Virgin Australia has appointed 25 year US airline industry veteran Gary Hammes as its new chief operating officer (COO), with effect from February 11. Hammes joins Virgin Australia from World Airways, where he served as chief operating officer. Prior to World Airways he served as senior vice president and chief operating officer of ASTAR Air
Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines have announced a new alliance agreement that will see Air New Zealand operate flights to Singapore for the first time since 2006 and Singapore Airlines operate the A380 to New Zealand for the first time. Under the agreement an existing daily Singapore Airlines 777-300ER Singapore-Auckland service will be upgraded
Qantas’s move to shift flights to Hobart from Qantas mainline 737s to QantasLink operated 717s, with the attendant decision to cut 35 jobs at Hobart airport, has sparked an outcry, even as the move means increased flight frequencies and dropping Q400 turboprop services to the Tasmanian capital. From April Qantas will transition its Melbourne and
Airline product and safety review website AirlineRatings.com has announced Air New Zealand as its ‘Airline of the Year’. Air New Zealand won the top spot in AirlineRatngs.com’s first annual awards, with Singapore Airlines’ SilkAir subsidiary named the Regional Airline of the Year. Other award winners included Emirates for best first class, Cathay Pacific for best
Jetstar is considering the sale and leaseback of some of the seven Airbus A320s it has in storage pending start-up approval for its Jetstar Hong Kong franchise. Seven A320s bound for Jetstar Hong Kong are parked at Airbus’s Toulouse, France plant while Jetstar Hong Kong awaits regulatory approval to begin operations. Jetstar Hong Kong lodged
Fiji Airways says it will add four additional aircraft, increase seat capacity by 35 per cent and staff numbers by nearly 30 per cent under a new five-year strategic plan. The renamed Air Pacific says it will lease or buy an additional A330-200, two 737-800s and two ATR 72-600s (one of which will replace an
