The World of Aviation

Quickstep Holdings announced on December 7 that it has finalised a share placement with institutional and sophisticated investors, raising $11.492 million which will be used for the purchase of capital equipment for production of parts for the Joint Strike Fighter program. The company also plans to raise a further $6.24 million in a share purchase

China Southern Airlines has announced on December 8 that it is adding two additional frequencies each week on the Sydney-Guangzhou route immediately until February 20 due to strong demand over the Christmas season. The flights will be operated by 254-seat Airbus A330-200s.

The Airbus Military A400M completed its successful maiden flight on December 11, taking off from Seville, Spain, at 10:15 local time and landing 3hr 47min later, with the crew of MSN 1 confirming the aircraft and its engines performed as expected. “We have had a very successful first flight – the takeoff performance was impressive,

Gold Coast Airport’s Aviation Rescue and Fire Fighting station (ARFF) is the first in the country to receive a digital upgrade to its fire control centre, Airservices Australia announced on December 11. Part of a $12 million nationwide rollout of new fire control technology, the new integrated digital system replaces a number of older standalone

Boeing has announced that the window for the first flight of the 787 Dreamliner will open at 10am local time on December 15. “This date is dependent on final internal reviews, taxi tests and receiving the final experimental ticket from the US Federal Aviation Administration,” the company said in a media notice issued on December

Scandanavian Airlines (SAS) has appointed Irmgard Goetjes-Pedersen as its general manager of operations for Australia and New Zealand. She succeeds Lars Olofsson who has taken up a position with the airline in Beijing.