OPINION – Hong Kong expansion shows Jetstar the main game in Asia
For all the fuss over Qantas’s so far failed attempts at launching a premium airline in Asia, it is clear that Jetstar is the main game for the Qantas Group in Asia. Today’s announcement of the launch of Jetstar Hong Kong in partnership with China... [Continue reading]
OPINION – Int’l JSF partners need to ramp it up
The international partners in the JSF program – including Australia – really need to come together to lobby the US government to recognise the disproportionate share of the early production costs of the F-35 they will be forced to pay in the next... [Continue reading]
OPINION – Clarifying the C-27J FMS case
After doing some additional reading overnight, I just wanted to clarify yesterday’s opinion post, especially regarding the proposed FMS sale. With the cancellation of the US’s C-27J program, the RAAF would not have the benefit of being linked into... [Continue reading]
OPINION – Caribou replacement to be deferred?
Word from Defence and industry sources is that the long awaited AIR 8000 Phase 2 battlefield Airlifter (BFA) – i.e. the Caribou replacement – may fall victim to the Gillard Government’s stubborn ‘at all costs’ determination to return to a budget... [Continue reading]
OPINION – Bell 429 for RMI is clever marketing
Raytheon Australia’s replacement of its Agusta A109E Power helicopters it has operated since 2007 for the Navy’s Retention and Motivation Initiative (RMI) at Nowra with three new Bell 429s was a clever bit of marketing on the company’s behalf. Not... [Continue reading]
Opinion – Remember the Caribou?
I’ve been writing stories for the past three issues of sister publication ADBR about the seemingly never-ending search for a Caribou replacement for the RAAF. I’ve looked at all the options – official and unofficial – the issues... [Continue reading]
Opinion – Fly high
Since starting out on this writing caper, I’ve built up and constantly revised my daily reading list. Bloggers and news services have come and gone or have become more or less relevant. But one of the constants has been Neptunus Rex, the blog and pseudonym... [Continue reading]
Opinion – Where politics and capability collide
Defence Minister Stephen Smith’s comments at a conference in Canberra this week have reinforced this writer’s perception that Mr Smith either isn’t being properly briefed by his advisers on some of the major defence programs currently underway –... [Continue reading]
Opinion – The risk of inconsistency
Qantas executives are quick to point out the main influences on the airline’s international business are mainly external ones – competing subsidised foreign airlines, rising fuel costs or delays in the delivery of new aircraft. But these and many... [Continue reading]
Do you have to admit CASA is getting better?
“Even the most jaundiced” would acknowledge significant improvements in the way Australia’s aviation regulator does business. Such are the hopes, at least, of CASA boss John McCormick, who has laid out his arguments for the regulator having “lifted... [Continue reading]
COMMENT – Who will really win the Qantas war?
The radical action taken by Qantas over the past weekend and subsequent ruling from Fair Work Australia to terminate all industrial action is being seen by many as a major win for the Flying Kangaroo. But given the collateral damage it has caused, I think... [Continue reading]
