Episode 137: Christchurch earthquake shuts down Kiwi ATC

The big news this week is that another large earthquake has hit Christchurch causing significant damage and fatalities. It also shut down New Zealand's ATC system which is run from a single centre in Christchurch, effectively turning the whole country into an uncontrolled airspace. You can donate to help recovery efforts via the Red Cross of New Zealand's donation page.Meanwhile, there's plenty of news to cover, including:The RAAF have been very busy flying relief supplies into Christchurch with their C-130s and C-17s while a Singaporean C-130 that was in NZ at the time has also been helping out.Air New Zealand are providing super cheap domestic & discounted international fares going to and from Christchurch for those trying to get to family.Virgin Blue has been in the news a lot with some ATR-72s being purchased for regional work, the interior of their A330s being revealed, new uniforms for pilots & cabin crew and the announcement that, as expected, their net profit before tax is lower than forecast.John Borghetti says the outlook for the second half of the financial year is not looking good due to economic downturn & lack of discretionary spending in the market.The boys have got lots of travelling coming up as they will be covering the Avalon International Airshow next week and putting out PCDU episodes every day for all six days of the show. With lots of driving to and from Avalon, you can expect a tired but happy team on next week's segment.