1st Qantas A380 in service to LA

[Cliff Cook]

Today, Qantas inaugurates 1st Airbus A380 in commercial service to LA from Melbourne, so what time does it leave Melbourne for LA please?

It would be first time for Airbus A380 to fly over Pacific Ocean for Qantas, as the company use Boeing 707 and 747 for years. Hope, it's interest you.

From Cliff Cook

[Montague S]

here's some of what will take place at LAX.

Qantas Airways' inaugural Airbus A380 to serve Los Angeles is scheduled to arrive from Melbourne, on October 20, 2008 as QF93 at 7:30 a.m landing on runway 25L.

The flight will proceed and park at TBIT gate 101 for passenger deplaning and customs.

The A380 will then be re-positioned at 945am for several events at the Flight Path Learning Center (former Imperial Terminal) at 6661 West Imperial Highway.

In addition contrast in size John Travolta will have his Qantas livery B707 N707JT on hand at the Imperial Terminal for the events.

There will be demonstration flight departing at 12noon from 25L for invited guest returning to LAX at 2pm also making use of 25L.

The A380 and N707JT will remain on display at the Flight Path Leaning Center between 2pm and 730pm when the 380 will be repositioned back to TBIT gate 101 for its return flight to MEL at 11:30pm as QF94.

[Tony G]

That sounds cool. Would like to see JTs 707 again. Would be good if they could celebrate the Australian airline in Australia with the 707 and include the connie and 707 at Longreach:confused::D

[william s]

I was looking on the Melbourne airport web sight and it dose not say when the A380 will return to Melbourne and when? dose anyone know or have the information about it.
Thanks

[Nigel C]

It's due to fly Syd-LA on the 24th, so perhaps it's returning to Sydney?

[Deni G]

Here's an article from a Local L.A paper;

http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_10752224

[Dan Hammond]

G'Day Guys,

Went on over to see the departure this morning, great turnout!

Anyway here is a video i took of the A380 departing to LAX.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=-WGGXBAXHK0

Enjoy

[Tim C]

With resident Luke chittnock onboard.

[Marty H]

It's due to fly Syd-LA on the 24th, so perhaps it's returning to Sydney?

MEL-LAX-SYD-LAX-MEL repeat, so every fifth day it will either be in MEL or SYD.

[Stephen Brown]

Thanks for the info Tim, I wondered if the Perf office were going to disgrace themselves in some way. Chuuuuuuuukie surely won't let the West down.

[Michael Mak]

With resident Luke chittnock onboard.
Did he get on the Ten News saying 'if John Travolta can call himself a plane geek, so can we'?

[Andrew P]

With resident Luke chittnock onboard.

wasn't that Luke you gave a sound grab on TEN news??

Banjo

p.s. with the new QF ad, how many pilots actually fly with their hat on???

[Adam P.]

But where the hell did he get that shirt from??? :eek:

[Brendan V]

An appearance for Mr C on channel 9 as well.

[Tim C]

No mangles mug on tv? Thankgod for that hehe

[Bernie P]

Well underway (http://flightaware.com/live/flight/QFA93)now... 4 odd hours to go...

[Cam S]

Squawk ident 7700 with those 2 on board.

[Krzysztof M]

MEL-LAX-SYD-LAX-MEL repeat, so every fifth day it will either be in MEL or SYD.

Doubt Qantas' website would have it wrong.

http://i320.photobucket.com/albums/nn327/N495QS/Aviation/fsscr079.jpg

[Sarah C]

And the trifecta - Air Chittock interviewed on arrival to LAX on 7.

Good to see OEB in the background too!

[Cliff Cook]

Yes, I saw Luke was talking to the media in Sunrise news and he looked very proud and very happy, as he talked. So I am hoping that Luke would able to do trip report about Airbus A380 flight to LA. I would look forward to see his flight report.

