Inflight photos - QantasLink Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 VH-QOY - Brisbane to Gladstone

As highlighted in recent posts, we enjoyed a holiday to Sydney earlier this month and have been sharing a selection of planespotting photos captured during our time away.

As previously published, taking us from Gladstone to Sydney via Brisbane on Friday 05 January was QantasLink Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 VH-QOA and Qantas Airways Boeing 737-800 VH-XZD.

http://airqueensland.blogspot.com.au/2018/01/inflight-photos-qantaslink-bombardier.html

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, and the day to return home was upon us. This time we completed the same trip, but in reverse.

On Monday 15 January, we found ourselves boarding QantasLink Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 VH-QOY for a late afternoon flight from Brisbane to Gladstone where the regional workhorse is pictured below on the ramp at the port city about one hour after departing the Queensland capital.   

Prior to our flight from Brisbane to Gladstone, we caught a mid-afternoon service from Sydney to Brisbane aboard Qantas Airways Boeing 737-800 VH-VXL which amazingly took only 65 minutes.

VH-VXL is pictured below taxiing to it's gate at Sydney / Kingsford Smith Airport moments after arriving from Adelaide. The turn-around in Sydney for the flight to Brisbane was less than one hour. 

   

While waiting for our flight in Sydney, we passed time by taking an opportunity to enjoy a small amount of planespotting.

Among the sightings was Qantas Airways Boeing 737-800 VH-VXQ aka "Retro Roo II" preparing for a departure to Melbourne / Tullamarine and Airbus A380-800 VH-OQG being towed from an adjacent maintenance hangar to the international terminal where it later departed to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, as QF1. 

Please bare-in-mind that all photos below were taken behind stained glass inside the domestic passenger terminal which unfortunately deteriorates image quality.

Inflight photos - QantasLink Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 VH-QOA - Gladstone to Brisbane

We enjoyed a holiday to Sydney earlier this month and was made that much better when we arrived at our accommodation in the suburb of Drummoyne to learn we would be located under the main flight path for Kingsford Smith Airport. Depending on wind direction at any given time, opportunity existed to photograph either arriving or departing aircraft.

 

To commence our holiday, we flew from Gladstone to Sydney via Brisbane aboard QantasLink Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 VH-QOA (GLT - BNE) and Qantas Airways Boeing 737-800 VH-XZD (BNE - SYD) on Friday 05 January.

Manufactured in 2005, VH-QOA is the oldest of thirty-one, 74-seat Bombardier Dash 8-Q400's currently operated by QantasLink, and first-of-type to be repainted in the new Qantas livery. This was completed by Townsville Airport based company Flying Colours Aviation in October 2017.

Making-up the thirty-one strong fleet are twenty-one original Q400 models (VH-QO?) and ten Q400(NG) models (VH-LQ?). Next Generation Q400's incorporate an updated cabin including lighting, windows and overhead bins, minor revisions to the landing gear, as well as reduced fuel burn and maintenance costs.

 

 

Upon arrival in Brisbane from Gladstone, we were on the ground for only a short period before boarding our flight to Sydney aboard VH-XZD.

Manufactured in 2008, VH-XZD is one of seventy-five Boeing 737-800's currently in-service with Qantas Airways on both domestic and short-haul international routes.

Being among the newer 737-800 models operated by Qantas, VH-XZD features full seat back video-on-demand in-flight entertainment for each passenger, and configured to seat 174 passengers which taller people may find lacks sufficient leg room, particularly on longer flights.