Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare have announced that the Project Air 9000 Phase 2, 4 and 6 programs to provide Army and Navy with 46 new MRH 90 helicopters to replace Black Hawk and Sea King machines respectively has been added to Government’s projects of concern list. Despite reaching
Lockheed Martin has rolled out the first F-35B Joint Strike Fighter test aircraft for the United Kingdom. The jet, BK-1, will undergo functional fuel system checks before heading to the flight line for ground and flight tests in the coming months. It is to be delivered to the UK for training and further testing in
Virgin Australia frequent flyers will be able to earn and redeem points online with Westfield under a new partnership between the airline and shopping centre management group. Virgin says the new program is in response to market research that shows non-flight rewards such as retail purchases nearly as popular with Australian frequent flyers as flight
High fuel prices and its running dispute with unions have cost Qantas more than $650 million, according to a profit update released today by the airline. Qantas expects a first-half underlying profit of $140 to $190 million, a sharp decline from its $417 million profit in the first half of 2010/11. The labour battle that
UPDATED: In a turnabout blamed on the shambolic state of the world economy, Qantas has decided to shelve plans to launch a premium carrier in Asia and will instead form an alliance with Malaysia Airlines, the Australian Financial Review has reported. Qantas executives lost confidence in the capital-intensive venture as the European debt crises worsened
“Even the most jaundiced” would acknowledge significant improvements in the way Australia’s aviation regulator does business. Such are the hopes, at least, of CASA boss John McCormick, who has laid out his arguments for the regulator having “lifted [its] game” in recent years. McCormick makes his case in this month’s edition of CASA’s newsletter. Highlighting the
