Preflight

Flights on the new route will begin in mid-December with refurbished Boeing 777-200ERs fitted with Air New Zealand’s newest onboard products across economy, premium economy and business.

The announcement extends a period of significant expansion forAir NZ in North America, given the airline now flies up to three times a day to Los Angeles, 10 times a week to San Francisco, daily to Vancouver and five times weekly to Honolulu during peak times.

Moreover, the airline recently began ticket sales for its new Auckland-Buenos Aires flight due to start on December 1.

Research that indicated some 30 million Americans have listed NZ on their “bucket list” of mustvisit countries, as well as statistics showing US visitors to NZ have risen 10 per cent over the past year, gave the Kiwi flag carrier the confidence to launch service to Texas.

“We’ve got really good levels of frequency into North America,” Luxon told Australian Aviation.

“We’ve got the depth that we nowneed, we now want to open up some breadth and this is the next logical leap for us. ” While exact schedules have not been released, the new service when it launches during the summer holidays in December will run five times a week. In the “shoulder” season it will reduce to four times weekly, while there will only be three flights a week during the winter months.

Luxon said the frequency of the route would be subject to demand.

“We are completely flexible,” Luxon said. “If we can build demand in the Americas and also New Zealand and Australasia our ambition is to get to daily services.

“We are a big believer in that and we’ve done that all across our Asia Pacific gateways now and it has worked very well. ”Luxon said Houston would enable Air NZ to offer those living in the US midwest and east coast a quicker alternative to NZ compared with a long trek across to Los Angeles or San Francisco followed by a 14-hour flight across the Pacific.

The airline’s marketing in North America has been all about making people understand NZ was much closer than Americans think.

“Some of our research says that an American sitting in the midwest or the east coast can perceive, wrongly, that it takes something like 40 hours to get to New Zealand,” Luxon said.

“By going into Houston, we can now reach out to people in the midwest and east coast and with a one- or two-hour commuter flight toHouston and then a 14-hour flight down to New Zealand, it is a pretty seamless experience.

“If we can make New Zealand more attractive than Croatia and Austria and Thailand and other places that are on the bucket list of Americans, that’s what we want to do. ” Luxon said he expected the directional flows on the route to be very balanced, given the rising number of Kiwis that have been heading to the US in recent years.

And while New Zealand was the main game, Australia was also expected to be a part of that push to support the new route, given Air NZ’s large presence on the westside of the Tasman.

“Clearly, it is a seamless transition point through Auckland Airport which is one integrated terminal,” Luxon said.

“So if you are sitting in some parts of Australia it is a very attractive proposition to come through Auckland on the way to South or North America. ” Air NZ has been heavily promoting one-stop connections from Australia to the US via its Auckland hub in recent times, with ticket prices well below $1,000 on selected dates.

United will also codeshare on the Auckland-Houston flights as well as points beyond Auckland, Air NZ said.

Continental Airlines had plannedto launch its own Auckland-Houston service as far back as 2010 with Boeing 787 Dreamliners. However, the route was dropped following its merger with United.

Luxon said Air NZ’s 777-200ER and 777-300ER fleet were the best vehicles for its North American network given the mix of business, premium economy and economy seats on board was ideal for premium leisure customers in the market.

“We know that aircraft and that configuration actually will work very well for us with that mix of customers that we have,” Luxon said.

“The 777-200ER will be perfect for that route from that perspective. ” While the 787-9 fleet had a higher proportion of economy seats and were better suited on routes to Asia,they were fitted with the same seats as the 777s meaning Air NZ could deploy the Dreamliner to North America without changing the product offering.

“They are very similar products in terms of look and feel between those aircraft and it is just about cabin mix,” Luxon said.

“So as the market develops we have total flexibility to flip the aircraft around if we think there are different benefits of running with different configurations into different markets.

“The 787-9, we’ve got three of them already, we’ve got orders for 12 and may even go higher again depending on how the business performs. ” Currently, the only direct service from Australasia to Texas is with Qantas, which flies six times a week from Sydney to Dallas/Fort Worth with Airbus A380s.

NZ Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism John Key said the direct Houston-Auckland flights would support tourism.

“We already get thousands of visitors a year from states such as Texas, Florida and New York and this new service should allow us to boost those numbers further,” Key said in a statement.

