Aviation

 
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al Baker says the oil price has been kept down artificially and will rise by the end of 2016.

Qatar Airways chief says oil price to rise by end of 2016

Simon Evans   The chief executive of Qatar Airways says the oil price is artificially low and he predicts it will be back between $US50 and $US60 a barrel by the end of 2016.

China Eastern to introduce daily Shanghai-Brisbane service

China Eastern will fly the Airbus A330 into Brisbane when it starts daily flights in December.

Cameron Atfield   One of Brisbane Airport's holy grails – direct daily flights to Shanghai – will arrive later this year.

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Mid-air scare for Etihad passengers

Passengers could be heard screaming and crying as their flight encountered severe turbulence.

Rachel Browne   An Etihad Airways flight has experienced "severe and unexpected" turbulence just before landing in Jakarta, leaving 31 passengers injured.

Air NZ looks to dump Virgin Australia quickly

Air New Zealand's airfares are under pressure due to rising competition.

Jamie Freed   Air New Zealand has flagged to investors that it is aiming to sell all or part of its 25.9 per cent stake in Virgin Australia by June 30.

Why politicians could be flying alcohol-free

Qantas' loyalty division has more than 11 million frequent flyer members.

Jamie Freed   The list of airlines that will be flown by public servants and politicians now includes Royal Brunei and Air Niugini.

How Qantas is thriving despite cheap air fares

Airlines have been offering low fares on flights to the United States.

Jamie Freed   The lowest return economy class Sydney-New York fare on offer on Qantas' website on Tuesday was $1621, hundreds of dollars more than some rivals.

Air NZ changes accounting for Virgin stake up for sale

Air New Zealand is looking to sell all or part of its 25.9 per cent stake in Virgin Australia.

Jamie Freed   Air New Zealand has stopped equity accounting for its stake in Virgin Australia after placing all or part of its 25.9 per cent holding in the Australian carrier up for sale in a process that has attracted the attention of Chinese airlines.

Virgin Australia to cut capacity amid expected second-half loss

Virgin Australia in March received a $425 million loan from its major shareholders.

Jamie Freed   Virgin Australia will reduce its capacity by 5.1 per cent in the June quarter after forecasting it will report a loss in the second half of the financial year.

Virgin Australia looks to Alliance deal amid mining downturn

Virgin regional head Merren McArthur says the deal with Alliance will leverage their relative strengths.

Jamie Freed   Virgin Australia's proposed partnership with fly-in/fly-out and charter operator Alliance Aviation Services could help both airlines.

Qantas uniforms finally reckon with women pilots

Qantas new pilot uniform launch at Carriage Works, Everleigh.

Jamie Freed   When Qantas A330 Captain Debbie Slade joined the airline 27 years ago as one of its first female pilots, little thought was given to uniforms for women.

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Virgin Australia's freight scramble begins to pay off

Virgin freight head Merren McArthur says her team scrambled to find space for a cargo shed at Sydney Airport.

Jamie Freed   It would be an understatement to say that the launch of Virgin's freight business in July and the full transition away from Toll in October was rushed.

Priceline CEO stumbles over affair

Darren Huston had been CEO of Priceline for more than two years. having joined the company five years ago from Microsoft.

Gerrit De Vynck   The online travel giant's boss Darren Huston quits after a relationship with an employee. Now the former CEO is back in charge.

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Call for $1b privatisation of Airservices

The Australian Aviation Associations' Forum says Australia should move to the Canadian model.

Jamie Freed   Air traffic control provider Airservices Australia should be privatised by the federal government in a move that could raise $1 billion, according to players at the smaller end of the local aviation industry.

FIFO aviation operator Cobham to raise $941m amid mining slowdown

Cobham is one of the biggest FIFO aviation operators in Australia.

Jamie Freed   A slowdown in the fly-in/fly-out aviation market in Australia has contributed to UK-listed operator Cobham issuing a profit warning and unveiling plans for a surprise capital raising.

Qantas, Vietnam Airlines invest $181.5m in Jetstar Pacific

A woman has attempted to open a door on a flight near Avalon.

