The World of Aviation

Greg Combet, Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, announced on October 1 that the Army’s fleet of Tiger ARH helicopters has passed the key Initial Operational Test and Evaluation Readiness milestone. “This is a critical milestone in the development of this important capability which will provide Army and the Australian Defence Force with one

There was a 0.5 per cent increase in international passenger traffic during July, according to statistics from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics. The increase marks the fourth consecutive month that international passenger traffic has grown. For the year ending July 2009, international passenger numbers have increased by 0.4 per cent to 23.498

Regional Express (Rex) launched its new Townsville to Mackay services in northern Queensland on October 1. “It is very gratifying to see Rex taking to the skies of Northern Queensland and bringing the benefits of lower fares and increased flight frequency to the people of Townsville and Mackay,” said Rex managing director Jim Davis. “Our

The Qantas Group recorded a six per cent increase in passenger traffic during August, although traffic on Qantas’s international services dropped by more than a quarter compared to the previous year. Domestically, Qantas and Jetstar recorded increases in passenger numbers of 1.8 and 1.3 per cent respectively, although QantasLink saw a decline of 0.2 per

Virgin Blue CEO Brett Godfrey has told AAP that increasing consumer confidence could see airfares rise again by the end of the year, despite passenger numbers falling during August. “The market is starting to turn, and we’ll be a major beneficiary,” he said. “Assuming the momentum we’re seeing continues to build, I think we’ll see

The first production Cessna Skycatcher manufactured by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation made its first flight on September 17. “The Skycatcher program continues to make significant progress, today with the first flight of our very first aircraft produced on production tooling, following closely on the heels of our announcement in July of ASTM compliance for the aircraft,”