“Providing greater links with these states, with relatively affluent populations, also aligns with New Zealand’s desire to attract more high-spending visitors to further boost our economy. ” The US is NZ’s third largest source of visitors behind Australia and China.

Qantas international flights return to Perth

Perth will again be served by year-round Qantas international services after the airline announced plans to operate fives times weekly flights to Singapore.

The new flights will be operated by narrowbody 737-800s and are due to commence from June 26.

“We know how important it is for West Australian business travellers to have seamless access to Asia so we’re delighted to be able to offer the Perth-Singapore route witha schedule and aircraft type that will make it commercially viable,” Qantas International chief executive officer Gareth Evans said.

“The new international service has been made possible through the Qantas Group’s aircraft utilisation program – which is about having the right aircraft on the right route – and matching schedules with customer demand. ” Flight QF71 will depart Perth at 1200 on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, arrving in Singapore at 1720. After a short turnaround the reciprocal QF72 flight will depart Singapore at 1815, arriving back in Perth at 2340.

Qantas ceased its daily PerthSingapore Airbus A330 services in May 2014, but has operated some peak holiday season flights since.

Further additional seasonal flights will operate in October 2015 and April 2016, Qantas says.

Jetstar Asia flies between Singapore and Perth 13 times a week, while Qantas also codeshares on alliance partner Emirates’ services to Dubai.

Emirates, meanwhile, operated Perth Airport’s first scheduled Airbus A380 service on May 1.

Emirates has swapped one of its three daily flights to Perth from the Boeing 777-300ER to the A380, adding an extra 1,834 seats on the route each week.

China Eastern, Qantas offer capacity conditions in fresh effort to win approval for proposed alliance

China Eastern and Qantas have offered a “capacity condition” on the Sydney- Shanghai route as part of their attempt to win over the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on their proposed alliance on Australia- China routes.

The offer of a capacity condition was contained in the two carriers’ latest submission to the ACCC seeking approval for the proposed tie-up. The ACCC said in a draft determination in March it intended to block the alliance because it would give Qantas and China Eastern the ability to raise fares and limit capacity growth on the Sydney-Shanghai route.

In response to the draft determination, the pair said the ACCC failed to appreciate the vigorous and effective competition provided by other carriers offeringPerthindirect services between Australia and China and the role of other airlines in the Australia-China market.

Moreover, the competition regulator placed insufficient weight on the public benefits Qantas and China Eastern claim will flow from the alliance and disregarded the benefits to Australians that come from an Australian carrier being able to maintain an operating presence in China.

Also, Qantas and China Eastern said their proposed partnership would enable and expedite capacity growth on routes between the two countries, rejecting the ACCC’s assertion that it would limit growth. “The Commission’s stated concerns ignore commercial realities,” China Eastern and Qantas said in their joint submission.

In its draft determination, the ACCC’s argued the partnership would result in “significant public detriment”, given Qantas and China Eastern currently held about 83 per cent of all seats between Sydney and Shanghai, which gave them an “increased ability and incentive to limit capacity and/ or increase airfares” on the route.

Qantas currently flies daily from Sydney to Shanghai, its only destination in mainland China, with Airbus A330s.

China Eastern operates SydneyShanghai, Melbourne-Shanghai and Sydney-Nanjing-Beijing services.

While Air China also flies between Sydney and Shanghai with a three times a week service, the ACCC said in March it did not believe the Star Alliance member would be an effective competitor against a combined China Eastern-Qantas entity and noted it had reduced its presence on the route over the past five years.

In response to the ACCC’s initial ruling, and despite their rebuttal of certain points made in the draft determination, Qantas and China Eastern have offered a “capacity condition which specifically addresses the Commission’s concerns and which ensures the applicants will maintain and grow capacity”.

“This Draft Capacity Condition, coupled with the commercial terms of the Joint Coordination Agreement and the realities of global aviation, mean that the applicants will neither have the ability or incentive to reduce capacity or limit growth,” the submission said.

The Commission’s stated concerns ignore commercial realities. Qantas & China Eastern

The details of the capacity condition were redacted in the public version of the China Eastern/ Qantas submission for commercialin- confidence reasons.

Qantas and China Eastern also asked economists at HoustonKemp and aviation consulting house CAPA – Centre for Aviation to analyse the effects of their proposed alliance.

The CAPA report noted capacity between Australia and China via mid-point hubs such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to the top 15 Chinese airports more than doubled between March 2010 and March 2015.

