The World of Aviation

Barwon Heads Airport outside Geelong will be able to operate year-round after securing funding to have its runway sealed. Victoria’s regional aviation fund will allocate about $650,000 to seal the airport’s 750-metre gravel north/south runway. Lighting along the runway will also be improved. Currently, Barwon Heads Airport closes for about 50 days each year due

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has unveiled Japan’s first domestically-produced commercial passenger jetliner in about 50 years at a roll-out ceremony in Nagoya over the weekend. The Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) was presented to a crowd of about 500 at the Komaki Minami plant of MHI’s Nagoya Aerospace Systems Works facility on Saturday, October 18. The

Virgin Australia says the takeover of Tigerair Australia will fast track the low-cost carrier’s path to profitability through international expansion and back room cost efficiencies. Australia’s second-largest carrier will pay A$1 to pick up the remaining 40 per cent of Tigerair that it does not already own from Singapore-based Tiger Airways Holdings. Tigerair will retain

Virgin Australia says consumer conditions remain weak as the carrier reported a $59.1 million statutory net loss in the first quarter of 2014/15. The airline, which has moved to quarterly reporting of its financial performance, says the underlying loss before tax for the three months to September 30 2014 was $45 million, an improvement of

In a sign of confidence regarding its Airbus A380 operations, Qantas has signed a 20-year lease for a new maintenance facility at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The new hangar will include two parking pads capable of taking Airbus A380 aircraft, plus office space and ground support equipment facilities, according to Los Angeles World Airports

Qantas will have two aircraft options should it choose to transition its long over-water flights to Johannesburg and Santiago de Chile from four-engine Boeing 747-400s to big twins after the Airbus A350 received ETOPS certification for up to 370 minutes. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has approved the A350-900 for Extended-range twin engine aircraft