Soon To Be HNL RareBirds

Japan Airlines has announced a 10% fleet reduction that includes most of their 747 fleet. Better get shots of those aircraft while we can ...



The proposed merger between China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines will result in a new identity and look, Both airlines have a couple of pending 737 deliveries each ... which will mean should their next order of 737s will be with the new identity.

Air New Zealand Link's C-FWGQ

C-FWGQ (msn 671), a Dash8-311, is en route from CCR to HNL. It's wearing a temporary Canadian registration, and destined for Air Nelson (Air New Zealand Link). According to MRC Aviation, C-FWGQ is to receive its New Zealand registry upon delivery, ZK-NFI.

*** Update 06-12-09 ***
It's continuing onto PPG as CFWGQ, seen above on Taxiway C, to depart from Runway 4R.

Air China's B-5431

Air China is taking delivery of B-5431 (c/n 36812), a 737-86N flying as CCA58. It's a winglet-less -800 that is being leased to Air China by ILFC.

AF447 Missing

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those aboard AirFrance's AF447 which has gone missing over the Atlantic Ocean.

The A330-203, F-GZCP (msn 660), was flying from GIG (Rio De Janeiro, Brazil) to CDG (Paris, France) when it apparently flew into turbulence and a high-altitude thunderstorm, then disappeared off of Brazilian radars.

It's been a while since we have had an "HNL Blast From The Past"

Aloha Airlines took delivery of its first BAC-111 on April 16, 1966. Flying from London, the aircraft set two world records enroute to Honolulu. The BAC-111's served Aloha until the summer of 1969 when they were withdrawn in favor of the new Boeing 737 "Funbirds".

Military Movement

Whether it corresponds with North Korea's sabre-rattling or not is up for debate but Hickam has been a very busy place recently. A number of KC-135R tankers have arrived and departed from numerous bases on the mainland and 6 F-22 Raptors from Langley AFB, VA (tail code FF) were accompanied by another half dozen yesterday afternoon. 5 of the first 6 departed today around noon, with one left behind likely due to maintenance. 

The sight of a pair of C-2 Grayhounds coming and going over the past few days meant that a carrier was near. Yesterday, the 28th did indeed see an aircraft carrier steam into Pearl Harbor late in the morning with a deck full of F-18 E/F Super Hornets.

Also of note was a US Marine Corps C-130 that departed yesterday and returned not long after on the LDA approach, landing on runway 26 right with the #1 propeller feathered and crash-rescue trucks following them back to Hickam as a precaution. 

Sorry, no photos due to the poor weather conditions.

Xiamen's B-5456

Xiamen Airlines' newest 737-85C(W) is B-5456 (c/n 35054). It arrived from BFI as CXA5456 late this morning, and will overnight at HNL before continuing onto MAJ and SPN tomorrow. B-5456 is seen above on TaxiWay C, being led to its parking spot on the south ramp.

There's also a related photo on my Blue Wave Pix photo blog that I posted after the 737 parked.

Hainan's B-5466

Hainan Airlines is taking delivery of B-5466 (c/n 34034), a 737-84P(W). It arrived at HNL under voggy skies as B5466, and will continue across the Pacific tomorrow.

Aloha Air Cargo in Love's Bakery Livery

Earlier this week, N834AL, painted all white, was parked in the Aloha Air Cargo hangar. It was a little suspicious as the registration was in red instead of the normal dark blue. Here is a picture of what it looked like yesterday, May 27.


Well, the reason for this is that Aloha Air Cargo has applied a special livery to the starboard side of N834AL. In a ceremony earlier in the day, Aloha Air Cargo and Love's Bakery unveiled the livery to the public. Here's a picture of the livery taken after the aircraft was moved back into the hangar after the ceremony.


The Love's Bakery livery is only on the starboard side of the aircraft. The tail is painted red with the Love's name on its typical yellow background. The words "Hawaii's Fresh Express" are on the rear part of the fuselage with the iconic red and white checkerboard Love's logo on the front part. The engine is also painted red, with "Aloha Air Cargo" in white. The port side is painted in the new Aloha Air Cargo livery.

