The World of Aviation

The second A330 MRTT Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) for the RAF took flight from the Airbus Military facility at Getafe near Madrid on October 26. The aircraft, one of 14 aircraft for the RAF, joins the first aircraft in the flight test program. The FSTA aircraft, reportedly to be designated KC-30 in RAF service,

Virgin Blue CEO John Borghetti has said that he expects conditions across the carrier’s domestic and international markets to improve next year, while he will also reveal more of the carrier’s plans for the Asian market over the next year. “I think that next year should be a reasonably, you know, I’m not saying a

Qantas has rejected claims by the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) that QantasLink is flying aircraft with faulty locks on cockpit doors. The ALAEA says that locks on the cockpit access doors of its Bombardier Q400 fleet can be easily opened, and despite management being aware of the issue, the aircraft continue to fly.

Aeronautical Accessories has announced that it has gained FAA approval for its Bell 429 accessory package. The accessory package includes a crew floor protector kit, passenger floor protector assembly, automatic door openers and a fuel filler area protection kit. All elements are also available separately.

A French newspaper claims that Airbus is seeking out risk-sharing partners to help bear the engineering cost and risk of its proposed re-engining for the A320 Family, adding to speculation that the program may be shelved in favour of other priorities. According to Les Echoes, sources at Airbus claim that it is seeking an industrial

The International Air Services Commission (IASC) has granted approval for V Australia to codeshare on a number of Etihad services and also granted it traffic rights to operate flights to Abu Dhabi, while Etihad has received clearance to codeshare on Pacific Blue’s trans-Tasman services. The Commission issued a number of Determinations on October 25 which