The World of Aviation

Qantas has again recorded the highest rate of on-time departures during September, according to the latest industry report from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE). For the month Qantas recorded an on-time departure rate of 84.1 per cent. This was followed by Virgin Blue at 79.1 per cent, Jetstar at 76.4 per

Airservices Australia will be putting 18 trainee fire fighters through their paces over the next few weeks at Sydney Airport. The trainees will be involved in a range of aviation fire fighting skills and rescue procedures between October 25 and November 5. Airservices has warned the public not to be concerned about smoke, fire or

Delta Air Lines has announced that it will defer delivery of its first Boeing 787 until 2020, but maintains that it is still committed to its order of 18 787-8s. The US$2.2bn (A$2.21bn) order was inherited from Delta’s merger with Northwest Airlines, and instead Delta will focus on extending the life of its Boeing 747-400s

Japanese carrier Fuji Dream Airlines has ordered one 84-seat Embraer E-175 jet. The aircraft has been previously counted in Embraer’s backlog and listed against an unidentified customer. Fuji Dream currently operates a fleet of three E-170s and one E-175, with the new aircraft to enter service before the end of the year.

Raytheon says it has successfully flight tested a new precision Small Tactical Munition (STM) designed specifically for use from UAVs. The STM is 60cm in length and weighs just 6kg, and features a dual mode semiactive laser seeker and GPS guidance system for use against fixed and mobile targets in all weather conditions.

Skywest is planning to place its first Airbus A320, VH-FNP, into service shortly with the long time Melbourne resident aircraft ferrying into its new Perth base on October 23. The A320, which is configured in an all-economy configuration of 162-seats with a 31in pitch, arrived in Perth from Melbourne on October 23 after it was