The World of Aviation

The first six Pilatus PC-21 advanced trainers for the Royal Australian Air Force were formally welcomed into service during a ceremony at RAAF Base East Sale, Victoria on Friday. Forty-nine PC-21s as well as simulators and training devices are being acquired under the AIR 5428 Pilot Training System. The first two RAAF PC-21s were displayed

Qantas’s first Boeing 787-9 is now under final assembly ahead of its anticipated October delivery date. A photo posted to Qantas’s Instagram account on Friday shows the fuselage joined to the nose and tail, while the wings were in the process of being attached at Boeing’s Everett facility. Qantas said recently final assembly would begin

While there are no immediate plans for Tigerair Australia to resume international flying, Virgin Australia has received authorisation for its low-cost carrier (LCC) unit to operate services to the United States. In its application to Australia’s International Air Services Commission (IASC) for reauthorisation of its United States traffic rights, Virgin Australia sought to include a

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has opened submissions for its review into commercial and recreational operations of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), or drones. The regulator on Friday published a discussion paper on RPAS operations in Australia, noting there were about 50,000 drones used in this country currently, mostly for sport and recreational purposes.

Qantas has linked up with online retail giant Alibaba Group to expand its presence in the fast-growing China travel market. Under a memorandum of understanding, the Australian carrier will sell flights on Alibaba Group’s online travel website Fliggy, which is based in China. The pair said in a joint statement on Friday that Qantas was

Virgin Australia posted a fifth consecutive annual loss in 2016/17 as the airline group battles a resurgent Qantas amid a subdued domestic market and books one-off charges from restructuring its fleet. The airline group has reported a statutory after tax loss of $220.3 million for the 12 months to June 30 2017, an improvement from