Australian Aviation Podcast Network

From joy-rides in a Mirage III fighter jet at age seven, to selling her home to help pay for flight lessons, to flying for Rex and eventually becoming one of the faces of Virgin Australia, Captain Michelle Huntington has had a truly astonishing journey. She's flown solo in a Beechcraft Bonanza from Arizona to Bankstown, been struck by lightning in mid-air, battled unruly passengers, and stared dow...

The sound of investor presentations and ASX releases can only mean one thing: results season has come again, bringing joy and cheer to all the good shareholders of the land – especially those who've invested in airlines. Qantas has posted another bumper profit as it looks to snap up even more A321XLRs, Virgin Australia has celebrated its 25th anniversary with a healthy result, Alliance is flying m...

As it recovers from massive fines and reputational headaches, Qantas has a new hairy problem to deal with over its move to make QantasLink flight crews adopt the same grooming standards as mainline Qantas and Jetstar pilots: namely, no beards allowed. Qantas insists this is for safety reasons, with a report saying facial hair can interfere with oxygen masks – but hirsute Qantas pilots are crying "...

It's the largest corporate fine for industrial relations breaches in Australian history: a mammoth $90 million, handed down to Qantas for the illegal outsourcing of around 1,800 ground workers during the pandemic – on top of $120 million already imposed in compensation. At 75 per cent of the maximum penalty, it will doubtless put the fear of God (and the unions) into other large companies who migh...

The latest episode of the Australian Aviation Podcast spotlights two finalists in the 2025 Australian Aviation Awards, with host Steve Kuper joined by Daniel Wang, head of programs for ATC and air defence at Rohde & Schwarz, and Rodney Sciortino, head of civil air traffic control. Together, they explore how the global technology company is delivering cutting-edge solutions across both the defence...

It's been five years since a Tigerair plane last graced Australia's skies – and the aviation ecosystem is still coping with Tigerair's extinction. That's according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which has found that domestic capacity has still not recovered to June 2019 levels though demand is now back where it was before the pandemic, as the loss of Tigerair created a hole...

After 30 years criss-crossing regional Queensland, it's the end of the road for Skytrans – not for the airline itself, which will keep flying, but for the name. New owner Avia Solutions Group is rebranding the carrier as SmartLynx Australia, echoing some of its other brands overseas. Along with the name change will come a new paint job for the airline's existing aircraft, with the Skytrans livery...

It's the bombshell the aviation industry never saw coming, one that has shaken the sector to its core: after five and a half years at Australian Aviation, renowned luminary and thought leader Adam Thorn is leaving Momentum Media. Over the course of his tenure, Adam has seen COVID-19 shutdowns, travel chaos, and the collapse of multiple Australian airlines – and while he'll still be leading the pri...

They've become an indispensable part of our modern digital lives, but airlines are increasingly wary of portable lithium batteries and power banks, which can have an alarming tendency to catch fire if damaged or short-circuited. Though power banks are already required to be carried in cabin luggage to ensure easy access if something goes wrong, some carriers have gone further, banning their use an...

Sydney Airport has a new slot manager, one with no ties to the big domestic airlines … and yet, Qantas Group has still nabbed the majority of available take-off and landing slots over the end-of-year peak, with Virgin a distant second. With 52 per cent of the slots allocated to Qantas and Jetstar, the Flying Kangaroo's dominance at Sydney continues – but might this put to bed the idea that the old...

It's been just over a week since Qantas suffered a major data breach, with cyber criminals stealing a trove of customer data from a call centre including names, email addresses and frequent flyer numbers. The reputational shellacking is one the Flying Kangaroo certainly didn't need, but has the backlash been fair, and what has Qantas been doing to protect customers in the wake of the attack? Adam...

After a long wait and a marathon ferry flight from Hamburg, Qantas' first A321XLR, VH-OGA, has finally touched down in Australia, a significant step in the Flying Kangaroo's "Project Winton" fleet renewal. It's the beginning of the end for Qantas' ageing 737-800 fleet, even as the airline looks to acquire a few more "mid-life" 737s to tide it over as it waits – and with a range of 8,700km, compare...

