The World of Aviation

Boeing has announced that Ethiopian Airlines has ordered 10 737-800s, valued at US$767m (A$851m) based on list prices. Ethiopian currently operates two 737-800s and five -700s, in addition to nine 757s, 10 767s and one MD-11, while it has 777-200LRs and 787s on order.

The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines has released its 2009 year end data, showing that member airlines carried 5.7 per cent less passengers than 2008, although capacity cuts helped to lessen the impact on load factors. For the year, member airlines carried 132.9 million passengers, while revenue passenger kilometres reduced by 6.5 per cent, driven

BAC Airports Pty Ltd, which owns Bankstown and Camden airports, has announced that long serving CEO Kim Ellis will leave the company at the end of his contract in June 2010. Ellis said in a statement that he was proud of the achievements of the management team at BAC Airports, including growing aviation traffic and

Boeing has confirmed the first 747-8 Freighter started gauntlet tests on January 21, raising the prospect that the aircraft’s first flight will take place within weeks. The gauntlet tests simulate flying conditions in an attempt to test and validate all systems as part of preparing for first flight. Following a successful gauntlet, it is expected the aircraft

Qantas’s First Class Suite on the A380 has been awarded a Good Design Award by the Chicago Athaneum. “This award continues to build on the positive feedback from both our customers and the industry on the Qantas A380. It reinforces the value of a well designed inflight product, particularly for long haul flights,” said Qantas

Qantas recorded the highest rate of domestic on-time departures during December 2009, according to new data released from BITRE. For the month, Qantas recorded an on time departure rate of 89.1, followed by Jetstar (84.5 per cent), Virgin Blue (84 per cent) and Tiger Airways (76.9 per cent). Overall, the industry averaged an on time