Preflight

As part of efforts to increase awareness of Air New Zealand’s network in North and South America, the airline in early October launched a new marketing campaign featuring the voice of Australian actor Bryan Brown and hired extra staff to bolster its state-based sales teams to sell the “seamless” connection through Auckland.

Luxon told invited guests, media and airline staff during the Sydney launch of the “Better Way to Fly” campaign on October 6 that passenger research showed four in 10 Australians were aware Air New Zealand flew to destinations beyond the Tasman.

And those perceptions would have to change if the Star Alliance member wanted to capture a bigger share of Australian long-haul travellers.

“Most Australians know us as flying on the Tasman and we’ve been doing that job I think incredibly well,” Luxon said.

“We want a slice of the Australian long-haul market, especially the traffic that heads from Australia through to North and South America.

“For us, we are leveraging the geography that we have which is sitting in the middle of Australia and the Americas. ” Air New Zealand serves Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver in North America, as well as Buenos Aires in Argentina. It also flies to Honolulu. Meanwhile, figures from the airline showed a quarter of all international/long-haul departures from this country were headed to the United States, South America or Canada.

Luxon said about 20 per cent of passengers on its Houston service, and about 40 per cent of passengers bound for Buenos Aires, were from Australia. Both routes were launched in December 2015. The figure was in the double digits on the rest of its North American network.

“We are really comfortable in our ability to compete and make a really attractive proposition for Australians to come through Auckland to the Americas,” Luxon told reporters after the launch.

Luxon said the push for more Australian transfer traffic to the Americas could pave the way for more widebody services on its trans-Tasman schedule, as part of efforts to offer a more consistent passenger experience as travellers go from the short-haul Tasman flight to the long-haul trans- Pacific leg.

“As we get more 787s, increasingly you will see more widebody capacity coming into Australia as well,” Luxon said.

“How we time schedules, where we start aircraft up and how they all go through, that will continue to change over time.

“The question is, in a place like Adelaide would you ever start a widebody service out to do that?” The trans-Pacific market has experienced strong growth in recent times, given the launch of the two Air New Zealand long-haul routes to Houston and Buenos Aires, as well as the arrival of new services from American (Los Angeles to both Auckland and Sydney) United (San Francisco to Auckland), Air Canada (Brisbane to Vancouver) and Qantas (Sydney to San Francisco).

That has led to pressure on yields, as airlines offered bargain fares to maintain load factors, and was expected to result in Air New Zealand reporting a drop in profits for the 2016/17 financial year.

The airline guided the market to expect earnings before taxation of between NZ$400 million to NZ$600 million in 2016/17, compared with $NZ806 million in the prior year.

Luxon said at the company’s annual general meeting on September 30 it would be a return to “more normal competitive market conditions” in 2016/17, which he described as a “transitionary year”.

The airline also maintained capacity forecasts for domestic (seven to nine per cent growth), trans-Tasman and South Pacific (three to five per cent growth) and international long-haul (four to six per cent growth) networks.

Asked about the state of the market at the “Better Way to Fly” launch, Luxon took a long-term view.

“What Australia and New Zealand have to offer as a tourism proposition is immense,” Luxon said.

“There is a tidal wave of demand sitting out there – whether you are sitting in Asia, the Americas, Australasia – that’s coming our way whether we are ready for it or not.

“Just be really clear, that’s the canvas by which our business is really painted on.

“In the short term, what we’ve had in New Zealand is we’ve had a tremendous amount of competition show up in a very concentrated short period of time. That’s just about an adjustment period for us. ” Luxon said the Buenos Aires flights had also generated stronger-than-expected freight demand, particularly carrying cargo from Shanghai to South America via Auckland.

Qantas to resume Melbourne-Tokyo, Sydney-Beijing

Qantas is restoring flights on two key routes to Japan and China to tap into growing visitor numbers to Australia from those key markets.

The Australian carrier will end an eight-year absence on Melbourne-Tokyo (Narita) when it returns to the route on December 16 with a daily service using Airbus A330-300s. While Qantas and its low-cost unit Jetstar will both serve Tokyo from Tullamarine during the peak Christmas/New Year season, Jetstar will withdraw from the route on February 25 2017.

Qantas is also returning to Beijing for the first time since 2009 from January 25 2017 with a daily nonstop service with Airbus A330-200s.

The Chinese capital has been a tricky market for Qantas, which has been on and off and, from January, back on again, in recent times.

However, with a joint-venture partner in China Eastern supporting the return to Beijing, this latest venture into North Asia may yield greater success than previous attempts.

Flight schedules show QF107 as an afternoon departure from Sydney, landing in Beijing just before 2300 local time. The reciprocal QF108 is an overnight service from Beijing, touching down in Sydney mid-afternoon.

