Australian Aviation

The Cairns route is one of 10 that had been operated by Bonza from its former Sunshine Coast hub until it went into voluntary administration in April, and was announced in June hours after administrator Hall Chadwick announced it would seek to wind the airline up.

All the changes from CASA’s aircraft register, as analysed by Hannah Dowling. This month, iconic Rex jets leave the register, Qantas Group continues its fleet expansion, Virgin pumps the brakes and E190 leases change hands.

The carrier has lodged an application with the International Air Services Commission (IASC) to launch the first three routes to Sydney, Brisbane and Perth in June 2025, using Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777-300ER aircraft configured with between 354 and 412 seats.

Flights will operate every day except Monday and Saturday as an extension to the Taiwanese carrier’s existing A350-900 service between Taipei and Melbourne over the summer period and are expected to add more than 3,000 weekly seats on the Melbourne–Auckland corridor.

The 737-800, VH-YQR, was operating a flight from Brisbane to Melbourne on 6 September last year when a member of the cabin crew requested to enter the flight deck as the plane reached cruising altitude near Ballina.

The RAAF recently conducted landings with its EA-18G Growler fighter jet aircraft using a Mobile Aircraft Arrestor System to demonstrate its capabilities at Base Amberley.