Meanwhile, the HoustonKemp report said indirect operators imposed a strong constraint on the price offered for direct services on the Sydney/Shanghai route as well as a range of Australia-China citypairs.

“To deny authorisation to the entire Proposed Conduct on the basis of one single route overlap is inappropriate, particularly given that the Commission is otherwise satisfied that the Proposed Conduct will not have a significant impact on any other area of competition,” the China Eastern and Qantas submission said.

“The overlap with China Eastern in respect of the Sydney-Shanghai route that the Commission perceives as the fundamental problem is in fact what underpins the entire arrangement and therefore the mutual commercial interest of the parties to deliver the public benefits of connectivity, schedule choice and terminal co-location. ”

International flights to resume at Townsville Airport from September

Townsville Airport has secured its first international route two months after the federal government agreed to support passenger processing at the North Queensland gateway.

Qantas’s low-cost subsidiary Jetstar will fly three times a week between Townsville and Denpasar, Bali with Airbus A320s from September, the airport said on April 24.

The inaugural service was slated for September 2, with JQ102 scheduled to depart Townsville at 2255 local time, and arrive at Denpasar Airport at 0130 the next day. The reciprocal JQ101 has a departure time from Bali of 0230 and an arrival time at Townsville of 0915.

Townsville Airport received the go-ahead for international flights in February after an “in-principle agreement of the National Passenger Processing Committee to facilitate international services” at the airport.

Jetstar chief executive for Australia and New Zealand David Hall told the Townsville Bulletin the new flights would not have been viable without a cost-effective customs and security solution.

Townsville Airport has had international flights in the past, most recently with the now defunct Strategic Airlines flying to Denpasar.

Qantas tips $550m reduction in fuel costs

Qantas has forecast a reduction in its fuel bill of at least $550 million in 2014/15 and says its cost-cutting targets for the full financial year have been met or exceeded.

The details were published in a slide presentation senior Qantas management, including chief executive Alan Joyce, delivered to the financial community during the company’s investor day on May 12.

The Qantas Group’s fuel costs were expected to dip below $4 billion in 2014/15, a reduction of at least $550 million from $4. 5 billion in 2013/14. The total cost of fuel was tipped to come in between $3. 92 billion and $3. 95 billion.

Moreover, Qantas said its hedging program meant fuel costs were expected to be no worse in 2015/16 and had the potential to reduce even further.

The outlook for fuel had improved slightly since February, when Qantas said during its first half results presentation it expected fuel costs to be “no more than$4. 0 billion at current prices”.

Meanwhile, the slide presentation said Qantas expected to achieve $875 million in savings from its transformation program by the end of 2014/15. The forecast was unchanged from February.

Qantas said all targets to date had been met or exceeded, while the most challenging initiatives had been front-loaded. The company also had “high visibility” on the $1. 125 billion in savings still to be realised in 2015/16 and 2016/17 as part of its three-year, $2 billion transformation program.

The program also included the loss of 5,000 jobs. Qantas said 4,000 jobs would have been cut by the end of 2014/15.

Qantas said it was on track to reduce net debt, including operating lease liabilities measured on a constant currency basis, by the previously announced target of $1 billion by the end of 2014/15.

And the airline said it expected to return to an “optimal capital structure” by the end of the current financial year.

Qantas said the reduction in net debt, lower fuel prices and the ongoing cost reductions meant the airline group was “well placed” for the board to consider shareholder returns, with the extent and timing dependent on prevailing operating conditions and outlook.

“The group will remain disciplined with capital allocation, delivering sustainable returns to shareholders alongside investment in growth, by maintaining its optimal capital structure,” Qantas said.

Qantas was expected to announce a bumper full year net profit when it hands down its 2014/15 financial results in August, with market consensus sitting somewhere north of $600 million as the airline group benefited from lower fuel prices, a more benign domestic market and slower capacity growth on international routes into and out of Australia.

News of the $550 million fuel benefit and encouraging outlook sent Qantas’s share price to its highest levels since 2008.

Virgin Australia names new chairman

Virgin Australia has named former investment banker Elizabeth Bryan as the successor to outgoing chairman Neil Chatfield. Bryan is currently the chairman of Caltex Australia and on the board of Westpac Banking Corporation and Insurance Australia Group. Previously, Bryan was also chairman of UniSuper. The incoming chairman took her seat on the board on May 20, which was Chatfield’s last day as a Virgin director. The incoming Virgin director had 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry, including as chief executive of Deutsche Asset Management Australia.

