Episodes
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Western Sydney Airport finally takes flight
It had once seemed like it would never happen – but after decades of waiting, at long last, Western Sydney International Airport is open for business, with the first passenger flights taking off on Sunday and international services beginning on Monday. Amid all the hype and celebrations, CEO…
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Bonza's final chapter
What began with a bang now ends with a whimper – Joshua Wander, former CEO of Bonza financier 777 Partners, has pleaded guilty in the US to a half-billion-dollar fraud scheme, thus ending the sorry tale of what once seemed a promising new contender in Australia's aviation market. Wander now faces…
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When the pilot is the problem
While aviation has plenty of security safeguards in place to keep passengers with sinister intent away from the cockpit, last month's attempted flydubai hijack – by one of the pilots – was a sobering reminder that sometimes, the sinister intent is already in the flight deck. While the aircraft…
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Young engineers design, build and fly
As the aviation industry continues to clamour for talented engineers, fostering talent in the next generation is ever more important. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' annual Design/Build/Fly competition – held this year in Wichita, Kansas – attracted young engineers with…
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Is Vietjet the next Tigerair?
Speculation has been swirling for months, and now the tea leaves have thrown up their clearest sign yet that Vietjet is planning a move into Australia, with the registration of a shiny new 737 MAX 8 owned by the low-cost carrier and registered to a mysterious "Cherrie Aviation". While Vietjet is...
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Delays, delays, delays
Another week, another set of bad headlines about Sydney Airport – this time, eye-popping figures from Airservices showing ground delays were almost 40 per cent higher than average in the month of August. With high rates of sick leave putting strain on an already overburdened and understaffed air...
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The ghost of Ansett
It's been a quarter of a century since the most seismic shock to hit Australia's aviation sector before COVID-19: the dramatic collapse of Ansett Australia, which had been one of the country's two domestic airline giants. With 16,000 people out of work and a sudden vacuum left in the domestic...
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Flying to the bottom of the world
It's one of the harshest and most unforgiving environments on Earth – but even in Antarctica, aviation is still a vital connection for those living on research stations across the frozen continent. Skytraders has worked with the Australian Antarctic Division for almost a quarter of a century to...
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See you late-y, A380
It's a sad day for those who love big planes – after 20 years in the sky, Qantas will begin retiring its mighty A380s from 2028, with smaller and more fuel-efficient twinjets like the 787 and A350 set to replace them. Beloved by passengers, but with fuel and maintenance bills to match its massive...
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Alan Joyce tells all
From the founding of Jetstar to his 15 years at the helm of our largest airline group, Alan Joyce is undoubtedly one of the most consequential figures in the last quarter-century of Australia's aviation history. He became one of Australia's most well-known CEOs, famed for his advocacy on social...
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All A-OK for APAC aviation?
As the Iran conflict drags on, it's easy to be pessimistic about the effects on aviation, including high fuel prices and geopolitical headaches – but at least in the Asia-Pacific, things may not be as bad as they seem. According to a new report from S&P Global Ratings, Asia-Pacific airlines are...
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How do you solve a problem like Sydney?
Another week, another hair-raising near mishap at Sydney Airport, this time with a Virgin 737 almost taking off as a Qantas plane was crossing the runway ahead of it. Airservices has again come under the magnifying glass for the incident – so, what happened? More importantly, with air traffic...
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Carrying on about carry-ons
We've all danced the airport suitcase shuffle, moving item after item back and forth between our cabin bags and our checked bags in a desperate hope to get in under those pesky weight limits. Now, Jetstar says it's offering a solution – no more scales, no more luggage Tetris, just bring an...
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Flying in the line of fire
As Australian helicopters head north to help with wildfires in Europe, a deadly crash in Greece – and new regulations following a crash in WA two years ago – have once again put the spotlight on how dangerous it can be to fight fires from the air. While national standard operating procedures are...
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Cargo (but plane go faster)
We don't talk about it too often on the podcast, but cargo is a huge sector of the aviation industry – and with big news out of both Western Sydney and Avalon Airports this week, it found itself unexpectedly in the spotlight. WSI has at last opened its doors to freight ahead of its passenger…
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Qantas in the clear
Qantas has frequently found itself in the news for all the wrong reasons over the past few years – but it got a much-needed win when the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) found last year's data breach wasn't caused by the Flying Kangaroo's own negligence. With high marks…
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The future of pilot training, with UNSW
As the aviation industry grapples with ongoing talent shortages, the question becomes: are current training methods the right model for creating skilled pilots at the rate the sector needs? Cockpits are becoming increasingly automated, while next-generation training technologies such as VR, XR…
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A red card for the yellow card
If you've ever found yourself scrambling for a pen on the plane to fill out one of those pesky paper cards before you reach Customs, fear not – after a two-year trial and much lobbying by the tourism industry, there will soon be a digital alternative to the Incoming Passenger Card (IPC). Rolling...