From Cliff Cook :)

[Deni G]

More from LA

http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_10768358

[Karl M]

Here is a couple of pics from yesterdays departure from Melbourne.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3287/2959463109_cc32517efc.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3226/2959463105_dc024af2d2.jpg

[Marty H]

More from LA

http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_10768358


Profits Profits Profits:rolleyes:

"At the end of the day it is a step change in comfort, a step change in technology, and it is a step change in the issue of fuel," said Geoff Dixon, CEO of Qantas, "so I think there will be a very, very important plane in aviation.

"On top of that, it is so comfortable and so large that we're expecting to be able to charge people more for it."

[Philip Argy]

Here's the LA Times report on the first flight:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-fi-jumbojet21-2008oct21,0,2760559.story

And here's an insight into the logistics LAX organised:
http://www.sys-con.com/node/350282

The YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho8pMRHf0HQ has been withdrawn - does anyone know why?

[Tim C]

For christs sake Luke stop hogging the media!

"Also on the maiden flight was Luke Chittock, a travel agent from Perth, who is one of only a handful of people who have been on every A380 inaugural service. He was on first-ever A380 passenger flight on Singapore Airlines and then the first A380 flight to the U.S. on Emirates Airlines, which traveled from Dubai to New York.

"Whew! Got another one under my belt," Chittock said. Asked how the flight was, Chittock said, "It's all about the same now.""

From LA times link posted above.

[Bernie P]

Here's the LA Times report on the first flight:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-fi-jumbojet21-2008oct21,0,2760559.story

And here's an insight into the logistics LAX organised:
http://www.sys-con.com/node/350282

The YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho8pMRHf0HQ has been withdrawn - does anyone know why?

I just watched the video... But it is an Airbus Standard livery, NOT QF?!?! :confused:

[Brenden S]

Good Ol Luke and Keith, Self confessed plan spotters.....

[Tim C]

Spotters is being very kind to them Brendan. I consider myself a spotter. I consider Luke Crazy lol

[Daniel F]

I was on QF93. I'll leave Luke to do a full trip report... but just comparing with the Singapore first A380 flight, the Qantas one was pretty tame. There wasn't really anything special about the flight... and I'm pretty sure the captain said "Welcome to the inaugural A330 flight".

Passengers were given a souvenir badge, which wasn't really much compared to what SQ offered on their first flight.

In terms of the actual product, the PTV is much larger than on the 747... seats seem a bit wider, but legroom is the same... seatbelts use a car-like button release instead of the "lift" system on other aircraft.

Anyway, that's just my views of the Qantas A380. I'll be flying back on QF12 on Friday so I'll be able to have another look at it then.

[Lukas M]

Discovered a Trip report on A.net for the First sector. Very good and detailed.

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/135808/

[David Ramsay]

and I'm pretty sure the captain said "Welcome to the inaugural A330 flight".

A reporter in disguise!! :rolleyes:

[Philip Argy]

Discovered a Trip report on A.net for the First sector. Very good and detailed.

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/135808/

Quite a good report but the photo captioned "An hour out of LAX, the sun rises on another Monday" is plainly not right on the timing since flaps are already more than 30% extended. ;)

[Mike Scott]

Mr Chittock is indeed a very lucky (dedicated) guy to be able to claim so many firsts on the A380. QF certainly got their money's worth of media attention/publicity over here. There is a two night piece on ET (Entertainment tonight) which is a Hollywood types news (junk) show. They featured John T and Olivia dressed up uniform and doing tours of the aircraft etc. It was then doing a SFO flyover with a bunch of VIP's etc on board.

I'm planning/hoping to at least get a ride on it via Z fare...only in economy though since QF (unlike UA) dont upgrade non-rev's even though they have seats that are not being used...but given that its new and all that its more than worth it just for the experience.....so probably first part of next year for holidays

MS

[Anthony J]

Here is the blog from ET Online:
Our Mark Steines travels in the lap of luxury on the Qantas A380 airbus where John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John join him on the fun and luxurious flight! (http://www.etonline.com/news/2008/10/66808/index.html)

[Grahame Hutchison]

Today's positioning flight from Melbourne .....