In 1992, Bryan became the first woman in Australia to run a large financial firm when appointed as general manager of the NSW Super and Investment Management Corporation.

Virgin Australia posts third quarter loss

Virgin Australia says conditions in its key domestic market remain subdued after posting a $28. 3 million statutory net loss for the three months to March 31 2015.

The statutory result was an improvement of $74. 8 million from the prior corresponding quarter of 2013/14, Virgin said in a statement on May 1.

Virgin Australia chief financial officer Sankar Narayan said the third quarter performance was a “significant year-on-year improvement” as the company sought to reduce costs and attract more high-paying passengers from the corporate sector.

“While consumer sentiment remains subdued and the international operating environment continues to be challenging, we are seeing a sustainable recovery in our domestic business,” Narayan said in a statement.

“We have delivered continued growth in our corporate and government revenue and a significant improvement in the performance of Tigerair Australia. ” On an underlying basis, which removes one-off costs and was regarded as a better indication of financial performance, Virgin reported a loss before tax of $22. 2 million, which was a $61 million improvement from the prior corresponding period.

Virgin said yields across both the airline group and in the domestic market “continued to improve and were positive compared to the third quarter of the 2014 financial year”.

Meanwhile, cost per available seat kilometre declined in the third quarter “both including andexcluding fuel and the impact of Tigerair Australia”.

The company said it was still on track to receive a $50 million benefit from lower fuel prices over the second half of 2014/15.

Virgin said its fully-owned low-cost subsidiary Tigerair Australia posted an underlying profit before tax of $500,000 for the quarter, up from a $25 million underlying loss a year earlier.

“This result was driven by continued improvement in unit revenues and cost efficiencies,” Virgin said.

In the three months to March 31, Virgin reported flat capacity growth in the domestic market in terms of available seats, while the number of passengers carried on its Australian network fell 2. 2 per cent. As a result, load factors declined 2. 1 percentage points to 74. 3 per cent.

There was strong capacity growth at Tigerair Australia however, with available seat kilometres (ASK) rising 18. 7 per cent in the quarter, while the passenger numbers rose 17. 5 per cent. Load factor rose half a percentage point to 85. 7 per cent.

Virgin has moved to quarterly reporting of its financial results, in line with one of its major shareholders, Singapore Airlines.

ILS for Gold Coast Airport?

Gold Coast Airport and Airservices have released plans to install an instrument landing system (ILS) to help reduce the number of missed approaches, diversions and delays due to weather.

The ILS is proposed for aircraft landing from the north on Runway 14, which the airport says is the direction about two-thirds of all flights land.

The preliminary draft major development plan noted Gold Coast was the only airport among Australia’s top 12 busiest airports that currently did not have an ILS.

Currently, Gold Coast Airport has satellite-based RNP approaches, as well as high intensity runway edge lighting (HIRL) which was installed in 2012.

“Although RNP has improved the landing success rate on Runway 14, an ILS will provide additionalbenefit allowing aircraft to land in all but the most severe weather conditions,” the major development plan said.

“All users of the airport (including passengers, family and friends of passengers, airlines, business owners, ground transport services and the wider community) will benefit from a landing system capable of minimising the number of missed approaches and diversions whilst reducing the inconvenience to the public, airlines and other stakeholders. ” Gold Coast Airport said it had averaged about 50 flight diversions a year since October 2010.

Should the ILS be installed, the decision height and visibility for aircraft landing on Runway 14 for landings using ILS would be 280ft and 1,500m, compared with about 500ft and 2,400m under RNP.

“With south-east Queenslandand northern New South Wales tourist destinations attracting more visitors annually, when this forecast in growth is realised, the number of diversions will increase proportionally if the existing landing minima is not improved,” the paper said.

“By improving the success rate of landings in adverse weather, the ILS will have a direct positive impact on the future operating capacity of Gold Coast Airport.

The installation of an ILS will improve airlines’ confidence in using Gold Coast Airport and the future needs of airport users will be appropriately met. ” The airport and Airservices planned to hold community information dropin sessions for residents to seek more information and ask questions about the proposal.

The public comment period closes on July 13.

