Preflight

Jetstar group chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka said the Jetstar Hong Kong board was looking at all available options in response to the ATLA’s decision.

“The Jetstar Hong Kong board has not made any decision on whatit will do,” Hrdlicka told delegates at the CAPA – Centre for Aviation Australia Pacific Aviation Summit in Sydney on August 5.

“It has a number of different options and it is going through those options as you would imagine quite diligently.

“We have got I think until the third week in September to decide what we want to do and the board will make its announcement once the decision has been made. ” In its June decision, the ATLA said Jetstar Hong Kong did not meet the legal requirement of Hong Kong being the planned low-cost carrier’s principal place of business as “JHK [Jetstar Hong Kong] cannot make its decisions independently from that of the two foreign shareholders. ” Officially, the parties have said the decision is under review.

However, analysts say there is unlikely to be any way back for the proposed franchise.

Hrdlicka said the decision was “devastating” and a “tragedy” for the people of Hong Kong, given it denied them choice.

“It was needless,” Hrdlicka said.

“The incumbents should have looked at – and I know they did – the circumstances in all markets where low fares have been developed thoughtfully, because it has grown the pie for everybody. ” Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said the Hong Kong government’s decision on Jetstar Hong Kong sent worrying signals about the rise ofprotectionism in the aviation sector and was a “blatant application of the rules to Jetstar Hong Kong that did not apply to the other carriers”.

“That is a distortion and shouldn’t be allowed,” Joyce told delegates at the summit.

“If those rules and that decision was applied to Cathay or Hong Kong Express, they wouldn’t have qualified as a Hong Kong carrier. In fact if those rules applied to Virgin and Tiger here in Australia they wouldn’t qualify to operate in this market.

“We don’t believe it is the right call and we think it is a very dangerous call for fair competition. ” In terms of Jetstar Hong Kong’s options following the ATLA decision, Joyce said in a statementafter the conference: “Jetstar Hong Kong has to decide what its next steps are, but from a Qantas perspective we won’t be investing any more funds in this airline. ” Qantas said in June its investment in Jetstar Hong Kong was valued at $10 million in its latest financial accounts.

Meanwhile, Hrdlicka said the Australian domestic leisure market was currently doing “OK”, describing it as “not the best we have ever seen but also not the worst we have ever seen”.

“We would hope to see a steady demand improvement over the course of the next one or two years,” Hrdlicka said.

And the Jetstar group chief executive said Jetstar in Australiahas benefited from Virgin’s move upmarket in recent times.

This was based on Jetstar’s revenue per available seat kilometre (RASK) figures on its off-peak flights from the past nine months, which Hrdlicka said had been “higher than they have ever been before”.

“When Virgin moved to create a bundled price that competes with Qantas . . . that move pushed customers out of Virgin to Jetstar because Virgin just became too expensive,” Hrdlicka said.

“Core, passionate, loyal Virgin customers have been abandoned in Virgin’s move to be a more premium carrier in the marketplace and you can see it in our numbers. ”

Qantas long-haul pilots approve new wage deal

Qantas has moved a step closer towards a potential Boeing 787-9 order after its longhaul pilots voted in favour of a four-year wage agreement.

The Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) said on July 30 some 88 per cent of its 1,300 members voted on the new agreement, with 82 per cent approving the package.

While the new deal did not significantly change the terms and conditions relating to Qantas’s existing fleet, notwithstanding an 18-month wage freeze followed by an annual three per cent increase, the package did include some new provisions on potential 787 flying.

AIPA president and Qantas pilot Nathan Safe said the enterpriseagreement “satisfies a business case for Qantas international to consider purchasing Boeing 787s, with a possible entry into service as early as 2017”.

“The brightest future for the vast majority of our members is provided by an airline that is positioned for sustainable growth,” Safe said in a statement.

The company has about 50 options and purchase rights for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce told delegates at the CAPA – Centre for Aviation Australia Pacific Aviation Summit in Sydney on August 4 the agreement with pilots was a “good step in the right direction”.

However, it was only one part of getting the business case to stack up for any 787-9 order.

“There are some more pieces of work that we have to complete,” Joyce said.