See another picture in the Honolulu Advertiser

Also Spotted ...

While working at Magic Island on the Lantern Floating broadcast crew, I also saw a Polet Flight An124-100, and a white tail 737-800(W) make finals for Runway 26L. For most of the day the traffic pattern were Kona Winds, until the late afternoon.

China Eastern's B-5255

China Eastern Airlines is taking delivery of B-5255 (c/n 36757), a 737-79P(W), and is flying as CES299.

Lion Air's PK-LFZ

Lion AIr International has taken delivery of its second 737-9GPER(W) this month, PK-LFZ (c/n 35726). As usual, it just stopped briefly for fuel before continuing onto MAJ earlier today

Sorry, no HNL photo, but BFIGuy got this shot at BFI.

Plan To License Aloha Airlines Brand Denied

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King has basically blocked Yucaipa from bidding on the auction of the Aloha Airlines intellectual property. Yucaipa planned to license the Aloha Airlines brand to Mesa, who was then going to re-brand go! as Aloha Airlines as part of the settlement of the lawsuit originally filed by Aloha in 2005 and bought by Yucaipa . In his ruling, Judge King considered Mesa as a co-purchaser with Yucaipa due to the lawsuit settlement.

See the articles from the Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star Bulletin links for more information.

N770BB

N770BB (c/n 25220), a 757-2J4(W), owned by Yucaipa Companies LLC (Burbank, CA) is town. It's configured as a business jet. N770BB was previously registered as OY-SHB with Sterling Airlines, and VR-CAU with Diamond Aviation Services.

Shenzhen's B-5412

Shenzhen Airlines' is taking delivery of B-5412 (c/n 35533), a 737-87L(W). It arrived early this morning at HNL from BFI as CSZ909, and is their second delivery flight this week.

Sorry for the backside shot, but this was the way this bird was parked, and the best shot I could get, though Drewski2112 got a better shot of B-5412 at BFI.

Lion Air's PK-LFY

Lion Air International is taking delivery of their newest 737-9GER(W), PK-LFY (c/n 35725), and is routed as LNI1. It's parked on the AirService Hawaii ramp, and scheduled to leave later this evening.

Sorry for the poor quality, as the picture was taken from the North Ramp using the full digital zoom.

Shenzhen's B-5413

Shenzhen Airlines is taking delivery of B-5413 (c/n 35535), a 737-87L(W), today and is routed as CSZ908. It parked on the north ramp hardstands.


Mahalo to Ha763 for the photo!

Air China's B-5425

Air China's next 737-89L(W), B-5425 (c/n 36743), is delivering as CCA58 today. It parked on the north ramp hardstands as well.


Mahalo to Ha763 for the photo!

N164CG

N164CG, an ex-SriLankan A320-231, transited through HNL today. While with SriLankan, it was registered as 4R-ABF (msn 164), is returning to its lessor Wells Fargo. It's routing, tracked on flightaware.com, is MNL-GUM-MAJ-HNL-VCV.

This A320 has also flown with Airtours International as G-DJAR, and was originally delivered to Saarland OY-CNE.

Three Aloha Air Cargo A/C now in new livery

Aloha Air Cargo now has three of their aircraft in the new livery. The latest to get the new livery is N826AL. From left to right is N826AL, N840AL, and N841AL.



***Editor's Note***
This is the 700th HNL RareBirds blog posting!

Hainan's B-5467

Hainan Airlines is taking delivery of B-5467 (c/n 36779), a 737-84P(W). It arrived yesterday, and will be leaving for MAJ this morning.

Sorry, no HNL photo, but Drewski2112 got a shot of it at BFI.

Skymark's JA737U

Skymark Airlines' newest 737-8F2(W), JA737U (c/n 29680) arrived last night from BFI on its delivery flight as SKY737U. It's scheduled to leave later today for SPN, then Japan.

