More than 1,500 FAAA members voted in favour of the agreement that will only increase work hours from 9.45 to 10 hours – rather than the 12 hours sought by the Flying Kangaroo. Rest periods will also be maintained.
The two-year-old A380, A6-EVS, departed the NSW capital at 10:01 am as flight EK412 and touched down on the South Island at 2:39 pm. It will later continue on to Dubai.
The new A330 service operates four times a week and now travels to the closer Haneda Airport rather than its pre-COVID destination of Narita.
A safety investigation has revealed it took air traffic control 15 minutes to provide a forecast for an alternate airport to land at – a crucial delay that made a diversion impossible.
The arrangement between the two airlines was first agreed upon in 2013, but was due to expire on 31 March 2023. The pair are ultimately seeking to extend it for another five years.
The first new Virgin flight from Sydney to Apia, VA99, touched down at 4:51am this morning, having departed Sydney at 9:50pm last night using the Boeing 737-800 aircraft VH-YIQ.