A Qantas and Emirates A380 Fly in Formation over the Sydney Opera House – Photo: Qantas Airways
On Easter Sunday in Sydney, many families spent time to calm down the sugar loaded children while the sun hides amongst the clouds in the southern autumn (fall). Yet in the sky, a unique event happened, never seen before.
To commemorate the start of the partnership between Qantas & Emirates the two airlines decided to hold a special event. At 10:30am, at 1500ft above the Sydney Harbor Bridge an A380 from Qantas, flew in formation with a second A380 from Emirates. This is the first time in aviation history that not only did two A380s flew in formation, but also two from different airlines.
An Emirates A380 flies High and to the Right of the Qantas A380 – Photo: Bernard Proctor
’œThe sight of two of the world’s great airlines flying two of the world’s largest aircraft so close together over Sydney Harbor is a once in a lifetime opportunity,’ said Captain Green Chief pilot for Qantas.
Pilots from both airlines have conducted dozens of special simulator training sessions since January this year. Emirates pilots came to Australia earlier this month to conduct joint sessions in Qantas’ A380 simulator in Sydney and conducted several more practice runs over the past few days.
As VH-OQF (from Qantas) & A6-EDY (from Emirates) flew over Sydney Harbor they used the call sign ’œSeismic’ because Emirates President Tim Clark said ’œthe partnership between Qantas and Emirates will cause a seismic shift in global aviation.’
The two A380s fly over the Iconic Sydney Harbor Bridge – Photo: Bernard Proctor
The Qantas & Emirates partnership is game changing, as it sees the end of the dominant force on the ’œKangaroo Route’ from London to Australia via Singapore. That traditional route was maintained by an agreement between British Airways (IAG) and Qantas for over 15 years. Although Qantas & British Airways are oneworld partner airlines the joint agreement allowed them to coordinate pricing, services and flights between the UK & Australia. However when that agreement ended on the 31st of March, the Emirates partnership began.
With Qantas flying their A380s to London via Dubai, it allows Qantas customers access to 70 destinations in Europe with only one stop over the previous two. Emirates doesn’t come out of the deal empty handed, as they get access to the Qantas domestic network, which is by far the most comprehensive in Australia. Frequent flyer benefits and some on-board services have been aligned between the two carriers making this a true powerhouse to contend with.
The First time two Different Airlines have flown in Formation – Emirates & Qantas – Photo: Bernard Proctor
I can just imagine standing by the shoreline on Sydney Harbor seeing these two large aircraft flying in formation and being surrounded by a stunned crowd of AvGeeks, tourists & locals. It is only too bad that the sun and blue sky were not out.
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This story written by…Malcolm Muir, Lead Correspondent.
Mal is an Australian Avgeek now living and working in Seattle. With a passion for aircraft photography, traveling and the fun that combining the two can bring. Insights into the aviation world with a bit of a perspective thanks to working in the travel industry.
@BigMalX | BigMal’s World | Photos |
The first A350 XWB flight test aircraft has moved to the Station 30 ground test station at Airbus’ final assembly line in Toulouse, France following its structural assembly and initial electrical power-on in the facility’s main assembly hall (Station 40) . Image from Airbus. Click for larger.
This is a copy and paste from a press release issued by Airbus…
Airbus has successfully completed the main structural assembly and system connection of A350 XWB ’˜MSN1’ ’“ the first flight-test aircraft. The aircraft is depicted here on its wheels for the very first time moving out of the main assembly hall (Station 40) at the recently inaugurated ’œRoger Bteille’ A350 XWB Final Assembly Line in Toulouse. It then entered the adjacent indoor ground test station (Station 30).
The structurally-complete no. 1 A350 XWB flight test aircraft is shown during its transfer at the Airbus final assembly line in Toulouse, France ’“ moving from Station 40 in the main assembly hall to the adjacent indoor ground test station (Station 30) . Image from Airbus. Click for larger.
The assembly work performed in Station 40 included the successful electrical power-on of the aircraft’s entire fuselage and wings. Soon work in Station 30 will start by testing the aircraft’s hydraulic system, followed by the full electric and hydraulic power-on of the aircraft which will be completed by around the end of the year. This will mark the start of several weeks of comprehensive functional system testing.
With its main structural assembly and system connections complete, the first A350 XWB flight test aircraft (designated MSN1) was moved from the main assembly hall to the adjacent indoor ground test station at Airbus’ final assembly line in Toulouse, France . Image from Airbus. Click for larger.
After the A350 XWB MSN1 exits station 30, the aircraft will go through a series of extensive production and certification / development tests, be painted and have its engines installed. It will then be delivered to the flight-line and be readied for its first flight in mid-2013.
