The airline said in a withering response that the third delay would amount to “one of the longest processes for informal clearance in recent times”.
Akbar Al Baker's broadside included claiming Qantas is “doubling the price of fares to the Australian people” while his airline took on losses to continue to fly during COVID.
Australian Aviation broke the news on Thursday that the aircraft was en route to Australia, and on Saturday morning also revealed it had quietly registered a third MAX.
The formal acquisition of a new aircraft, VH-UBI, comes days after Australian Aviation revealed its second, VH-UIK, was en route to Australia and its first, VH-UJT, is flying up and down the east coast.
Air Canada’s Mike Holliday is currently mid-air at the helm of a 787-9, C-FCHZ, en route to Vancouver in what will be his last service before he hits his airline’s retirement age of 65.
Speaking at the CBA’s Sustainability Conference, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce argued the country should be taking advantage of its huge landmass to develop SAFs, which are often derived from used cooking oil and other waste products.