“We’re now working through the route economics and network economics, and working out howwe can justify the acquisition of the 787s – and if we can, we have plenty of aircraft options for 2017 onwards, so we’re working through that process now. ” Qantas’s first 787-9 option was for delivery in late calendar 2017, with the remaining delivery slots spread out over the rest of the decade. A decision on whether to exercise that first option would be made between now and the end of 2015.

The Flying Kangaroo has established three criteria that needed to be met before it would consider taking up any of its options and purchase rights for the 787-9, namely Qantas International’s return to sustainable profitability, repaying $1 billion of debt and establishing appropriate staff conditions to ensure the business case for the new aircraft type stacked up.

(Qantas reported its 2014/15 full year results on August 20. A full report on the airline’s financial performance will be in the October edition of Australian Aviation. )

Quickstep to deliver first F-35 vertical tail shipset by year’s end

Quickstep Holdings says it is on track to deliver the first shipset of carbon fibre composite parts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter vertical tails by the end of 2015.

The Bankstown Airport-based manufacturer says it continues to make progress on the qualification process for production of the F-35 vertical tail components.

“Under its agreement with Marand Precision Engineering, Quickstep will supply 700 sets of carbon fibre composite parts including skins, spars and fairings over a period of 14 years, with first deliveries expected to commence this year,” Quickstep said in its quarterly salesresults published on July 29.

Quickstep signed a long-term agreement with Marand for the supply of carbon fibre composite parts for the F-35 vertical tails in April 2014. The company has agreements with several original equipment manufacturers to supply F-35 parts for the next 20 years valued at about US$700 million.

In the three months to June 30 2015, Quickstep completed 136 F-35 parts, bringing the total number of parts completed during 2014/15 to 466. This was up from 188 parts completed in 2013/14, the company said.

“Discussions with original equipment manufacturers regarding increasing production volumes are continuing,” Quickstep said.

The first F-35 with Australianmade vertical tails was built in May.

Meanwhile, Quickstep said it completed 11 shipsets for composite wing flaps for the C-130J in the quarter, for an annual total of 32 shipsets in 2014/15. The company is the sole global supplier of wing flaps for the C‐130J Super Hercules after signing a five-year memorandum of agreement in December 2013.

“This exceeded the C‐130J wing flaps production rate of about three shipsets per month established earlier in the year,” Quickstep said.

“Following a recent production order Quickstep’s firm order book has increased substantially. A new memorandum of understanding, including an extension to the existing agreement, is expected to be signed in early FY2016. ” Quickstep said it booked a record $40. 4 million in sales for the 12 months to June 30 2015, up from $12 million in the prior corresponding period. The company’s order book stood at $74. 9 million at June 30, compared with $52 million at the end of March.

“This reflects increased orders for Quickstep’s JSF and C‐130J aerospace contracts, and it is anticipated that the majority of this work will be completed during the next two years,” Quickstep said.

First RAAF P-8 on track for mid-2016 first flight

Components for the first Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft for the RAAF are already in production ahead of the aircraft’s first flight in mid‑2016, Boeing says.

The fuselage for the first RAAF P-8A, dubbed ‘Aussie 01’, should arrive at Boeing’s Renton factory to begin final assembly by early 2016, James Detwiler, Boeing Military Aircraft’s director of business development for maritime projects, told Australian journalists in Seattle on July 27.

“We’ve already begun production on the first aircraft. Aussie 01 is in production right now in a very long-lead advanced procurement state,”Detwiler said.

“The first fuselage will be complete by the end of the year … and that first Australian [fuselage] will be here [Boeing’s mission systems integration line adjacent to Boeing Field in Seattle] in the first part of 2016. ” That would lead to a first flight in “mid-year 2016,” Detwiler said.

The Australian government announced approval of the RAAF’s acquisition of eight P-8As with options on a further four in February 2014. The first Australian aircraft is due to be delivered in early 2017 and all eight are expected in service by 2021. Prime Minister Tony Abbott said at the time that acquiring the four optioned aircraft would be considered as part of the new Defence White Paper, which is due to be released in coming weeks.

To date, Boeing has delivered 27 production P-8As to the US Navy out of a requirement – project of record – for 117. Fifty-three P-8As have been contracted for under low rate initial production (LRIP) batches 1 through 4 and the first full-rate production batch.

