Airbus has joined with Virgin Australia in studying the possibility of producing sustainable jet fuel out of eucalyptus trees. The consortium, which also includes the Future Farm Industries CRC, aims to have an alternative fuel pilot plant operating in Australia within the next year. The effort is focusing on a thermal conversion process known as
Queensland based Skytrans has announced plans to launch flights between Toowoomba and Sydney from July. The airline said it will initially fly six return flights per week on the new route with plans to increase to 10 flights per week within a year. Skytrans operates a fleet of Dash 8 turboprops and currently flies to
Alliance Aviation Services has announced plans to launch fly-in, fly-out services to the Argyle diamond mines in Western Australia. Under a contract with Rio Tinto Argyle Diamonds Ltd, Alliance will commence services from April 16 and will fly seven round trips per week between Perth and Argyle using Fokker 100 and Fokker 70LR aircraft. In
Guinea Airways, founded in Adelaide in 1927 to provide transport for remote mining operations in Papua New Guinea, was one of Australia’s early commercial aviation successes. It moved to the Australia mainland to start flights on the Adelaide-Darwin route in 1937 and developed a network of services between Adelaide and regional centres, including Broken Hill
An alliance of trade unions has launched an effort to lobby the government to save thousands of engineering jobs threatened by Qantas plans to consolidate its heavy maintenance operations. The unions – the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, the Australian Workers Union and the Electrical Trades Union – say they will join forces to push state
Virgin Australia will switch from a weight-based checked baggage allowance to a per piece system, the airline announced yesterday. The changes, which will affect tickets purchased after May 16, applies to domestic and international short haul flights. International long haul and carry-on baggage policies will not change. Under the airline’s current system, economy passengers are