VH-OQA QF6094 22/10/2008 12:44 Qantas A380-842 <----- Melbourne-Sydney

Was it empty ?

[Marty H]

Today's positioning flight from Melbourne .....

VH-OQA QF6094 22/10/2008 12:44 Qantas A380-842 <----- Melbourne-Sydney

Was it empty ?


Im fairly sure it was I went over and had my first close look today before she pushed back and aside from empty cans being loaded back on there wasnt alot happening before her departure to SYD.

[Noel White]

Happen to be monitoring Sydney Ground after QF6094 landed and there was some discussion about cooling the brakes before crossing 07/25. Considering the much cooler temperature yesterday and the fact the a/c was empty after repositioning from Melbourne, that's an interesting situation for the A380 to be in. Any thoughts?

[Montague S]

Here is the blog from ET Online:
Our Mark Steines travels in the lap of luxury on the Qantas A380 airbus where John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John join him on the fun and luxurious flight! (http://www.etonline.com/news/2008/10/66808/index.html)

excellent blog, thanks for that mate.

[Malcolm Parker]

Just realised tomorrow in Sydney will be the first time we have 2 or more A380's in regular service with different airlines at the same time in one City. Amazing stuff eh !!

[Sarah C]

There is now two trip reports up but this one has photos once again of Air Chittock and friends.

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/135934/

[Shameel Kumar]

Although it's only been flying and in service for a very short time, I'm curious to know how QF's new AVOD system is going (both in terms of reliability compared to the previous sytem, and also in terms of features such as internet browsing and all the other new fancy features)?

[Malcolm Parker]

The new system is the Panasonic (Matsu****a Avionics Systems) eX2 system, same system as installed with EK and SQ. Not quite sure about Qantas, but Singapore airlines have been quite happy with this new system. Although QF has problems with it's Rockwell Collins avionics suite for enteratinment I dont believe they will change systems. To much had already been invested to rectify most of its earlier problems.

[Philip Argy]

Luke's report is excellent for detail and pics. His comment that two Matsu****a/Panasonic technicians travelled on the flight suggests that problems had been uncovered during the joy flights that have still not been fixed.

If SQ is using the same system why is QF having problems - are there differences between the implementations?

If anyone who knows more detail can explain it to us that would be useful.

Just as an aside, whatever censorship software is operating on this board, its masking of the letters s, h, i and t when they occur in that sequence in the middle of a legitimate word is absurd!

[Daniel F]

Although it's only been flying and in service for a very short time, I'm curious to know how QF's new AVOD system is going (both in terms of reliability compared to the previous sytem, and also in terms of features such as internet browsing and all the other new fancy features)?

When I was on the flight, my AVOD reset by itself once. The internet browsing wasn't turned on... although the network was detected by my laptop. It just came up with a message that the service wasn't currently available.

The map also has a few issues. Apparently Melbourne and Los Angeles are in the same timezone.

But the system as a whole is definitely much better than the older systems. It uses a touch screen and is much more responsive than the system on the 747. The bigger screens are also good as well. :D

[Daniel F]

If SQ is using the same system why is QF having problems - are there differences between the implementations?


I think the most important difference between the SQ and QF systems is the tail camera. SQ does not have the tail camera.

[Nigel C]

The aircraft departed Rwy 34L at 1426, rotating at Twy Kilo and airborne at the runway's intersection.

There were still plenty of spare seats. I presume it either never sold out, or perhaps this was a result of cancellations due to the current world financial situation.:confused:

[Sarah C]

The aircraft departed Rwy 34L at 1426, rotating at Twy Kilo and airborne at the runway's intersection.

There were still plenty of spare seats. I presume it either never sold out, or perhaps this was a result of cancellations due to the current world financial situation.:confused:

The SMH website said that it was "90% full". Might have been similar to the MEL service - full in the premium cabins, a few spare in Y. It would have been interesting to see how many were on the 108.