Badgerys Creek airport’s success depends on supporting infrastructure – Jetstar

Jetstar Australia and New Zealand chief executive David Hall says the success of the proposed Badgerys Creek airport depends on what infrastructure is put in place to support its operations.

Hall says Badgerys Creek, which the federal government has said previously would be operational by the mid-2020s, has strong fundamentals given the large population of Western Sydney and the support of local businesses in the region.

However, the “variable here isinfrastructure”.

“It’s infrastructure that will determine if Western Sydney is positioned for success – or left to chance,” Hall told the Preparing for Take-off conference held at the University of Western Sydney on May 1 in prepared remarks.

Hall backed calls for Badgerys Creek to be a 24-hour facility equipped with the latest air navigation technology and accessible by both road and rail links from the beginning.

“It’s essential that we do not cruel this airport with curfews or any other artificial constraint on itscapacity,” Hall said.

“Curfew-free status will enable us to maximise the new airport’s productivity, and give it a point of difference from Mascot.

“On top of that, the airport should employ the latest in air navigation technology – systems like GBAS and RNP which reduce airborne holding, cut fuel burn and carbon emissions, and minimise noise.

“All the global evidence suggests that this airport will need integrated road and rail links from day one, if it’s to sustain commercial levels of demand. ”The federal government is currently in a nine-month formal consultation period with the owners of Sydney Airport, which has the first right of refusal to build and operate the new facility. Preliminary work has also begun on the project, including a fresh environmental impact study.

Hall said it was essential that the airport be priced appropriately, warning high charges would stifle its potential.

However, any price incentives for airlines to operate at the new airport should not come as a result of higher charges for airlines flying out of the existing terminals at Mascot, should Sydney Airport become the eventual owners of both Kingsford Smith and Badgerys Creek.

“One thing we do not want, however, is for low prices at Badgerys to be subsidised by higher prices at Mascot, should we end up with a dualownership structure,” Hall said.

“It’s crucial that we get this balance right, and I’m sure it will be at the top of the government’s mind in the next stage of consultation.

“We don’t see the Western Sydney airport as supplanting Kingsford Smith – we see the two as complementary.

“Mascot will remain Australia’s international gateway, andmaximising its potential is a national priority. ” On the question of whether Jetstar would operate out of Badgerys Creek, Hall told the conference the Qantas Group was still considering the matter.

“Right now we’re going through the process of assessing how the Qantas Group could serve the new airport and I don’t have a definitive answer for you today,” Hall said.

He said Western Sydney had the “ingredients for a classic secondary airport driven primarily by demand in the domestic leisure market, with international services as a long-term aspiration”.

“We are all ambitious for the new airport to succeed, but we should be careful not to burden it with impossible goals on day one,” Hall said.

“Let’s get the planning right, get the infrastructure right, get the pricing right, and let’s make sure this airport can stand on its own two feet as a commercial proposition.

“If those building blocks are in place, then you’ll find Jetstar a willing partner in creating demand, building a market, and generating the benefits for Western Sydney that all of us want to see. ”

Air India revamps Australian schedule

Air India is dropping tag flights between Sydney and Melbourne and will instead offer non-stop services from Delhi to both cities.

The change, which came in on May 16, will result in Air India flying the Delhi-Sydney route four times a week and offer three weekly Delhi-Melbourne services.

Currently, the Indian flag carrier operates daily triangular routing to Australia with Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners, flying Delhi- Sydney-Melbourne four times a week and Delhi-Melbourne-Sydney three times a week. The airline is planning a similar move in its European network by ending tag photo victor pody flights between Rome and Milan.

Jetstar plans expansion at Avalon after new deal

Jetstar is planning to launch new routes and add extra flights to Sydney from Avalon Airport as part of a new deal with the Victorian Government.

Premier Daniel Andrews said on April 27 the state government had signed a 10-year agreement with the Qantas-owned low-cost carrier to secure the future of Avalon Airport.

The Victorian government will contribute $12 million over the decade-long agreement, while Avalon Airport owner LinFox will tip in $14 million over the same period to keep Jetstar flying to the airport.

The latest deal, which will maintain the only regular publictransport (RPT) service at Avalon Airport, was struck as Jetstar’s 18-month contract signed with the previous state government was due to expire at the end of April.

