With little fanfare Air New Zealand operated its first Boeing 787 revenue flights on Saturday when 787-9 ZK-NZE operated NZ103 from Auckland to Sydney and the return NZ104 service back to Auckland. ZK-NZE departed Auckland at 09:25 local time, and despite fog at Sydney Airport earlier in the morning causing widespread delays and diversions, it was able
Airlines need to be supported by adequate infrastructure to give them the best chance of profitability, the head of the Qantas pilots union says. Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) president Nathan Safe says the proposed new airport at Badgerys Creek will not only help create jobs in Western Sydney, it will also boost the
Jetstar chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka says the low-cost carrier’s Japanese business will one day be larger than the group’s Australian operations as demand for travel in the Asia grows. Speaking at the CAPA Australia Pacific aviation summit in Sydney on Friday, Hrdlicka hit back at critics of Jetstar’s Asian ventures, saying Asia was the fastest-growing
There are concerns a growing number of nations may be returning to a more protectionist stance on air traffic rights, leaving Australia isolated as one of the most open places for foreign carriers to fly to in the world. Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development secretary Mike Mrdak says opening up Australia to overseas airlines
Hawaiian Airlines chief executive Mark Dunkerley says he is open to working more closely with Virgin Australia to grow the local market for travel to Hawaii. In addition to a frequent flyer agreement between the two carriers, Virgin has placed its VA airline code on Hawaiian’s services out of Sydney and Brisbane to Honolulu and
Qantas chief financial officer Gareth Evans says unions and staff have understood the enormity of the challenge facing the airline as it seeks to return to profitability. The Flying Kangaroo is partway through a multi billion dollar cost reduction program as it retires older aircraft, tweaks its network and sheds 5,000 jobs. Even the unions
