Ozjet back in RPT (sort of)
 

Got a one year (with extensions) contract to run the RPT Norfolk Island services. In 108-seat Y class layout with Qantas flight number attached!

Flights will be 3x weekly ex SYD and BNE (Wed/Sat/Sun)

* * *

Ozjet 737 to Norfolk Is

The Norfolk Island Government said it has reached agreement with Ozjet to begin a regular B737 jet service from Sydney and Brisbane from Wednesday, May 24.

Chief minister Geoff Gardner said the Ozjet aircraft would take over Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday departures operated by Air Nauru.
"It will continue to be booked and ticketed by Qantas but will offer much-needed extra capacity and greater continuity under a 12 month, renewable contract," Gardner said.

Norfolk Island Tourism General Manager Steve McInnes said the island could now look forward to a new era for its tourism industry.

The 737-200 will be configured for 108 passengers in one-class offering 20 per cent more capacity over the interim Fokker F100 service. Ozjet will supply air and cabin crew and catering.

GB's off into the Pacific again!

Good news for Ozjet crews - whilst its not a full-time schedule, its definately a start :ok:

That's right...as long as you're happy with the era being the late 60's!!!:} :ouch: :suspect:

Just out of interest, we pulled onto stand next to an Ozjet marked 737-200 at Faro (portugal) this evening:ok:

So that'd be the Fokker 86 would it? :} What happened to the rest of the seats, or are/were they blocked off for fuel?

simala1 - might be good news for ozjet crews, but what about Alliance crews that will no longer have the Norfolk runs for the F100?

I have been in Hern Airport Bournemouth for sim training and have spotted 2 737's with OZ jet scheme parked there. One departed on the weekend, are they bound for Aust? There is also a 747-200 in similar colours but with no OZ jet signs? Any one shed any light on whats happening with them.

I'd bet there is enough happening to keep them amused without charging off over the briney for a while

Whilst I agree with you that its sad for Alliance to lose it, the question that needs to be asked - Why did they lose it? :confused:

I think that the NLK govt has done a deal with Oz Jet to the detriment of Air Nauru, for which Alliance was contracted to operate on ON's behalf when they lost their 737 - at least that was what I thought had happened - or have I got that backwards?

I have also have heard a deal was done between Ozjet and the NFI govt. I'm sure Alliance would have liked to keep the flying but I hear they have other plans in the pipe line. I reakon we will still see Alliance F100's heading to NFI to carry out rescue flights when the old Ozjet -200 go U/S.

The big loser must be Air Nauru, if they ever get airborne again. The NFI flying would have been a big part of their ops. Has anyone heard if their new Aircraft has arrived?

Ramrod. According to a press release from Nauru, the deal on their planned B737-300 has fallen through. The news is not good.

Air Nauru
 

They have ceased operations as of today. All their pilots were given notice yesterday and the charters to alliance will also cease before too long.
This is as a direct result of NFI giving the work to Ozjet. Consequently, AN would not have been able to make payments on the B737 they were about to acquire.

As one of the early birds of Air Nauru in 1976 I must say how sorry I am to hear of the end of Air Nauru. Despite the very occasional player privileged to have been a member of the "bastards I have met" black book, Air Nauru provided so many wonderful memories of unforgetable overnights, exotic destinations, delighful companions and of course to the Nauruans themselves that vital life line from their tiny dusty atoll to Australia.

Cargo seatpacks have been installed on some flights, blocking off around 15 seats in favour of toilet paper and samboy chips for the Island.

Who will operate Air Nauru's other routes???? Will OzJet attempt to run the -200 out to the pacific?

There was an Ozjet parked outside DHL's Brisbane office /old internatioanl terminal yesterday afternoon

Both 737s in Melbourne PM May 21st
 

I flew over the Tulla base about 1730 this evening and there are two Ozjet 737s parked there. I had heard the contract prevents Ozjet expanding as a domestic as it required Aust Fed Govt approval as a special charter.

OK For Some I Guess
 

On 19 May 2006, the Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer signed an instrument which exempts Boeing 737 aircraft, operated by OzJet Airlines Pty Ltd, from the requirement to carry life rafts (CASA EX19/06 http://www.casa.gov.au/rules/miscinst/2006/EX19.pdf ). The instrument was lodged with the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments on 19 May 2006, was registered on 19 May 2006 and came into effect on 20 May 2006.

OK for others too!
 

Last paragraph of said exemption, explanatory statement page 2:

"The instrument is similar to an exemption previously issued to another operator for specific activities during a specific period."

Ahh, the descendants of the Bounty mutineers shall again experience the unadulterated joy of the crackle of a pair of JT8D's at dawn.:D

Should paragraph 4 Condition read as "must be within lesser of 120 minutes at single engine cruising speed, or 400 nautical miles" i.e. not normal engine cruising speed.

I heard another B732 (Number 4) is going to Australia in a 108 seat config. Apparently further flying in the wind. (no pun intended)

Would GB be Gordon ....... ?

Anyone know why the flight departed late today? Looking at the DEP and ARR times for both SYD and BNE the first flight was 1 hour late all day.

for info , air nauru hasn't heard the fat lady sing yet.. they are about to obtain the long awaited b737-300...and they will by vying for the nlk work asap. ozjet cannot possible compete with a -300, in fact i believe they've been 225ed a few times re inapproriate fuel and etops practices regarding the nlk flts. quite simply put, the -200 will have to break a few rules to make any flight profitable to nlk. the nlk govt will have to review recent months performances to realise that they've been bumsteered into dealing with ozjet's -200, being only 75minute etops etc. i guarantee that targets simply cannot be achieved unless illegal flying practices took place.

