The World of Aviation

The news coincides with New Zealand’s borders finally lifting to Australians for the first time on Tuesday since the trans-Tasman bubble was paused last July.

The Southwest Airlines Pilot Association (SWAPA), which represents over 10,000 Southwest pilots, said fatigue has become the Dallas-based carrier’s “number one safety threat”, and its leaders are yet to address the issue. 

The airline signed a Letter of Intent in December 2021 for the aircraft, and has now converted it into a firm order, with purchase rights for an additional four jets, according to the company.

According to the main travel hub’s March statistics, it saw 4.1 million passengers filter through the airport, a major increase from the 0.5 million during the same time last year.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has handed out its “largest-ever” fines against two unruly passengers. One fine totalled to US$81,950 and the other was US$77,272, and both are part of US$2 million worth of penalties the agency has issued since January. It comes as the regulator’s Zero Tolerance Policy, which was introduced in January last

JetBlue has offered an “unsolicited” proposal to buy Spirit Airlines for US$3.6 billion, now derailing the merger with Frontier Airlines to become the fifth largest United States carrier.