednesday 18-February-2015 and was struck from the New Zealand register on Thursday 19-February-2015.  She will re-enter the Australian register as VH-VOY.

VH-VUB ex ZK-PBJ entered service with Virgin Australia operating VOZ773 BNE-CNS on Thursday 19-February-2015.

ex VA(NZ) aircraft update

An update to the previous POST - the Australian register has now been updated and confirms that as I suspected Virgin Australia Boeing 737-8FE ZK-PBA has indeed returned to her former Australian Registration of VH-VOO.  She was re-registered on Friday 30-January-2015.

VA(NZ) starts to disappear

As part of the ongoing cost cutting measures announced at the AGM in November, Virgin Australia New Zealand was set to be integrated back into Virgin Australia International.

This visible signs of this began today Friday 30-January-2015 with Boeing 737-8FE ZK-PBA being struck from the New Zealand register.

ZK-PBA operated her final flight under NZ rego as VA161 from Auckland to Brisbane last night Thursday 29-January-2015 before entering the Virgin Australia hangar to cross over to the Australian register.

ZK-PBA began life as VH-VOO and it is possible that she may return to that registration.

Reports suggest that the remaining 9 Virgin 738s will all cross to the Australian register by March ending almost 10 years of Pacific Blue/Virgin Australia aircraft on the New Zealand register.

ZK-PBA seen in CHC in 2008 when Pacific Blue operated NZ domestic services © nzompilot

Virgin move to Sabre

Preparations at Virgin's Brisbane head quarters are ramping up in preparation for Saturday's move from the old Navitaire system to the more common and reliable Sabre system.

This means that from the weekend onwards not only will Virgin Australia's booking & check-in systems be different but all Virgin Australia flights will move to the VA code away from the DJ code.  This will see flights  that previously operated by 4 separate divisions (Pacific Blue (NZ) DJ/PBN, Pacific Blue (Aus) DJ/PBH, Virgin Blue DJ/VOZ,  V Australia VA/VAU) finally unified under the one code, despite having been unified under the one name for sometime now.

As most Virgin frequent flyers will know the online Velocity members area (My Account) will be offline from 10.30pm tomorrow night (Wednesday 9-Jan-13) until Sunday 13-Jan-13 to enable the change, with members asked to complete any bookings or points redemption before Wednesday.

"Nor will it be possible to check in for flights via mobile phones or the internet this weekend. Passengers will also be unable to book flights via Virgin's website from Saturday until Sunday afternoon.
The airline has also warned passengers flying between next Monday and January 20 to turn up at airports at least an hour before a domestic flight and three hours before an international service because checking in might be slower than usual.
Virgin will increase staff at airports and call centres by 30 per cent this weekend to handle the complex switch in reservation systems. About 4000 Virgin staff have undergone training over the last year."

I hope this change works out well for Virgin as the outage they experience with Navitaire last year cost them dearly.  Sabre is a great system that is used by a large number of airlines world wide and seems to be stable and efficient.

Sabre also operates the virtuallythere.com website which give passengers booked on any flight or airline within the Sabre system the option to:

• Check the status of any flight including delays, cancellations and gate info
• Book ground transportation, travel extras and travel protection to complete your trip
• Email your itinerary to friends, family and colleagues right from your mobile or PC

Check out more about the Virgin switch via Fairfax Media's Business Day reporter Matt O'Sullivan HERE

or check out Sabre from its corporate website HERE or virtually there HERE

Talofa Virgin Samoa, farewell Pacific Blue and V Australia

Effective today Wednesday 7-December-2011 Polynesian Blue will now be known as Virgin Samoa.  The Polynesian Blue aircraft Boeing 737-8FE ZK-PBF Tapu'itea is being painted in Virgin Samoa colours and will be fitted with the upgraded interior for entry into service in early 2012.

The major difference in the livery other than the name will be the engine scheme which features the Virgin Samoa tatau.

Also today V Australia and Pacific Blue adopt the Virgin Australia brand.  The V Australia aircraft have started to undergo the re branding process, while the Pacific Blue aircraft are expected to undergo the repainting process next year.

Read more from the Virgin Australia Blog HERE or check out virginsamoa.com

VA/NZ launch trans-tasman alliance advertising

Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand have launched their joint advertising campaign's as their new trans-tasman alliance begins.

Air New Zealand have sent two emails to their airpoints members regarding this, the headers of both can be seen below

 

Air New Zealand's "Bromance" sale is an interesting one (name wise), but it does include some good deals for the introduction of the alliance.

Virgin Australia have launched the following advertisement as seen on their facebook page

 The front page of the Air New Zealand website looks like this

As you can see Air New Zealand are not only advertising the direct services but also $50 add on fares to other ports on the Virgin Australia domestic network.  The link below this to the find out more shows you how the Virgin Australia (Pacific Blue) fares and service equates to the Air New Zealand Seats to Suit fares. See for yourself HERE

At time of writing the Virgin Australia website was showing advertising for their daily happy hour sale.  But in their media release section is the release pertaining to the new tie-up (HERE) below is an extract of what customers can expect.

From July 26, Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia trans-Tasman services will offer:

• Reciprocal Frequent Flyer programmes that cover both airlines’ networks, enabling Airpoints and Velocity members to earn and redeem frequent flyer points on each other’s services;
• Reciprocal lounge access for eligible customers¹;
• Priority seating in dedicated zones for top tier frequent flyers;
• Priority Check-in, Baggage and Boarding for Premium Guests and eligible Airpoints and Velocity members; and
• Complimentary tea, coffee and water in-flight to all customers, as well as a food and beverage service for customers on the relevant fare types. The new Virgin Australia food and beverage service includes a continental breakfast, lunchtime wrap or evening meal with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

Pilot fronts court

A Pacific Blue pilot charged over the after dark departure of flight DJ89 from ZQN-SYD last year has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the event.

The airline itself has not been charged in relation to the incident - hence why I have not included their logo in this post.

Read more from The Otago Daily Times HERE