The World of Aviation

International Air Transport Association (IATA) chief executive and director general Alexandre de Juniac says the privatisation of airports around the world by governments often seeking a short-term boost to the budget has proven to be a failure. Speaking to the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) assembly of presidents in Taipei, de Juniac said airports

Canberra says the company charged with building and operating the proposed airport in Sydney’s west will be “at arm’s length of government”. Minister for Finance Senator Mathias Cormann said the federal government has issued its statement of expectations for WSA Co, which states the government-owned company will be run with “private sector principles and at

Qantas’s first Boeing 787-9 will begin commercial passenger service on Wednesday on the Melbourne-Perth route. The aircraft, VH-ZNA Great Southern Land, will operate QF481, which is scheduled to depart Melbourne at 1750 and arrive in Perth at 1830 local time. Qantas said on Wednesday VH-ZNA would receive an Airservices Aviation Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF)

SriLankan Airlines has returned to Australia for the first time since 2001 with the start of nonstop flights between Melbourne and Colombo. The inaugural service, operated by Airbus A330-300 4R-ALM, touched down at Melbourne Airport at about 1515 on Monday, following its 10-hour journey from Colombo. The aircraft was on the ground for about two

Virgin Australia has received a setback in its efforts to maintain flights to Samoa after the country’s government denied the airline’s application to operate flights between Apia and Auckland. While flights from Brisbane and Sydney to Apia will go ahead on November 13 as previously planned, Virgin Australia has been forced to cancel its five

Veteran aviation journalist Ben Sandilands has died after battling cancer. For the past decade, Sandilands covered aviation for the Crikey online blog Plane Talking, with his combination of analysis, comment and news often provoking much comment from readers. Even Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce was prompted to respond to one of Sandilands’ posts in June