It was a day five years in the making for Virgin Australia, and it went off without a hitch: Australia's second-largest airline group is finally back on the ASX, with CEO Dave Emerson ringing the bell for its IPO on Tuesday. The relisting caps off a remarkable turnaround for Virgin Australia after it collapsed into administration in 2020 during COVID-19 – but now that the long road back to public...

Almost 40 years after its rebranding as Australian Airlines – and just over 30 years after its merger with Qantas – a consortium is planning to bring back Trans Australia Airlines, or TAA, with an ambitious plan that would see Rex become the resurrected airline's regional arm. While Rex's administrator has knocked back Renaissance Partners' dark-horse bid a second time, the firm is not yet giving...

With co-host Jake Nelson off sick, Australian Aviation has had to improvise for this week's podcast. But what a treat we have for you. Two weeks ago, Australian Aviation's sister brand, Space Connect, hosted its Australian Space Summit & Exhibition, otherwise known as AusSpace 25. In our best panel, regular host Adam Thorn moderated a panel with three Australian astronauts, with the questions aske...

With Western Sydney International Airport still a year and a half from opening, an unexpected alternative might be about to hit the congested NSW market: Newcastle Airport, a couple of hours north of Sydney, will soon have flights to Perth and Bali with more routes potentially on the way. The news will not only allow Hunter Region residents to travel further afield without having to make the trek...

On 2 July, associate professor Andrew Kornberg, senior neurologist at The Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, will set off from Moorabbin Airport on a journey around Australia in his own single-engine plane to raise $4.5 million for children with rare and complex neurological conditions. The "Fly for the Kids" campaign – similar to Andrew's previous flight in 2017 – will see him cover 27,000 k...

After five tumultuous years as head of Air New Zealand, CEO Greg Foran is preparing to hang up his wings this October. Between COVID-19 border closures, fleet delays, maintenance issues and other problems, it's fair to say the Kiwi flag carrier has had a rough half-decade – but how well has it weathered the storm? On location in Auckland, Australian Aviation's Jake Nelson talks to Foran about his...

She's back – after Labor secured a thumping majority in this month's federal election, Catherine King has been reappointed to her portfolio as minister for transport and infrastructure. In her first term, the minister released an Aviation White Paper, pushed ahead with reforms to Sydney slots, backed the new Western Sydney Airport, ended the war over Melbourne's airport rail link, and pledged to s...

As tariffs and border crackdowns continue stateside, the number of Australians taking trips to the US has slumped, with travel to Asia surging instead – a trend noticed by Flight Centre, which is taking a hit to its bottom line. It's not just passengers that are causing a headache for aviation amid the US uncertainty, however: if the trade war causes a Chinese slowdown, the resulting drop in deman...

It's one of the biggest political bunfights in Australia's aviation sector – should the government force airlines to compensate passengers for delays within their control, above and beyond the usual refunds or flight credits? If you listen to the airlines, the answer is a resounding no, with representatives at the Senate committee hearings on proposed legislation warning it could drive up costs an...

As if Boeing needed more bad news, the US-China trade war has delivered another body blow to the planemaker with Beijing ordering a halt on new Boeing plane deliveries to Chinese airlines. As China's aviation industry is upended by the news, what does it mean for one of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world – not to mention Boeing's competitors, and other countries looking to get their...

Almost a year after the swift and sudden demise of Bonza, some relief for its directors came this month with ASIC confirming it would take no further action against them. Absent any further evidence, the decision effectively draws a line under the collapse of a carrier that started with dreams of uniting "Allstralia" and ended in a storm of tears, recriminations and misfortune – but did it ever ha...

Another April Fool's Day is behind us, and unfortunately for everyone excited about driving in a 737 from Sydney to Melbourne, it turns out "Wombat Groundways" isn't actually real – sorry. Between Virgin Australia allowing you to check your "emotional baggage" and Mad Mex's move into in-flight catering, aviation April Fool's fans ate well this month – but it turns out one supposed prank may have b...

It's the biggest event in Australian aviation: the biennial Avalon Airshow, which this year ran over six days at the end of March. Featuring static and aerial displays, as well as trade exhibitors and networking events, the 2025 show attracted more than 200,000 people in total across the six days, including 60,000 industry visitors. Around 350 aircraft were on show, either in the air and on the gr...