Currently Boeing and the US Navy are finalising contracts for full rate production batch two and long-lead items for full rate production batch three, which will include all eight Australian aircraft. A contract for long-lead items covering the first four RAAF aircraft was signed last August.

So far India and Australia are the only confirmed P-8 export customers – but Detwiler said Boeing anticipated that further international orders would take total P-8 production beyond 200 units.

“We’re looking at numbers that would bring a fleet size in the 200 ballpark, maybe more,” Detwiler said.

India is acquiring eight P-8Is, a variant of the P-8A featuring a different communications suite and a digital magnetic anomaly detector (MAD). Seven of the eight Indian P-8Is have already been delivered.

London remains Royal Brunei’s most popular destination from Melbourne

While London has been and is likely to be for some time Royal Brunei Airlines’ (RB) most popular destination from Melbourne, the daily service from the Victorian capital to its Bandar Seri Begawan hub is also carrying an increasing number of passengers to some of Asia’s most popular destinations.

Melbourne was left as RB’s soledestination in Australia after the airline underwent a significant restructure in 2011 that included cuts to Auckland, Brisbane and Darwin.

Some 18 months ago, the Melbourne route was retimed to improve connecting options. RB’s daily Boeing 787-8 service lands just before 0600 allowing passengers to fly through to New Zealand and Australian domestic points. Similarly, a lunchtime departure gives those from beyond Melbourne enough time to make the flight.

RB has been growing, particularly from China, a so-called two-city package where travellers can incorporate a beach holiday in Kota Kinabalu or Bali alongside a few days in Brunei for tranquil relaxation and eco-tourism activities.

And efforts to encourage transfer traffic beyond London and Dubai have also helped smooth the demand profile from Melbourne over the course of the year.

“London is always our most important route out of Melbourne because it generates the most revenue, it is a popular destination in its own right,” RB country manager for Australia Brett McDougall told Australian Aviation on the sidelines of the CAPA – Centre for Aviation Australia Pacific Aviation Summit in Sydney on August 4.

“The challenge for us is actually matching the seasons of traffic.

What you are trying to do is avoid the conflict of everyone wanting seats at the one time and no-one wanting seats at other times. ”RB’s fleet of four Boeing 787- 8 Dreamliners currently fly to Melbourne, London via Dubai, and Jeddah, as well as ad-hoc services to Hong Kong and Singapore, from the Brunei capital Bandar Seri Begawan.

Meanwhile, its two Airbus A319s and four A320s operate within Asia, including flights to Shanghai and Hong Kong in North Asia, as well as Kota Kinabalu, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Bali, Surabaya, Jakarta, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok.

The airline is replacing its two A319s with two leased A320s from October. Meanwhile, the existing four A320s will be replaced with A320neos that are due to arrive from 2017. The company has seven A320neos on order, with options for three more.

RB deputy chairman Dermot Mannion said the extended range of the A320neo would give the airlinemore options regarding its network.

“These aircraft are capable of going five, six hours which really begins to blur the lines between a widebody aircraft, which is traditionally what you would have used to go five or six hours, and narrowbodies which historically you would have flown no more than four hours,” Mannion told Australian Aviation.

“We will have the flexibility when the neo fleet arrives to look at deploying those aircraft to a wider range of activity. ” And on the widebody front, RB was expected to pickup a fifth 787-8 in 2017.

Mannion said the airline’s efforts to restructure its network and lower its cost base meant it was better placed to compete against both full-service and low-cost carriers in South-East Asia.

One reason is the healthy demand for a true business class product on short-haul routes within Asia.

“In Europe and elsewhere shorthaul has become very much a single-class commodity,” Mannion said.

“In our part of the world, there is continuing demand for business class and we provide a very good business class and that clearly gives us an edge over our friends in the LCC [market].

“We are well-positioned to face the future and take advantage of the opportunities that will provide. ” Another aspect is RB’s partnerships with other airlines.

In Australia, that means working with both Qantas and Virgin Australia, as well as Air New Zealand, for interline and special prorate agreements to help ticket passengers beyond Melbourne to other Australian and trans-Tasman destinations.

