Qantas is keeping all but one of its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in the air. Despite not operating their regular timetabled passenger flights, the Dreamliners keep busy ferrying freight and operating repatriation flights from some far-flung destinations.
Qantas Dreamliners flying to a variety of destinations
With just 11 Dreamliners in the Qantas fleet, keeping track of their whereabouts is manageable. Here’s a snapshot of where the planes are on Thursday morning (Sydney time).
VH-ZNA Great Southern Land is in Los Angeles, having flown there from Brisbane on Tuesday. The Qantas Dreamliners constantly zip across the Pacific operating freight flights. The plane is likely to head back to Australia today.
VH-ZNB Waltzing Matilda is in Islamabad, having flown there nonstop from Sydney on Wednesday. Islamabad isn’t a typical Qantas destination, but this is the second Qantas flight there in two weeks. The ranks of Australian passport and visa holders in Pakistan trying to get home have swelled recently due to the situation in neighboring Afghanistan.
On Thursday morning, VH-ZNC Quokka touched down in Perth from London, operating QF10. The jet is scheduled to continue through to Sydney on Thursday. VH-ZNC has been busy lately. It has been to London (and many cities en route) four times in two weeks.
By the time of publication, VH-ZND Emily Kame Kngwarreye will be in Darwin, having operated a repatriation flight from Delhi. At the time of writing, the Dreamliner is at 41,000 feet and passing over Timor Leste.
VH-ZNE is parked, or is it?
VH-ZNE Skippy is in Singapore, having flown there on September 16. According to planespotters.net, VH-ZNE is now parked in Singapore, although ch-aviation currently lists the plane as active. The next couple of weeks will show which database is right.
Also in Los Angeles on Thursday morning is VH-ZNF Boomerang. The Dreamliner jetted across on Wednesday as QF6013. It slipped under the radar, but VH-ZNF operated an interesting city pair in late August. The plane flew from Cape Town to Brisbane on August 26 – likely the first time a plane has flown between those two cities nonstop.
VH-ZNG Jillaroo is in Melbourne, having operated QF7707 down from Sydney on Thursday morning. That appears to be a positioning flight. The plane operated a repatriation flight from London to Darwin on Tuesday, continued onto Sydney on Wednesday, and looks set to head off to LAX later on Thursday.
A little further away is VH-ZNH Great Barrier Reef, which is 43,000 feet over Egypt en route to London at the time of writing. The flight left from Perth, operating as QF9, early on Wednesday evening. Whether the Dreamliner is heading to London for freight or repatriations purposes is difficult to ascertain at this point.
VH-ZNI Kookaburra is in Vancouver, having flown there on Monday from Sydney. It is a break from routine for the aircraft, which spends most of its time flying to standard Qantas destinations like Los Angeles, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.
Los Angeles a Qantas Dreamliner hotspot
Down the coast in Los Angeles is VH-ZNJ Longreach. The plane arrived there on Wednesday morning after flying in from Melbourne. All these LAX-bound jets suggests there is still substantial Qantas traffic into Los Angeles, even if they aren’t carrying passengers.
Finally, and also in Los Angeles, is VH-ZNK Gangurru. The Dreamliner flew in from Sydney on Wednesday morning. This is the same plane that operated the Islamabad – Darwin flight last week. After ferrying to Sydney, VH-ZNK then headed over to Los Angeles. That places four Qantas Dreamliners in Los Angeles.
Have you seen a Qantas Dreamliner land at an airport near you lately? Post a comment and let us know.
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