Virgin trials biodiesel baggage vehicle
Virgin Australia has launched a trial of biodiesel fuel in a baggage handling vehicle at Brisbane Airport. Virgin says the trial is the first time an Australian airline has used biodiesel in its ground service equipment. The fuel is made up of 20 per... [Continue reading]
Tourism lobby hits budget over customs cuts, fee hikes
A tourism and transport industry group says changes in the federal budget will cut funding for customs and airport policing despite forecasts of a substantial increase in the number of international passengers traveling to Australia. The budget also increases... [Continue reading]
Air Pacific to become Fiji Airways again
Fijian national carrier Air Pacific will return to its maiden name of Fiji Airways, part of a broader overhaul of its image as the partly Qantas-owned airline works to turn around its struggling business. The airline, which is 46 per cent owned by Qantas,... [Continue reading]
Virgin-Skywest alliance get final OK from ACCC
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commisison has given final approval to a codesharing alliance between Virgin Australia and WA regional carrier Skywest. The tie-up will link Virgin with Skywest’s network serving the mining industry and comes... [Continue reading]
New Virgin A330 to enter service “as planned” despite airport bingle
Virgin Australia has had to scramble to get one of its new Airbus A330s ready for its maiden service this week after the aircraft clipped a stationary Jetstar A330 while being towed around Melbourne Airport late last week. Virgin said the wingtip of the... [Continue reading]
Court upholds ban on action against ‘opportunistic’ Qantas
The Federal Court has ruled against Qantas long haul pilots in a case seeking to reinstate the pilots’ ability to launch industrial action against the airline. While dismissing the case, however, the court said Fair Work Australia should not have ordered... [Continue reading]
Jetstar connects Perth with China’s ‘Hawaii’
Jetstar is set to launch one-stop service from Perth to China’s “Hawaii of the East” with four times weekly services to Hainan Island. The service, via Singapore, builds on an existing Jetstar route connecting Singapore with Haikou, Hainan’s capital. With... [Continue reading]
Virgin adds Brisbane-Gladstone flights
Virgin Australia will add two additional weekday return flights between Brisbane and Gladstone in response to demand from the resource sector, the airline said today. The extra flights, which will be phased in starting May 28, will bring Virgin’s weekly... [Continue reading]
ATSB blames iPhone ignition on unauthorised repair
A loose screw caused an iPhone 4 to spontaneously ignite just after a Regional Express flight landed in Sydney late last year, the ATSB has concluded. An examination of the iPhone, conducted at a “specialist facility” in the US, concluded that a small... [Continue reading]
Qantas defers A380s in $400m rollback, but spruiks domestic expansion
Qantas will increase capacity on its domestic network but will defer delivery of two A380 superjumbo jets as part of $400 million in capital expenditure cuts to its struggling international business, the airline announced today. The cuts come on top of... [Continue reading]
Airservices revising takeoff procedures after near misses at MEL
Airservices Australia is revising its takeoff procedures after a pair of passenger jets came dangerously close to each other as they climbed away from Melbourne Airport in 2010. According to an ATSB investigation released today, the December 5 2010 incident... [Continue reading]
