The World of Aviation

The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics’ (BITRE) Domestic Air Fare Index for August shows that discount fares have dropped compared to the same time last year, while business fares have risen slightly. The index for best discount airfares came in at 57.2 for the month, compared to 61.0 in August 2009. The index

A Qantas Airbus A380 operating a flight bound for Sydney was forced to divert to Noumea on August 11, making it the first A380 to visit New Caledonia. “It’s a first for us,” William Grillon, deputy head of operations at the Noumea airport told the ABC. “But we were ready to receive this large aircraft,

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a notice of proposed rule making which would require operators of Boeing 747-400s to modify the wiring of the aircraft’s flap control unit (FCU) following cases of inadvertent flap retraction on some 747s. The proposed airworthiness directive comes from an investigation into an uncommanded flap retraction of

Dubai Aersopace Enterprise (DAE) has slashed a number of orders for new aircraft from Boeing and Airbus as the state owned aviation conglomerate struggles to break through from Dubai’s financial woes. According to an update to Boeing’s orders and deliveries website, DAE appears to have cancelled orders for 10 777-300ERs and 15 787-8s. Similarly it

Qantas says that it currently has no plans to sell Terminal 3 at Sydney Airport, scotching speculation that MAp (formerly Macquarie Airports) was lining up to buy it. According to a report in The Australian, the lease on Terminal 3 is up for renewal in 2014, and Qantas says it intends to exercise an option

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to the Sultanate of Oman of 18 Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 50/52 aircraft and associated spares, training and logistical support. The notification, worth a potential US$3.5bn (A$3.8bn), would also cover 20 P&W F100-PW-229 or GE F110-GE-129 engines, 24