That doesnt sound right.
 

:hmm: SAL-E Where does your information come from. Cant see the fuel situations being much different to the BAE-146 , F28 , F27 or for that matter the F100 .
Did you work for Air Naru ? Tell us what the 225s are for.

righter than you think
 

you know it's a small industry out there. find out yourself......!!
the comparison was between the -200 and -300, not fokkers and bae....
maybe you don't know much about etops considerations but it is a very big one for the -200......and i mean major payload reducing issues. you only need to study weather reports on days where ozjet still managed to get into nlk let alone depart to realise some fudging took place....oops, said too much.
if you can tell me the -200 is a better choice than the -300, then i am truly a monkeys uncle. i'm sure air naru can really give them a run for their money....hmmm that's if they can bed the nlk islanders again......big "if".

All right SAL-E ...............ILL BITE.:ugh:
I dont work for Ozjet and I dont much like the 737-200.
BUT
In your post,you are the one accusing Ozjet of being 225ed .(Did you make that bit up).
Im certainly not interested enough to research your story so if you really have some news why dont you just tell us all :hmm: . I m sure it will be riveting reading as Ozjet would be the only airline being 225d now wouldnt it now.:cool: (I didnt even know the 225 form was still being used.:confused: )

Which rules are they braking ? I am sure CASA and Airservices would love to know.

Done lots of ETOPS thanks . What is the difference between an F28 or an F100 and a 727-200 Fuel wise .The F28 was very limited.

Never compared the B737-200 to 300 .The 300 is a far more capable machine.:ok:
Why wasnt the 737-300 making enough money for Air Nauru to survive.( ps I had heard the fat lady had sung .:oh: ) When does the next one get here ? Who bankrolled it? Why and when will Norfolk go back to AirNauru.
As far as your uncle being a monkey :p ....well ............nuff said :)

I think that there is a fair amount of misinformation floating around...

F28/27 - did not fly ETOPS.

You can easily fly non-ETOPS using WLM/SYD then CFS/OOL then NLK.

From memory to go direct SYD-NLK you would only need 75mins ETOPS.

Let's leave OZJet to get on with their job. I wish them every success in this venture.

Agreed ! Go for it.

Something must have happened at OzJet this week, as they didn’t operate today and didn’t arrive back in Brisbane on Wednesday.

I hear ON’s B733 should be in the country in 10 days with service entry on the 1st of August. My understanding is they have done a deal with Solomon Airlines and will operate their flight again.

touchy touchy topc....i agree, good luck to them. i mean all of them. may the best airline win. for goodness sakes they all need luck.
as for whogivesa, where did you get your info?

AN used to on occasions use the 737 to NLK from SY with no ETOPSs, I doubt that any of the version of F28s were ETOPS approved?. AN used F28-1000s from SYD for a while, your not telling me the 732 would be as limited as that was!

puff, payloadwise against the -300 or -400, the -200 doesn't measure up and cannot compete, that's what i'm tryna say.

Sale, of course the 200 can't equal a 300 or 400 on payload or performance - that's why Mr Boeing keeps bringing out bigger and better ones.
But what about acquisition cost? You could use the same argument to say a 700 or 800 would be so much better than a 300, or an A320 better than any B737. But who can afford it? Not little islands in the Pacific. Is that not why Air Nauru is in the poo? Aviation aspirations above the region's real needs, pig-headed national pride helping to bankrupt an entire nation, an airline grounded for over half a year and on many previous occasions because it either does not have an airplane or it is chained to the ground somewhere by the bailiff. And will one debt-laden 300 really end up being more viable than three 200's owned outright by Mr S? The 300 is rapidly becoming just as much an orphan as the F28 or Fokker 100 and may not be easy to support to full ETOPS anyway. The 200 may also be seen by some as a bit of an orphan, though there are still over 600 in airline service. That's a lot of potentially spare engines and airframes as airlines who really can afford bigger and better models park their 200s in the desert. The Ozjet idea has potential legs as a way to provide cheap transport to the islands for at least another couple of years. Maybe it is what they should have done in the 1st place.

Hey Sal-e,

If thats what you're trying to say then why not say it? Why accuse someone of doing something illegal? If they are I'm sure CASA will be right on to them as they are conducting RPT and also and "new" operation.

I also assume you are a mature professional, so therefore if you know something about their "illegal" methods, you have a duty of care to report them the the authorities......that is.....if you know anything at all!!!

Maybe it was heard in the coffee shop. Sal-e or Sally?

Anyone ever heard of an exemption or waiver?

This might be just what Ozjet needs to make it. You have to be good in a very limited market when you don't have that much financial clout. Working on a route like Norfolk that has seasonal vagaries may not be as attractive to predatory pricing by QF.

Does Ozjet indeed have 75 mins ETOPS as mentioned by Sal-e? My understanding is 75 mins is available on application to CASA but cannot be given if the cargo compartment smoke/fire detection and supression system is the standard 60 minute installation. Can this be confirmed?
NFK always requires an alternate and although you can get to that island non-etops, can you get to the alternates which, looking at a map, appear to be either Noumea or Auckland. How long is that in a -200? Crook weather on NFK might explain the apparent non-operation recently.

All Over
 

Confirmed. My sibling informs me the operation will cease 23rd July in favour of -300. Apparently the -200s are not returning to Melbourne and all the airline's operations including charter will cease. I can see why he needs to sell it. :confused: