Prestley Shim

When MTC came last year, it was even dirtier! On a side note, 9M-AJY on 25th operated KUL-ICN-YNY-KCH and is parked at the cargo apron at the moment of this posting. YangYang is one of the airports closest to the Olympic venue cities. Charter flight?

Tuesday's equipment upgrade. Ended up grounded till the next day and only departed back to KUL around 9pm. 9M-MTH.

There will be an A333 coming tomorrow as MH2520/2513.

Hoping to spot the other version of the WingsAir livery. And yes, the aircraft makes a nightstop every night. Usually parks at bay 8B.

Part 2 As the aircraft descended closer to runway 25, the party downstairs was starting to get excited. My mission up here was to get a taxi in shot with the telephoto and then a quick change to the kit lens for the water cannon. Which thankfully I managed to accomplish without dropping, smashing or getting anything smudged. Target 1 from the aerobridge, Mike Xray Lima from Kinabalu on the turnaround to go back to Kinabalu. And at 12.00pm sharp, 0400Z, WingsAir flight IW1378 touched down on runway 25 of KIA for the first time. Aircraft operating was PK-WHM and vacated via high speed exit A3. Was hoping to get a decent shot of it vacating but AK's farting APU exhaust had to spoil it. Marshaller standing by. And here she is. the first Indonesian ATR my camera has ever captured. From afar without looking closely, you would think that this was one of Malindo's ATR. Turning into the apron via G. Engine 1 is already offline at this point. And spray! Me being my forgetful self forgot to use my earplugs. So the fire engine sirens and the ATR's engines sounded like a pop concert extra amplified. Engine 2 took a while to be turned off as the GPU was needed. Reminds me of an A320's nose, specifically the radome. Up and about on this side of the parking bay position sign was really exciting. Obligatory head-on shot. And another. Next, the welcoming . Wings Air Director of Flight Operations, Capt Redi Irawan being escorted by Mr Harris to the welcoming party. From left, Mr Harris Salleh (Malindo Air Kuching station manager), Datuk Lee Kim Shin (Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture), Datuk Badlisham Ghazali (Managing Director of MAHB) and Datuk Abdul Karim Hamzah (Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth & Sports). Surprisingly, this fits into the aft bulk section of a B738. One of Lion Group's medium birds. It would've made a perfect shot if it was parked beside Wings Air. First time getting this angle. I may be an Airbus person but the curves on a 737 are no joke! Imagine how stunning it will be with a fish-eye! Before we knew it, it was time to go and we were ushered hurriedly back to the shelter and air-conditioning away from the sweltering afternoon sun. Hoping to hitch a ride on this some time this year. And these guys still owe me money.

Following all cats' motto of "If it fits, I sits" mentality

Thank you! Can't wait to share it here too. Not much of a ceremony but I would rather say, it was a small welcome event and that was it. Followed by a press conference.

Part 1 We've seen many airlines come and go in Kuching. And we have seen multiple carriers ply the Pontianak - Kuching route only to cease operations or to go bankrupt. Batavia Air used to be one of them and the most recent player to pull out was our very own MASWings. After that the route was survived and monopolized by Indonesia's XpressAir with exorbitant prices for a 15 minute flight. And then came the unlikely saviour, AirAsia. Besides Langkawi in 2017, Pontianak was another one of AirAsia's initiative to open up connections around Kuching with Shenzhen following in December. With the introduction of AirAsia in the game now, XpressAir was certainly faced with a worthy competitor with loads dropping soon after. And now, an unexpected player has entered the market. We now welcome Wings Air, a subsidiary of the Lion Group which basically acts as feeders to complement the wide network of connections offered by the Lion Group which is home to Malindo Air, Batik Air, Lion Air and several others. Wings Air operates a fleet of ATR72 aircraft with both the -500 and -600 variant, just like MASWings did once upon a time. With the introduction of the Pontianak - Kuching route, this will be their first international destination flying out of Pontianak with Miri in the pipes slated to be launched soon this year. The inaugural flight IW1378 was scheduled to depart from Pontianak at 9.45am Indonesian time and was to arrive at 11.25am Malaysian time. However, due to the inaugural ceremony on the Indonesian side, there was a delay and the flight departed at 10.11am Indonesian time. Bay 8B was to be the allocated arrival bay which I believe is specially allocated to ATR aircraft only. Malindo Air Kuching station staff manning the makeshift registration counter for guests and media. All participants were presented with a media and guest tag along with earplugs. A shot with the staff of the day and I assume two of Malindo's flight attendants flown in from KUL. The rightmost person would be Mr Harris Salleh, Malindo Air's Kuching station manager, the person who was very much generous enough to make all this possible for me and the team. Another one for the album with the ramp and security staff. Mr Gio and Walter discussing the game plan for the day. Oliver in the background probably thinking about what's for lunch. Our beloved AVSEC on duty to make sure we don't run off into naughty places we aren't allowed into. Of course, no media coverage will be complete without our RTM videographer. Mr Walter having a look on radar, spying our target for today. Luckily for us, both the -500 and -600 variants of Wings Air's fleet of ATR72 aircraft are trackable on FlightRadar24 and RadarBox24. At 11.50am, we were ushered out to the apron with the aircraft on approach somewhere south of the airfield. We were literally told to 'help ourselves' but not get too near. So when the VIP airside doors were open, AirAsia's 9M-AHS stared us right in the face. Wait what, shoot lah! "If it moves, I shoot" Haven't got a good shot of this aircraft, the nearly identical twin of 9M-MWC. As it was the afternoon, sun was smack right on top. Cultural troupe from Kampung Budaya standing by. AVSEC grudgingly agreed to let Oliver and I up to bay 8's aerobridge. Nicest vantage point I've had in all my spotting years! AFRS too had a practice run to ensure no awkward arches. Or arches of water that don't connect. To be continued...

