Marc Joel Atrero

The Air Force’s long-held goal of a 100-strong F-35 air combat fleet is under question from a potential second Super Hornet sale In announcing Australia was requesting pricing and availability for 24 extra Boeing Super Hornets, Defence Minister Stephen Smith has seemingly set in train the future composition of the RAAF fighter fleet – a

Emirates tie-up allows Qantas to apply renewed energy to its Asia network Qantas’s long-awaited announcement of its revamped Asian strategy, delinking services timed for London, attracted howls from politicians and travel industry groups in Adelaide and Perth, but the restructure simply reflects the reality of competing in today’s aviation landscape. Qantas is struggling with a

White Paper confirms mixed fleet for future RAAF air combat A leaked draft of the 2013 Defence White Paper has furthered the argument that the future of the RAAF’s air combat capability lies in a mixed fleet of F-35As and F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, along with EA-18G Growlers. “As a key part of its Defence strategy,

Much-needed rationalisation comes to the Indian market The raging, double-digit growth of Indian airlines came to a screaming halt last year, according to figures from the country’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Domestic passenger numbers, which had grown to 60. 6 million in 2011, moved into reverse gear in 2012, down 3. 04 per

Affordability versus effectiveness In 1984 the American aerospace executive Norman Augustine famously wrote that the constant real increase in the price of military aircraft meant that by 2054 the US would be able to afford just one aeroplane. Augustine’s comment was only partly facetious. It is probable that the time has now arrived when Western

A double-edged sword for passengers Australia’s two main airlines continue on the path towards closer tie-ups with international partners, entirely eschewing (in Virgin’s case) and practically ignoring (in Qantas’s case) the three global alliances. Qantas’s now-approved Emirates partnership is the most significant, but Virgin Australia’s global strategy combining Etihad and Singapore Airlines to the west