Welcome!
Welcome to Compass! We are an Australian & New Zealand based Virtual Airline seeking to replicate the varied operations of a major airline. We cover a wide variety of operations from long haul international flights based out of Australia and New Zealand to the Pacific, South East Asia, the Middle East, Europe Africa and the Americas, right down to short regional hops. We also have a fully developed domestic routes along major trunk routes throughout Australia and New Zealand. Two allied divisions, Compass Express and Compass Logistics provide regional and cargo services.
These pages are detail all of the New Zealand specific information that form part of our wider Compass network. For example the schedule page details all the flights that operate in, from, to or via New Zealand. The fleet links to those aircraft with ZK registrations. The pages mirror the information on the main Compass web site, which contains information relating to the entire Compass network. In a few cases the menus redirect back to the main site for some of the larger collections of operational information. We hope you enjoy the new site, The Compass Management Team
Fleet Renewal Program Commences
Compass Airlines must remain viable in a challenging aviation
market and one such means is to ensure that the airline fleet
is modern, presentable, and equipped with the latest and
greatest technology to please the customer base.
With the above in mind it is time to rejuvenate the Compass
mainline fleet! This is a significant upgrade to the fleet and
will also have effect on careers pathways for Compass pilots.
Please see the details below.
Boeing 717 Replacement Program
The Boeing 717 has
been the entry level workhorse for Compass crews for
many years now. The 717 was essentially a
continuation of the MD-90 program of which aircraft
manufacturer McDonnell Douglas owned until 1997.
After three different generations of the tail mount
twin jet aircraft Boeing discontinued construction
of the type in 2006.
The 717 does not have reasonable models available
for either freeware or payware variations and with
only 156 aircraft built it is unlikely to gain
support from model designers.
The 717 will be sold and removed from lease
respectively. It is thought that some of the
aircraft will be picked up by local charter
operators for use in the FIFO industry, whilst
others will be purchased by indonesian operators and
the occasional North American airline. There will be
delisting - delivery flights available from
Brisbane, Avalon, and Tullamarine respectively to
various destinations.
The Embraer 175 and 195 jet has been chosen as a
suitable replacement aircraft for the entry level
role. There are some payware / freeware models
available for crews. The GE CF34 engines are
dependable and most importantly economical which
makes the E jet a wise choice going forward.
Delivery flights will be available for the E jet
from Gavião Peixoto in São Paulo but
there may be some other supply points. Further
details of these deliveries will be advertised in
separate posts in this forum as well as the delivery
flights section of the Compass website.
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Boeing 747-400 Replacement Program
The queen of the
skies has been faithful to Compass since the
beginning. New technology and airline competition
are sadly beginning to cause the curtain to fall on
this beloved aircraft. Many operators are removing
the -400s from service now and given the lack of
calling for the type now the predominant destination
has been the Mojave desert where the aircraft are
parted for scrap or pillaged for parts. For the
Compass -400 fleet this is no exception, the -400
fleet will be progressively decommissioned with only
a select few -400 and -400ER aircraft remaining on.
The remaining few aircraft will generally support
the South American routes for now but will also
support the A380 where required.
Love it or hate it
the Airbus A380 has won fans amongst pilots and
passenger alike. It’s dollar per seat return during
mainline operations has seen the aircraft win
friends in the airline finance department too.
Compass has entered into agreement for the purchase
of 25 new A380-800 series aircraft and has placed
interest in the coming A380-900 aircraft. In
addition Compass has optional orders on another 10
A380 aircraft in the two-to three year time frame.
In true tradition Compass will be selecting the
Rolls Royce Trent 900 engine option rather than the
Engine Alliance Gp7000.
Details will follow with relation to Toulouse
delivery flights and special delivery flights of the
A380.
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Boeing 777-200LR and Boeing 777-300ER Fleet Expansion
The 777 has well
and truly established itself as a dollar winner for
the long haul airlines around the globe.
B777-200LR’s ability cover exhaustive distances at
minimal expense are tried and proven whilst the
777-300ER builds on the ability of the 200-ER with
additional passenger capacity and technological
improvements.
The A340-500
aircraft were thought of a as a trial type for the
airline and a stop gap measure until additional B777
airframes came online. With the introduction of the
new B777 aircraft the A340-500 aircraft will be sent
off lease.
Compass has
placed firm orders for 10 B777-200LR aircraft to
replace the A340-500 fleet and will shortly make
arrangements to commence the replacement of the
ageing -200ER fleet with a modern -300ER fleet.
The B777-200LR and B777-300ER aircraft will be
delivered from the West Coast of North America
(Generally from Seattle) whilst the A340-500
aircraft will most likely be returned to France.
With PMDG Boeing 777 rumoured to be close to
release, this is the ideal time to increase numbers
of the type within the fleet.
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Other Types for Delivery
With demand growing
in the domestic sector the A320/B737 fleet will
increase to provide additional support to the QLD
and WA domestic markets.
B787 talks are still occurring and there is no news
here, though it is thought that this type will
eventually replace the B767 and A330.
We Deliver!
Delivery flight
details will be available shortly on the delivery
page within the pilot section or alternatively
please visit our forums.
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Airbus Career Path
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Boeing Career Path
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Indian Ocean Routes
We have been reviewing
our Indian Ocean routes in tandem with our fleet
review. All of these routes will stay in the
schedule, however there will be some minor changes
that we will introduce progressively over the next
3-6 months. These include our services to Mauritius,
the Maldives, the Seychelles, Colombo and Mumbai.
Firstly most of these
routes will be transitioned over to B777 operations
if they are not already operated by this type. When
the B787 comes online some routes may be operated by
that type. In addition some services may commence
operations ex-Sydney instead of ex-Perth where most
of these services currently originate. A new service
to the Indian Ocean island of Reunion will also be
introduced.
The B763 aircraft
released by this reorganisation will be utilised for
a number of new South East Asian services to ports
including Pnomh Penh, Vientienne and extra services
to Brunei. These new services will also become B787
services in due course. Details of the new routes
will be announced as they are introduced.
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Join Us!
The management team at
Compass have a wealth of VA and real life aviation
experience. Our aim is to create the best VA in the
Australian skies and to ensure you get the most out
of flying for Compass. Why not join us today?
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