American Airlines and Qantas says Hawaiian Airlines is “virtually alone” in its objection to their joint-venture alliance on trans-Pacific routes and rejected calls for the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to place conditions on their proposed tie-up. American and Qantas’s application for anti-trust immunity is currently before the US DOT, which said in February its revie...
Akbar Al Baker is very controversial figure in aviation. Don’t take Australian Aviation’s word of it, that’s the opinion of none other than the man himself. Introduced as “His Excellency”, Al Baker fronted journalists and other invited guests at a swanky Sydney hotel on Thursday to talk up the start of Qatar’s new daily service to Sydney, which touched d...
Community and Public Sector Union considering rolling airport strikes over the Easter holidays ‘if the government continues with their attack on workplace rights’. Easter travel plans could be thrown into chaos with Border Force and immigration department staff at international airports across Australia to take strike action on the eve of Good Friday. The Community and Public Sec...
AN UNUSUAL odour has been blamed for the hasty landing of a plane carrying almost 70 people at Melbourne Airport this morning. The Tigerair A320 aircraft, flight TT511 from Brisbane, made a priority landing just after 10am. The source of the smell, which the crew reported in the cockpit cabin, will now be investigated. Paramedics assessed four people at the scene. Those treated did not...
Thai Airways looks set to the be second Airbus A350 operator to Australia with flights to Melbourne scheduled to feature the next generation widebody from July. A report from the Airline Route website said the Star Alliance member opened reservations for its Bangkok-Melbourne service with the A350 over the weekend. Currently, Thai flies twice daily between Melbourne and Bangkok with Boe...
A second ratings agency has lifted its assessment of Qantas stock back to investment grade, sending the airline’s stock up more than one per cent in afternoon trade on a flat day for the broader market. Ratings agency Moody’s on Monday upgraded its senior unsecured ratings of Qantas to “Baa3” from “Ba1”, restoring an investment-grade rating that was lost afte...
Australia’s competition watchdog has given final approval to Qantas’s partnership with American Airlines on trans-Pacific routes. The green light from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) leaves the two oneworld alliance members waiting for the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to hand down its decision on the tie-up. The ACCC said in a statement on Thurs...
The union representing Qantas pilots believes the airline’s decision to start hiring pilots again is just the “tip of the iceberg”, given the improved performance of the Flying Kangaroo. Qantas on Tuesday said it planned to hire 170 new pilots over the next three years, as it prepared to introduce the Boeing 787-9 to the fleet from the 2017/18 financial year. The Australian...
Regional Express (Rex) has swung to a rare first half loss due to impairment charges relating to the end of a Defence contract. The company reported a statutory net loss of $11.4 million for the six months to December 31 2015, compared with net profit of $3.9 million in the prior corresponding period. Rex said in a statement on Wednesday it was the airline group’s first statutory net loss...
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has delivered a bumper 2015/16 first half profit, with the Flying Kangaroo’s international operations “going gangbusters” as the lower currency fuels demand for travel into Australia and alliance partners funnel passengers onto a domestic network that is also reporting strong profit growth. The airline group reported statutory net profit after...
The peak bodies representing the aviation sector in Australia have called for the author of the Aviation Safety Regulatory Review (ASRR) David Forsyth to take a look at what progress has been achieved since he handed down the report in June 2014 and what further recommendations are needed. The ASRR, which was commissioned by the federal government, called for substantial cultural and structural...
A trial using the Royal Australian Air Force to deliver heavy cargo to Australian researchers in East Antarctica has been hailed a resounding success as the final flight touched down on the ice. The RAAF has flown five support missions with a C-17A Globemaster aircraft. The first left Hobart in late November. The C-17A can carry up to 70 tonnes of cargo for over 10,000 kilometres but the loa...
