Final B737-400 pax service for QF

[Raider1]

Noted that Sundays QF819 from Canberra to Melbourne was the last QF 737- 400 pax service in Australia. Good to see TJS receive a suitable salute from the firies on departure.

Early TJX operating QF815 also flying the same sector was also withdrawn from service.

Farewell the 737-400's. Although I am not sure the rebirthed B717's are the answer for the high yield Canberra market. I guess time will tell.

[Geo Politico Austra]

Well they were great aircraft and provided great service to Qantas and the public!

One thing is for sure is that the Cabin Crew will not shed a tear and the engineers will not hear the wine about the smelly toilets any longer :-)

Cheers to another great aircraft lost to time...

[Maxmotor]

It was great to get on board a test flight too after heavy maintenance layups.

JX and JS in the hangar at the moment for pre disposal.

[The Green Goblin]

Can't help but feel there might be a 4 in the title shortly.

Jesus wept.....

[Jabawocky]

Convert em to freighters, surely a small market for at least one around the traps! ;)

[Sand dune Sam]

Arguably the nicest 737 to fly....from a pure hand flying point of view....

[maggot]

yep what a great work horse through the years, marvellous to fly.
the maggot is dead! long live the maggot!

[Flava Saver]

Why can't the boffins donate one to Longreach? :mad:

[Tee Emm]

Arguably the nicest 737 to fly....from a pure hand flying point of view....


Yegadds! Do you mean you Aussies actually hand fly? I knew Australia was a third world aviation country - but hand-fly? That's dangerous. You must be crazy when the aircraft has a perfectly good automatic pilot:E

[BPA]

Marks the retirement of the final aircaft type selected by the orginal Australan Airlines.

[ANCDU]

Goodbye to the old Maggot, over 20 years of stirling service to the Australian public, and a good honest aircraft to fly.

Unfortunately I get the feeling the 738 might not last long with a roo on the tail. With a massive order for A320's and nowhere to place them ( I read even J* is facing cuts), containerised cargo ( reduced ground handling numbers), and an established flight crew loading system ( no need for any people in load control) I can see the writing on the wall for the 738. Pity.

And yes, they will be crewed by mainline pilots.......I hope.

[Oakape]

Arguably the nicest 737 to fly....from a pure hand flying point of view....

Couldn't agree more!

[Keg]

ANCDU has been looking at the same tea leaves that I have. I reckon we'll see A320s in red tails within 2 years. Whether it is mainline drivers or others (perhaps with 'link' on the side or a sticker that says 'operated by Jetstar') is less clear.

[FYSTI]

It wouldn't be link, Jetstar or Cobham. No one entity will be allowed to have a anywhere near critical mass. That is the business model, divide into as many interchangeable 'units' as possible.

Just remind me who is in the process of acquiring RPT on their AOC? Beyond that future growth will be in airlines that exist only as names & ABN's on the whiteboard timeline.

Every new entity will have a defined life cycle, lesser T&C's, quick growth, promotion for those that jump in early, stagnation, then death. Welcome to the disposable workplace of future.

[josephfeatherweight]

Arguably the most dated embarassment to what was once the "proud national carrier"...
Long overdue for retirement.

[BNEA320]

Thought they had some ex QF 734's.

Wasn't the one that was flying for Alliance until Dec ex QF (ZK-JTQ ?)

With ZK rego are they restricted where can fly in Australia, that's domestically ?

Who rules apply Australian or New Zealand ?

Presume Airwork crews would be on New Zealand type wages, or is that incorrect?

[SpannerTwister]

Convert em to freighters, surely a small market for at least one around the traps! ;)

As I understand it there's no STC for a 734 to freighter conversion.

Pity, they'd make good freighters.

ST

[-438]

Whilst they were nice to hand fly, the 733 was better. The 734 was better before they derated them as well.

I also agree with the agree with the idea of A320/321 in Qantas colours. I just think it makes sense to wait for the NEO, however the demise of Jetstar HK may accelerate the introduction of A320's to mainline.

I think a combination of A330's on East-West flying and A321NEO's (dual aerobridge boarding and larger capacity than existing 321's) on Golden triangle makes a lot of sense.

[1A_Please]

Arguably the most dated embarassment to what was once the "proud national carrier"...
Long overdue for retirement.
Yes, they looked pretty neglected for the past few years. Apart from tired paint jobs, it was pretty common to experience broken seats, old CRT monitors that made everything look blue and taped up luggage lockers.

[ampclamp]

Yes they were overdue for retirement but they are an absolutely brilliant aircraft and have been flogged mercilessly as the short haul workhorse for many years. Incredibly reliable considering the cycles they have done.

[Aisle Dweller]

From a passenger's point of view it was overdue to get rid of these old aircraft. Not a good look for number one airline ;) QF to operate such old aircrafts either. Can't wait to see those 767 going as well.

[ampclamp]

767 maybe old but still one of the best to fly in. Never more than one seat from an aisle.

[Aisle Dweller]

Not to worry. I always have an aisle seat anyway with QF. :ok:

[Keg]

Most pax I've spoken to prefer a refurbed 767 (with working iPads) than a 737-800. The wide body just appeals more. :ok:

[ampclamp]

Half your luck Aisle dweller.Must be nice.

Keg, Trying to unload a crowded 738 is a nightmare. Great aircraft the 738 but too many seats for one aisle.

[BNEA320]

787 would be good, but they are all going to JQ.

With Thu's massive cutbacks, will 767's go, or will they now fly forever ?

[ampclamp]

Rumours pretty hot they'll go.
After the big $ doing the refurb wireless fit out etc it must be on. Money well spent.

[XPT]

in reference to:

>>>

With ZK rego are they restricted where can fly in Australia, that's domestically ?

Who rules apply Australian or New Zealand ?

Presume Airwork crews would be on New Zealand type wages, or is that incorrect?

>>>


if New Zealand regs are much easier, why wouldn't the whole domestic market be with ZK registered aircraft ?

Would that then make CASA irrelevant ?

[TechCons]

Not true ..... there are some 55 x B737-400SF freighters in service, with more being converted as we speak. And it does indeed make a very good narrow body freighter aircraft

[Keg]

A number of QFs former 734s have been sold to a freight mob in the US. They're in VCV awaiting conversion. That's from the mouth of the engineer in VCV that put them into storage.

[Buckshot]

If the 76 goes this could be a very short appointment

The sky's no limit for Qantas 767 fleet captain Georgina Sutton (http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/the-skys-no-limit-for-qantas-767-fleet-captain-georgina-sutton-20140221-337pr.html)

[bangbounceboeing]

That's a woman:ooh:

[XPT]

since when has QF been number one airline ?

[Keg]

That's a woman

Seriously? We're going to be that shallow?

[The Green Goblin]

Probably far more capable than any man, which is why she got the job.

Sexism is alive and well. The best pilot I ever flew with was a woman! Shock horror!

[DancingDog]

Relax - it's clearly sarcasm/a wind up

[SOPS]

If the report that has just come up on news.com is true, she won't be in the Job very long.