The fact that the A330-200s are used mainly on trans-continental services suggests the airline is also continuing to take capacity out of the Perth market in response to the downturn in mining activity and redeploying those aircraft on international routes.

Further, Virgin Australia’s proposed flights to Beijing and Hong Kong from a yet-to-be-disclosed Australian city in partnership with Chinese airline and aviation giant HNA Group, which were due to start on June 1 2017, may have also prompted Qantas to steal a march on its rival.

Currently, Qantas flies daily between Sydney and Shanghai with A330-300s. It also flies to Hong Kong from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney and recently increased frequencies on those routes.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce noted China was Australia’s second largest source of visitors behind New Zealand.

“There are 21 million people in Beijing alone and from the start of next year they will be just one Qantas flight away. The potential is tremendous,” Joyce said on October 13.

“We’re seeing strong loads on our existing Shanghai and Hong Kong services, and on this new Beijing route we’ll have the advantage of China Eastern marketing the Qantas flight as part of their own network. ” Meanwhile, the net effect of Qantas’s resumption and Jetstar’s withdrawal on Melbourne-Narita is a 55 per cent increase in available seats for the airline group on the route – Jetstar’s four flights a week with Boeing 787-8s totalled 1,340 seats, while Qantas’s daily A330-300 service offers 2,079 seats a week.

Flight schedules show Qantas’s QF79 departing Melbourne at 0915, arriving at Narita at 1730. The reciprocal QF80 was due to take off from Tokyo at 1900, arriving in Melbourne at 0730 the next day.

“The Qantas Group is perfectly placed to support the resurgent growth we’re seeing, with the biggest Australia-Japan network, the biggest domestic network in Australia, and the biggest low-cost carrier network in Japan through Jetstar,” Qantas International and Freight chief executive Gareth Evans said.

Currently, Qantas flies Sydney-Tokyo (Haneda) with Boeing 747-400s and Brisbane-Narita with A330s. Both are daily.

Boeing rolls out first RAAF Poseidon

The first Boeing P-8APoseidon maritimesurveillance aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was formally revealed in a ceremony at Boeing Field, Seattle, on September 27.

The aircraft, wearing RAAF serial A47-001 and 11 Squadron albatross tail markings, was due to arrive in Canberra on November 15, flownby an Australian crew, according to the RAAF’s website.

Fifteen P-8As are set to replace the RAAF’s AP-3C Orion fleet, together with the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system.

The P-8A is equippedwith advanced sensors andmission systems, includingan advanced radar, high-definition cameras, and an acousticsystem that is said to havefour times the processing capacityof the Orion.

A47-001 competed its maiden flight, from Renton where it was assembled to Boeing Field, whereits mission systems were installed, on May 6.

Northrop Grumman submits AIR 6500 capability study

Northrop Grumman has delivered its capability solutions study for Project AIR 6500 in which the company outlined its thoughts on how the Australian Defence Force might go about establishing a system that is capable of seamlessly receiving and transmitting data from multiple networks.

The company is one of four contractors, along with Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, that were expected to make a submission intended to inform the effort to introduce a joint battle management system.

Kenn Todorov, who is Northrop Grumman’s international campaign manager for integrated air and missile defence, praised Australia’s decision to involve industry at this early stage in what is set to be a particularly challenging project.

“This is a really refreshing approach and an admirable approach,” he said in an interview with Australian Aviation.

“They basically put us on contract, all four of the US primes, and said: ‘here is how we see the problem, here is what we think our budget is, here is what our schedule is; at the end of this, this is the capability that we want to have, help us figure out how to do it. ’ ” Highlighting the complexity of the project, Todorov said that there is no ‘plug and play’ solution already available that would meet the AIR 6500 requirement.

“It is going to be a journey, I like to call it, an evolutionary journey of capability, of spiral development,” he explained. “And it is not one that the US has solved yet either; we are still very much trying to figure it out. ” Asked to describe the content of Northrop Grumman’s submission, Todorov said that first and foremost the company is advocating the adoption of a modular, open system architecture approach.

“That is not unique to Northrop Grumman but I would say Northrop Grumman has been doing it longer than anyone else,” he said. “Open architecture meaning any sensor, best shooter in the battlespace; being agnostic toward however the data is coming in. ” It is understood that under a second phase of the AIR 6500 project a ground-based medium-range missile defence system will be acquired.

Dassault delivers first Falcon 8X

Business jet manufacturer Dassault Aviation has delivered its first Falcon 8X to launch customer Amjet Executive.

The handover ceremony took place at the manufacturer’s Bordeaux-Merignac facility on October 5.

The Falcon 8X is an update of Dassault’s existing Falcon 7X and designed to enable non-stop flights such as Sydney-Mumbai, Hong Kong-London or Beijing-Los Angeles.

