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Australia aviation news

Virgin CEO expects Bali to rebound after ash cloud clears

Virgin Australia chief executive John Borghetti says he expects travel to Bali will rebound once the disruption from the ash cloud from the Mount Rinjani volcano clears up. Thousands of Australians have found themselves stranded in Bali in recent weeks, with both Virgin and Jetstar, as well as a number of other carriers, cancelling flights for safety reasons. While the backlog of passengers...

Virgin reaffirms guidance for return to profitability in 2015/16

Virgin Australia chief executive John Borghetti says the airline group is on track to return to profitability in the current financial year, reaffirming previous guidance. Borghetti told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting in Brisbane on Wednesday that Virgin was continuing to gain more higher-yielding customers and was “well advanced in reaching our goal of 30 per...

Qantas to go daily to Dallas/Fort Worth with A380s

Qantas will deploy its flagship Airbus A380 daily to Dallas/Fort Worth from April 2016 as part of broader changes to the airline’s international network. Currently, the oneworld alliance member serves Dallas/Fort Worth with six flights a week from its Sydney hub. However, it will add an extra service to the largest hub of its partner American Airlines to meet the strong demand on the rout...

Air Force seeks community ideas on centenary celebrations

While the centenary of the Royal Australian Air Force will not take place until March 31 2021, planning has already begun for the best way to mark the milestone. And the Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Leo Davies, wants the public to be involved. To that end, AIRMSHL Davies launched Air Force 2021 in Canberra on Tuesday. “The first stage of planning for Air Force 2021 is our consult...

Qantas returns to investment grade credit rating

Qantas has received a welcome 95th birthday gift in the form of a return to an investment grade credit rating that chief executive Alan Joyce describes as a “welcome endorsement” of the hard work from everyone at the airline in recent times. Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday upgraded its long-term corporate credit and issue ratings on Qantas to ‘BBB-‘...

Qantas 737 Jet in Tailstrike at Sydney Airport After Wrong Data Tapped into iPad

A Qantas 737 jet carrying 152 passengers and crew scraped its tail on the tarmac at Sydney Airport after the pilots tapped the wrong data into an iPad linked to the aircraft's computer, air safety investigators have found. Shortly after the Boeing 737 departed Sydney bound for Darwin, a flight attendant who had been sitting in the plane's rear galley reported hearing a "squeak...

Joyce expects travellers to return to Paris

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce believes the recent terrorist attacks in Paris will not dissuade passengers from travelling to France. The series of bombings and shootings at multiple locations across the French capital on Friday (European time) have killed 129 people and wounded hundreds more. Qantas has allowed passengers holding tickets to travel to Paris to reroute or rebook their trav...

Qantas’s Retro Roo II touches down

Qantas’s second Boeing 737-800 to be painted in an historical ‘retro’ livery has touched down at Sydney Airport. Dubbed ‘Retro Roo II’, 737-800 VH-VXQ wears the original paint scheme introduced by Qantas’s first jet aircraft, the Boeing 707, when it first entered service in 1959. VXQ landed in Sydney shortly before 8am on Monday morning from Townsvi...

RAAF demonstrates wireless communications capability

A suite of new capabilities for the Royal Australian Air Force’s C-17A Globemaster heavy transport aircraft have been showcased in Canberra, including the provision of Wi-Fi internet access for portable electronic devices issued by Defence. The demonstration is part of Plan Jericho, which is the plan to transform the RAAF and the wider Australian Defence Force (ADF) into a fighting force...

Virgin Australia shows off new home at Perth Airport

Virgin Australia has opened the doors to its new $300 million home at Perth Airport. While passengers will have to wait until November 22 to experience the new Terminal 1 Domestic Pier, Virgin chief executive John Borghetti and Perth Airport chief executive Brad Geatches gave media a tour of the new facilities on Friday morning. Virgin is moving its domestic interstate flights from Terminal...

Rex named as preferred tenderer for two WA govt contracts

Regional Express (Rex) looks set to begin operations in Western Australia in 2016 after being named as the preferred tenderer for two WA government-regulated routes – Perth-Esperance and Perth-Albany. “Subject to final negotiations, Rex will enter into a contract with the Department of Transport to operate the routes for the next five-year licence period commencing 28 February...

Flying conditions improve to allow Virgin, Jetstar flights from Bali

Better flying conditions in the vicinity of Bali Airport has allowed Virgin Australia and Jetstar to operate some daylight flights from Indonesia back to Australia. Jetstar has scheduled 11 recovery flights on Thursday, which will operate in daylight hours, while Virgin has planned three flights from Bali to Australia. “Flying conditions are forecast to remain favourable, with the late...