Air NZ & Etihad sign codeshare deal
Air New Zealand has signed a codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways, in a bid to bolster its presence in the middle eastern market. Subject to regulatory approval, Air New Zealand will codeshare on Etihad services between Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Abu Dhabi, as well as between Abu Dhabi and London Heathrow. In return, Etihad will
Etihad appoints Middleton as Australian alliance manager
Etihad Airways has appointed Robin Middleton to manager alliances, where he will oversee Etihad’s relationship with the Virgin Blue Group. Middleton, an Australian national who was formerly Etihad’s regional general manager Americas, will relocate to Brisbane, the home-base of Virgin Blue, to supervise the selling, marketing and distribution of Etihad’s partnership with VB. He was
Fifth 747-8F flies
The fifth Boeing 747-8F to join the flight test program made its first flight on February 4. According to Boeing, “The flight included a standard 2 hour, 30 minute ‘B1’ flight profile that Boeing conducts on all production airplanes prior to delivery, plus an hour of engineering testing woven into the profile”. The aircraft, RC523,
X-47B makes first flight
Northrop Grumman’s X-47B UCAS-D – Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration – aircraft made its first flight on February 4, taking off at 2.09pm local time for a 29 minute flight. In a flight designed to gather test data to verify and validate system software for guidance and navigation, and the aerodynamic control of the tailless
F-22 for Avalon
Among the attractions to be seen at next month’s Australian International Airshow at Avalon will be the US Air Force’s stealthy F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter. “This is a special aircraft and we have been trying to get it to Avalon for many years,” Airshow CEO Ian Honnery said. “It is really exciting that at
DSCA notification for possible RAN Romeo support
The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress on February 1 of a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Australia of a 10-year Through-Life-Support (TLS) package for 24 MH-60R Romeo helicopters, and associated equipment, parts, and logistical support for an estimated cost of US$1.6 billion. The request says the “Government of Australia has requested