It was launched in May 2014 at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition and flight tests began in February 2015.

The aircraft received certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency and US Federal Aviation Administration in June.

Dassault said the aircraft was delivered on schedule to Amjet, a current Falcon operator based in Athens, Greece.

Dassault said there were currently 11 aircraft in final assembly, with a further 16 at the paintshop or having their interiors fitted. The company said it had orders from customers based in about a dozen countries in Europe, the Americas, Middle East and Asia.

Virgin Australia calls for proposed Air Niugini-Qantas codeshare deal to be rejected

Virgin Australia says a proposed new codeshare arrangement between Qantas and Air Niugini on Papua New Guinea (PNG) routes will restrict competition and should be rejected.

In a submission to Australia’s International Air Services Commission (IASC), Virgin said the proposed codeshare services would have a “negative effect on the Australian aviation industry, particularly in relation to the Brisbane-Port Moresby route”.

“Allowing Qantas and Air Niugini to increase their market power on the route through expanded codesharing will make it very difficult for Virgin Australia to win, or even retain, corporate business on the route,” Virgin said in its submission, dated September 30 and published on the IASC website on October 4.

“On a route dominated by business traffic, this is critical. Such an impact could be expected to threaten the viability of our continued operations on the PNG route.

“Virgin Australia expects that it will be extremely challenging to compete against the own aircraft operations of both Qantas and Air Niugini on this route, even in the absence of codeshare arrangements between the two carriers. ” In July, Qantas said it would end Q400 turboprop Cairns-Port Moresby flights and launch a daily Boeing 737-800 Brisbane-Port Moresby service to better serve the business market.

The change was due to take place on October 30.

Currently, Qantas and Air Niugini have a codeshare arrangement where the Australian carrier adds its QF airline code on the PNG carrier’s flights from Port Moresby to Brisbane and Sydney.

There is no codesharing on the Cairns-Port Moresby route, on which currently Qantas has up to 12 flights a week and Air Niugini up to 11 flights a week with Fokker 70 jets.

On September 5, Qantas applied to the IASC to codeshare on the Air Niugini’s Cairns-Port Moresby service as part of an updated agreement to reflect the Australian carrier’s network changes to PNG. Qantas and Air Niugini would also codeshare on each other’s Brisbane-Port Moresby service, while Qantas would maintain its codeshare on the PNG carrier’s Sydney-Port Moresby flights.

Meanwhile, Air Niugini said in a submission to the IASC dated September 9 it might have to withdraw widebody services on Brisbane-Port Moresby – the airline serves the route with a combination of 767-300ERs and 737-800s – if the proposed new codeshare agreement with Qantas was rejected.

Further, Air Niugini said there was a “material risk” it would withdraw from the Sydney route given there was “insufficient demand” to maintain an independent operation.

Virgin currently operates six times a week on Brisbane-Port Moresby using 737-800s, with a seventh added at peak periods.

The airline said that both the current and proposed Qantas-Air Niugini codeshare arrangements were the “single most significant barrier to entry on the PNG route”.

“Accordingly, the codeshare arrangements are themselves acting to restrict competition in air services between Australia and PNG,” Virgin said.

“This has negative implications for consumers and businesses, as well as tourism and trade. ” Virgin noted total passenger numbers on the Australia-PNG route had fallen from about 315,000 in 2012/13 to less than 300,000 in 2015/16 in response to a weaker PNG economy, with Qantas and Air Niugini carrying more than 80 per cent of all passengers on the route and Virgin picking up the remainder. Freight volumes in both directions had also trended downwards since 2012/13.

It said the market was dominated by business travel – so price discounting did little to stimulate additional demand – and reliant on committed revenue earned under contracts with companies whose employees undertook a large amount of travel.

Meanwhile, Virgin expressed some frustration the current air services agreement between Australia and PNG only allowed for codesharing with airlines of each country and not third-party carriers.

Further, it said there appeared little appetite from the PNG government to negotiate a new bilateral agreement, noting the “PNG delegation’s failure to attend scheduled air services negotiations in Canberra in March 2016, following on from two previous rounds in August 2011 and September 2012 at which no outcome was agreed”.

“This is particularly problematic for Virgin Australia, as we wish to secure a third country codeshare provision under the arrangements to enable our alliance partners to codeshare on our Brisbane-Port Moresby services,” Virgin said.

“This would assist in supporting the sustainability of these flights, particularly when we become the smallest operator in the market in terms of capacity once Qantas commences a daily service. ” Further, Virgin noted there were only 400 seats per week available to Australian carriers for new services under the current bilateral, with the rest already utilised by itself and Qantas.

“Certainly, this quantum of available capacity is inadequate to allow Australian carriers, either current operators or prospective new entrants, to develop plans for expansion on the route beyond the short term,” Virgin said.