Jamie Freed   Qantas and Vietnam Airlines have unveiled plans to invest $US139 million to more than double the size of Vietnamese low-cost carrier Jetstar Pacific's fleet.

All you can fly start-up schedules launch

Airly co-founders, from left, Ivan Vysotskiy, Alexander Robinson and Luke Hampshire, are seeking funding for the private ...

Jamie Freed   Airly hopes to start flying between Sydney and Melbourne by the end of September.

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Sydney Airport completes $US900m raising

Sydney Airport's bonds are rated Baa2 by Moody's.

Jamie Freed   Sydney Airport has completed a $US900 million ($1.17 billion) bond raising to reduce its drawn bank debt.

International air fares at 30-year low

Jetstar flies Boeing 787-8 aircraft on its long-haul routes.

Elizabeth Knight   Five years ago a return flight to London cost the equivalent of almost two weeks of the average Australian worker's salary, at the start of the year the same trip would cost only five day's work.

Labor noise plan for Badgerys Creek could be on target: expert

The new airport at Badgerys Creek in western Sydney is due to open in the mid-2020s.

Jamie Freed   Labor's plan to limit the impact of aircraft noise at Badgerys Creek should be seriously considered, an aviation expert says.

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Domestic airfares begin to fall

Qantas on Monday warned the domestic market was softer than expected.

Jamie Freed   The average price of domestic airfares fell by 5.77 per cent in the first quarter of the calendar year, after having risen by 8 to 9 per cent last year when demand was stronger.

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Qantas chair's stock purchase helps price rebound

Bounceback: Leigh Clifford has topped up his shareholding in the airline.

Jamie Freed   Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford bought $101,400 of the airline's shares, showing he thinks it's good value after falling as much as 18 per cent earlier this week.

Malaysia Airlines boss headed for early exit

Malaysia Airlines has been in recovery mode after the twin losses of MH370 and MH17 in 2014.

Jamie Freed   Christoph Mueller, the experienced executive tasked with turning around ailing Malaysia Airlines, is leaving after spending just over a year as chief executive.

Qantas could hold off on rewarding investors

Qantas on Monday said it would grow domestic capacity less quickly than previously forecast.

Jamie Freed   Qantas will likely be more conservative in returning cash to shareholders at its August annual results because of weaker domestic market conditions, analysts say.

Elizabeth Knight

The secret airline fare war

Elizabeth Knight.

Elizabeth Knight   There is a new but more-secretive price war raging among Australia's domestic airlines.

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Airfares on downward path as demand takes a dip

Qantas' domestic capacity growth will be up to 1.5 per cent lower.

Patrick Hatch   There are signs the cost of flying around Australia is falling as airlines respond to lower demand by dropping prices and putting the brakes on domestic flight growth.

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Qantas shares slide 10pc as demand drops

Qantas' domestic capacity growth will be up to 1.5 per cent lower.

Patrick Hatch   Qantas and Jetstar are cutting back planned flights on domestic routes in response to reduced demand.

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Qantas cuts capacity forecast

Qantas spent a record $4.5 billion on fuel in the 2013-14 financial year, but since then, costs have been going down.

Qantas Airways has cut its planned domestic capacity expansion for the second half of its financial year as the prospect of a federal election and a drop in consumer confidence weighed on demand.

Air NZ sale could spark $8m payout for Virgin's Borghetti

Virgin boss John Borghetti could reap around $8 million if a takeover were successful.

Jamie Freed   Air New Zealand's failed attempt to oust Virgin Australia chief executive John Borghetti could have the ironic result of the airline boss receiving a payout of around $8 million.

Plane turns back to Sydney after "odour" detected

A United Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the same type of plane which was turned back to Sydney.

Georgina Mitchell   A flight bound for San Francisco was turned back to Sydney on Sunday afternoon when an "unusual odour" was detected onboard.

Too tired to fly: the problem of pilot fatigue

In some situations, pilots are allowed to nap on the flight deck to alleviate fatigue.

Jamie Freed   Pilot fatigue is an unresolved issue but different airlines have very different rules.

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