Airfares for the cheapest economy tickets fell to their lowest levels in more than three years in May. The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics’ monthly measure of domestic airfares index for “best discount” tickets fares fell sharply to 49.8 points in May, from 65.5 points in April. It was the lowest reading since January
ATR hits a century in just four months
Franco-Italian regional turboprop manufacturer ATR has recorded 100 sales for its ATR-42 and ATR-72 models in just the first four months of 2014. The company says its products currently account for 80 per cent of all regional aircraft sales up to 90-seats announced to date this year, and already exceeds the 89 total sales it logged
RAN MH-60Rs commence sonar dipping training
The RAN’s NUSQN725 MH-60R Romeo Seahawk training unit embedded with US Navy training squadrons at NAS Jacksonville in Florida has started dipping sonar operations. The unit has received, installed and calibrated its first Airborne Low Frequency Sonar System (ALFS), and has been conducting trials in an exercise area off the Florida coast. The ALFS comprises the
United Airlines has announced it will increase the frequency of its forthcoming direct Melbourne-Los Angeles Boeing 787-9 flights to daily from March 12 next year. In February the US carrier announced that it would operate new non-stop MEL-LAX flights six days a week from October 28 using the 787-9. Currently, United operates a daily to Melbourne from
Northrop Grumman has announced it has set up a collaboration effort with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University to study the airworthiness requirements for operating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in Australia. The collaboration involves developing solutions for safely and efficiently operating UAS in all airspace environments with a particular focus on larger systems
Australia requests AIM-9X Block II AAMs
The US State department has approved the sale of the Raytheon AIM-9X infra-red air-to-air missile to Australia. The request submitted by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) and valued at $US534m (A$568m) is for “up to” 350 AIM-9X missiles, and also includes training and captive missiles, tactical guidance units, test sets and support equipment,