Qantas said in a submission to the IASC dated September 14 the codeshare arrangements with Air Niugini had been in place since 1987 and were “instrumental in maintaining and growing air services in a historically challenging market, dominated by corporate traffic flows, with relatively limited opportunities for tourism growth”.

“Against this background, the codeshare arrangements have delivered significant public benefits in the form of increased competition, efficiencies and lower operating costs, which have in turn provided a wider range of services and choice for consumers than could be provided by each carrier operating alone,” Qantas told the IASC .

Canberra welcomes Singapore Airlines to town

Wet conditions failed to dampen the mood among those on hand to witness the arrival of the first scheduled international passenger service to Canberra in more than a decade.

On September 21, Canberra Airport welcomed the arrival of Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) inaugural “Capital Express” service with an Airservices Aviation Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) monitor cross.

Flight SQ291, operated by Boeing 777-200 9V-SRP, touched down in the nation’s capital a little after 0810, after a seven-hour journey from Singapore, marking the return of international passenger flights to Canberra since the short-lived Air Pacific (now Fiji Airways) flights to Nadi in 2004.

“They say some of the best things in life take the longest, and this has certainly been 18 and a half years of challenges and hard work, but also a great deal of fun,” Canberra Airport chief executive Stephen Byron told media ahead of SQ291’s arrival.

After about two hours on the ground, the flight continued on to New Zealand just after 1000 and arrived in Wellington at 1500, achieving yet another milestone as it was the first scheduled passenger service linking Canberra and Wellington.

The Singapore-Canberra-Wellington service is running four times a week with 777-200s configured with 38 angled lie-flat business class and 228 economy class seats.

SIA launches Sydney-Jarkarta-Singapore

Fresh from its launch of flights to Canberra and Wellington, Singapore Airlines (SIA) is further expanding its footprint in this country with a new three times weekly service linking Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.

The new flight, which will operate on a Singapore-Jakarta-Sydney routing, will launch on November 23, with SIA able to sell tickets for the fifth-freedom Sydney-Jakarta sector.

The route will be operated by Boeing 777-200ER equipment featuring 26 business class seats that offer direct aisle access for every passenger and 245 economy class seats, SIA said in a statement on September 28.

Once the new service takes off, SIA will have a total of 34 weekly flights between Singapore and Sydney and 74 weekly flights a week between Singapore and Jakarta.

SIA said alliance partner Virgin Australia would codeshare on the new route. Australia’s competition regulator recently approved the pair’s alliance until 2020.

The Sydney-Jakarta route is currently served by Qantas and Garuda Indonesia.

Meanwhile, SIA said it would replace an Airbus A330-300 with a Boeing 777-200ER on one of its daily Singapore-Brisbane rotations from Sunday October 30.

The equipment change represents an improvement for business class passengers given the 777-200ER featured fully-flat seats that offered direct aisle access in a 1-2-1 layout, compared with angled lie-flat seats in 2-2-2 configuration on the A330-300.

Hawaiian utilises ASPIRE fuel saving initiativeson Honolulu-Brisbane flight

Hawaiian Airlines says it will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 670,000 kilograms a year on its three times weekly Brisbane-Honolulu flights through the use of more efficient operations on the ground and in the air.

The September 20 flight of HA443, and the reciprocal HA444 two days later, was the first time Hawaiian had flown the route utilising seven environmental best practice measures outlined by the Asia and Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emissions (ASPIRE).

The ASPIRE group brings together Australia’s Airservices, Airways New Zealand, the US Federal Aviation Administration, Japan Air Navigation Services (JANS), the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and AeroThai in partnership to develop ideas that improve environmental standards and operational procedures in an effort to reduce fuel burn and carbon dioxide emissions.

It advocates a number of practices to improve the efficiency of flight covering ground taxiing, route optimisation and more collaborative decision-making between air navigation service providers, airport operations, ground handling services, aircraft operators and other stakeholders.

Hawaiian’s ASPIRE flight featured numerous taxiing, inflight and landing procedures that were estimated to have saved about 680kg of fuel thanks to the support of Airservices, Brisbane Airport and others, the airline said.

These included user-preferred routes, which enables airlines to customise more efficient flight paths; dynamic airborne reroute procedures, where airlines are able to change flight paths en route factoring in updated weather information; and an optimised descent profile, which helps cut down changes in engine thrust as the aircraft comes in to land.

Brisbane-Honolulu is Hawaiian’s second route operated under ASPIRE principles, following Auckland-Honolulu which started on April 22.

Hawaiian chief pilot for operations Captain Brian Beres, who along with first officer Jason Akina and international relief officer David Kahoaka was at the controls of flight HA443, said the airline worked closely with Brisbane Airport, Airservices and other regulatory and air traffic management bodies to ensure everything went smoothly.

