Perth had only a VOR on 03 for years. Much whinging, moaning and complaining by all and sundry made no difference, despite the relative difficulty of the VOR approach, especially in bad weather (yes, we do get bad weather from the north occasionally, like Melbourne, by the sound of it). Then an ILS was installed. All the problems with landing on 03 went away, instantly.
Old Akro, no disrespect intended, but you are a bit off-track. Even RNP AR approaches (the whizzbang ones like ILSs/Queenstown) do not need a WAAS (airlines are doing them all over Australia now, see the AIP SUPPs), but do need a lot of organisation, training (initial and ongoing) and equipment standards. Too hard/impossible for many operators, including, I suspect, Thai. Could they do even an RNAV-Z to 34 (higher MDA though)? The capabilities of the 777 may be the issue.
As at the Gold Coast, on balance, we should bite the bullet and just chuck in an ILS on 34. The safety improvement is marked, the cost amortised quickly. I agree with the government paying; it's national infrastructure. If that crew is also buzzing around domestic Thai with VORs then they should have done better. However, if they are international types, then it is reasonable that they expect an ILS at one of the major gateways to Australia.
Originally Posted by Lookleft
All this discussion about the "dangers" of an NPA onto 34 and nothing said about the visual approach over sheed. There's your dangerous approach. 400' high with 6 miles to run and a howling quartering tailwind on base.
Agree. Never done it, don't want to.