Aloha ‘Oe N868RW

We at HNL RareBirds bid a fond farewell to Mokulele Airlines ... we will miss you!

The former Mokulele Airlines E170 is seen above being prepped to return to Shuttle America's headquarters at IND. N869RW and N870RW will follow suit over the next several days.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who faithfully worked to make Mokulele Airlines a great experience, and went above and beyond to serve its customers.



***Update 10-17-09***
868 left yesterday for IND via OAK as TCF9400.

Antonov 225 departure video.

Its kind of long and shaky but here is the beast departing 8L.

Interisland Terminal gates 49-51

It hasn't even been 24 hours since Shuttle America stopped flying Mokulele flights, but the gates formally used by Mokulele (49-51) have not sat idle. In the morning, the gates sat empty. However, at around 14:30, Hawaiian towed 717s to gates 49 and 50. The picture above shows N481HA getting loaded with bags. Gate 51 still has a Shuttle America maintenance van parked there, so Hawaiian probably will not use it until the van is moved.

Now that Hawaiian has basically taken over all the entire Interisland Terminal, the State probably should just rename to the Hawaiian Airlines Terminal.

AN-124 versus AN-225

Here's a comparison shot of the Volga-Dnepr AN-124 and Antonov AN-225. From where I took this shot the AN-225 was around 70 yards away and the AN-124 was about 240 yards away (about another 70 yards behind the AN-225).

Sorry it is not a side-by-side shot, but the two aircraft were separated by a Delta 757 and were positioned in a v-shape due to the angled parking position the AN-225 was in.

Shanghai's B-5460

Shanghai Airlines is taking delivery of B-5460 (c/n 35775), their newest 737-86D, and flying as CSH460.

B-5460 is seen above taxiing to Runway 8R to head to MAJ and SPN before finally arriving at its new home at PVG. In the background, ASA860 departs for SEA.

Blue Sky's N106UA

Blue Sky Airlines, a subsidiary of Mahan Air (Iran), is returning their 747-451, N106UA (c/n 26474), to Wells Fargo Bamk. It was not taken up by Blue Sky, but kept in storage at PUS (Gimhae International Airport, Pusan, South Korea). It's on its way to MZJ for storage.

N106UA was previously with United Airlines. This 744 was originally ordered by Northwest Airlines, hence the -_51 Boeing Customer Code, but was not taken up, and bought by United.

N106UA, along with N192UA and N185UA were leased by Blue Sky Air, but due to trade sanctions and embargo against Iran, the three 744s were parked at PUS. It's not certain if the 744s are being returned to Wells Fargo or being repossessed. 185 and 192 were returned to MZJ earlier this summer.

N910SF

The Raytheon Flight Test DC-10-10, N910SF (c/n 46524), used for missile testing was in town and parked on the south ramp ...

Looks like we finally got a view of the port side of the DC-10, and the flight crew can be seen sitting under the starboard wing.

Volga-Dnepr's RA-82045

Volga-Dnepr Airlines' RA-82045 (msn 9773052255113), an An124-100, was in town from CNS (Cairns, Australia) as VDA2103 on its way to IAH, and left a couple of hours after taking this photo.

go! And Mokulele Merge

Inter-island carriers go! and Mokulele Airlines will merge effective Thursday, and go!'s owner Mesa Air Group will assume 75% ownership with the other 25% going to Mokulele shareholders, and the go! CRJ200s will be the main jets, as the E170s will be returning to Republic Airways' base in IND.

Honolulu Star*Bulletin and Honolulu Advertiser coverage links.

This is also our 800th blog post ...

Qantas 737-300

A 737-300 from Qantas stopped over in HNL on its way to TUS. It arrived from Australia via APW on October 9 as QFA6024 and departed HNL today, October 11, as QFA6026.

Didn't get a chance to get the registration or picture.

Антонов Ан-225 Мрия

The Antonov An-225 "Mriya", UR-82060 (msn 19530503763) is scheduled to arrive @ HNL this evening as ADB3688. It's a relief flight from PIA (Greater Peoria Regional Airport, IL) that will continue onto PPG to provide generators by FEMA.


***Update 10-12-09***
ADB3688 is scheduled to arrive around noon today.

The top photo shows the Ukranian behemoth on HNL's north ramp, and taking up a few hardstand spots. The second photo is of the nose section. The third photo shows the cockpit, and the above photo shows two of the ten shipping containers that are transporting the generators.

JAL's first ASPIRE flight

Today, October 10, the first JAL ASPIRE flight was conducted on JO77 HNL-KIX.

ASPIRE, which stands for Asia and South Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emissions, is a joint initiative by the U.S. FAA, Airservices Australia, and Airways New Zealand. This initiative aims to reduce the environmental impact from flights in the Asia-Pacific region. This flight by JAL is also the first ASPIRE flight to be conducted by an Asian carrier. United, Qantas, and Air New Zealand have previously conducted ASPIRE flights.

