V-WKD any news?

Greetings all!

My first post here although "watching" for some time.

I just wondered if there where any news on the plight of V-WKD after scrapping her butt in HK last month?

With 340-600 flights pending I don't want a 300 with poor IFE substituted on me as has happened a couple of times in the past... the more 600s in the rota the better [ii]

I think you'll will still get a 346 as Virgin has 13 others. VWKD is still in Hong Kong.

Its still there at the moment. It was moved from the stands around the terminal to a very remote stand by a hanger i think, between both of the runways. I was talking to one of the crew on my last flight to HKG and her best friend was crew on the flight and said that the hole was pritty big and that there have been rumblings going around that it may have to be scrapped. But then again thats just the word on the street but i think she'll be back in action

Hmmm... thought it sounded quite serious. Assuming it can be repaired, does it have to go back to airbus for the work? I confess I have no idea how these things work with aircraft, its not like a dent in your car that any old bloke can patch up is it.

And welcome to V-flyer [y].

Originally posted by diggeryd
Hmmm... thought it sounded quite serious. Assuming it can be repaired, does it have to go back to airbus for the work? I confess I have no idea how these things work with aircraft, its not like a dent in your car that any old bloke can patch up is it.

Usually, the aircraft will be ferried to a maintenance facility which holds the appropriate certifications from the aircraft manufacturer and other relevant authorities. As it is, being in Hong Kong, and Cathay operating an Airbus fleet, HAECO can probably do the repairs.

A repair "kit", consisting of the appropriate replacement components, will need to be shipped from the manufacturer to the repair company.

This is assuming that the airframe isn't damaged beyond economic repair. If there's serious airframe damage (particularly pressure bulkhead damage), it may be very costly, and so it becomes cheaper to "part-out" the aircraft for spares.

Cheers,
Mike

Originally posted by mike-smashing
This is assuming that the airframe isn't damaged beyond economic repair. If there's serious airframe damage (particularly pressure bulkhead damage), it may be very costly, and so it becomes cheaper to "part-out" the aircraft for spares.

Cheers,
Mike

Nice V-PORT for sale then.... one not so careful owner[^]

Very infomative, thanks [y]

Is it actually possible for a brand new A346 to have so much damage done to it that its written off even though its still a complete aircraft?

We've been told that the necessary work will be carried out in Hong Kong. Miss Behavin' should be back in service by late August or early September.

Originally posted by Jetstreamer
We've been told that the necessary work will be carried out in Hong Kong. Miss Behavin' should be back in service by late August or early September.

Thanks for the update Jetstreamer.....

Do airlines take out insurance for this sort of accident or are repairs simply paid for as and when.

Just thinking that if there was insurance maybe VS could get a replacement vehicle while theirs is in the shop

Phil FM

Originally posted by FamilyMan
Just thinking that if there was insurance maybe VS could get a replacement vehicle while theirs is in the shop

If VS needed to, I'm sure they could lease aircraft as required, but it seems that they can manage to get by.

Of course, everyone would complain that the replacement vehicle is different, won't have suites, and doesn't have v:port .

It's like taking your BMW in for a service and being loaned a Corsa.

Cheers,
Mike

I didn't know they had red cusions in a BMW. Does the first aid kit in a BMW come in a little paper wallet?

If VS needed to, I'm sure they could lease aircraft as required, but it seems that they can manage to get by.

Well they're still sending 346s to Zurich for 2 weeks at a time for their Config 1/Config 2 conversions, despite the loss of VWKD for the short term, so they can't be too worried. Airlines do cater for this sort of thing in their planning, and I think there's another new 346 due this month which should help ease things.

The short term plan seems to have been to utilise the 343 fleet more intensely, with extra appearances on the VS9/10 and VS400/1 quite common recently (along with occasional runs to IAD & BOS).

It's VERY unlikely that damage of this nature would reult in the aircraft being scrapped. It isnt the first time an A346 has suffered tail damage (indeed VS had this at IAD).

There are a few points here as to why these things take time.

Firstly the maintenance in HKG is primarily carried out by VS with another company covering days off for the VS engineer. HAECO are not contracted to do VS maintenance therefore would have to fit this in amongst existing work (and they are very busy). As pointed out HAECO have full EASA 145 approval for the Airbus fleet.

Secondly, the aircraft is maintained by approved manuals. One of these is refered to as an SRM (Structural Repair Manual), this gives listing of allowable damage to the aircraft structure & typical repairs to be applied in the event that the damage limits are exceeded. If the damage is outside these limits, the repair must be approved by the manufacturer.

Lastly, the A346 is still a fairly new aircraft in service. Basic skin repairs cause no major problems, however behind this is a skeleton of frames & stringers to support the various loads the aircraft is subjected to. If these require replacement (as is the case here)it could take time to source, ship & assemble.

Many thanks to all for the informative replies.

Its nice to know the community here knows about more than just Snooze Packs