Marc Joel Atrero

In this section of the magazine, our contributors offer their thoughts and insights into industry issues that matter most to them. In this issue, Jake Nelson warns the aviation sector that high-speed rail may be more than a pipe dream, Steve Kuper argues that Australia needs America’s B-21 Raider stealth bomber, Rob Dougherty cautions against

While big airlines press ahead with sustainable aviation fuel, Australian start-ups are turning to technologies like batteries and hydrogen fuel cells to cut emissions on shorter routes, as Jake Nelson discovered at the 2026 GreenSkies Summit – but are they getting enough support?

Greener skies aren’t just a goal in Australia – here, we take a look at two initiatives by Air New Zealand to advance electrification in the Land of the Long White Cloud.

The commercial aviation industry is a stool with three legs: airlines, airports, and air traffic management. Air traffic control across the country is handled by Airservices Australia, which manages 11 per cent of the world’s airspace, or roughly 51.7 million square kilometres – so it needs to make sure its systems are up to scratch. In this exclusive interview, Airservices CEO Rob Sharp tells Australian Aviation about the new technology that will soon help manage Australian skies.

When the engine of a Qantas A380 exploded shortly after take-off from Singapore in 2010, the world expected catastrophe – but saw a miracle, instead. Fifteen years on from flight QF32, Captain Richard de Crespigny shares the memories and lessons from Australia’s worst air disaster that never was.

He was arguably Australia’s greatest-ever aviator, and the namesake of Sydney Airport – but 90 years after he and co-pilot Tommy Pethybridge vanished over the Andaman Sea, the fate of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith has largely remained a mystery. Now, Australian explorer Damien Lay believes he has found the wreckage of Kingsford Smith’s plane, the Lady Southern Cross, and spoke to Australian Aviation about his discovery – and Smithy’s legacy.