The World of Aviation

Turkish Airlines has ordered 15 Airbus A330-300s in a deal with a book value of US$3.5 billion. The deal is Turkish Airlines’ seventh order for A330 aircraft and its 20th from Airbus. The carrier said it would use the aircraft on medium and long-haul routes.  

Tiger Airways will fly from Melbourne to Mackey starting in December as the budget carrier also extends its Melbourne-Cairns services through the summer season. The four times weekly Mackay services are to commence on December 18 with tickets going on sale today. Cairns services, which re-launched in April, will be extended through next March. Tiger

Codeshare arrangements between Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines from Adelaide are being extended to 12 destinations in Europe and the UK.  Subject to regulatory approval, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, London, Manchester, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Rome and Zurich will be added, with reciprocal lounge and frequent flyer benefits applying to the new services. Virgin Australia

Auckland International Airport Limited has released performance figures for August, showing mixed results from its three airport investments. The total number of passengers at Auckland receded by nearly 1.4 per cent, with a dramatic reduction in international transit passengers following the withdrawal of through-services by Qantas and Aerolineas Argentinas to Los Angeles and Buenos Aires

In a move that may spell unease for the recently consummated relationship between Qantas and Emirates, Qatar Airways has ended months of speculation by announcing its membership of oneworld.  Its membership will add 15 new destinations and three countries to the alliance network, bringing the total to 856 destinations and 159 countries served by the

The federal government has thrown its support behind Qantas’s proposed alliance with Emirates, saying the tie-up would benefit consumers and bolster competition. The backing by the Department of Infrastructure and Trade came after Qantas withdrew its request to the ACCC for interim approval of the alliance, which had drawn objections from rival Virgin Australia. Qantas