Jake Nelson

ANA is flying three times per week between Perth and Narita using 787-9 Dreamliners, with the first flight having touched down in Perth on Monday ahead of the original return date of 29 October.

The airline will add a new “Forever Gold” status from October next year, matching Qantas’ gold lifetime status, as well as a “Platinum Plus” tier above platinum. Velocity Frequent Flyer hit 12 million members earlier this year, though still lags behind Qantas Frequent Flyer at 16.4 million as of June 2024.

The police force will lease a Pilatus PC-24 and upgrade its existing PC-12 fleet, with the twin-engine PC-24 expected to halve the current travel time from Perth to towns such as Kununurra while being able to land on unsealed outback airstrips.

Darwin–Singapore, which was slated to launch in December using Embraer E190s, will instead launch in March 2025 using the A220s. The news comes as Qantas rolls out a new route from Brisbane to Palau, alters some key routes to the US and Asia-Pacific, and brings two A380s back into service.

Speaking to The Australian this week, Australian and International Pilots Association president Tony Lucas said the deal – which would see Qatar operate flights to Doha under the Virgin Australia banner – is a “workaround of bilateral agreements” and of Australian jobs.

The memorandum of understanding will see Wisk, a subsidiary of Boeing, and Airservices collaborate and share expertise on autonomous air mobility, with an estimated 1 million air taxi flights per year expected by 2043. Wisk is aiming to have air taxis in Brisbane by the 2032 Olympic Games.