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Iron ore faces ‘riot point’; Airliner crashes; Bushfire threat rises

Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.

A Qantas Airbus A380 at Sydney Airport. A shortage of planes means airfares are unlikely to fall dramatically over the next year.

Surging international flights leave airports bullish for year ahead

A return of American and Chinese carriers has pushed overseas routes to their highest levels since the pandemic. It may not mean dramatically cheaper fares.

  • Jenny Wiggins
The Azerbaijan Airlines’ crash on Christmas Day.

Azerbaijani airliner crashes in Kazakhstan, killing dozens

The Embraer 190 was flying from Baku to the Russian city of Grozny when it tried an emergency landing. Remarkably, many passengers survived. Watch the footage.

  • Katie Marie Davies

This Month

Commercial flights to Vanuatu are resuming after last week’s earthquake.

Qantas, Virgin to resume flights to Vanuatu after earthquake

The two Australian airlines are both operating Port Vila-Brisbane services on Sunday and Jetstar is running a flight on the same route on Monday.

  • Holly Hales
As Senior Vice President in the Aviation Partnerships division at Sydney Airport, Christina Werkstetter surely has one of the world’s best jobs.

Want to fly international business class every month? Try this job

Christina Werkstetter is Sydney Airport’s secret weapon when it comes to getting new airlines to fly into Australia. The perks aren’t half bad either.

  • Fiona Carruthers
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Robin Khuda, Julie Coates, Shayne Elliott, Chris Ellison, Richard White,  Mike Sneesby.

The good, the bad and the ugly of corporate Australia in 2024

Big deals, big names, big disasters. From AirTrunk to Woolies to our own Nine Entertainment, here are the biggest moments of the year.

  • James Thomson
Qantas has agreed to pay sacked workers $120 million in compensation.

Sacked Qantas workers win record $120m compensation payout

The Transport Workers Union has won compensation for 1700 baggage handlers and ground workers more than four years after they were illegally sacked.

  • Ayesha de Kretser
Jetstar CEO Stephanie Tully Profile with Jetstar staff in Melbourne Airport.

Jetstar CEO says low-cost carrier is glimpse into Qantas’ future

It’s the low-cost airline everyone loves to hate, but Stephanie Tully says that’s changed and being part of Qantas means a lot of benefit from economies of scale.

  • Ayesha de Kretser
Thick fog grounded Qantas aircraft in November but the airline says contingencies are in place now.

Qantas ‘pulling out all stops’ to get passengers home at Christmas

Chief customer officer Markus Svensson says Qantas is investing in making sure it’s able to get passengers where they need to go.

  • Ayesha de Kretser
Lim Kim Hai, executive chairman of regional airline REX is in ASIC’s sights.

ASIC case against Rex throws up questions about $80m bailout

The corporate governance failings alleged by the regulator raise questions about what strings the government attached to its lifeline for the airline.

  • James Thomson
Lim Kim Hai was executive chairman until earlier this year. He was deposed shortly before the airline collapsed into administration.

Taxpayers set to replace buyout giant as Rex’s biggest creditor

The move would give the government more control over the collapsed regional airline’s future. It comes as ASIC sued four directors alleging they misled investors.

  • Updated
  • Ayesha de Kretser
Qantas and Jetstar aircraft at Sydney airport.

Strap in for a bumpy summer as old planes and surging demand collide

The high number of flight delays and cancellations were meant to have been smoothed out by now. But a crunch in the number of planes is dragging it out.

  • Ayesha de Kretser
Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran.

Greg Foran goes hard to reverse Air New Zealand’s nose dive

He’s run Walmart and Woolworths supermarkets. Now the rugby-mad Kiwi plans to end half a decade of poor performance with an unusual move to retrofit old planes.

  • Ayesha de Kretser
Qatar Airways adds Virgin to its growing list of airline stakes.

Union demands CEO veto in exchange for supporting Virgin’s Qatar deal

The powerful Transport Workers Union is concerned that a former Qantas executive involved in the illegal sacking of staff is the frontrunner for the top job.

  • Updated
  • Ayesha de Kretser

November

Virgin’s competitive position will be bolstered with its deal with Qatar.

Qatar still pushing for extra flights as ACCC gives interim approval

Giving the Middle Eastern airline extra landing rights would make life even more difficult for Qantas, which faces delays getting new planes and a hefty capex bill.

  • Ayesha de Kretser
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Medevac Flights founder William Cassidy.

This is the fastest-growing company in Australia

Founded by an ex-banker, this air ambulance start-up has achieved 700 per cent revenue growth thanks to business from the cruise industry.

  • Primrose Riordan

Meet the lawyer who set up his own cannabis company

A potential career crisis sparked the founder of this medicinal cannabis company, which comes in at No9 on The Australian Financial Review Fast Starters List.

  • Richard Pullin
Qatar Airways has proposed to take a 25 per stake in Virgin Australia. That deal still needs Foreign investment Review Board approval.

Virgin’s plan to fly Qatar planes poised for ACCC green light

The Bain-backed airline hopes to fly the Gulf carrier’s Boeing 777s to Doha in a return to long-haul international services from the middle of next year.

  • Ayesha de Kretser
Air New Zealand’s current business class seats will be retrofitted with a new product and more seats for premium travellers.

Air New Zealand to follow Qantas for premium cabin makeover

The Kiwi carrier will undertake a major overhaul of its fleet to add more premium economy and business class seats.

  • Ayesha de Kretser
The changes to Velocity will reward big spenders but make it harder for some flyers to accrue points.

Etihad rips up Virgin frequent flier partnership after Qatar deal

The Bain Capital-backed airline has told the ACCC that it will retain alliance arrangements with Singapore Airlines despite its new major shareholder.

  • Updated
  • Fiona Carruthers and Ayesha de Kretser

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/aviation-5ut