“This will lay the groundwork for a potential future expansion that will cement Avalon Airport as Victoria’s second major passenger airport, including with future international carriers,” a statement from the Premier’s office said.

Jetstar launches its first non-stop service from Gold Coast to China

Jetstar will offer non-stop flights from the Gold Coast to China for the first time from September when it begins services to Wuhan.

The twice-weekly service kicks off on September 29 and will be operated by Jetstar’s 335-seat Boeing 787-8 fleet on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Jetstar said the route was supported by Chinese company Dalian Wanda Group, which would help sell seats and travel packages to Chinese tourists looking to visit Australia.

Demand was likely to be driven by inbound travel to Australia, Jetstar said.

Wuhan, which has a population of 10 million, is the capital of Hubei province, which is situated in central China.

While this will be the first scheduled service to China from the Gold Coast, the airport has received charter services from China Southern and Cathay Pacific in recent years.

Jetstar said it was increasing the utilisation of its 787-8 fleet – the airline has eight now, with a further three to due to arrive by September – to operate the new service.

Air NZ to deploy 787 to Fiji

Air New Zealand will operate the Boeing 787-9 to the Pacific Islands for the first time in November when it commences seasonal Dreamliner services between Auckland and Nadi.

The inaugural 787 flight is scheduled to take place on November 27 and the Boeing twin will remain on the route until March 2016.

Air NZ said the 787-9 would be used twice a week on the route. However, the 787 would be deployed five times a week from mid-December to late January to meet school holiday demand.

QantasLink boosts flights to Brisbane West Wellcamp

QantasLink is adding an extra four flights a week between Sydney and Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport and changing flight times of certain services in response to customer feedback.

From June 26, QantasLink is boosting its 11 return services a week schedule with an extra flight on Friday evening, one more service on Saturday and two extra flights on Sunday.

QantasLink is also moving its Friday afternoon departure from Sydney an hour earlier to 1655, while the Saturday morning flight from Wellcamp has been pushed back to 0835, from 0730 previously.

ROUTE NEWS

Jetstar Australia and New Zealand chief executive David Hall said the airline would be working hard to ensure its Avalon Airport services would eventually be profitable.

“Along with the Victorian government and Linfox Group, we share a vision of a thriving Avalon Airport servicing a growing region.

It’s a credit to both parties that they’ve been so willing to support this partnership,” Hall said in a statement.

“Although our Avalon services have been unprofitable, we know there is strong commercial potential in the medium to long term, as population growth gathers pace along the Western corridor and across broader Geelong.

“This partnership with the Victorian government and Avalon Airport helps us bridge the gap until these services are commercially viable in their own right. ”

CASA seeking feedback on Part 61

Civil Aviation Safety Authority boss Mark Skidmore has written to pilots seeking their feedback on the implementation of the new Part 61 regulations.

Part 61, which was introduced in September 2014, has drawn sharp criticism among sectors of the aviation industry which has prompted CASA to make adjustments to how this new suite of regulations for ratings, licences and endorsements are being implemented.

Speaking to reporters during a conference call on May 5, Skidmore said CASA had already received about 10 emails from pilots since the letter was posted on April 23, offering suggestions or questions on topics such as ratings and endorsements, suggestions for medical tests and flight reviews and the format of the licence, among other topics.

Skidmore, who started as director of aviation safety in January, acknowledged CASA had not implemented Part 61 “as well as we should have”.

While he believed the regulator was coming to grips with the major concerns out there in the community, more feedback was needed.

“Communication is definitely one of the things we need to work on to make sure that people can clearly understand what it is we are trying to achieve with Part 61,” Skidmore said.

“We have to be consistent in our approach to the aviation community so we don’t confuse them so wecan make sure we are providing good, relevant consistent information out to people. I will continue to drive that.

“I don’t know what I don’t know, hence the letter to say we are working on this, we are getting good information but we would like to know more. If you’ve got something let us know. ” In the letter, the Skidmore said some of the changes to Part 61 already made were related to check pilots conducting proficiency checks, low level ratings and aerial mustering training and flight testing, firefighting operations, aerial application proficiency checks and R22 and R44 helicopter ratings.

It also said about 10,600 new Part 61 licences have been issued since September 2014, with the transition period running until September 2018.

The Part 61 manual available on the CASA website is published in four volumes and runs to more than 600 pages.