Although RB had no codeshares for flights beyond Melbourne,McDougall said RB has good working relationships with all local carriers.

“We sell probably a little bit more Virgin than we do Qantas but we have close relationships with both companies,” McDougall said.

“We collaborate with many carriers. ” Mannion described it as a pragmatic approach to growing the network without spending huge sums on new aircraft.

“We tend to look at markets on an individual basis and we talk to a widenumber of airlines on many different jurisdictions,” Mannion said.

RB’s relationship with Australia’s local carriers sits in contrast to the experience of another non-aligned carrier, Hawaiian Airlines, whose chief executive Mark Dunkerley complained at the CAPA summit about the difficulties of accessing beyond gateway access in Australia.

Dunkerley claimed Qantas and Virgin had a disincentive to offer seats to the likes of Hawaiian because of their alliance partnerships with American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, respectively, on trans-Pacific routes.

“The interests of the two dominant Australian carriers have changed over time,” Dunkerley said.

“Their interest in a relationship with a second-tier US carrier is very much blunted, naturally, and I understand why. ” Virgin codeshares on Hawaiian’s Australian services from Brisbane and Sydney. However, Hawaiian said they have been unable to add their code on Virgin’s Australian domestic services.

UNSW to offer “QantasLink approved” pilot training scheme

A fast-track to an airline career?

To the backdrop of a Dash 8-Q400 and a Diamond DA‑42 trainer, QantasLink and the University of New South Wales announced a collaboration that will offer the next generation of pilots an exciting new direction. It is not the first time that the two organisations have worked together, but this partnership takes their relationship to a new level.

UNSW aviation students will have the ability to become “QantasLink Approved” through the course of their degree studies. As QantasLink chief executive John Gissing highlighted: “These students will not only benefit from the opportunity to fast-track their career by joining Australia’s premium regional airline, but will also learn from the wisdom and experience of our qualified QantasLink pilots. ” Under the scheme, which was announced on August 6, the trainees will have their progress monitored by QantasLink while also being mentored by pilots from the airline. They will also undertake the UNSW’s new Graduate Diploma in Advanced Flying, which will encompass such topics as multicrew coordination and advanced systems. The course would also be specifically tailored to the Q400.

The Head of the UNSW School of Aviation, Professor Jason Middleton, described the new flight simulators for the program as “state-of-the-art”, adding to the already impressive UNSW facilities at Bankstown.

Once employed by QantasLink, graduates will complete their training under the supervision of QantasLink’s experienced training team and go on to become qualified as first officers flying the airline’s QantasLink has teamed with UNSW. owen zupp 74-seat Q400s.

China Southern flags Guangzhou-Sao Paulo via South Pacific

China Southern has raised the prospect of operating to Brazil from its Guangzhou hub via either Tahiti or Auckland as part of ongoing expansion in the South Pacific.

While at first glance such a route would seems improbable, China Southern senior vice president of global sales Li Dongliang said the South Pacific was a big market opportunity.

“China and Brazil are both important members of BRICS. How about to launch a new direct service from Guangzhou to Brazil via one point in the South Pacific, for example via Auckland or via Tahiti,”Li told delegates at the CAPA – Centre for Aviation Australia Pacific Aviation Summit in Sydney on August 5.

“It sounds like we are doing some exaggeration, but I don’t think so.

“When we are talking about the future of the South Pacific, there are two sentences that come up in my mind. One is, everything is possible. The other is, nothing is impossible. ” Should China Southern eventually make it to Brazil, it would join only a select number of airlines that fly to all six of the world’s inhabited continents. China Southern began flights to the African mainland in August, with services to Nairobi, Kenya.

Li said connecting passengers accounted for about 80 per cent of travellers on China Southern’s flights between Guangzhou and Australia and New Zealand, highlighting the success of the airline’s efforts to build an international passenger hub at Baiyun International Airport.

During the summer peak, China Southern was scheduled to operate a record high 64 flights a week to Australia and New Zealand, with potentially more to come in the period ahead.

Li confirmed the airline was in talks with Christchurch Airport and local tourism authorities there to launch a new direct service from Guangzhou by the end of 2015.

He said the current South Pacific network of five cities – Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney – was “far from enough”.

“Our target is to offer flights to all major cities in the South Pacific,” Li said.

