It may seem fanciful to cynics, but in terms of planning, finance and actual construction, an initial single runway airport could be opened by 2021 at Sydney’s Badgerys Creek airport site for a cost to private owners of around $2.5 billion.

There was a flying contest at Le Bourget north of Paris 40 years ago that was not about anything as predictable as those between today’s airliner makers.  It was between the dueling supersonic airliners, the Concorde, and the Soviet Union’s TU-144.

This was wasn’t Airbus v Boeing, but East versus West.  And the West won.

What odds on Qantas doing to Jetstar what the owners of Emirates are doing to their low fare carrier Flydubai?

The ATSB has launched an inquiry into yesterday’s emergency landing at a fog bound Mildura airport by a Virgin Australia 737-800 which declared a fuel emergency after fog closed Adelaide airport.

It described the incident as ‘serious’.

Do Australian resorts need premium class air travel services, or are low fare carrier cabins with seats too small for most adults and older children all that is needed?

A breakthrough in Brisbane Airport’s new runway crisis has been made with Virgin Australia agreeing to the funding proposal from the airport’s owners and signing up for major improvements to its own terminal facilities.

After receiving multiple tweets and messages that a United Airlines 787 flying from Denver to Tokyo had this morning (AU time) made an emergency landing at Seattle Tacoma airport there are follow up messages from aviation sources that it was an oil filter problem with an engine that caused the flight to be aborted.

The Boeing Dreamliner 787-10 has dropped the ‘X’, and been launched with commitments for 102 orders from five customers. Might Qantas with options for -9s or Virgin Australia, be tempted?

The much anticipated design, which is about the same capacity as the Airbus A350 that has just flown, but optimised for fuel efficiency over a shorter range, is now officially, a real jet with customers.

Europe’s second largest (and profitable) low cost airline easyJet which is headquartered in the UK  has announced it will acquire subject to shareholder approval 100 A320 NEOs to be preceded by 35 ceo or current engine technology versions of the 180 seat single aisle jet additionally optioned with fuel saving Sharklets.

It’s unusual for two mainline jets, both 737s, one operated by Virgin Australia and the other by Qantas,  to have to land at Mildura because fog has closed one capital city airport (Adelaide) and they don’t have the fuel to go to another capital city (Melbourne) or to another jet capable airfield (Albury Wodonga for example).

As such, today’s diversion into Mildura by Virgin and Qantas flights, but with the former declaring a fuel emergency, raises some questions which may, stress the word ‘may’, prove important.

Despite some interesting developments, like the leasing deal for A380s, and Embraer’s response to Bombardier’s new small jet airliner, day one of the Paris Air Show, as seen from afar, and with dry feet, was a bit underwhelming.

Although it is not, as claimed, the first ever scheduled jet service between Australia and the very fine Indonesian island of Lombok, Jetstar will operate the route four times weekly from September from Perth.

Turn key A380s anyone? Virgin Australia? Jetstar? Cathay Pacific? So many possibilities ….

In the lull before heavyweights Airbus and Boeing start throwing their best shots at the Paris Air Show,  Embraer has served notice on Bombardier that it is taking on its CSeries family of smaller passenger jets with its expanded E2 series of E-jets.

It’s a contest of potential interest to Australian carriers

Canberra Airport’s website has not only been updated with a fresh portfolio of photos of its newly expanded and rebuilt terminal, but quite unintentionally, gives Sydney skiers a visual check on likely or claimed snow conditions on the Snowy’s runs.

In the interests of passenger comfort and safety, catch this article in Forbes by former NTSB board member John Goglia concerning boarding and disembarking from airliners where there is no aerobridge.