November

4 November

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announces NSW will become the first state to remove its border to Victoria on 23 November. She tells reporters the decision is a “calculated risk” but that it was important to “keep moving forward”. “I have confidence that everyone will continue to work hard to keep everyone safe,” Premier Berejiklian says. “With that, comes some risk and we accept that, but we believe that is … a calculated risk and we are confident our health system and the processes we have in place in NSW will allow that to happen.”

10 November

One of the COVID vaccines purchased by Australia is “90 per cent effective” and could begin being rolled out worldwide by the end of the year, in the most significant breakthrough in the crisis yet. Global pharmaceutical giant Pfizer says its jab’s performance is better than expected and will soon submit data to the FDA, the US drug approval agency. Pfizer chief executive Dr Albert Bourla declared the vaccination will “help bring an end to this global health crisis” and comes just a week after the IATA said aviation’s recovery had “hit a wall” due to a second wave of infections. Last week, Australia announced it had purchased 10 million doses of the vaccine produced by Pfizer/BioNTech, which is one of the world’s leading candidates. The country has also agreed to deals with candidates from Novavax, the University of Oxford and the University of Queensland.

11 November

The Federal Court knocks back a final plea from shareholders to halt the sale of Virgin Australia to Bain. The decision means the company will finally exit administration early next week but will leave many of those who invested in the company without any return at all. On 25 August, administrator Deloitte revealed the sale would see unsecured creditors, including bondholders, receive between just nine and 13 cents in the dollar on their investment, while shareholders would walk away with nothing.

Employee entitlements and customer travel credits, however, will be covered in full. While many of the larger shareholders, such as Nanshan, Etihad and Singapore Airlines, accepted the write-off, a number of small parties fought on.

12 November

Rex is set to challenge the new-look Virgin as a mid-market ‘hybrid’ and offer business class seats and catering when it launches flights between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane from March. Deputy chairman, John Sharp, also says the airline has ambitions to launch a frequent flyer scheme and access to lounges for more expensive seats.

16 November

Queensland, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and WA close their borders to South Australia after a COVID cluster in Adelaide grew to 17 cases. Authorities believe the infection originated from somebody who worked in their hotel quarantine facilities and the state itself has reintroduced tough restrictions on residents and suspended international flights.

17 November

Qantas pulled a surprise on the evening of its 100th birthday yesterday when one of its 787s flew over Sydney Harbour at low altitude and ‘blew out’ candles illuminating the Harbour Bridge. The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, VH-ZNJ msn 66074, departed Sydney Airport at 6:61pm as flight QF100 and flew south to Shellharbour where HARS Aviation Museum was holding a black-tie dinner in celebration, before heading north again. The stunt is a collaboration between Qantas and Destination NSW and involved lighting up the Harbour Bridge with 1,300 LED tubes, 126 LED fixtures and 38 searchlights.

18 November

Jayne Hrdlicka begins her first day as Virgin chief executive doubling down on the reborn business’ plans to become a mid-market ‘hybrid’ and not a budget airline. “Australia already has a low-cost carrier and a traditional full-service airline, and we won’t be either,” says Hrdlicka. “Virgin Australia will be a mid-market carrier appealing to customers who are after a great value airfare and better service.” Yesterday, Virgin officially exited administration and new owners Bain took charge, with ex-Jetstar boss Hrdlicka taking the role vacated by Paul Scurrah.

However, Hrdlicka starts her first full day in the job by unveiling details of Virgin’s relaunch and strongly insisting it will fill the gap between Jetstar and Qantas. “Today, we’ve announced a plan that will ultimately give our customers what they value without the big price tag: premium lounges, a new and fresh retail offering onboard, a choice of cabins, better digital technology and a more streamlined check-in experience.”

19 November

Rex finally signs off on a $150 million investment that will allow it to launch flights between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane from March next year. The airline will draw down an initial $50 million in January next year from PAG Asia Capital and the deal will see the APAC organisation nominate two directors to sit on the board.

The pair first revealed they were in advanced negotiations in September but today’s news means the airline can confirm it will fly Sydney–Melbourne with three aircraft on 1 March 2021, before ramping up to five by Easter. “Once the initial services are well established, we aim to progressively grow our fleet to cover all the major cities in Australia,” says executive chairman Lim Kim Hai.

20 November

Sir Richard Branson confirms he’s acquired a 5 per cent stake in the new Virgin Australia, days after the airline exited administration. Speculation had suggested he was keen to maintain the 10 per cent holdings he held in the business prior to its administration but has settled for less while also agreeing on a new licensing deal for his corporate branding. On Tuesday, new owners Bain formally took over the company and on Wednesday, Jayne Hrdlicka started her first day as the new chief executive, promising to stop Virgin becoming a low-cost carrier. Virgin Group founder Sir Richard says in a short statement issued on Thursday evening, “I’m delighted that Virgin Australia is ready for take-off once more, soaring out of administration, with a clear future direction to fly towards.

23 November

Passenger flights between Sydney and Melbourne finally resume following the lifting of border restrictions between NSW and Victoria after 137 days. On Monday alone, Qantas and Jetstar operated 17 return flights carrying 4,500 passengers, while Virgin operated four. Pre-COVID, Melbourne-Sydney was the second busiest route in the world carrying 10 million people per year. Qantas and Jetstar alone operated up to 45 flights per day and often one every 15 minutes during peak periods. At the height of the shutdown, it dropped as low as one per day.

24 November

Qatar’s prosecutor files criminal charges against police officers working at Hamad Airport for their role in the invasive search of 18 women. Authorities now say the defendants face “penalties of a maximum of three years” for instructing medical staff to force genital examinations on the passengers, of which 13 are Australian. Qatar also claims to have charged the mother of the abandoned baby, who sparked the search, with attempted murder and launched legal proceedings to arrest her.

24 November

The TWU submits its plan to Qantas to retain up to 2,000 ground-handling jobs earmarked for outsourcing. National secretary Michael Kaine says the bid, compiled with consulting firm EY, is “competitive” and has identified “numerous efficiencies and savings”. “We urge Qantas to award the work to their loyal, dedicated workers who they have invested time and money in training up to the high standards that Qantas passengers expect,” says Kaine. “Qantas workers should be allowed to do Qantas work.”

30 November

Qantas rejects a proposal from the TWU to retain 2,000 ground-handling jobs and confirms the roles will be outsourced. The airline says the bid from the union on behalf of employees didn’t save enough money compared with rival offers from third-party providers and was too “theoretical”. Qantas, however, says the proposal didn’t meet its objective, which it cited as reducing the cost of ground handling operations by $100 million and avoiding large spending on equipment such as aircraft tugs and baggage loaders. “Qantas granted three separate extensions to the original deadline for the bid following requests by the TWU, doubling the total period to 12 weeks,” the business says in a statement.