A fluro-jacketed airport worker makes a mobile call, while Virgin Blue 737-800 (737-8FE(WL) variant) VH-VUL shimmers in the heat haze from her engines and the tarmac. (It's less obvious in the gallery sized image, more obvious in the full sized one. Still, if you look closely at the airline name you can see the shimmer kicking in.) The day wasn't all that hot - in fact it was very temperate and pleasant - but put enough turbofans in the one place and it'll warm up enough...

VH-VUL was delivered to Virgin Blue in August of 2007. It was originally given the name Ballina-Rina Blue, back when being playful was Virgin's "thing". (Ballina is a town of about 26K people on the NSW north coast. Ballina-Rina, Ballerina, geddit? Geddit?? 'Cos, like, a 737 is dainty like a ballerina, or at least compared to an A380 is, amiright?)

Yes, it probably wasn't the wittiest play on words but at least it wasn't as bad as its stablemates VH-VUK, Mackay-be Diva (Mackay is a town in Queensland, and Makybe Diva is a champion racehorse) or VH-VOK, Smoochy Maroochy. Maroochy would be a reference to the Queensland town of Maroochydore, but anyone who tried to get smoochy with a GE turbofan engine is unlikely to want to repeat the experience.

The planes were transferred to Virgin Australia when it decided to go upmarket in 2011, and were given new, less chucklesome names. VH-VUL became "Ocean Grove" and is still flying under that name today (being August 2022). In case you're wondering, VH-VUK became the Seaford Beach and is still operating, VH-VOK became Johanna Beach, and they are also still operating.