“In order to really make best use of these efficiency procedures, we have to work together so we are on the same page, we understand what the other needs,” Beres told Australian Aviation.

“Prior to our ASPIRE flight yesterday we had a number of calls with all of the various parties that are involved from regulatory to air traffic management and the airline obviously to make sure that we are all coordinated in these procedures that we were going to demonstrate on these two flights.

“So yes, there is a high degree of coordination.

“It also gives the ability I think as a group to lobby for change and being proactive in the direction of reducing our carbon emissions and fuel burn, the mission being to lessen the impact of aviation on the environment. ”

MRJ ferries to the US

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation has denied reports the delivery schedule of its Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) program has been delayed.

News outlets including Bloomberg and The Japan Times had reported the MRJ program would be delayed for a fifth time, with first delivery to launch customer ANA pushed back beyond the current mid-2018 target due to technical issues.

However, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation said in a statement on October 3 that: “At present, no decision has been made to change the delivery schedule. ” The announcement followed the successful ferry flight of the MRJ’s first flight test aircraft (FTA-1) from its Nagoya facility to the Moses Lake Flight Test Centre just outside Seattle in Washington State, where it arrived on September 28, having flown via Sapporo, Yelizovo (Russia) and Anchorage (Alaska).

“Mitsubishi Aircraft is committed to carrying out frequent, multiple flight tests in the US to accelerate the development of the MRJ toward type certificate acquisition in 2018,” the company said on September 29.

In addition to its Moses Lake facility at Grant County International Airport, the MRJ flight test program will also be supported by Mitsubishi’s Seattle engineering centre and its operations back in Japan.

The company twice aborted the ferry flight of the MRJ’s first flight test aircraft from Nagoya to Moses Lake in late August after “anomalies were detected in the signals generated by sensors monitoring air management systems”.

Cathay to start weekly Wellcamp freighter service

Toowoomba’s Brisbane West Wellcamp will have a regular cargo link with Asia from November when Cathay Pacific adds the southern Queensland airport to its Australian freighter network.

The start of the once weekly service comes a year after Cathay operated a one-off freighter flight to Wellcamp on November 23 2015 (pictured) and is yet another step forward in airport owners Wagners’ ambition to establish the facility as an international passenger and freight hub for the region.

Wellcamp said in a statement on October 11 Cathay will operate the flight on a Sydney-Melbourne-Wellcamp-Hong Kong routing with a Boeing 747-8F.

Wagners chairman John Wagner said Cathay’s commitment to a weekly flight was a major coup for the airport and the region’s local producers.

“We are absolutely delighted Cathay Pacific has committed to operating a scheduled weekly Boeing 747-8F service out of the airport,” Wagner said.

“The opportunities this creates for Queensland exporters to benefit from Australia’s free trade agreements and to access the world’s biggest consumer markets are unlimited. ” Menzies Aviation will manage ground handling and cargo terminal operations in partnership with the airport.

Cathay Pacific’s one-off flight in November 2015 carried over 70 tonnes of cargo including chilled beef, mangoes, pecan nuts and grains from the surrounding Darling Downs region. There was also some heavy machinery loaded on the flight such as a helicopter.

The airline’s general manager for Southwest Pacific Nelson Chin said there was much potential in Wellcamp.

“We were enormously encouraged by the enthusiasm and support of everyone involved in this venture,” Chin said.

“The combination of primary producers in the Darling Downs area exporting beef, dairy and fresh produce, as well as significant mining and manufacturing businesses in southern Queensland makes it a truly dynamic part of Australia.

“China buys more of Australia’s agricultural products than any other country and we are confident our new service will provide these businesses with a competitive advantage as the benefits of the new China-Australia Free Trade Agreement increase. ” Flight schedules from Cathay showed CX22 departing Sydney at 1220, arriving in Melbourne at 1350. After an hour and 45 minutes on the ground, the 747-8F was then due to take off at 1535 and touch down at Wellcamp at 1645. The final leg is scheduled as a 1815 departure, landing in Hong Kong at 0045 the next day.

Cathay said the flight times would allow for “fresh produce to be delivered to the markets and restaurants in China later that morning as well as onto a vast number of destinations around the world” from the airline’s Hong Kong Cargo Terminal.

Qantas and Australia Post sign new contract for international mail

Qantas will carry Australia Post’s international parcels for the next five years under a new contract extension announced on September 30.

Qantas Freight chief executive Gareth Evans said it was a “substantial contract to secure”.

“This partnership sees the Australia Post Group and Qantas Freight well-positioned to support the e-commerce industry, which relies on air freight for express delivery of its steadily increasing volumes of international packages and parcels. ” Under the contract, the 1,500 international flights operated by the Qantas group of airlines will continue to carry Australia Post’s international letters and parcels. Further, Qantas Freight’s interline agreements with other carriers would “ensure the Australia Post Group has worldwide access” for the 12,000 tonnes of parcels.

