Virgin flights to Bali require technical stop in Darwin

[Dee#]

Virgin don’t have any max yet thankfully.
I think Bonza will be the first domestic airline in Australia to roll the dice with them.

Unfortunately saw a Singapre air MAX take off from Darwin. Has MAX written on belly. You would think they would prefer to remain incognito. I would have thought Singapore would be careful too.

 

[jakeseven7]

Unfortunately saw a Singapre air MAX take off from Darwin. Has MAX written on belly. You would think they would prefer to remain incognito. I would have thought Singapore would be careful too.

Maybe it’s a warning to anyone standing underneath one (half joking)…. . In the US you are still allowed to change from a Max flight free of charge as a passenger!

 

[AIRwin]

Unfortunately saw a Singapre air MAX take off from Darwin.

Why was it unfortunate that you saw it take off safely?!

 

[HS-TQE]

Singapore is replacing the old (Silkair) 738s with the 737-8 Maxes on 1 by 1 basis. Returning the old 738s to the lessor mainly (was owned originally but on a sell/lease back arrangement).

 

[Dee#]

Unfortunate because its a route and airline i would hope to fly on again now post covid. Dont fancy the MAX though.

 

[henrus]

Singapore is replacing the old (Silkair) 738s with the 737-8 Maxes on 1 by 1 basis. Returning the old 738s to the lessor mainly (was owned originally but on a sell/lease back arrangement).

It's not quite playing out in a "1 by 1 basis" as the number of maxes still on the way matches the number of 737-800s Silk Air had at it's peak plus SQ still intends to operate the remaining 737-800s for the next two years.

There seems to be a lot of people forgetting that SilkAir had 737-8 Maxes before covid struck and had been operating them to Darwin as early as January 2018. They were suspended in March of 2019 meaning SilkAir had over a year of 737-8 Max operations to Australia.

Covid lockdowns struck in April 2020 one month before the planned merge of SilkAir into Singapore Airlines and this reduced Silkair's flying overnight to basically nothing. At that point in time they had a fleet of 17 737-800s and 6 737-8 Maxes (obviously the maxes were still suspended and at the time all were stored in Australia).

Now SQ has 14 737-800 maxes and a further 17 on order (with just 9 737-800s left) so over the next few years we're left with 17 new aircraft coming into replace 9.

 

[VPS]

Just for people going to Bali please be very aware of this. If you think Covid created chaos in Australia then FMD will just say hold my beer.

Make sure any footwear you wear near livestock has been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before you return home and don't even think about trying to smuggle in any meat (please)

Calls for beefed up biosecurity after tourist hotspot Bali confirms foot-and-mouth disease

A livestock disease that could shut down Australia's meat and livestock trade has reached Bali, sparking calls for harsher border measures for those returning from the popular tourist destination.

www.abc.net.au

Thanks

 

[Harrison_133]

Today’s BNE-DPS and MEL-DPS operated without the tech stop in Darwin.

VA93 (VOZ93) Virgin Australia Flight Tracking and History 16-Jul-2022 (MEL / YMML-DPS / WADD) - FlightAware
VA49 (VOZ49) Virgin Australia Flight Tracking and History 16-Jul-2022 (BNE / YBBN-DPS / WADD) - FlightAware

 

[Spoon]

Good news, the stop in DRW was a bit of a pain on thursday. I recommend anyone traveling to DPS on these services to bring a good book for the wait at immigration at DPS.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

I recommend anyone traveling to DPS on these services to bring a good book for the wait at immigration at DPS.

No sign of an express lane for J?

Of course APEC will speed you through - way over to right there used to be a ‘Seniors Lane’

 

[Spoon]

No sign of an express lane for J?

Of course APEC will speed you through - way over to right there used to be a ‘Seniors Lane’

No express lane, but if you have some IDR currency, you may head over to the area beneath the “no corruption“ sign and you will find a customs agent ready to expedite your arrival as I saw 2 groups do whilst I was waiting.

 

[simong]

These tech stops still seem to be happening it seems on SYD -DPS but seemingly with little notice? I am flying on Wed and they haven't notified they are bringing departure forward but based on last few days I should assume they will? Seems a bit poor not to give more notice.

 

[henrus]

These tech stops still seem to be happening it seems on SYD -DPS but seemingly with little notice?

If I had to guess I'd say the winds aren't helping. This is from windy.com at 34,000 ft.

 

[dajackal]

Are VA flying Syd-Dps direct now?
Seems like since Aug 1 all flights have been direct. Have nearby airports reopened?

 

[simong]

Are VA flying Syd-Dps direct now?
Seems like since Aug 1 all flights have been direct. Have nearby airports reopened?

Yep I flew direct on Wednesday.

I will say the plane wasn't a full load so not sure if that helps with the decision currently.

 

[dajackal]

Yep I flew direct on Wednesday.

I will say the plane wasn't a full load so not sure if that helps with the decision currently.

Thanks. I'm flying out on a Saturday which I imagine might be full. Fingers crossed the Darwin stopover is no longer required.

Post automatically merged: Aug 5, 2022

Yep I flew direct on Wednesday.

I will say the plane wasn't a full load so not sure if that helps with the decision currently.

Off topic but are the ATMs and SIM card shops still open at that time on night?

 

[Tiki]

It looks like 4 Aussie flights all arrive between 21:00-23:00 on a Tuesday now (Virgin and Jetstar). How bad are the lines to get past everything and out of the airport?

 

[Mattg]

I'm currently at DRW and QF43 + QF45 (Qantas' flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Denpasar) have just appeared on the departures board. Looks like they will both be stopping here this evening to refuel.

 

[Captain Halliday]

I'm currently at DRW and QF43 + QF45 (Qantas' flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Denpasar) have just appeared on the departures board. Looks like they will both be stopping here this evening to refuel.

OT but what do you end up deciding re: DRW hotel?

 

[Mattg]

OT but what do you end up deciding re: DRW hotel?

I'll reply in the other thread