Sorry, no HNL photo, but Drewski2112 got it at BFI.

HNLRareBirds On Twitter

HNLRareBirds updates can be found on Twitter.com. If you are on twitter, you can follow us on "@hnlrarebirds". We'll be posting photo links, delivery flight information, and other RareBird sightings at HNL.

China Southern's B-5421

China Southern Airlines is taking delivery of their newest 737-81B, B-5421 (c/n 35373). It's flying as CSN501 from BFI, and completed its first leg to HNL today, and continues tomorrow onto MAJ.

Sorry, no HNL photo, but Drewski2112 got it at BFI.

Allegiant Air To Hawai‘i???

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air is exploring the possibility of expanding service to the Hawaiian Islands ... though they would need to get larger aircraft since their MD-80s are not ETOPS capable. That would definitely be a boost to the amount of seats to/from Hawai‘i.

Here's coverage from the Honolulu Advertiser, and coverage from the Las Vegas Sun.

Real Birds vs Metal Birds

It seems that there have been over 900 bird strikes with in Hawai‘i over the past five years. Over the past few years, I have noticed stepped up efforts by Wildlife Control Officers at HNL, riding in their pickup trucks, patrolling the taxiways of HNL. On a few occasions, I have heard shotgun blasts in the Reef Runway area to scare away birds.

We all know the dangers of bird strikes, especially the miracle landing of the US Airways A320 out of LGA.

Today's Honolulu Advertiser is running an article about it.

ACA034 Diverted To HNL

Air Canada flight ACA034 was diverted from SYD to YVR due to severe turbulence, that injured over 20 people. The flight continued onto YVR after a couple of hours on the ground. The aircraft involved was C-FIUJ (c/n 35244), a 777-233LR.

The Honolulu Advertiser coverage.

Air China's B-5423

Today features another 737 daily double!

Leading off today's edition is Air China's B-5423 (c/n 36742), a 737-89L, which arrived from BFI as CCA058. B-5423 will continue onto MAJ tomorrow.

Lion Air's PK-LFW

The second half of the daily double is Lion Air's PK-LFW (c/n 35724), a 737-9GPER(W), which is flying as LNI001. Like the other Lion AIr deliveries, it's expected to make a short tech stop, before continuing across the Pacific toward Indonesia.

After all the previous Lion Air delivery flights, this was the first time I actually got a shot of one of their -900ERs.


*Update 04-24-09*
PK-LFW overnighted here, and left this morning around 1000HST.

Shandong's B-5450

Today featured a 737-800 delivery flight daily double ...

The first of the pair was Shandong Airlines' B-5450 (c/n 36773), a 737-85N. It arrived earlier today from BFI as CDG5450.

Xiamen's B-5433

The second half of today's 737 delivery daily double was Xiamen Airlines' B-5433 (c/n 35642), a 737-86N(W). It arrived several minutes after the Shandong 73H from BFI as CXA5433.

Both 737s will depart tomorrow to continue their island hopping journey across the Pacific to China.

JAL Express JA319J

The 19th 737-800 for JAL arrived in HNL on April 16. JA319J, shown here parked on the North Ramp, has JAL Express titles. It is on the normal routing, BFI-HNL-MAJ-GUM-HND, and left HNL on April 17.

N349UA

A former United Airlines 737-322, N349UA (c/n 24253) is at HNL from GYR via OAK. It's scheduled to depart for MAJ and ROR (PTRO, Airai, Palau) tomorrow.

Sorry, no HNL photo ...

RAAF's N359BJ

The Royal Australian Air Force's "Wedgetail" 737-7ES AEW&C aircraft, N359BJ (c/n 33476), is at HNL again on another test flight from BFI as BOE202. Once it is taken up with the RAAF, it will be re-registered as A30-003. If I remeber correctly, this is the third "Wedgetail" for the RAAF.


*Update 04-10-09*
BOE202 departed this morning for PPG.

