Jake Nelson

In the Australian Airports Association’s (AAA) submission to the government’s consultation paper, AAA head of policy and advocacy Natalie Heazlewood also warned that the scheme could see its costs passed on to consumers.

Skytrans CEO Alan Milne said his “gut feeling” is that the age of Rex’s Saab 340B turboprops – which are around 30 years old on average – could make it tougher for administrator EY Australia to sell the airline.

According to anonymous sources cited in The Australian Financial Review, the company – owned by Japan Post – is expected to sign a deal in coming days after reaching an agreement on terms.

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.