China Southern has flown charter flights to Adelaide, the Gold Coast and Cairns in previous years and these cities could receive scheduled flights at some point in the future. And the Skyteam member also flew charters to Fiji recently to “test the market”, Li said.

Xiamen Airlines to land in Sydney

Xiamen Airlines will begin service to the NSW capital from both Xiamen and Fuzhou from late November. The Skyteam member will start three times a week Fuzhou-Sydney service from November 30, with two flights a week between Xiamen and Sydney to commence on December 6. Both services will be flown by Boeing 787‑8s which are configured with 237 seats, with four in first, 18 in business and 215 in economy. With a population of about seven million, Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian province located in the south-east of China. Meanwhile, Xiamen, also in Fujian province, has a population of about 3. 5 million. Xiamen Airlines, which is 51 per cent owned by China Southern, will be the fifth carrier from mainland China at the airport alongside China Southern, China Eastern, Air China and Sichuan Airlines. Cathay Pacific also serves Sydney from its Hong Kong hub.

Alliance to send all heavy maintenance to Europe

Alliance Aviation Services is closing its Brisbane heavy maintenance base and will send its all-Fokker fleet to Europe for regular heavy checks as part of cost-saving measures.

Jetgo expands with new Queensland routes

Regional carrier Jetgo is expanding its regular public transport (RPT) network with new flights between Townsville, Rockhampton and the Gold Coast due to take off from September 28.

The flights will run three times a week on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays and operate on a triangular Townsville-Rockhampton-Gold Coast routing, Jetgo said on July 29.

Townsville is a Jetgo base for its charter and fly-in/fly-out operations.

Jetgo managing director for airlines Paul Brederick says the 36‑seat Embraer EMB-135 the airline will use is the perfect sized aircraft for the route.

Currently, QantasLink flies between Townsville and Rockhampton. There is no nonstop RPT service on the Gold Coast-Rockhampton route.

Bredereck told the CAPA – Centre for Aviation Australia Pacific Aviation Summit on August 3 Jetgo’s other two RPT routes – Brisbane-Tamworth and Brisbane-Dubbo – were performing well, with many passengers from Tamworth connecting onto Melbourne-bound flights at Brisbane Airport.

Also, he said the difficulty securing access at busy Brisbane and Sydney airports was proving a serious constraint to expanding its RPT operations.

“In the coming years I guess we have got to look for opportunities that are not Sydney and Brisbane, while maximising what we can get at Sydney and Brisbane,” Bredereck said.

“They are very congested airports and with smaller aircraft we are at the back of the queue for those slots. ”

Airservices looking for new CEO

Airservices says chief executive Margaret Staib has left the organisation for health reasons.

The nation’s air traffic navigation services provider said on July 31 Staib would “not be renewing her term in October and will leave Airservices in August”.

“Ms Staib’s decision has been prompted by her decision to focus on her short-term personal health,” Airservices said in a statement.

The Royal Australian Air Force Air Vice-Marshal and former Commander Joint Logistics was appointed Airservices chief executive in September 2012.

Airservices chairman Air Chief Marshal Sir Angus Houston said Staib had made a significant contribution during her almost three years as chief executive and “achieved considerable success”.

“Ms Staib will be missed by colleagues and Airservices wishes her every success in the future,” Sir Angus said.

As chief executive, Staib oversaw the signing of contracts for the new OneSky air traffic management system, which aims to combine Australia’s currently separate civil and military air traffic management systems into one program.

Parts of the OneSky system were expected to be operating by 2018, with the full rollout due to be completed in 2021.

Sir Angus said Airservices was in the process of selecting a new chief executive. Jason Harfield, currently Airservices executive general manager for future service delivery, has been appointed as acting chief executive.

The heavy maintenance checks will be undertaken at Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Technik Bratislava, which started working on Alliance aircraft in April when the company ended heavy maintenance in Adelaide, and has successfully completed heavy maintenance overhauls on two aircraft.

Alliance said the move wouldresult in an “immediate cash saving”, which meant total capital expenditure was forecast to fall by about of A$20 million per year.

“The cessation of heavy maintenance in Brisbane will impact 22 staff positions within the Alliance operation in Brisbane along with a small number of contractor positions,” Alliance said in a statement on August 4.

