Jake Nelson

The airshow, scheduled for six days next week, will take place less than a month after a major security breach where a 17-year-old boy allegedly attempted to board a Jetstar flight armed with a shotgun and fake explosives and was subdued by passengers.

The service will operate four times per week on a 377-seat A330-300, including 12 business class and 365 economy seats. Batik Air, part of the Lion Air group, already operates a regular service from Melbourne to Denpasar.

Female Year 7 and 8 students from the South East Queensland region will be shown around Virgin’s HQ, maintenance hangar, and training centre including flight simulators. Dubbed the Future Aviators Program, the inaugural event was planned for 7 March but was pushed back due to Cyclone Alfred.

Representatives from Qantas Group and Virgin Australia appeared before the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee on Monday, with both airlines saying that EU and Canada-style customer compensation schemes increase airfares and do not lead to better outcomes.

The new order will bring the total AW139 fleet between LifeFlight and its joint-venture partner StarFlight to 20 by the end of 2027, which the aeromedical organisation says will enhance its capability for EMS, search and rescue, and law enforcement missions.

The agreements with labour hire firms Qantas Domestic, Maurice Alexander Management (MAM), and Altara will see their domestic cabin crews receive the same wages as directly-employed Qantas cabin crew, under the Albanese government’s Same Job, Same Pay legislation.