Australian Aviation Podcast Network

• Sky-high demand sends airfares soaring

  If there's one issue that never really goes away for Australia's aviation sector, it's airfares. Massive demand has pushed prices up, according to the ACCC, with October airfares at their highest since 2022, despite both Qantas Group and Virgin Australia adding extra capacity. To make matters worse for those out west, the WA government is set to increase caps for regional airfares during "high-demand" periods, while the spectre of rising airfares also appears to have spooked Canberra into nixing plans for an EU-style "pay-on-delay" scheme. On this week's Australian Aviation Podcast, Jake and David look at the factors putting the squeeze on Australian travellers' wallets, and whether newer, larger, and more efficient aircraft might bring some relief. Plus, the last Qantas A380 comes home, skydiving instructors jump off the job, and is Australia playing catch-up on border processing technology?

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• A320s eighty-sixed – what's the 411?

  If you were looking to fly anywhere in Australia this past weekend: we're so sorry to hear it. Between a fire at Melbourne Airport, the grounding of half of Jetstar's A320 fleet, and a nationwide passport processing outage, delays and cancellations plagued travellers for three days straight. Now that everything has (thankfully) returned to normal, what exactly was the deal with that Airbus software update – and what does it mean for the workhorse A320, one of the most popular passenger aircraft types in the world? On this week's podcast, Jake, David and Bethany sift through the ashes of a chaotic weekend in the skies, and analyse the aftermath of the A320 grounding. Plus, Virgin's flirtation with ChatGPT, international traffic continues to surge, and how safe is it to step on board a hot-air balloon?

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• Smashing the aviation data silos

  With outdated and confusing systems and processes common across the aviation industry, safety and compliance can be a thorny problem for many businesses, with "data silos" holding up procedures. OneReg, a New Zealand-based company, aims to change all that, moving businesses away from cluttered folders of Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PDFs to centralise compliance on one easy-to-use platform. With customers across Australia, New Zealand, the UK and EU, and the Middle East, OneReg is looking to enable industry-wide data sharing to help the aviation sector move away from tick-box compliance and into a new "gold standard". On this podcast, Jake Nelson talks to Clint Cardozo and Carly Waddleton from OneReg on the perils of data silos in aviation, and how to streamline the regulatory compliance process.

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• Major airlines charged with assault on batteries

  After months in the works, it's official – from December, you'll be banned from using or charging your portable power bank on flights with any major airline in Australia. Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin, which already require power banks to be carried in cabin baggage and kept within easy reach, will now prohibit passengers from using them entirely – instead, you'll need to use in-seat power if available, or simply go without. On this week's podcast, as the start dates loom, Jake and David revisit the airlines' power bank ban and examine the safety issues that have driven it. Plus, does Western Sydney Airport need more support to get its lofty ambitions off the ground?

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• What makes a good air incident investigator, with UNSW

  It's said that every accident makes aviation safer – but that doesn't happen on its own. Across the globe, air incident investigators are on the scene whenever something goes wrong with an aircraft, finding out the root of the problem and making sure it doesn't happen again. But what skills are most important to investigators: aviation experience, or scientific training and critical thinking? What does an investigation team need to be certain they've got it right? In this podcast, Professor Brett Molesworth, head of UNSW School of Aviation, hosts a wide-ranging conversation on the fundamental tension between traditional aviation expertise and scientific methodology in incident investigation. Join him in this fascinating panel discussion with Wing Commander Clare Fry, Defence Flight Safety Bureau; Dr Curtis Calabrese, United Airlines captain, director of operations for Skyways Charter, former FAA Inspector and U.S. Navy Reconnaissance pilot; Dr David Wilson, senior transport safety investigator, ATSB; and James Barnett, manager group investigations, Qantas.

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