Truth be told, haven't been spotting at all since the New Year. So what better way to kick it all off and open this year's thread with a little bit of celebration! Here's a preview

Spoke to Malindo Air's station manager since they will be the ground handler. Hope for a positive answer for me and a few other members to cover the inaugural on the apron.

From what I know, we won't be seeing any A350 action here anymore. At least not regularly scheduled ones. Equipment upgrade also seems too slim a chance.

Recently on Fr24 schedules we have been noticing Wings Air operating PNK in the morning as well but we dismissed it as a glitch. I have yet to notice such flights on the airport FID screens. But it seems odd that a new carrier starting its service here seem to be doing so without any mention in the press.

The culprits today. Stay tuned for our coverage! Many thanks to Samuel for the picture. And welcome as well to Hon Kit, Tamizi, Samuel, Rayner, Allan and the rest to our humble spotting platform.

Very nice departure shots Chin! The angle really shows of the wings curvature. Agree on the engine noise. Surprisingly quiet here as well today in KCH.

Time for an update and to revive this thread. This time I'll be posting specials and rare movements during the 13th WIEF held in BCCK, Kuching last November. Starting off with this little fella. Callsign POLICECHOPPER9. This can be seen over the city providing eyes in the sky for the Sultan of Brunei's entourage during the last day of the Sarawak Regatta. Another visitor visiting all the way from Seletar before returning to Subang. My first time seeing a Diamond DA62 aircraft. Prime Minister Najib Razak's aircraft parked at the RMAF Apron after having arriving the night before for the WIEF. The aircraft was then towed back to the main apron prior to his departure to Brunei. Another rare visitor. Kuching was host to many foreign private jets during that period. Stay tuned for part 2!

You may wanna stay airside after you arrive. It's scheduled to arrive during that time frame.

Be patient. Nothing is a race. Do take time to appreciate the effort these Mwingers take to tell a story to the readers. Photographers are also story tellers, including plane spotters. I'm sure they have beautiful shots which will be worth the wait.

Kuching will be the center of convergence for many foreigners namely diplomats and heads of state here to attend the World International Islamic Econimic Forum. The president of the Republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov arriving in Kuching earlier. Aircraft is a Dassault Falcon 8x bearing the registration RA-09606. The President of Indonesia is also expected between these few days. [/url]

Welcome back His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. Here for a few hours to join in the last day of the Sarawak Regatta. We were expecting him to bring his 747-8i like in January but the older A340-200 was used instead. Which was fine since I've never spotted one of those in Kuching. Registration V8-001.

Oh yes!! Thank you so much!

Scheduled departure was 5.15pm but they only started closing up at a few minutes past 6. All personnel who were boarding the aircraft were given a pat down right on the apron on the way to the aircraft, causing some delays. The Prince and Duchess themselves arrived late to the airport. Was expecting them to taxi out via B then onto A but they took the main apron and exited via H instead, giving me a final close up. At 6.27pm local time, they were airborne. Although they were only here for a few hours, it was nevertheless historic.

On the ground The RAF Voyager was parked at bay 7 facing east, the usual parking arrangement for dignitaries and VIPs visiting as the entrance to the VIP complex is just below. As such, bays 6 to 8 were unusable. I just can't get used to an A330 parked like this so near me. It's just unusual. Viewing it from one floor higher. Registration ZZ336 with the RAF red and blue fin flash on the tail. As standard of most, if not all RAF aircraft, the RAF roundel is also seen at the front of the fuselage. Airstairs were decorated in the colors of the Sarawak flag. Cobham 905 under-wing refuelling pods, one on each wing. The KC2 version of the Voyager can refuel two combat aircraft at once. My favorite engine type on an A330, the Rolls Royce Trent 700. The Jalur Gemilang and the personal standard of the Prince of Wales.

They visited the Sarawak Cultural Village, Semenggoh Rehabilitation Centre and the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre.

As a personal first for me and many other spotters, I got to witness the royal flight of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles. He is joined by the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Rosemary Shands. The royal couple are on their last few legs of their Asian tour having started in Singapore then subsequently to Brunei, Kuala Lumpur and Penang. The aircraft carrying them is a specially modified A330 MRTT dubbed the Voyager KC2 belonging to the Royal Air Force (RAF) powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines. The aircraft left KUL from the Bunga Raya Complex at 11.50am and arrived in Kuching at 1.30pm. The aircraft was trackable on RadarBox24. The Arrival At 1.29, the landing lights and distinct figure of an A330 loomed into view. Slightly gusty on finals, prompting the flight crew to make some small last minute corrections. Smoking the mains of runway 25 for the very first time. Feel blessed to witness history touching down. Nose wheel down! Welcome to Kuching! Under-wing refuelling pods visible under each wing.

Forgive me for the confusion but I was saying that if and when KCH gets specials it is usually after other airports and I merely cited the A320neo as an example.