The World of Aviation

Virgin Australia has received an improved ratings outlook from S&P Global Ratings as the airline moves to pay down debt and reduce costs. The ratings agency, formerly known as Standard and Poor’s, said on Monday it had reaffirmed Virgin Australia’s “B+” corporate credit rating while lifting the ratings outlook to stable, from negative previously. “The stable

Toll Helicopters has donated a surplus Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T turboshaft engine to Aviation High School in Brisbane as a hands-on training aid for students. The engine, previously installed in one of Toll Helicopter’s Bell 212s which was used for peace keeping missions in the Timor region and firefighting operations in Australia, was formally

A high energy laser system mounted under the stub wing of a US Army AH-64E Apache has successfully acquired and hit a target during tests of the directed-energy weapon at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The laser firing, conducted by Raytheon with the US Army Apache Program Management Office and the US Special

Australian manufacturer Quickstep Holdings says it will supply wing flaps for Lockheed Martin’s LM-100J commercial freighter. The company made the announcement in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange on Monday. The LM-100J is a civil derivative of the C-130J Super Hercules military airlifter. Lockheed Martin rolled out the first of the type at its

Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) plans to set up a new consultative body to better obtain the views of industry. The Aviation Safety Advisory Panel will comprise representatives from the Australian Airports Association, the Australian Aviation Associations Forum, Recreational Aviation Australia, the Regional Aviation Association of Australia, Qantas Airways and Virgin Australia. Described as

Qantas and its regional wing QantasLink have taken top honours for punctuality in May, new figures show. The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) report on domestic on-time performance said Qantas had 90.8 per cent of its flights arrive within 15 minutes of schedule in May, ahead of QantasLink at 89.7 per cent. Qantas also