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| VH-VBY at Rockhampton Airport last month (File photo taken by 'IAD' ©) |
VH-VBY was originally delivered to Virgin Australia (Virgin Blue) in late July 2005, and wore a distinctive 'blue' livery with special '50th aircraft' titles to signify its place in the Virgin fleet.
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| VH-VBY at Rockhampton Airport in 2011 (File photo taken by Don Williams ©) |
With Virgin Blue renaming to Virgin Australia in mid-2001, VH-VBY became the first - and only - B737-700 to be repainted into the new Virgin livery in early 2012.
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| VH-VBY at Rockhampton Airport last month (File photo taken by 'IAD' ©) |
VH-VBY's final service to Central Queensland occurred on Sunday 28 April when it operated the VOZ1245/1248 flight from Brisbane to Rockhampton and return.
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| VH-VBY at Rockhampton Airport last month (File photo taken by 'IAD' ©) |
VH-VBY is currently in Brisbane awaiting departure. The feeling amongst most spotters is that this unique aircraft to the Virgin fleet will be sorely missed.
UPDATE! One year on - yes on Wednesday 7 May - VH-VBY still hasn't left the Virgin Australia fleet. Neither has fellow B737-700 VH-VBZ. There are still rumours flying around that these two aircraft will be the next aircraft to leave the Virgin fleet as more new B737-800s are delivered.
I'm sitting in the Perth lounge looking at VH-VBY about to operate the port headland service.
ReplyDeleteYes Michael! Some three years on and VH-VBY (and fellow B737-700 VH-VBZ) are still going strong for Virgin Australia. They mostly operate in Western Australia (during the week) and they often head over the Eastern states on weekends!
ReplyDeleteCheers mate!