“The company will be able to offer some of the staff alternative employment within Alliance, and will support those who are being made redundant to transition to other employment. ” Redundancy costs would be about $800,000.

Alliance managing director Scott McMillan said the end of heavy maintenance in Brisbane was “part of ongoing structure and operating changes to improve the company’s long-term profitability”.

The airline has moved to reduce costs and improve fleet utilisation, as well as protect existing contracts and secure more non-mining related work, in response to changing market conditions and after posting a first half loss.

In addition to sending heavy maintenance work overseas, Alliance also sold two Fokker 100s in May.

“Through these and other measures we will maintain our position as the leading provider of contracted aviation services in Australia,” McMillan said.

“The change at Brisbane will have no effect on our services to the resources sector, or our diversification into tourism-related and other sectors across Australasia. ” Alliance said it would continue to perform line maintenance work at Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Cairns, Townsville, Melbourne and Auckland.

Buses to Badgerys?

Badgerys Creek to start with buses as only public transport option

Buses will be the only form of public transport to Sydney’s Badgerys Creek Airport when the new facility is opened in the mid‑2020s, a senior Commonwealth public servant says.

Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development deputy secretary Andrew Wilson says rail is “probably a longer term requirement” for the proposed airport in western Sydney.

“We are looking at the issue of rail infrastructure with NSW,” Wilson told delegates at the CAPA – Centre for Aviation Australia Pacific Aviation Summit in Sydney on August 3.

“Rail is just one means of public transport. The first public transport to and from the airport will be buses.

It will be buses provided through an efficient road network. ” The state and federal government say they will spend a combined $3. 6 billion over the next 10 years for road improvements around the Badgerys Creek Airport site.

However, there have been no funds allocated towards a rail link to the airport.

Asked if the master plan would include safeguards for an intermodal connection, or rail link, inside the terminal, Wilson said: “We are working to ensure that the airportis capable of being developed longterm in the most efficient way we possibly can and that includes the identification of what you may or may not need in terms of future rail infrastructure investment. ” “Of course it has got to be developed in such a way that it would integrate into the NSW rail network which is why we are working with NSW transport officials. ” Wilson said construction at Badgerys Creek planned to start in 2016, with the airport to open with capacity for 10 million passengers a year and be capable of handling domestic and international flights, as well as local and overseas freight, from day one.

“The first stage will be neither a shed in a paddock, nor a grand monument,” Wilson said.

“Think of Adelaide Airport today and you would be in the right ballpark both in terms of size but also capacity to handle a diversity of traffic it will serve. ” Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said he was comfortable with the airport not having rail service on its first day of operations.

“With all of these infrastructure projects you do not want them to be over-specced and over-developed from day one,” Joyce told delegates at the conference.

SCROLL DOWN “I think eventually BadgerysCreek will need a rail link, I’m open to the fact that at the start it doesn’t have a rail link. ” The Commonwealth recently concluded the nine-month formal consultation period with the owners of Sydney Airport and was preparing to release its Notice of Intention (effectively a sales contract) in late 2015.

Wilson said the Department was currently preparing its advice to government about the commercial and contractual structure of the proposal, including the detailed first stage requirements of the airport.

“If everything goes well, it is possible that the Notice of Intentionwill be with Sydney Airport by the end of the year,” Wilson said.

Meanwhile, Wilson said the environmental impact statement and airport master plan were expected to be released to the public in either late November or early December.

When the Commonwealth sold Sydney Airport in 2002 it included a 30-year first right of refusal to build and operate any airport within 100km of the existing terminals at Mascot.

While the formal master plan was yet to be released, Wilson said the government was keen to maximise the aeronautical capacity of the 1,700ha site and build an airport that was able to expand as demand grew.

In terms of the airport design, Wilson said the master plan would show a curfew-free facility where the terminal buildings and apron space were located between two parallel runways capable of handling large widebody aircraft.

Ultimately, the airport would be designed to be capable of handling more than 80 million passengers a year by the time it reached capacity.

“That is a lot of capacity but we want to ensure an enduring solution to Sydney’s aviation needs,” Wilson said.

