Trip Report: Alliance & QantasLink BNE-ROK-MKY-BNE (Photos)

[Brandon Giacomin]

Introduction:

Last weekend I went to Rockhampton and Mackay for a few hours to fly on a Dash 8-300, Q400 and a Fokker 100 for the first time. I booked the trip late last year; it only cost about $160. The flights I booked were for Sunday 11 March, on QF2352 departing Brisbane at 0900 and arriving into Rockhampton at 1015 on an Alliance Fokker 100 then onto QF2308 departing Rockhampton at 1110 and arriving into Mackay at 1200 on a QantasLink Dash 8-300, then returning to Brisbane on QF2517 departing Mackay at 1455 and arriving in Brisbane at 1630 operated by a Dash 8-Q400.

Brisbane Airport

The day finally arrived, got to the airport at 7:30am for my 9am departure. Went to the QantasLink end first, was looking out for Dash8-300’s, there was three but only one was being prepared for a flight which was VH-TQK. So it looked like she would be doing QF2308 from BNE-GLT-ROK-MKY-TSV-CNS with me on the ROK-MKY sector. Also saw VH-QOW who I was hoping to get later in the day

New car park


A busy QantasLink apron with 8 Dash 8’s


Yananyi departs for Sydney


QOW


Then I had a look at the common user satellite and the Virgin Australia end.

VH-ZPT being prepared to operate DJ1210 to Canberra


VH-OEE then arrived from Dallas which I missed, then a minute later VH-OEH arrived from LAX which I managed to photograph


VH-VBY arrives from Sydney, first time I’ve seen her in the new livery


QantasLink (Cobham) Boeing 717-200 VH-NXN prepares for a training flight to Mackay before she would enter service in Queensland four days later


Soon an Alliance Fokker 100 was towed over from the hangars and it was VH-FKF, so she would be operating my flight to Rockhampton


Emirates Boeing 777-300ER A6-EGI taxies out to RWY19 to depart for Auckland


Boarding commenced on time at 0840, I was one of the first to line up and board.