Jake Nelson

Both mainline Qantas pilots and Jetstar pilots are required to be clean-shaven on duty, with Qantas recently looking to extend this mandate to regional arm QantasLink; pilots, however, have criticised the move, which cites a study conducted for Qantas by consultancy firm QinetiQ.

StarFlight, a joint venture between Fox Group Holdings and LifeFlight Australia, will begin Tasmanian services on 12 January 2026, taking over from current contractor Rotor-Lift Aviation, which has provided aeromedical and search-and-rescue flights in the state for almost 25 years.

While government travellers have been barred from accruing frequent-flyer points since 2010, they are still allowed to gain status credits from official travel, which Virgin Australia says should be dispensed with as it creates an uneven playing field between itself and Qantas.

The cameras, which will record video and audio of anyone in the vicinity, were meant to be installed in June but have been delayed following furious pushback from the union, which says they will “silence workers and increase safety risks which are already high at the company”.

Speaking to The Australian Financial Review, Ed John, executive manager of stewardship for the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, said investors want to see that the Qantas board has “appropriately considered recent penalties” when determining bonuses.

Speaking to Australian Aviation at a media event in Sydney, Tom Kennedy, Cathay’s regional head of customer travel and lifestyle, Southwest Pacific, said Australia is “really important” for the carrier, which has recently launched its new 777-300ER Aria Suite business class into Sydney and Melbourne.