VP-BAP

This Ex-PanAm 727-21 (cn 19260/412) arrived Kahului Maui yesterday from Van Nuys. This was the best shot I could get under the circumstances. RareBirds had another spot of this one at HNL back on 10/15/07.

Xiamen's B-5432

Xiamen Airlines' B-5432 (c/n 35641), a 737-86N(W), also arrived this morning on its delivery flight from BFI as CXA5432.

Shenzhen's B-5411

Shenzhen Airlines is taking delivery of its next 737-87L(W), B-5411 (c/n 35532), which is flying as CSZ5411. It arrived this morning from BFI, and will continue westward tomorrow morning.

B-5411 is also sporting a modified livery of the current red and gold design, where the red area has been extended further forward.

Hainan's B-5429 & B-5430 At KOA

Hainan Airlines took delivery of two 737-800s, B-5429 (cn 34032), a 737-86N(W); and B-5430 (cn 36543), a 737-84P(W) today. The delivery flights were routed through KOA, probably because of the two delivery flights shown above, and the north ramp hardstands occupied by a couple of UPS heavies, as well as the jets in the posts below.

B-5429 and B-5430 links to shots at BFI during their test phase.

DL 767-300ER with winglets!

Also here at HNL today is a DL 767-300ER with winglets. N192DN, still has the old wavy-gravy livery with the winglets painted in the darker blue of the new livery. Not sure when it came in or if it will be operating a flight, but it is parked on the North Ramp.

NW 747-400 in DL colors

Today's NW22/21 was operated by N661US which is in DL colors. So far we have had NW A330-300s and 747-400s appear here at HNL repainted in DL colors. Only the 757-300s haven't shown up in DL colors yet.

NWA624

This afternoon's Northwest Airlines Flight 624 to MSP had to abort take-off, for reasons unknown. It was scheduled for a 1706HST departure, but was seen here at 1717HST. The aircraft came to a halt at the intersection of Taxiways RG and RA. After several more minutes, the A330 taxied down RA back to the main terminal. It left an hour-and-a-half later for MSP.

The A330-323X, N809NW (msn 0663), seen above, is already painted in the new Delta Air Lines livery, but was delivered in Northwest colors in 2005. In the link, the photo is dated in late February 2009, so N809NW must have been recently re-painted in the new Delta livery.

Delta's N752AT

While waiting for my return flight to HNL from OGG on my honeymoon, I saw this Delta Air Lines 757-212, N752AT (cn 23128). I had a feeling this was a former ATA bird, and was correct. Upon further research, it was orginally delivered to Singapore Airlines in the mid-80s. It was then picked up by ATA in the mid-90s, then acquired by DL in the late-90s, and even wore the classic "widget" livery.

It was not so much an OGG RareBird, but one of the few shots I got at OGG. The registration tipped me off, since Delta's registrations usually end in N___DL, DN, DA or MH.

N752AT is seen above at OGG's Gate 7, being prepped to return to SLC as DAL1196. I wish the sun was a lot higher, so I could have gotten better lighting.

Air China's B-5422

Air China took delivery of B-5422 (c/n 36741), a 737-89L(W). It made its HNL stop today from BFI as CCA058. B-5422 is painted in a special livery.

Sorry, no HNL photo, because I had left HNL earlier today for my honeymoon. Fortunately, Drewski2112 got a photo of it as it departed BFI for HNL.

Omega Tanker's N974VV

One of Omega Tanker's DC-10-40I, N974VV (cn 46974), departs Runway 8R ahead of two US Navy FA-18E Super Hornets. N974VV is one of two former JL DC-10-40s that Omega Tanker acquired. They contract with the US Navy to provide long-range in-flight re-fueling for their fighter fleet.

N974VV's previous registration with Japan Airlines was JA8538. It was delivered to JL in 1979 in the old colors, and served until 2006.

Lion Air's PK-LFU

Lion Air took delivery of another 737-9GPER(W), PK-LFU, which made its short HNL tech stop here today as LNI1.

