Qantas has confirmed plans to cut more than 500 engineering jobs and close its heavy maintenance base at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport, ending weeks of speculation after the airline earlier flagged plans to consolidate its operations in a cost-cutting move. Qantas said it would relocated heavy maintenance of its Boeing 737 fleet, currently conducted at Tullamarine,
Virgin Australia has announced plans to resume flights from Brisbane to Mount Isa, raising hopes in the mining centre that competition will lead to lower fares. Qantas has held a monopoly on the route since Virgin withdrew from Mount Isa in 2001, saying competition from the flying Kangaroo left it unable to fill its seats.
Virgin Australia has launched a trial of biodiesel fuel in a baggage handling vehicle at Brisbane Airport. Virgin says the trial is the first time an Australian airline has used biodiesel in its ground service equipment. The fuel is made up of 20 per cent biodiesel derived from tallow and used cooking oil and 80
A tourism and transport industry group says changes in the federal budget will cut funding for customs and airport policing despite forecasts of a substantial increase in the number of international passengers traveling to Australia. The budget also increases government charges on international flights, the Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) says. “While passenger facilitation is
Fijian national carrier Air Pacific will return to its maiden name of Fiji Airways, part of a broader overhaul of its image as the partly Qantas-owned airline works to turn around its struggling business. The airline, which is 46 per cent owned by Qantas, has been in the midst of a restructure since it reported
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commisison has given final approval to a codesharing alliance between Virgin Australia and WA regional carrier Skywest. The tie-up will link Virgin with Skywest’s network serving the mining industry and comes amid a larger push by Virgin to challenge Qantas’s hold on business travel. “Virgin Australia is committed to increasing
