It is getting raw and bleeding for the airlines across the Pacific. At this moment by astonishing coincidence Qantas and V Australia have $971 return fares on sale between Sydney and Los Angeles including hundreds of dollars in various levies and taxes.
In the US the comparable deals are just under $US 600, or [...]
Monthly Archives: March 2009
Inside the airlines’ Pacific pain game
March 15, 2009 – 1:50 pm
SkyAirWorld (CosmosUniverse) Airlines looses jets and plot
March 12, 2009 – 6:36 pm
SkyAirWorld Airlines of Queensland has sometimes seemed like the sort of little toy airline that couldn’t. It couldn’t make a go of the route to the Solomon Islands, and it couldn’t make a go of its amazing plans to expand internationally in conjunction with Lion Air of Indonesia using some of its new Boeing 737-900ER [...]
Decoding the Qantas Middle East code share
March 11, 2009 – 1:19 pm
Qantas may have just started the airline equivalent of a ‘holy war’ in the Middle East.
Of course no-one in Qantas would be as tactless as a Crikey blog in so describing today’s announcement of a code share with Etihad Airways. The official term is that the deal is ’strategic’ which in itself is quite an [...]
The A330 issues. More cases, some progress, and lingering doubts about electromagnetic interference
March 6, 2009 – 5:38 pm
As reported earlier, the ATSB has ordered new tests to determine if electromagnetic inference from military installations near Learmonth in WA is a possible cause of serious incidents involving Qantas A330s.
The interim factual report issued today also reveals two more failures in the Air Data Inertial Reference Units or ADIRUs used in Qantas A330s, one [...]
More on the Qantas Manila ripper incident from the ATSB
March 6, 2009 – 4:17 pm
The second billing in today’s double header from the ATSB is the release of another interim factual report into the 25 July 2008 emergency landing in Manila by a Qantas 747-400 after an oxygen cylinder ruptured in the forward cargo hold area and tore a gaping hole in the jet.
Exhaustive inquires by the air [...]
Electromagnetic interference back in frame as possible cause of Qantas A330 incidents
March 6, 2009 – 3:28 pm
The ATSB has ordered new tests to determine if electromagnetic inference from military installations near Learmonth in WA is a possible cause of serious incidents involving Qantas A330s.
The interim factual report into the QF 72 accident on 7 October, which seriously injured 12 people during an emergency descent to Learmonth reveals that two similar occurrences [...]
Departure taxes, biosecurity and internet p*rn filters
March 6, 2009 – 7:07 am
The soften-them-up pre-Federal budget rumours include an increase to the departure tax which is currently $47. The claimed reason is to better fund border security including improved biosecurity.
Canberra has been sold a crippled pup when it comes to biosecurity in its allegedly more sophisticated variations, such as finger print matching, data mining (how many Middle [...]
Is jet fuel made from algae taking root, or just rooted?
March 5, 2009 – 10:02 am
The grail that is supposed to render aviation a zero emissions industry is fuel derived from algae. Progress has so far been amazingly fast, with a trial in the New Year of a twin engined Continental Airlines 737 in which one of the engines ran using a blend of algal grown octanes and aviation grade [...]
Australia’s southern polar express makes a point
March 4, 2009 – 1:32 pm
In the southern polar day now ending the smallish Airbus A319 operated by Skytraders for the Australian Antarctic Division made a point about how Canberra could significantly raise its influence over the future of the continent of ice in terms of environmental protection or mineral exploitation.
The jet was acquired to provide an air link between [...]
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