Indonesian low cost carrier Lion Air took delivery of four Boeing 737-900ERs earlier in December, providing a rare opportunity to photograph three of the four aircraft together at Boeing’s 737 Customer Delivery Center at Boeing Field in Seattle. Lion Air was the 737-900ER launch customer, and currently has no fewer than 178 of the type
Regional Express announced on December 24 that it is quiting its Mackay to Townsville route from January 1 2010, and that it has launched a complaint with the ACCC against competitor QantasLink. Rex launched Mackay-Townsville services on October 1 2009, marking its re-entry to the Queensland market. However, the airline claims that in response to
The Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) has launched legal action against Qantas over paying pilots employed by its New Zealand subsidiary Jetconnect less than mainline pilots. AIPA says that the strategic legal action is aimed at stopping Qantas from “undermining the spirit and intent of the Fair Work Act” by employing Jetconnect pilots to
The government and opposition have sparred over the changes proposed in the recently released Aviation White Paper which will extend security screening to a number of additional airports around Australia. Shadow transport minister Warren Truss MP said in a statement issued on December 22 that the additional screening requirements outlined by the government will add
New statistics from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) show that there was a 9.6 per cent jump in international passenger traffic during October, primarily driven by a major increase in activity from low cost carriers. Overall, 2.202 million passengers travelled into and out of Australia during the month, and follows a
As expected, preliminary ICAO statistics record that 2009 saw the biggest decline in passenger traffic during the jet age. Compared to 2008, international passenger traffic decreased by 3.9 per cent while domestic travel was down 1.8 per cent, leaving overall passenger traffic down 3.1 per cent as capacity declined by the same amount. All regions
