Australian Aviation

Podcast: The Spitfire, the Hurricane, the Kittyhawk – when asked to name the fighter planes that won World War II, most people would place these legendary machines high on the list. Yet largely absent from these lofty histories is the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation’s CA-13 Boomerang – Australia’s home-grown fighter plane, adapted from a training aircraft design and deployed in the Pacific theatre. Though it was plagued with teething problems and never took down an enemy aircraft, the Boomerang carved out its own niche working with the Army in battlefields like the dense jungles of New Guinea. In this week’s Australian Aviation Podcast, Jake Nelson talks to Don Williams, author of The CAC Boomerang: Australia’s Own WWII Fighter, about the unique role played by the Boomerang in Australia’s aviation history – and how it can be better remembered. https://bit.ly/4hD6K1R

Virgin has confirmed it will axe its direct flights between Darwin and Adelaide during the Top End’s tourism season this year. The proposed three-times weekly service was set to return on 22 June but has now been suspended “indefinitely” due to low forecasted demand. “While we understand this will be disappointing for some guests, this enables us to reallocate capacity to markets where demand is higher,” the airline said. https://bit.ly/4hfQqEE

The first female pilot to become a Group Captain in the RAAF has been made an AM in the Australia Day honours list. Marija Jovanovich joins more than 79 ADF personnel to be rewarded for excellence and achievement in areas ranging from strategic leadership and command to operational planning and combat capability. Born in the former Yugoslavia, Jovanovich immigrated to New Zealand in 1995 and subsequently to Australia in 2001. https://bit.ly/4hysJHw

Aviation start-up Koala Airlines has survived a winding-up application in the Victorian Supreme Court. The application, which had been filed by apparent creditor Wealth Creation Pty Ltd, was on Wednesday dismissed with the consent of both parties, with no orders made as to costs. It comes after Australian Aviation exclusively reported on the application earlier this month. https://bit.ly/3CyMfVc

Former Virgin Australia CEO Rob Sharp will continue to head Airservices Australia after his interim tenure in the top job was made permanent. Sharp has received praise in the industry for steadying the organisation after it faced criticism it allowed too many air traffic controllers to leave during COVID – a situation many argued led to delays and cancellations for passengers. He first joined Airservices in July 2024 for what was initially meant to be a 12-month interim appointment, replacing outgoing CEO Jason Harfield. https://bit.ly/42qAPxy

The federal government will have a larger say over the future of Rex after confirming reports it would acquire $50 million of the collapsed airline’s debt. The move will see the Commonwealth buy out the remainder of the money owed to PAG, the Asian firm whose investment allowed Rex to launch capital city 737 flights in 2021. Rex entered voluntary administration at the end of July, with estimates it owed around $500 million to 4,800 creditors after its failed venture into competing with Qantas Group and Virgin Australia on domestic jet operations. https://bit.ly/42oRxx1

In the wake of Bonza’s collapse and Rex’s administration last year, another prospective domestic carrier – Koala Airlines – was suddenly garnering media attention despite not yet having aircraft or a clear business plan. While its website, filled with glossy renders of 737 MAX 8s, promised to “carve out a unique niche” in Australia’s aviation sector, a winding-up application filed against it in Victoria last week has raised questions about whether it would ever actually get off the ground. Adam and Jake discuss whether Koala’s lofty ambitions of “creating a lasting impact on the industry” are over before they even began. Plus, Perth Airport booms as it invests big in the future, transport links to Western Sydney Airport take shape, and how many podcast hosts does it take to assemble a model plane? https://bit.ly/4awwn2o

Skykraft has unveiled the list of partners it will collaborate with on its government-backed plan to create an alternative to GPS. The Canberra-based firm, which hopes to launch a space-based air traffic control system, will collaborate with institutions such as RMIT, Curtin and UNSW on the positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) system. https://bit.ly/4h3rlga

Virgin Australia has claimed a reliability trifecta, beating Qantas in cancellations, on-time departures, and on-time arrivals for December 2024. Last month, 75.1 per cent of Virgin and VARA services arrived on time and 74.4 per cent departed on time, compared to 73.7 per cent and 73.1 per cent respectively for Qantas and QantasLink. Virgin also had the lowest cancellation rate of any airline at 0.6 per cent, according to BITRE data. https://bit.ly/4gaWD3t

Qantas has announced changes to its frequent flyer system, including increased earn rates, more reward seats, and higher points costs. The changes, to be rolled out over the next 12 months, will see up to one million more Classic Reward seats go on sale through the Flying Kangaroo’s international partner airlines. They come after last year’s introduction of “Classic Plus” made more reward seats available. https://bit.ly/4jETJqL