Sensational-Adelaide.com

ChillyPhilly wrote:A number of days ago there was a Malaysia Airlines 747 dropping into Adelaide.

adam73837 wrote:When I flew in to the airport on Sunday morning I noticed a 747 Freighter parked on the southern end of the terminal. I think it was "Silk Way Airlines" or something. Does anyone know what this was all about? I didn't realise we in South Australia had much trade with Azerbaijan...

ChillyPhilly wrote:A number of days ago there was a Malaysia Airlines 747 dropping into Adelaide.

monotonehell wrote:

ChillyPhilly wrote:A number of days ago there was a Malaysia Airlines 747 dropping into Adelaide.

Please don't use the word "dropping" when speaking of aircraft.

Stefan P wrote:This was a very special charter to uplift some precious cargo to take back to Azerbijan. It was only mean to be here for 3hrs but due to some technical issues it stayed for 12hrs. It was the 1st Azerbaijan registered aircraft to visit Adelaide, as well as the visit of Silkways West Airlines to Australia.

This was Malaysia Kargo B747-400 Freighter. They come into Adelaide just about every fortnight (either on Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday) to take some livestock to Asia and beyond.

Maximus wrote:

Stefan P wrote:This was a very special charter to uplift some precious cargo to take back to Azerbijan. It was only mean to be here for 3hrs but due to some technical issues it stayed for 12hrs. It was the 1st Azerbaijan registered aircraft to visit Adelaide, as well as the visit of Silkways West Airlines to Australia.

This was Malaysia Kargo B747-400 Freighter. They come into Adelaide just about every fortnight (either on Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday) to take some livestock to Asia and beyond.

Stefan, any chance you could post a couple of pictures of these birds...? I enjoy visiting your Plane Spotting blog every so often, but you don't seem to have updated it for a little while.

Thanks in advance.

The Sunday Mail can reveal the direct flights from Adelaide to China are being pursued by the SA Government and Shandong.

Tourism and Agriculture Minister Leon Bignell said it was important to consider how much demand there was in both directions for flights — and especially what freight is carried in the belly of the plane.

“We’re talking to the Shandong Government about maybe having a ‘green channel’ by the end of the year,” he said.

A green channel is where fresh produce can be sent directly into a country, so the supply chain for seafood, dairy, meat and other perishables is quicker and more secure and reliable.

And if this freight link was successful, it could underpin a passenger service. Premier Jay Weatherill said there was strong demand from Shandong for direct flights into SA.

The first is likely next year with charter flights in May and September as part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of sister-state relations between SA and the eastern Chinese province.

Currently Shandong residents take 27 million trips abroad or to Hong Kong.Of those, South Australia gets about 30,000.

Mr Bignell said: “That’s a really low number but the Shandong government have told me they’d be happy to promote SA to their people,” Mr Bignell said.

Shandong, which has a population of nearly 100 million people, has its own airline — but it doesn’t operate the long-haul aircraft that are needed to get to Adelaide.

As a result, SA has therefore beingentered into discussions with China Southern and China Eastern — both of which run significant international fleets — while Shandong Airlines is investigating chartering a plane itself.

Speaking in Shanghai to the Australian Chamber of Commerce, Mr Weatherill said SA had to tread cautiously even if there was sufficient demand.

“We want to pay proper respect to the loyal support we’ve received from other Asian airlines,” he said.

“So it needs to be done in a way that doesn’t disturb our existing traffic.”

Now, Cathay Pacific flies into Hong Kong, Malaysian Airlines to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to its base before offering connecting flights to China’s mainland.

Shandong Province has international airports in the capital Jinan and the coastal city of Qingdao, which is a major tourist destination that attracts 1.28 million visitors a year.

Qingdao is the home of the famous Tsingtao beer brand and has a major beer festival each August. Shandong governor Guo Shuqing said he wanted direct flights to be on the agenda. “We should start with contract flights and then take it from there,” he said.

Uncle Monty wrote:I noticed Emirates take off over the city this morning, does anyone know if they missed the curfew last night and were forced to wait until this morning to take off????

Does missing the curfew happen very often, or is it a pretty rare event?

Stefan P wrote:Afternoon all,

Malaysia Airlines from August 9th are going to 4x flights a week to Adelaide.

The Monday, Thursday and Saturday flights are the days being cut.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Splashmo wrote:Not normally much of a plane spotter, but I was at the airport for several hours today for work. Saw a China Southern 787 randomly - probably a fog diversion from Perth. Maybe we'll be seeing more of them in the future.

Also, it looked like today's Cathay Pacific flight was many hours late. Didn't take off until the afternoon.

Splashmo wrote:Not normally much of a plane spotter, but I was at the airport for several hours today for work. Saw a China Southern 787 randomly - probably a fog diversion from Perth. Maybe we'll be seeing more of them in the future.

Also, it looked like today's Cathay Pacific flight was many hours late. Didn't take off until the afternoon.