CASA manager for flightcrew licensing standards Roger Crosthwaite said the document needed to be large given it covered a such a large array of ratings, licences and endorsements.

There were plans, however, to make the information more accessible for industry participants, with better presentation and enabling scenario-based searches.

“I am very hopeful that we will have a more electronic version where people go on and say ‘I want to get the standards for the PPL helicopter and the system will provide those, draw them together, under a knowledge base to present the standards’,” Crosthwaite said.

The move to introduce Part 61 came before Skidmore joined CASA and was during a period where the industry and the regulator experienced an at-times difficult working relationship, which was highlighted in the Aviation Safety Regulatory Review.

Moreover, some in the industry warned CASA at the time of the difficulties Part 61 would cause.

Skidmore said although he was unable to change what happened in the past, he was committed to rebuild some of the trust that was lost in recent times by learning from what had happened and making sure “we don’t do it again”.

Part of that will be cultural change “both on my side for CASA and externally for the community to understand and to trust us”.

“Cultural change takes five to seven years,” Skidmore said.

“In a year or two, you will start to see it actually going. I will be looking for that. ”

First RAAF F-35 pilot qualifies

Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Squadron Leader Andrew ‘Jacko’ Jackson has become the first Australian to qualify as an F-35A Lightning II pilot.

SQNLDR Jackson concluded his training with a final mission at EglinAir Force Base on April 23, after his initial flight in the aircraft on March 17 made him the first Australian to fly the F-35A.

Meanwhile, in other F-35 news, the construction of the new facilities that will support the introduction of the jet at RAAF Base Williamtown has commenced.

The project, which is valued at almost $1. 5 billion overall, will provide facilities at 10 bases across Australia.

Facilities construction work at Williamtown is expected to bring about $950 million worth of work into the Newcastle region, stated Minister for Defence Kevin Andrews.

Australia has committed to acquiring 72 F-35As, with the first due to arrive in late 2018.

The first F-35 squadron – due to be 3 Squadron – will be operational in 2021.

Sydney Airport’s new chairman takes his seat

Long-time director Trevor Gerber has taken his seat as Sydney Airport’s next chairman. Gerber, who has been on the board since 2002, was officially elected as chairman at Sydney Airport’s annual general meeting on May 14. He replaced Max Moore-Wilton, who is stepping down as both chairman and a director of Sydney Airport. In addition to being on the board of Sydney Airport, Gerber is also currently an independent nonexecutive director of the Tassal Group, Novion Property Group, Leighton Holdings and Regis Healthcare.

Alliance to send Fokkers offshore for heavy maintenance

Fly-in/fly-out and charter operator Alliance Aviation Services has outsourced heavy maintenance of its Fokker fleet to Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Technik Bratislava.

The transfer of that work, which was previously performed in Adelaide, would impact 22 staff positions and up to 10 contractor positions at the company’s Adelaide base, Alliance said on April 21.

The measure was forecast to save $1. 7 million a year.

“The closure is part of structural and operating changes to improve the company’s longterm profitability that were outlined in the half-yearly results presentation,” Alliance chief executive Scott McMillan said in a statement.

“We have already foreshadowed a reduction in the company’s fleet and the consequent improvement in productivity through increasing aircraft utilisation. ” Alliance said it would offer some staff alternative employment at other parts of the company, while redundancy costs would be between $400,000-$800,000.

The airline said it would continue to conduct heavy maintenance in Brisbane, while line maintenance would remain at Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne, Perth and Townsville.

Alliance’s move to outsource its Fokker heavy maintenance comes as Cobham Aviation Services was making some staff redundant in Adelaide after losing heavy maintenance work on QantasLink’s Boeing 717 fleet.

Qantas was establishing a new heavy maintenance facility for the 717 fleet at Canberra Airport.

Tigerair rolling out new mobile app for airport staff

Tigerair Australia is rolling out a new tablet application in a bid to reduce queues, get its staff out from behind the check-in desk and hopefully improve the passenger experience at the airport.

The low-cost carrier has 15 tablets with the Max Airport by Levarti app installed at its biggest base, Melbourne Airport. Brisbane and Sydney airports were due to follow in the coming weeks before it is eventually deployed to all Tigerair ports.

Initially, Tigerair staff working at the airport will roam the terminal with the Apple iPad Mini fitted with a special case that will enable them to check-in passengers, change their seats, print boarding passes and even offer extra legroom seats or luggage for sale.

