Jake Nelson

The NZ carrier’s demonstrator battery-electric BETA ALIA CX300, N401NZ, completed 100 flights totalling 13,000 kilometres over the course of the testing period, visiting 12 airports and aerodromes across the country. Two Air New Zealand pilots and eight BETA Technologies pilots participated.

The American carrier, which began year-round Melbourne–Los Angeles services in December, currently flies three times per week to LAX, but will gradually increase its frequency seasonally between October this year and March 2027.

The airline, Africa’s largest, is planning at least two Australian routes to the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, though will seek to expand its fleet of wide-body jets first. The route would likely open up another connection from Australia to Europe, as well as into the African continent.

January saw 688,534 international arrivals come through Melbourne, around half of the 1,261,361 total international travellers, alongside 2,115,518 domestic passengers; this makes for Melbourne’s third busiest month for overall passenger numbers on record, behind December and January 2025.

AGAIR has been stripped of its air operator’s certificate (AOC) and aerial work certificate (AWC), with the ABC reporting the aviation regulator found that the company had neglected essential maintenance and created a culture of poor safety. A challenge to these decisions is expected.

Speaking to news.com.au, Jetstar’s head of network and fleet, Ted Knight, said that the current policy – which allows passengers up to 7kg of cabin bags for free – could be updated to add more weight, or switch to a size-based allowance as seen on many US carriers.