Well I thought I would share some photos from back in 2005. A lot has changed in 8 years! I was only 10 years old back then and my parents would take me out to 'The Loop', as I already had a strong passion for aviation.
Air Paradise commenced flights to Brisbane in December 2004. They operated two flights per week from Bali to Brisbane with Airbus A310's. We did see the odd Airbus A300 operate the flight as well. Unfortunately Air Paradise didn't serve Brisbane very long at all. The airline ceased operations in November 2005 due to a downturn in traffic after the Bali Bombings a month earlier. Seen here is Airbus A300 PK-KDK taxiing out to RWY19 for a departure to Bali.
China Airlines commenced flights to Brisbane in September 2003 with two flights per week from Taipei to Brisbane operated by Airbus A340-300s. They increased to three flights per week from December 2004. In January 2007 flights switched from being operated by Airbus A340-300s to Airbus A330-300s. Since then the only change Brisbane has seen is the service continuing onto Auckland which commenced in January 2011. They did temporarily operate Airbus A340-300s again between January and March 2011. Seen above is Airbus A340-300 B-18803 and seen below is B-18802.
Singapore Airlines have served Brisbane for a long time now. In 2005, Singapore Airlines operated between 14 and 19 flights per week operated by Boeing 777-200ER's. In March 2009, the airlines brand new Airbus A330-300's took over all flights to Brisbane. Now we see 21 flights per week (thrice daily), they increased to 24 flights per week from December 2011 to January 2012. The extra three flights were operated by Boeing 777-200ER's. Seen here is Boeing 777-200ER 9V-SRH taxiing out to RWY19.
Although still a common aircraft in Brisbane. Seen here is Qantas Boeing 767-300ER VH-OGS, with the titles 'The Australian Airline". All aircraft in the Qantas fleet now read "Spirit of Australia", "The Spirit of Australia" or "Spirit of Australians". With the delays of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, we will continue to see the Qantas Boeing 767-300ER for a while. Qantas have already retired a few and are continuing to do so, however they will keep 16 that are all going to be fitted with an upgraded cabin by early this year.
Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400s used to be a common site in Brisbane. Unfortunately the airline now only has two left which will be retired by 2015. Brisbane's continues to see them occasionaly, however the majority of Air New Zealand flights to Brisbane are operated by Airbus A320s, Boeing 767-300ERs and Boeing 777-200ER's and -300ER's. Pictured above is a very rare sight for Brisbane and any other of Air New Zealand's destinations. A Boeing 747-400 is seen holding short of RWY19 for another Boeing 747-400 to land!
Air Vanuatu have served Brisbane for a while. There really isn't much to say about the airlines services to Brisbane. They used to operate a single Boeing 737-300. I am not sure how many flights per week they used to operate. The airline replaced it's Boeing 737-300 with a brand new Boeing 737-800 in January 2008. They currently operate two flights per week from Port Vila, and one per week from Port Vila via Espiritu Santo. The airlines old Boeing 737-300 is seen above taxiing to RWY19.
Jetstar operated Boeing 717-200's from 2004 until early 2007. The airline had a total of 14 Boeing 717's. Jetstar received the 717's from Qantaslink, who received them from Impulse. The 717's are once again operated by Qantaslink, however they are owned by Cobham Aviation. Pictured above is Jetstar Boeing 717-200 VH-VQK.
Pictured above is Virgin Blue Boeing 737-700 VH-VBY in the "50th aircraft for Virgin Blue" livery. The aircraft was delivered to Virgin in July 2005. VH-VBY was well known by most spotters, and most were very sad when in January 2012, the aircraft was painted in Virgin Australia livery.
Qantaslink used to operate a fleet of Dash 8-100's. All have since been retired leaving Qantas with a few -200's and -300's and a large fleet of -Q400's. Pictured above is Qantaslink Dash 8-100 VH-TNW.
That concludes my little flashback on spotting at Brisbane Airport back in 2005. Stay tuned for my next flashback, the Airbus A380's first visit to Brisbane in November 2005.
I'm very interested in knowing when the first 747 flew into Brisbane on it's introduction visit. It would have been around late 1960's or early 1970'. I was playing in the backyard with my younger brother when it flew almost directly overhead at a very low altitude as we were under the flight path. I have never forgotten how it looked, but I can't remember the year or day. I would be grateful if anyone can help me with this. I miss them and flew on them many times in the 80's. My most favourite airplane ever.
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