Issue 377

From the catastrophic bushfires in the last issue, we have since experienced flooding rains and are now in the grips of a global virus pandemic with far-reaching consequences. For the most part, the response has been measured and predictable – travel bans or quarantine measures have been introduced to limit the spread of the disease (with some people stuck in the most unlikely of places), airlines have cancelled or reduced flights on routes servicing affected regions, public health education campaigns are in full swing, and trillions of dollars have been dispensed to act as a financial bridge to the other side of our current economic circumstances. On the downside, we’ve seen airlines around the world, most notably Virgin Australia, enter voluntary administration, fleets (and their crews) grounded, pilot training courses cancelled, trillions of dollars wiped off global stock markets, supply chains (and human activity generally) disrupted, and significant uncertainty about the near-term future affecting all sorts of decision-making. 

So, in this issue of Australian Aviation – we welcome another wave of change as we introduce our quarterly publication to you. With the rapidly changing landscape within aviation and surrounding sectors, this enables us to provide the very best insightful and timely aviation content, complemented by our monthly In Focus reports, monthly Behind the Lens photo spreads and daily news bulletins via our digital platforms. It is paramount that we remain a forward-thinking and first-class source of knowledge to you for many more years, as together we navigate through another moment in history. 

In this issue, we get an insight into what happens when an airline reduces a fleet and offer a glimpse into the career of a pilot who has turned a hobby into a small but growing online business. 

We also reflect on 35 years of ‘Classic’ Hornet training at No 2OCU, review the changes to airport regulations due to take effect in August this year and provide advice about how to prepare for them, and John Walton offers his thoughts on the market for narrowbody freighters. In these pages, Adam Thorn covers Qatar Airways as it remarkably operates ‘business-as-usual’ through the pandemic and given the obvious susceptibility of our aviation industry to global issues, we have expanded the scope of our Asia Watch to cover the world in the new Global Impact. 

Finally, I would like to extend my very best regards to Gordon Reid, who, since 1977, has regularly contributed his wealth of knowledge to this magazine through the Traffic column. Gordon has regretfully informed us that he will no longer be writing his column. Although Traffic continues, your absence will be felt by many readers and the wider community, Gordon, and we wish you all the best in the coming years. 

And to the future – we hope the ‘terror’ being experienced by the aviation world will soon pass so that we can go back to many more hours of relative boredom.

On the Cover: Henry Howard captured this Qatar Airways Airbus A350-1000 at Sydney Airport, taxiing out and ready to depart on RW34 L for Doha.