UPDATE: Airbus has confirmed that the front doors on the A350, as shown in this photo, will be closed on the ground during normal operations. “The forward set of doors only will be open when the gear is being extended or retracted,” Airbus stated to AirlineReporter.com. “The reason that they are open in this picture is that the aircraft is not hydraulically ’œactive’ at the point when the picture was snapped and there was no reason to close the doors for the short road trip.”
You cannot have a delivery ceremony without a ribbon cutting. Image from Boeing.
Yesterday, Ethiopian Airlines took delivery of their first Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Paine Field in Everett, WA. The aircraft is named “Africa First.”
“Today begins the first day in a new era of flying for our passengers and brings us even closer to our vision for the future, Vision 2025,” said Tewolde GebreMariam, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines. “We are pleased to be the first airline in the world outside Japan to receive this technologically advanced aircraft. We have been waiting for this airplane and now that we officially have it and will show it to the world, I can say with pride, it was worth the wait. This airplane is going to move Ethiopian Airlines to the forefront of aviation leadership around the globe.”
Ethiopian’s Cloud Nine (Business Class) cabin on the 787. Image from Ethiopian Airlines.
The aircraft landed in Washington DC and will continue heading west to Bole Addis Ababa International Airport (ADD) in Ethiopia tomorrow.
“Today marks not just another milestone for Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines, but a new beginning in our 65-year partnership,” said Van Rex Gallard, vice president of Sales for Africa, Latin America, & Caribbean, Boeing Commercial Airplanes during the delivery ceremony. “Ethiopian Airlines continues to show their strong leadership in African aviation and their growing presence around the globe. Being the first in Africa and one of the first in the world further confirms their position globally.”
A flight attendant in the 787’s economy class. Image from Ethiopian Airlines.
Ethiopian is the first non-Japanese airline to take delivery of the Dreamliner and they have nine additional 787s on order. The airline will begin daily flights between DC and Addis Ababa using the 787 on October 20th, a route that is currently operated by a Boeing 777-200LR.
Ethiopians 787 is laid out with 24 seats in Cloud Nine and 246 seats in economy.
Ethiopian’s first 787 at Paine Field yesterday. Photo by Boeing.
ADDITIONAL ETHIOPIAN BOEING 787 PHOTOS:
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Emirates Catering Facility in Dubai.
While visiting Dubai recently, I had the opportunity to check out the Emirates Catering Facility. It is the largest catering facility in the world and very impressive. I was asked to write up a story for APEX Editor’s Blog and wanted to share the story with you as well…
DUBAI: Many people do not stop and think about the effort it takes for an airline to prepare multiple meals for long-haul flights; it is complex operation and just one of the many aspects that airlines need to concentrate on to be successful.
The largest airline catering facility in the world is the Emirates Flight Catering in Dubai. Each day, the 50,000 sq m facility produces 110,000 meal trays. It operates 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, and employs 6,600 people.
Continue reading the the story on the APEX Editor’s Blog and also check out all 52 photos of the facility.
Ken Fielding shares with AirlineReporter.com another set of classic photos that have an interesting story. Here are his photos and his story in his own words…
This was a taxiing accident at Liverpool in July, 1966. It was lunchtime on a warm summer’s day and I was sitting in my office, directly in front of the aircraft’s right wing, having just had lunch and reading a book. Working at an airport so close to the ramp you no longer ‘hear’ aircraft, they just become a background noise.
Suddenly there was an enormous bang and shrieking of tortured metal. I jumped up and there was this Rolls Royce Dart engine about six feet away from my window with the prop blades bent at an interesting angle.
Viscount Cambrian Airways taken July 15, 1966 by Ken Fielding. Click for Larger.
That got the heart pumping a bit faster and I grabbed my camera and rushed outside. Can you imagine anyone being allowed that close to a pranged aircraft now?
The aircraft had been having hydraulic problems and had been ‘fixed’. It was being ground tested by two engineers when the hydraulics failed again, losing steering and brakes. The starboard wing hit an Aer Lingus V.800 Viscount which swung it round toward the terminal and straight into Gate 2.
Oops. This Vickers Viscount did not stop in time. Photo by Ken Fielding. Click for Larger.
The first thing the ground crew did was straighten the props (as they would on a normal turnaround). Having demolished a couple of sets of British Eagle steps and a baggage truck, the two on the other wing needed a bit more attention. The aircraft demolished the wall at Gate 2 and you can see the broken nose-wheel resting on the wall.
Those blades and those stairs aren't looking so great. Photo by Ken Fielding. Click for Larger.
This was outside my office window. A piece of the mangled steps can be seen (top left of center) sticking out of the aircraft roof while another piece had gone through an aircraft window.
Something about this just does not look right. Photo by Ken Fielding. Click for Larger.
Cambrian Airways taxiing accident, from the upper roof terrace at Liverpool (LPL). The starboard wingtip stopped about 4 feet from my office window.
Check out Ken’s other photos on his Flickr account. If you have any questions for Ken about this incident, ask them in the comment, he will be happy to answer them.