For this flight, JAL has planned various measures to be conducted through out the flight to reduce weight and fuel used, which in turn will reduce the amount of emissions. JAL is projecting the 747-400 used on this flight to save 9421 lbs of fuel and reducing CO2 emissions by 13140 kg.

Prior to departure, measures such as reducing the weight of inflight service items, using lighter weight ULDs, and more accurately planning the fuel load will be done to reduce the amount of weight on the aircraft.

For takeoff, JO77 used 8L instead of 8R (the Reef Runway) to shorten the amount of fuel used during taxi. This flight was also given clearance to reduce the amount of time to reach its cruising altitude.

Various measures will also be taken enroute, during approach, and landing to reduce the amount of fuel used. For the full list of measures, see the JAL press release below.

JAL to Conduct Asia's First Environmentally Efficient ASPIRE Flight (JAL press release)

ASPIRE website

Ex-Qantas ZK-JND

A retired Qantas (JetConnect) 737-376, ZK-JND (c/n 24297) stopped through HNL on its way to TUS for storage. It flew from SYD to HNL via APW as QFA6024. ZK-JND was previously registered as VH-TJC, and the _76 Boeing Customer Code is assigned to Trans-Australia Airlines.




***Update 10-11-09***
ZK-JND left HNL for TUS as QFA6026.

Hawaiian Air's NC251M

Hawaiian Airlines unveiled their first ever aircraft, NC251M (msn 154), a Bellanca CH-300 "Pacemaker" in their maintenance hangar, before the media, government officials, employees, and special guests. HA had the CH-300 restored in Washington, before being shipped to HNL, re-assembled, and test flown. The 80-year-old aircraft was brought back to celebrate HA's 80th anniversary.

Centurion Air Cargo's N47888

Centurion Air Cargo (WE/CWC) flew a relief cargo flight to aid disaster victims in American Sāmoa as CWC4851. Centurion used N47888 (c/n 47888), a DC-10-30F to fly cargo from MIA to PPG via DFW and HNL, then returned to HNL before flying back to MIA.

N47888 got its start with Ariana Afghan AIrlines as YA-LAS, then moved onto British Airways as G-MULL.

Qantas' VH-VZH

VH-VZH "Katherine Mansfield" (c/n 34202) is the latest 737-838W for Qantas (JetConnect). It's on its delivery flight from BFI as QFA6020, and completed the first leg to HNL. The second leg is scheduled to depart for NOU (La Tontouta, Noumea, New Caledonia) later this morning. Normally, the second leg routes through NAN.

Drewski2112 got a photo of VH-VZH at BFI.

National Airlines' N921R

Murray Aviation (dba National Airlines) had N921R (c/n 46145), a DC-8-63F, in town from ONT, as MUA921. It parked at Hardstand 5 during its stay here.

This aircraft was chartered by Pacific Air Cargo to fly tsunami relief supplies to American Samoa. In addition to donated items, Pacific Air Cargo also transported items sent by Hawaii residents to family members in American Samoa free of charge.

Photo courtesy: team member Aeros while N921R sat on the HNL north ramp.

Hawai‘i-based Aircraft Aid Sāmoa Tsunami

A US Coast Guard C-130H based at Kalaeloa (fka NAS Barbers Point), a US Air Force / Hawai‘i Air National Guard C-17A, and a Hawaiian Air 767-300ER (N590HA) have provided relief flights to aid the victims, recovery, and clean-up of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that affected American Sāmoa, the Independent State of Sāmoa, and the KIngdom of Tonga.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families directly affected by these disasters.

FedEx To Retire MD-11Fs

FedEx will in the process of retiring their McDonnell-Douglas (now Boeing) MD-11F fleet as they take delivery of 30 new Boeing 777-FS2s. The MD-11F is a common sight on the south cargo ramp with both FedEx and UPS moving parcels between the mainland and HNL. No word when we'll begin to see the 777Fs at HNL.

N582FE is seen above, back in 2006, taxiing on Taxiway C after landing on Runway 4R from a flight from OAK.

Pacific Air Express' N866MA

Pacific Air Express is the latest entrant in the inter-island air cargo market. Using three Cessna C208BF Grand Cargomasters owned by Leis Air LLC, they will be flying cargo for Pacific Air Cargo, which uses Kalitta Air (LAX, HNL, PPG, HKG) and Asia Pacific Airlines (HNL, GUM, MAJ, KWA, SPN)

Seen above is N866MA (msn 208B0934) in the Pacific Air Express colors, it was formerly with Mokulele Airlines, along with fleetmates N687MA and N865MA.