The contract extension for international air freight followed the signing of a five-year agreement in 2015 for Qantas to carry Australia Post’s domestic mail, parcels and Express Post until the mid-2020s.

And in May 2016, the airline established a dedicated sub-fleet of six freighter aircraft to deliver domestic mail, parcels and Express Post for Australia Post and its subsidiary StarTrack comprising two Boeing 737-300Fs and three BAe 146-300Fs from Qantas’s existing freighter fleet, as well as a new Boeing 737-400F branded with StarTrack livery.

Government to review new drone rules

The federal government has launched a review of new regulations covering the operation of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) as independent Senator Nick Xenophon moves to have the rules governing how these increasingly popular aircraft are used overturned in Parliament.

Under new rules that came into effect on September 29, people or organisations flying commercial RPAs, also known as drones, weighing less than two kilograms do not have to apply to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) for a certificate and licence.

CASA said the regulations “cut the cost and red tape” of operating these types of aircraft while ensuring the public remained safe.

However, pilots and air traffic control groups have criticised the new drone regulations, arguing they posed a risk to public safety.

And their stance has won the support of Sen Xenophon, who said he would move an “urgent disallowance motion” in the Senate to strike out the new rules. Although the motion was listed to be heard on October 11, Hansard records showed it had been postponed until November 21.

Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP) president David Booth said there was a growing problem of rogue drones violating controlled airspace at primary airports.

“These new rules remove layers of safety and pose serious risk to air safety in Australia,” Captain Booth said in a statement.

Further, he said there were three incidents involving rogue drones in the landing path at Sydney Airport in the four weeks to early October, while there had been 150 incident reports from pilots and air traffic controllers in the past 12 months.

The AFAP represents about 4,000 commercial pilots in Australia.

John Lyons, the president of the union representing Virgin Australia group pilots VIPA, said the risk of an aircraft hitting a drone, which is also called an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), had “increased considerably” with the introduction of the new rules.

“CASA has been forced to lift the licensing restriction on UAVs as a result of the explosion in small low-cost drones available to the public and its lack of resources to monitor illegal use,” Captain Lyons said.

“Small drones in unqualified hands equate to a potentially lethal weapon. They are prone to loss of control, battery and structural failure. Even a small UAV falling out of the sky over a public area can cause lethal injury and serious damage.

Civil Air president Tom McRobert said: “There are some really good operators out there that show professionalism but I fear they are the minority. Drones and especially their use in built up areas without proper regulation and enforcement is a recipe for disaster. ” The new regulations require operators of drones to fill out an online notification form detailing the specifications of the aircraft for CASA’s records.

Further, the aircraft is only able to be flown under a number of specific conditions, including that they only be used during daylight hours and in line of sight, be more than 30 metres away from people and more than 5. 5 kilometres away from a controlled airport. Their use over populous areas such as beaches, parks and sporting ovals, as well as near emergency operations such as bushfires, accidents or search and rescue areas, was also prohibited.

“Public safety is being protected by a requirement to follow strict operating conditions at all times,” CASA said.

Sen Xenophon said he shared the concerns of pilots and air traffic controllers.

“CASA has set a bad and dangerous precedent with these new rules,” he said in a statement.

“They say it’s low risk based on computer modelling, which ignores the real-life experience of pilots and air traffic controllers. ” Sen Xenophon said he wanted a similar approach to the US, which required all drones to be registered, operators trained and certified, adopted in Australia.

The CASA rules were first proposed in 2014, when the regulator issued a notice of proposed rule making (NPRM) for amendments to CASR Part 101.

Australian Association for Unmanned Systems president and RMIT University honorary associate professor Reece Clothier backed the CASA regulations.

“There’s very little evidence to suggest that the level of risk will increase from commercial drone operations as a result of changes to the regulation,” Dr Clothier told ABC Television’s Lateline on September 30.

“And we’ve had an impeccable safety record for the commercial industry over the last 14-15 years.

“What we are seeing is an increase in the number of people who are undertaking training, ahead of the changes of the regulation; and industry associations providing professional training programs. And all these facts suggest that we won’t see the skies filling full of untrained and unsafe commercial operators. ” Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester said CASA would oversee the review.

“CASA will take into account the views of industry and the community, as well as the work on drone safety recommendations by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),” Chester said in a statement.

Triton receives production approval

The MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system has been granted positive Milestone C low-rate initial production approval, marking the beginning of the production and deployment phase of the US acquisition process.

“Triton’s critical technology is mature, and the system development and design review phases have been successful,” Doug Shaffer, vice-president of Triton programs at Northrop Grumman said in a statement on September 26.