The tablet is also fitted with a credit card swipe to facilitate payments and a scanner that can be used to board passengers at the departure gate. Meanwhile, staff will also carry a separate mini printer to issue boarding passes.

The information is transmitted in real time to the airline’s operations systems, meaning crews can know how many people have boarded and what the weight of the baggage on board is.

And the Virgin Australia-owned low-cost carrier also has plans to use the app in the future for disruption management, given it can rebook passengers affected by delayed flights onto other services and send them updated flight information via email or SMS.

Tigerair Australia commercial director Adam Rowe said the airline was the first in Australia to roll out this Max app across all ports in its network.

“It is absolutely fantastic technology,” Rowe told reporters in Sydney on May 6.

“It is taking them out from behind a desk and getting them queuecombing and walking around the terminal actually engaging with people wherever they are. ” “The transaction time is much reduced. ” Rowe said about 60 per cent of Tigerair’s passengers currently did not need to queue at a check-in desk given they had checked in online or via their phone prior to arriving at the airport and could head to either an automated bag drop machine or the departure gate.

For those who haven’t used web check-in, Rowe said the app gets them out of the queue, with staff able to issue a boarding pass as they arrive at the terminal.

“Then they can go off, get a cup of coffee, relax and enjoy themselves,” Rowe said.

“For those that don’t need to be in a queue, part of our philosophy is that we should remove them from the queue. ” Levarti was founded by three former Virgin Blue staff, Rowe said.

Tigerair was also planning to introduce a new booking interface on the airline’s website which Rowe said was more suited to Australian consumers looking to book domestic flights.

The airline currently shared its internet booking engine with Asia-based Tigerair Singapore and Tigerair Taiwan.

“That serves a different market to what we have,” Rowe said.

“The needs of the two are subtly different and so we have built a new booking engine that actually fits with the Australian market and what is best for that. ”

ATSB conducts fresh survey of ditched Pel-Air Westwind

Specialist divers from the NSW Police Force and Australian Federal Police have conducted a fresh survey of the Pel-Air Westwind that was ditched off the coast of Norfolk Island in 2009 as part of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s (ATSB) new investigation into the crash.

The ATSB said on April 24 the underwater survey was conducted over two days on March 28/29 and discovered the wreckage of Westwind VH-NGA was still at its last recorded position about 4. 5km west of Norfolk Island and submerged in about 48 metres of water.

In an update on its website, the ATSB said the tail section of the fuselage containing the flightrecorders was partially buried by the movement of sand, while both wings, both engines and the rear section of the fuselage and tail were still attached.

“As part of the re-opened investigation the ATSB is taking all reasonable steps to recover the flight recorders from the accident aircraft and download and analyse the data from them,” the ATSB said.

“The information obtained from this latest underwater survey will be used to assist the ATSB in its planning and assessment of options for the next phase of the project to recover the recorders. ” The Westwind corporate jet was conducting an aeromedical flight from Apia, Samoa to Melbourne when it crashed near Norfolk Island after running out of fuel.

The ATSB report into the 2009 incident cited errors by the flightcrew and found the pilot in command of the aircraft, Dominic James, did not plan the flight in accordance with regulatory and operator requirements.

However, the ATSB investigation was the subject of a scathing assessment by a Senate committee which found, among other things, that the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) withheld a number of documents critical of Pel-Air. A Four Corners investigation also highlighted serious flaws in the way the investigation was conducted.

In December, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss sought a fresh look at the 2009 crash after a Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) review found the ATSB did not follow proper process and had poor oversight during its original investigation into incident.

“The main focus of the reopened investigation to date has been the review of documentation requested from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the operator and other organisations, as well as interviewing a number of personnel from these organisations,” the ATSB said.

“These activities are ongoing. ”

Wet and wild

Wild weather lashed parts of the Australian east coast in recent weeks. Top – a Qantas A330-200 lands at Sydney. Above left – A LAN 787-8 taxis at Sydney. Above right – a Malaysia Airlines A330-300 departs Sydney on ANZAC Day. Left – Fog at Sydney caused a Qantas A380 to divert to Auckland. Below left – Two Jetstar A320s are out of service after being doused with foam when a storm triggered the fire suppression system in the airline’s Newcastle maintenance hangar. Below right – A Jetstar 787-8 departs Cairns.