[Nigel C]

It was a bit less than that from the figures I saw, but 80 more than went out on the 107.

[Chris Griffiths]

The aircraft departed Rwy 34L at 1426, rotating at Twy Kilo and airborne at the runway's intersection.
Nigel,
Did the Patrol break down here or just the view was pretty good?
http://www.pbase.com/chrisg/image/104967058.jpg

Cheers

Chris

[Gabriel S.]

Some more shots from LA here (http://www.airteamimages.com/photographer60.html) if anyone is interested.

[Montague S]

for all the pomp and circumstance that SQ has there is one thing they don't have, a superstar ambassador.

[Nigel C]

Nigel,
Did the Patrol break down here or just the view was pretty good?
http://www.pbase.com/chrisg/image/104967058.jpg

Cheers

Chris

Apart from the view being pretty good, the guys in the Patrol wanted more to see how the works on Alpha-3 would hold up against a heavy QF A380 using more thrust than the SQ A380. I'm pleased to say there was no issue!

As for me, I was in the Prado in grass near the runways intersection. You probably wouldn't have seen me from the Tower Beach area.

It was interesting to see that the Qantas bird actually had to 'rotate' to get off the ground, yet the Singapore ones always look effortless and seem to just float up once the nose gear starts lifting.

[Chris Griffiths]

It was interesting to see that the Qantas bird actually had to 'rotate' to get off the ground, yet the Singapore ones always look effortless and seem to just float up once the nose gear starts lifting.
I guess being fueled for a 13/14 hr flight is a bit different than the "short" hop to SIN... perhaps, or there may be some other reason!!

[Grahame Hutchison]

Arrived back in Sydney from LA this morning ....

VH-OQA QF0012 26/10/2008 06:54 Qantas A380-842 Los Angeles-Sydney

Later in the morning it was sitting in Harger 96, probably going back down to Melbourne in the morning for the Monday Melbourne - LA service.

The Singapore and Qantas A380s are very light on with ACARS information. This was all the was received from this mornings arrival.

ACARS mode: 2 Aircraft reg: .VH-OQA
Message label: Q0 Block id: 2 Msg. no: S27A
Flight id: QF0012
-------------------------------------[26/10/2008 06:54]

[Philip Argy]

A W Edwards have a few nice shots of their upgrade work on Hangar 96:
http://www.awedwards.com.au/projects/qantas-hangar-96.php?filter=recent

[Noel White]

Sure somebody will correct me if I'm wrong but didn't H96 suffer the unthinkable when it was being built and there was a collapse of the structure due to either the quality of the steel or method of rigging.

[Grahame Hutchison]

Today's QF93 Melbourne - Los Angeles flight.....

VH-OQA QF0093 27/10/2008 12:19 Qantas A380-842 Melbourne-Los Angeles
-> Tracked via
ALLOC (S33 54.60 E152 42.22)
ABARB (S32 51.10 E154 56.08)
3000S 16000E 2740S 16300E 2600S 16500E 2300S 17000E
1900S 17500E 1400S 18000E 0700S 17500W 0500S 17319W
0100S 17000W 0500N 16500W 1100N 16000W 1500N 15500W
1800N 15000W 2100N 14500W 2400N 14000W 2600N 13500W
2800N 13000W 3000N 12500W
FICKY (N31 33.45 W121 23.50)
ROSIN (N31 56.52 W120 16.10)

http://www.16Right.com/MessageBoard/QF A380.jpg

[James Smith]

An interesting variation in flight routes for the two A380 MEL to LAX services so far. The first tracking just north of the north island of New Zealand and yesterday's via Sydney. Obviously chasing the most favourable winds.

[Michael Morrison]

Does anyone have any news where the 4th one will be deployed?

Will it move onto LAX or LHR?

I know QF31/32 starts with the 3rd one, so interested to know where the 4th will go.