Jake Nelson

Sampson, who was brought on by then-chair Leigh Clifford in 2015, will exit the Flying Kangaroo almost two years after surviving a vote to remove him at the group’s 2023 AGM.

Baltimore FW282, which had been operated by the RAAF’s 454 Squadron and crewed by officers from Australia, New Zealand and the UK, was found last year in 61 metres of water by Greek technical diving group AegeanTec. The RAAF has now publicly confirmed the plane’s identity.

Speaking to media in Hamburg, Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson confirmed that the Airbus planes, which will have extra fuel tanks to give them the range to reach London and New York from Australia’s east coast without refuelling, will arrive “at the end of 2026”.

The aircraft, which will replace Virgin Australia Regional Airlines’ (VARA) ageing Fokker 100s, will be laid out in a dual-class configuration with business and economy seats, as well as its extra-legroom Economy X product. The first of its eight E190-E2s has begun construction this month.

The 2025–26 budget papers, released this week, note that “in the event there is no sale, the government will undertake work on contingency options in consultation with relevant states, including preparations necessary for potential Australian government acquisition of Rex”.

The latest BITRE performance data showed more than 80 per cent of all domestic flights across participating airlines departed and arrived on time last month, though this was still below long-term averages of 80.7 per cent on-time arrivals and 81.8 per cent on-time departures.