Qantas heading back to Sunshine Coast

Qantas is boosting service to Queensland with a return to Maroochydore (Sunshine Coast) from December and new flights to the Gold Coast due to take off from October.

The start of new daily Melbourne-Gold Coast nonstops from October 25 with Boeing 737‑800s builds on Qantas’s return to the Glitter Strip three years ago in 2012 when it started three times daily flights from Sydney and converted the Jetstar lounge at the airport to a Qantas Club.

Meanwhile, QantasLink Boeing 717s, which are operated on behalf of the airline by Cobham Aviation Services, will begin flying six times a week between Sydney and Maroochydore from December 21. Qantas last flew to Maroochydore about10 years ago.

Qantas also flagged more flights on the Sydney-Gold Coast route from February, as well as an increased flying schedule out of Hobart.

These additional flights would be supported by two additional 717s joining the fleet on lease from early 2016, which would bring the total number of the type to 20, and redeploying aircraft from Western Australia due to the slowdown in mining activity, as well as the previously announced move to add more flying hours to its Boeing 737 fleet by reducing turnaround times to 35 minutes for a greater number of flights.

United to end Cairns- Guam route

United will end its twice weekly flight to Cairns in September as part of service reductions from the airline’s Guam hub.

The last service between Cairns and Guam, which are operated by Boeing 737s with flight numbers UA94 and UA95, will be on September 26 and 27, United said in a statement.

The Star Alliance member is also cancelling its daily Guam- Seoul Incheon flights from September 30.

“We have taken this decision because the services’ financial performance did not meet our expectations,” United said in a statement.

The Cairns-Guam route, which according to the Airline Route website began in 1998 with Boeing 727 aircraft, was inherited from Continental Micronesia when United and Continental merged in 2010.

A 1991 Continental brochure showed the airline also previously served Brisbane and Sydney from its Guam hub.

First repainted Q300 turboprop for Jetstar NZ emerges from paintshop

Jetstar has repainted the first of five turboprops that will be used on regional New Zealand routes.

On August 12, the airline released photos of Bombardier Dash 8-Q300 VH-TQM, which hasbeen repainted into Jetstar livery at the Flying Colours Aviation paintshop in Townsville.

In addition to the new look, the former QantasLink turboprops will also have an “interior refresh to match the Jetstar onboard product”, the airline said in a statement.

Jetstar representatives recently completed a tour of regional New Zealand to consider where the turboprops would fly to and Jetstar New Zealand head Grant Kerr said the first four regional routes would be announced in a few weeks.

The airline, which launched plans to fly on regional routes in June, has said previously cities and towns such as Hamilton, Rotorua, Tauranga, Napier, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Nelson and Invercargill were in the mix.

“We’ve had a very positive response to our June announcement and the feedback we’ve received on our regional visits has been equally supportive,” Kerr said in a statement.

The turboprops will be operated by Eastern Australia Airlines for Jetstar.

Greg Russell to chair aviation industry body

Former Airservices chief executive Greg Russell has been named as the new honorary chair of The Australian Aviation Associations’ Forum (TAAAF). Russell replaces TAAAF’s inaugural chairman Chris Manning, who held the post since 2008. In addition to his almost seven years as Airservices chief executive, Russell also previously worked at Sydney Airport as director of aviation safety, at Athens Airport as chief operating officer and was general manager at Hazelton Airlines.

Australian Airports Association looking for new chairman

Australian Airports Association (AAA) chairman Stephen Goodwin will step down in October after five years in the role. The AAA will elect a new chairman at its annual general meeting in Hobart on October 14.

Airnorth appoints new chief executive

Long-time Airnorth chief executive Michael Bridge has stepped down after 17 years. Bridge has been succeeded as chief executive by deputy chief executive Daniel Bowden. Airnorth said the leadership change was part of a planned transition after Bristow Helicopters Australia, an affiliate of US-based Bristow Group, bought a controlling 85 per cent stake in the company in February 2015. Bowden has been with Airnorth for six months, having come from the Bristow Group where he was working in finance and operational management roles in Australia. Despite stepping down as chief executive, Bridge remained a shareholder and director of Airnorth. The 26-year veteran of the company will also have a business development role across both Airnorth and the wider Bristow group.