Sorry, no HNL photo, but Drewski2112 got it at BFI.

N401AN

An ex-China Southern Airlines 757-21B, N401AN (c/n 24401), is being ferried to the mainland from CAN via GUM and HNL. It was registered as B-2806 while it was with China Southern.

It is now owned by Pacific AIrcorp 24401 LLC of New York City, NY.

*Update 03-15-09*
N401AN left for MZJ at 0500 ... looks like it's headed for storage for now.

JAL's 18th 737-800

The 18th 737-800 for JAL arrived in HNL on March 12. JA318J is shown here parked on the North Ramp with JAL Express titles. It left HNL for MAJ today, March 13.

Air China's B-5387

AIr China's newest 737-89L(W), B-5387 (c/n 36492), arrived earlier today from BFI on its delivery flight, flying as CCA058. It will continue across the Pacific to MAJ and SPN tomorrow.

Shandong's B-5352

Shandong Airlines is taking delivery of B-5352 (c/n 36195), a 737-85N(W), which is wearing the "Shandong 2009" special livery for the 11th National Games of the People's Republic of China. The city of Shandong is hosting the 2009 Games.

The top photo shows the rear section of the special livery, while the above photo shows the logo and mascot of the games. B-5352 continued onto MAJ and SPN today, before reaching CDG's home base at TNA, as CDG5352.

17th JAL 737-800

The 17th 737-800(W) for JAL arrived from BFI today a little before 20:00. JA317J has Japan Airlines titles and is due to leave for MAJ tomorrow, March 6 around 13:00.

The 18th JAL 738 is scheduled to arrive next Thursday, around the same time.

Skymark's JA737T

Skymark Airlines is taking delivery of JA737T (c/n 35290), a 737-8Q8(W). It's flying from BFI to NRT as SKY737T, and it's next stop is SPN.

I had asked the folks at Skymark for permission to take a shot while it was parked at Castle & Cooke, since their ramp offered the best at the limited time I had, but was denied.

I did get a shot ... it's the best angle I could get.

VT-ADS

An all-white A320-232, registered as VT-ADS (msn 2914), is at HNL, presumably returning to its lessors. It was with Air Deccan (DN/DKN), which is now part of the Kingfisher Group.

N406PR

An A320-231 registered as N406PR (msn 406) is making a stopover at HNL on its way back to the mainland. The Airbus is owned by Wells Fargo, and appears to be returning to them from a lease. The flight originated from CMB (Colombo, SriLanka), but was tracked from MNL (Manila-Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Philippines), and has made stops in GUM and MAJ. It appears that the A320 is headed for storage in a US desert.

It was previously registered as 4R-ABB with SriLankan Airlines (UL/ALK), delivered under lease on July 13, 1999. The aircraft was damaged in an attack by Tamil Tiger rebels on July 24, 2001 at CMB, but was repaired and returned to service with UL. As you can see, the UL logo and titles have been whited-out, but the wingtip fence remains red, which was part of the UL livery.


*Update 03-04-09*
N406PR left this morning for VCV.

Iron Maiden 757

Astraeus Air's 757-23A that's painted in the special Iron Maiden livery is in town as AEU666. The flight arrived around midnight from Nadi.

The jet named "Ed Force One", G-OJIB (c/n 24292), is taking the band on its "Somewhere Back in Time World Tour 09". Lead singer Bruce Dickinson is also a 757 captain, and is reportedly piloting some of the flights.


Amusingly, this is the 666th post for the HNL RareBirds blog ... kinda appropriate huh?


A big mahalo to team member Aeros for taking the photos above.

Mokulele Jets To Kahului

Mokulele Airlines began flying their E170 between HNL and OGG on February 1st. N870RW (msn 1700138) is shown arriving today as Flight 214.

SunState Airlines' C-FUOI

QantasLink's SunState Airlines is taking delivery of C-FUOI, a DHC-8-402Q (msn 4238). It's arriving here from YYZ via YYB, GRR, and CCR, later today.

