The World of Aviation

Jetstar’s Japanese start-up today began selling tickets ahead of first flights scheduled for July 3. A joint venture between Qantas, Japan Airlines, Mitsubishi Corporation and Century Tokyo Leasing Corporation, Jetstar Japan says it will offer fares for up to 50 per cent less than full service Japanese carriers. Promotional fares currently on sale at the

The UK’s first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has made its maiden flight, marking the first time an F-35 destined for a country other than the US has taken to the skies. Designated as BK-1, the short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B made a 45 minute sortie over Texas on Friday with a Lockheed Martin test pilot

Indonesian flag carrier Garuda has signed a memorandum of understanding with Auckland Airport to re-open air links between Indonesia and New Zealand. Under the MoU, Garuda confirmed that Auckland will be its first destination in New Zealand “as soon as market conditions and aircraft availability allow.” Garuda flew to New Zealand via Brisbane until 2006,

Captain Grahame Mackelmann, the Captain of TAA DC-9 VH-TJJ which was involved in an attempted hijacking by an armed passenger on a Coolangatta-Brisbane flight in June 1979, passed away on April 11. “Grahame will be sorely missed by those of us who had the privilege to know and  work with him,” says former colleague and

Auckland Airport will auction off piece of its old school flight information board to raise money for charity. More than 100 pieces of the solari board – described by the airport at “the type that flicks through the alphabet to find the right letter” – are up for online auction beginning at 9 am tomorrow

The uncontained failure of a Qantas 747’s RB211  engine near San Francisco in 2010 was caused by the fracture of an ageing engine turbine blade, the ATSB has confirmed. Engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has already concluded that a fatigue fracture of a single stage-2 low pressure turbine blade inside the RB211 was to blame for the