Over the last few days, some of Virgin Australia’s (VA) finances have been reported publicly. VA does not need to conform to the strict accounting and reporting strictures of companies listed on the Australia Securities Exchange (ASX), so it can be more selective about what it reports. Virgin revealed on...

Qantas has been trying to reform the damage it self-inflicted on its reputation with everything from better food to more recognition on board for frequent flyer status. Then it goes and pisses it all against the wall with more punishing flight change fees. Fortunately, it has seen the folly of...

Everything old is new again. Thai Airways has a reputation for having the most diverse fleet around. Different aircraft, with different seats, and a habit of plane substitution at the last minute. Thai used to have Premium Economy on some of its Boeing 777s and Airbus A340s, and it was...

Alan Joyce has retained not just one, but two public relations flacks to handle the expected reputational damage from Joe Aston’s forthcoming book, ‘The Chairman’s Lounge: The inside story of how Qantas sold us out’ (Simon & Schuster), according to a story in the AFR. To say I was awaiting...

Tokyo has two commercial airports: Haneda, which is closer to the city, and Narita, which is further away. Narita is seen as the most appealing airport because of its proximity to Tokyo. However, it also has a paucity of vacant slots, so they are much harder to obtain. Qantas flies...

Yesterday ( Monday, 30 September) saw the takeoff of the first-ever Qantas A380 flight to South Africa. The flight will also reintroduce First Class to the route, last seen in 2018. This represents a big increase in seats available on the route, some 130,000 per year, a near doubling of...

Qatar Airways gets its additional flights into Australia via wet leasing to Virgin Australia. Virgin Australia will now return to long-haul international flying when Qatar Airways takes up a 25% stake in the airline. Bain Capital, the current majority owner, now gets a partial payday from its investment in Virgin...

This Monday at 8:30pm AEST, ABC Australia is broadcasting a Four Corners documentary on the demise of REX (Regional Express) Airlines, which ceased capital city flying and went into administration in the middle of 2024. It sounds juicy, partly because it documents the tension between the Board, led by Deputy...

With the Boeing 747 almost entirely retired from passenger service and most airlines planning on retiring their Airbus A380s sometime in the 2030s, the industry is crying out for a new high-volume, long-distance aircraft. The Boeing 777X is one solution. Boeing’s troubles and delays The Boeing 777X project was reduced...

Apparently, I’ve been complaining about the food on Qantas for a very long time. I found this short piece about ‘FLATS’ in my archive — purportedly, food in economy on a Qantas flight. Just what you need as an in-flight refreshment -something that looks like it’s from the black and...

I wrote this back in 2011 when Qantas introduced its Next Generation Check-in. That was long ago. Those machines have since been replaced. And the new ones are better. But they are still not people. There are now even fewer staff on the ground to help you. The main departure...