Lion Air's PK-LFT

Lion Air International is taking delivery of PK-LFT, their next 737-9GER(W), and will be making its stop at HNL today as LNI001.

ANA's Panda 767-381ER

All Nippon Airways has one of their 767-381ERs painted in the "Fly Panda" color scheme. It arrived today as ANA1052 from NRT.

Air China's B-5197

Air China is taking delivery of B-5197 (c/n 36811), a 737-86N, which is being leased from GECAS. It's flying as CCA058, the Air China delivery flight code. B-5197 is parked on the north ramp hardstands.

Drewski2112 got a shot of B-5197 at BFI on a test flight.

Along with the two Hainan deliveries, we have 2009's first 737 delivery flight trifecta! Normally, the delivery flights from BFI arrive around midday, but this time they arrived about an hour apart in the evening. All will leave the next day for MAJ.

Hainan's B-5427 & B-5408

Hainan Airlines has a daily double with two 737-800(W) deliveries overnighting at HNL, B-5408 & B-5427.

In the top photo, B-5427 (c/n 35285), a 737-8Q8(W), was the first of the two to arrive from BFI. B-5427 was to have been assigned to Hong Kong Airlines (an HNA Group subsidiary) as B-KBS, but was not taken up, and is being leased from ILFC.

In the above photo, B-5408 (c/n 35764), a 737-84P(W), was the second of the two to arrive from BFI, about an hour after.

The pair are seen above being readied to depart for MAJ and GUM then HAK. 5427 would leave first, with 5408 behind it.

QFA6020

Another Qantas 747-338 is making its way to MZJ from SYD via HNL for retirement. Flying as QFA6020, this 743 is taking a break at HNL before continuing onto the Arizona desert boneyards.

Xiamen's B-5389

Xiamen Airlines' latest 737-86N(W), B-5389 (c/n 35636), made it's HNL stop on its delivery flight from BFI.

Sorry, no HNL photo, though Wings777 got this cool landing shot at BFI.

China Eastern's B-5199

China Eastern Airlines is taking delivery of B-5199 (c/n 36272), their latest 737-89P(W). It arrived HNL from BFI a liitle after noon as CES5199, which leaves tomorrow for MAJ and SPN then PVG. B-5199 is seen above, shortly after its arrival at HNL.

Hainan's B-5418

Hainan Airlines' B-5418 (c/n 36541), a 737-86N(W), is on its delivery flight, and it arrived at HNL in the midst of the latest storm hitting the islands.

Due to the bad weather, sorry, no HNL photo, though Drewski2112 got it at BFI.

UAL98xx

There are to UA flights from ONT as UAL9844 and UAL9856 that are scheduled to stop through HNL today. They are scheduled to go onto DNA (Kadena AB, Okinawa). UAL9844 passed through a couple of days ago. These flights are using 747-400s.

UAL9845 stopped through HNL from Kadena AFB to ONT on the return leg.

Zest Air's RP-C8898

Zest Air, a new entry in the Philippine airline market, took delivery of RP-C8898 (msn 2147), an Airbus A320-232, that stopped over at ITO, during its delivery flight from MZJ via LGB on 08 Jan 09.

According to Aero Pacific Images, RP-C8898 was previously N582JB, with jetBlue Airways.

Mahalo to Sam Dunn for providing the above photos!

QFA6020

Qantas Airways is sending one of their 747-338s to a desert storage facility, possibly MZJ. It's using their ferry/delivery flight number, QFA6020. It arrived early this morning, and will head out in a day or two.

Xiamen's B-5385

Xiamen Airlines' B-5385 (c/n 35633), a 737-86N(W), is the first in-bound delivery flight for 2009, and the third CXA delivery in almost a week.

B-5385 was built in November, which "Drewski2112" got a photo of at BFI, before the fuselage got painted.

Hau‘oli Makahiki Hou!

From the HNL RareBirds Team ...

Happy New Year!

May you all ahave a blessed and prosperous 2009!