“Completion of the full system operational assessment testing exercised in various real-world scenarios validated the system’s ability to protect the Navy’s fleet from evolving threats. We are extremely pleased with the maritime domain awareness products and results coming from Triton. ” From the early 2020s, Australia is set to acquire seven Triton aircraft with supporting intelligence, surveillance and control systems.

“This milestone brings us closer to delivering a new capability to the fleet that will change the way [the US] Navy executes ISR around the globe,” said Sean Burke, Triton program manager. “Teamed with manned counterparts, Triton’s highly capable sensor package will provide persistent maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data collection and dissemination capabilities to the fleet. ” An integrated test team made up of US Navy and Northrop Grumman personnel demonstrated Triton’s reliability, the company stated.

The team analysed and validated sensor imagery and performance at different altitudes and ranges; the system’s ability to classify targets and disseminate critical data was also examined as part of the operational assessment testing.

Successful evaluation of the aircraft’s time on station confirmed that it will meet flight duration requirements, Northrop Grumman added. The MQ-4C also transferred full motion video to the P-8A Poseidon in flight.

Sky Muster II launched

nbn co’s latest satellite to play a key role in Australian airline Wi-Fi plans

Australia’s National Broadband Network (nbn) Sky Muster II satellite was successfully launched into space on October 5.

Sky Muster II joins Sky Muster I in providing high-speed internet to the Australian continent as well as Norfolk, Christmas, Macquarie and Cocos islands. The satellites were also earmarked for delivering on-board Wi-Fi for Qantas.

The launch of Sky Muster II some 36,000km into space was conducted by Arianespace at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, South America.

nbn co, the government body charged with rolling out the NBN, said Sky Muster II, built by Palo Alto, California-based SSL (Space Systems Loral), would undergo some technical testing before it was full operational.

Sky Muster II was one of two satellites launched into space on October 5 alongside the Indian Space Research Organisation’s GSAT-18 satellite.

It was Arianespace’s 74th successful mission in a row.

Qantas announced in February plans to equip its domestic fleet of Boeing 737-800s and Airbus A330s with internet Wi-Fi, with connectivity to be provided by ViaSat’s global satellite network and the National Broadband Network’s Sky Muster satellites.

The airline was scheduled to conduct a trial on board a 737 prior to the end of 2016, ahead of a rollout of the technology across the 100-odd aircraft in 2017. The oneworld alliance member planned to offer the service free for all passengers.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has said previously the satellites, which use the high capacity Ka-band, would deliver internet speeds 10 times faster than conventional onboard Wi-Fi.

And in August, Joyce said the airline was also considering offering Wi-Fi on regional and international aircraft.

Meanwhile, Virgin Australia in July said it would offer internet connectivity on its 737, 777-300ER and A330 fleet from mid-2017. However, the carrier was yet to announce details about the technology it would use, the pricing model and any potential partners for the service.

And separately, Air New Zealand announced its international and domestic jet fleet would be progressively equipped with Wi-Fi from 2017 utilising the Inmarsat new global GX satellite constellation.

“Proving flights will begin in the second half of 2017 and world-class internet services progressively available on Tasman, Pacific Island and long-haul jet fleets from the end of next year,” Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon said in a statement on October 6.

“Given Air New Zealand operates some of the longest flights in the world, and in oceanic areas where there has historically been poor quality satellite service, we have patiently worked with partners until comfortable that a service which meets the high expectations of our customers is available.

“Proving flights on a partner company test aircraft have now given us the confidence to introduce what we believe will be the world’s most reliable inflight connectivity. Customers will be able to use their social media channels, stay on top of emails and browse the internet.

“Our new system will also allow us to enhance real-time features within our state of the art Inflight Entertainment System as well as providing our flightcrew with an enhanced ability to manage customer requests related to their ground travel. ” Luxon said trans-Tasman services would be the first to receive Wi-Fi, followed by the rest of the international jet fleet. Domestic jet services would offer Wi-Fi from 2018. The airline planned to have Wi-Fi as a gate-to-gate offering on its flights. Pricing details were not disclosed.

It was understood Air New Zealand’s proving flights in the second half of 2017 would be on a new Airbus A321neo and refitted Boeing 777-300ER.

Skidmore signs off saying industry tension healthy

Now former Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) chief executive and director of aviation safety Mark Skidmore says his efforts to overhaul the regulator will pave the way for an improved relationship with industry.

Skidmore, who announced his resignation in August less than two years into a five-year term for personal reasons, said in his final CASA Briefing column much work has been done to make CASA more open, accountable and transparent.

“I put a lot of effort into making it clear CASA is not the sole source of expertise on aviation safety and collaboration with the aviation community is essential,” he said.