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Good morning, Vietjet?
When it rains, it pours – after the collapses of Bonza and Rex left Australia once more in thrall to the domestic airline duopoly, now no fewer than three new contenders, including Koala, Zinc, and another new kid on the block, seem to be planning to step up and take on the big boys. The latest...
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The hidden danger of stress
When we think of safety concerns in aviation, it's easy to become fixated on the mechanical issues – but the human factor is also a major issue, and stress and burnout in such a high-pressure industry can only make it worse. It's easy to ignore the early warning signs of stress and try to push...
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Robinson's helicopter revolution
For 50 years it's been one of the most popular civil helicopter companies in the world, with more than 15,000 aircraft delivered around the globe – and Robinson is a household name among Australian buyers, too, thanks to their use in agricultural applications like cattle mustering. The R22 and…
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Here comes the (Project) Sun(rise)
After much anticipation, Qantas has revealed the first destination for Project Sunrise – and in case there was any doubt, it's London, with flights from Sydney to start next October in the next evolution of the 80-year-old "Kangaroo Route". With Sydney-New York to follow by Christmas 2027, and...
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Western Sydney Airport spools up its engines
It's been a long, hard road for Western Sydney International Airport, but after decades of the can being kicked down that road, the wait is finally almost over: Sydney's newest gateway will open its doors to freight next month, and to passengers in October. With Jetstar given the honours of the...
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What will replace the A380?
After almost 20 years in service, the end is approaching for Qantas' fleet of Airbus A380 superjumbos, with the Flying Kangaroo slated to retire the aircraft type in the 2030s in favour of smaller and more efficient wide-body twinjets. As rumours swirl that Qantas is in talks with Boeing and…
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The buzz on drones
It's been a big week for drones, with news that Wing has quietly pulled its drone delivery operations from Australia, Vivid Sydney has pulled its drone show after 89 of them not-so-quietly fell in Darling Harbour, and Australian and Ukrainian troops are jointly training in counter-drone tactics....
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The long wait for Sunrise
If the darkest hour is just before the dawn, it's going to be a long night for anyone looking to fly non-stop from the east coast to London or New York – yet another delay has pushed back the launch of Qantas' 22-hour "Project Sunrise" flights to later in 2027. With the first of the Flying...
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Will Australia have its own 'Ryanair'?
t's been two years since the collapse of Bonza and Rex – and while Koala Airlines is yet to launch, another aviation contender could be entering the market before long. Dubbed Zinc Airlines, the ultra-low-cost-carrier would pursue a business model similar to European airlines Wizz Air and…
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Is it worth complaining about flight delays?
We've all been delayed at the airport at some point, or know someone who has – but still, to learn that 55 per cent of Aussie travellers in a recent government survey were hit by a flight delay or disruption between August 2024 and 2025 puts the whole issue in sharp relief. And yet, perhaps more...
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How Deb Lawrie blazed the trail for equal flights
In the 1970s, a young pilot called Deborah Lawrie did something nobody had thought possible: took on the might of Ansett, at the time one of Australia's two big airlines, all the way to the High Court – and won. Her goal? To overturn Sir Reginald Ansett's long-standing ban on women in the cockpit...
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From washing planes to flying them
When he was just 12 years old and growing up near Shellharbour Airport, Riley McDonald knew he wanted to fly – so he started spending his free time heading down to the airport and washing people's planes in exchange for lessons. At age 16 he was flying solo and earning his pilot's licence, and…
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Iran war turns our skies upside-down
With the Iran conflict driving up fuel prices amid an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, you might expect international travel to plummet and airfares to soar – but it turns out the real picture is a touch more complicated than that. While airlines have been pruning services and hiking prices, both...
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Fixing the talent pipeline, with Anntonette Dailey
It's well-known that the aviation and aerospace sector has been suffering under a talent shortage for some time now – not to mention the challenge of promoting greater diversity in the workforce. One potential solution? To encourage more young people to enter the industry – to cultivate a love of...
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The future of Australia's air defence
The government has rolled out its 2026 National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Program, and there's plenty to dissect for aviation – an early sunset for Tiger helicopters, the retirement of the C-27J Spartan, and a $7 billion boost to counter-drone defences, just to start with. While...
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Who killed Bonza?
