Jake Nelson

The NZ Employment Relations Authority has ruled against the New Zealand Air Line Pilots’ Association and two pilot members who brought a case against the airline to argue that “restrictions and complications” placed on pilots on standby entitled them to alternative holidays.

The regional jet will serve Coffs Harbour on Sydney services starting in late October, having launched on the Melbourne route in October last year. At the same time, QantasLink will also increase its Sydney–Coffs Harbour return flights from 24 to 26 per week.

Passengers on two inbound Qantas flights to Sydney – QF144 from Auckland, and QF122 from Queenstown – are now able to access the Australia Digital Travel Declaration (ATD), following a successful trial period at Brisbane Airport.

Speaking to media in Hobart, the minister said the government has been “working pretty closely” with administrator EY Australia, and remains ready to step in and potentially buy Rex to preserve its vital services if EY cannot make a commercial sale.

The Report of the Review of Australian Government Travel Policies, which was initiated after last year’s Aviation White Paper and completed in December, concluded that government travel bookings broadly matched those by the general public in terms of the split between airlines.

Speaking exclusively to Australian Aviation, chief executive Gytis Gumuliauskas confirmed that all of Skytrans’ operations including regular passenger transport will be rebranded, and that there will be no new SmartLynx Australia livery on its aircraft, with white paint to be applied during regular maintenance.