“I believe many of the changes I have driven at CASA will embed this collaborative and co-operative approach in the years ahead as the relationship between the regulator and the aviation community matures and strengthens. ” Since starting at CASA in January 2015, Skidmore had undertaken an organisational overhaul of CASA’s structure, forming three main groups – a stakeholder engagement group, an aviation group and a sustainability group – as part of the aviation safety regulator’s response to the Aviation Safety Regulatory Review (ASRR).

The retired RAAF Air Vice-Marshal has also sought to respond to the views of industry, including issuing a new timetable for regulatory changes covering general operating rules, air transport operations, aerial work, continuing airworthiness and maintenance for small aircraft, sport and recreational operations and unmanned aircraft.

Despite all this, there remained parts of the aviation community that expressed frustration at the slow pace of change at CASA.

Skidmore acknowledged there would always be “points of tension between the regulator and the regulated”.

However, this was normal and the sign of a healthy relationship.

“As the safety relationship matures we all need to recognise these points of tension and work to address our differences in a positive way,” Skidmore said.

“Genuinely listening to each other is critical and sometimes both sides will have to accept there is no magical middle solution that satisfies everyone.

“What CASA and the aviation community must strive for are the right safety outcomes, reached through proper processes, real consultation and transparent decision-making.

“We then must all respect the decisions that are taken in the best interests of the safety of the aviation and wider communities. If CASA and the aviation community can reach this point we will have taken huge steps forward from the regulatory warfare that still breaks out from time to time, needlessly chewing up the time and resources of many people. ” With effect from October 12, senior public servant Shane Carmody has been appointed as acting chief executive and director of aviation safety (DAS) while the global search for Skidmore’s replacement is underway.

Australian Aviation and Dassault Falcon Launch Photo Competition

To mark the 100th anniversary of aerospace group Dassault Aviation, Australian Aviation and leading business jet manufacturer Dassault Falcon are running a photo competition.

Dassault has a long history in Australia. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) operated Dassault Mirage III fighters and Dassault Falcon 900 and Mystere 20 VIP aircraft for many years.

To celebrate the shared history between Australia and Dassault, we invite you to send in your photos showing Dassault aircraft in Australia.

The aircraft can be military or civil, and this competition is open to everyone.

The winner and runner-up in the competition will have their photos published in Australian Aviation. And Dassault Falcon will provide each winner with a large model of its newest long-range, large cabin business jet – the 8X.

How to enter

Email your pictures to [email protected] or send by post to PO Box 3926 Manuka ACT 2603 AUSTRALIA With each photo, provide: a brief description, your name, address, telephone number, the date and location of the photo.

Deadline: Monday November 21.

CASA delays fatigue rules introduction

CASA has deferred the introduction of new fatigue risk management regulations for a further 12 months.

The regulator said in a statement on October 7 that operators would now have until May 1 2018 to transition to the proposed new provisions in Civil Aviation Order (CAO) 48. 1, which covered fatigue risk management. It is the second time CASA has pushed back the implementation of CAO 48. 1.

CASA said the extension was in response to feedback from the aviation community, including from a series of workshops conducted across Australia between May and July 2016.

Further, CASA said it would conduct an “independent and comprehensive review of fatigue limits” during the extended transition period.

“This feedback indicated there was a need for CASA to provide more support through education and information on the new fatigue rules,” CASA said.

“Air operators also wanted more time to consider their options under CAO 48. 1, with a number asking for extra time to develop and implement fatigue risk management systems.

“CASA is committed to modernising and improving the safety regulation of fatigue and is encouraging a continued focus on fatigue management by air operators. ” The Australian Aviation Associations Forum (TAAAF), which comprises peak representative bodies in the local industry, had previously called on CASA to abolish CAO 48. 1, arguing that “industry rejects the limited science it is based on, the ignoring of decades of safe operations, the massive costs it will impose and the complexity that will inevitably lead to non-compliance”.

But the Australian Airline Pilots Association (AusALPA) said its members were “very concerned” about the delay and described fatigue as a “clear safety issue” given how often it had been cited as a contributing factor in recent aviation accidents and incidents.

The association, which represents about 6,000 professional pilots in Australia, called on CASA to implement the new regulations in May 2017 as planned.

“AusALPA is deeply concerned that the further delay only serves the commercial interests of industry bodies, such as the Regional Aviation Association of Australia, instead of an improved, more scientific approach to pilot fatigue risk management,” AusALPA president and Qantas Boeing 737 pilot Nathan Safe said in a statement.

Captain David Booth, vice-president of AusALPA and a Virgin 737 pilot said: “These delays have rewarded those operators who have chosen not to work towards science-based solutions. Even those who have commenced the transition may cease work awaiting the outcome of the review. ” CASA said operators that have transitioned to the fatigue rules in CAO 48. 1 would be able to continue to operate under the new provisions.