When plucky start-up airline Bonza collapsed in 2024, everyone was quick to point the finger at its business model as the reason for its failure – yet often overlooked was the role its financiers, 777 Partners, played in its demise by abruptly cutting off funding without warning. With the...
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Bonza's Tim Jordan breaks his silence
When Bonza burst onto the scene in 2023 with its bright purple tails, its budgie smugglers, and its unique "point-to-point" business strategy, the scrappy start-up airline – and its chief executive Tim Jordan – looked to be sparking a revolution in the domestic market. Just over a year later,...
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Is Kuala Lumpur the next Changi?
As Gulf travel remains dicey and Australian travellers rush to connect through Asia, the usual hubs like Singapore and Hong Kong are being joined by other contenders eager to take a slice of the layover pie – and Malaysia Airlines is jockeying to make Kuala Lumpur one of them. A stone's throw…
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Aviation's clash of the titans
We often talk about the duopoly in Australia's airline sector – but if you ever needed proof of its power, you'll find it in the latest eye-popping data from the ACCC, which shows Qantas Group and Virgin between them operated almost 99 per cent of all domestic flights in the back half of 2025.…
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Is Australia on a Bali high?
Australians' love affair with Bali is nothing new, but it sure does seem we're seeing a lot of new and expanded flights there over the past few months – from Jetstar to AirAsia, Avalon to Newcastle, our biggest overseas holiday destination seems to be enjoying a real moment in the sun. But as...
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Is our jet fuel supply in dire Straits?
It's a safe bet that before a few weeks ago, not a lot of us would have been able to name the Strait of Hormuz, let alone point to it on a map – but now that it's become one of the biggest geopolitical headaches on the planet (and the reason petrol prices are skyrocketing), suddenly that…
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Bonza boss bites back
High airfares are a continual thorn in the side of Australian travellers, and especially those in the regions – which is one reason why Tim Jordan embarked on his ill-fated attempt to be "here for Allstralia" with Bonza, flying point-to-point regional services with a low-cost ethos. After a…
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Should airlines say goodbye to Dubai?
There is, as a wise journalist (no, not us, we said "wise") has pointed out, always an aviation angle. As Iranian bombs rained down across the Gulf following strikes by the US and Israel, countries like the UAE and Qatar suddenly found themselves uncomfortably less insulated than they thought…
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Are high-speed trains the new planes?
After decades of will-they-won't-they, the government seems determined to press on with high-speed rail from Sydney to Newcastle (honestly pinky promise for real this time) as the first stage of an ambitious plan to connect the eastern corridor all the way from Melbourne to Brisbane. If all goes...
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Revenge of the sky kittens
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the airport, the debate over noisy aircraft – excuse us, "sky kittens" – has reared its head once again, with community advocates calling for a curfew in Brisbane. According to the Brisbane Flight Path Community Alliance (BFPCA), curtailing the sky...
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A busy week for the bush
With Productivity Commission and Senate inquiries set to spin up later this year, it's been a blockbuster week for regional aviation in the news. From support for regional cities left in the lurch by the Rex administration, to calls for a "fairer" system for the regions, to rebrands and axed...
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Sayonara, Jetstar Japan
Qantas is officially exiting the low-cost market in Asia, announcing this week that it will sell off its shares in Jetstar Japan, which comprise a third of the airline, and focus on its operations closer to home. The surprise move comes not long after the shuttering last year of Singapore-based...
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Should public servants keep their status perks?
The verdict is in: after a review by the Department of Finance, government travellers will be allowed to continue to claim airline status credits on flights for official business, though taking advantage of bonus credit offers is definitively out. It's a victory for Qantas, which insists that...
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Airlines v airports – again
It's a tug-of-war as old as aviation itself – airlines and airports wrangling over fees – and now, the airlines have the ACCC (at least partially) on their end of the rope. The consumer watchdog and the airline industry are both pushing for an overhaul to the current regulations which they say...
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AIs in the skies
As AI becomes more ubiquitous in everyday life, airlines like Qantas and Virgin Australia are looking to increase their use of AI tools in operational and customer-facing areas of their business. Proponents say AI can improve efficiency, safety, productivity and customer experience in aviation –...
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Winning the 'war on talent'
With just 5.1 per cent of roles in air traffic controllers, pilots and licensed aircraft maintenance held by women – and only 4 per cent globally for pilots – the pace of change towards gender parity in aviation is still glacial. Though Australia's figures are a little higher, even here we still...
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Making your manuals automatic
Keeping operational manuals up-to-date is a vital part of ensuring that any aviation company is maintaining regulatory compliance and that staff are aware of the latest policies and procedures. Many businesses, however, are still using outdated and clunky methods such as Word documents and PDFs…
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