Scoot chief executive Campbell Wilson plans to make the budget carrier a conduit between Australia and fast-growing markets such as China and India as it expands its network from its home base in Singapore. A newly delivered Scoot Boeing 787 Dreamliner jetted into Melbourne yesterday to make the Victorian capital the long-haul budget carrier's fourth Australian destination after Sydney, the...
Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) says it is committed to listening to the aviation community and is making changes to the regulatory regime where necessary to ensure better outcomes for all. The nation’s aviation safety regulator has responded to concerns from The Australian Aviation Associations’ Forum (TAAAF), which said on Thursday it was concerned at the...
Etihad Airways and Virgin Australia have received the green light to extend their alliance for a further five years. In a draft ruling, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says it plans to re-authorise the alliance that was first established in 2011 and led to Virgin commencing flights on its own metal between Sydney and Abu Dhabi. “The ACCC considers th...
A Jetstar Airbus A320 has been given a makeover in the lead up to the Australian summer. The narrowbody, VH-VFV, operated its first commercial service on Wednesday afternoon featuring the “Elevate Your Summer” livery, departing Melbourne Tullamarine at 2015 as JQ780 bound for Adelaide. Jetstar is no stranger to having aircraft with special liveries. Over the years Jetstar has unv...
Brisbane Airport has cut the ribbon on its upgraded international terminal which features a new departures lounge, increased signage, more shops and, importantly for aviation enthusiasts, improved views of the airfield. The terminal was officially opened by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss on Wednesday. Brisbane Airport chief executi...
The peak bodies representing the aviation sector in Australia say they are concerned with the slow pace of change at the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and cost of compliance with new regulations. The Australian Aviation Associations’ Forum (TAAAF), which comprise the peak representative bodies in the local industry, says although there is some good work being done at CASA, the or...
A RAAF KC-30A tanker transport has refuelled a RAAF E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft on operations for the first time. The mission over Iraq in support of Coalition operations against Islamic State last week saw the KC-30 use its ARBS (Aerial Refuelling Boom System) to refuel the Wedgetail in the first time a RAAF KC-30 had used its boom on operations. “Being able to use the...
Qantas returned to the top of the punctuality table in September, ending Virgin Australia’s three-month run as the nation’s most on-time domestic carrier. Figures from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) show Qantas had the highest percentage of on-time arrivals in September, with 91.8 per cent of its domestic flights reaching their destination wit...
China Airlines has commenced services to Melbourne and Christchurch from its Taipei hub. Flight CI57, pictured above, touched down at Christchurch Airport just before 1900 local time on Monday evening. The Skyteam member is operating a Taipei-Melbourne-Christchurch routing three times a week with Airbus A330 aircraft. The airline will have local pickup rights on the Melbourne-Christchurch se...
Virgin Australia will move into its new terminal at Perth Airport on November 22, the airport and airline have confirmed. The much-delayed shift to the Terminal 1 domestic pier consolidates Virgin’s operations from three separate terminals currently to the one facility. In addition to having access to more departure gates, Virgin is also unveiling new checkin kiosks and bag-drop s...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss says the government plans to release a new training program designed to assist regional airports better manage their security processes. Slated to begin in 2016, the new regional aviation security awareness training package would be available to the 150-odd security controlled airports in small, lower ri...
Etihad Airways’ flagship Airbus A380 will touch down in Melbourne in June 2016. The Victorian capital will be the airline’s second Australian port and fourth destination overall to receive A380 services, after the double decker superjumbo debuted on the Abu Dhabi-Sydney route in June 2015. The move represented a 26 per cent increase in capacity between Melbourne and Abu Dhab...
