Plane Crazy Down Under » Jetstar http://www.planecrazydownunder.com Looking at the world of aviation from an Australia / Pacific point of view Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:34:38 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 CreativeCommons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ planecrazydownunder@gmail.com (Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com)) planecrazydownunder@gmail.com (Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com)) Aviation 1440 http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/images/PCDU_RSS_Feed_Logo.jpg Plane Crazy Down Under http://www.planecrazydownunder.com 144 144 An aviation based podcast with a focus on the Australia/Pacific area aviation, australia, new, zealand, asia, pacific, flying, aircraft Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) planecrazydownunder@gmail.com no no PCDU Episode 77: Qantas Crisis: After the Grounding http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2011/11/03/pcdu-episode-77-qantas-crisis-after-the-grounding/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2011/11/03/pcdu-episode-77-qantas-crisis-after-the-grounding/#comments Thu, 03 Nov 2011 01:35:41 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=1388 Almost one year after the QF32 incident, Qantas is again in the news around the world and for a short time again appeared to be on the brink of a major disaster. At 5pm on Saturday the 29th of October, Alan Joyce (CEO of Qantas) announced that he & the board of directors had decided . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 77: Qantas Crisis: After the Grounding]]> Almost one year after the QF32 incident, Qantas is again in the news around the world and for a short time again appeared to be on the brink of a major disaster. At 5pm on Saturday the 29th of October, Alan Joyce (CEO of Qantas) announced that he & the board of directors had decided to ground all of Qantas’ domestic & international flights (about 108 aircraft). This unprecedented step disrupted the travel plans of almost 70,000 passengers in order to avoid a “death by a thousand paper cuts” due to ongoing damage from industrial disputes with three unions.

The three unions represented the pilots, engineers and baggage handlers working for Qantas’ “mainline” operations. The Jetstar, QantasLink and JetConnect operations were not involved in the grounding.

We have assembled a collection of discussions with a number of people involved in the disputes or monitoring it from the outside. It is our intention that we provide you with an overview of what has happened, why it happened and where things might go from here. Unlike the commercial broadcast media, our time is not rigidly controlled so our guests are able to take their time to explain their views & concerns without being restricted to sound bites.

While we also express our own views during this episode, we have tried to present enough information for you to get a better understanding of the situation & form your own decisions.

The discussions in this episode include:

We’d also like to thank Colin Lipiatt, the Manager of Coporate Communications at Virgin Australia, for taking the time to chat with us about their ability to quickly respond with extra capacity to help affected travellers. While we couldn’t include him in the show, he provided plenty of useful information for us.

While putting this episode together we did attempt to contact Qantas’ media department to arrange a representative who could talk to us about the items raised during the discussions listed above. Unfortunately we did not hear back from them and can only assume that, like Anthony Albanese (Minister for Infrastructure & Transport), they were too busy dealing with the big issues and the mainstream media to spare any time for us.

We trust that you’ll enjoy this special episode of content specifically covering the Qantas Grounding situation. It’s been a marathon effort to arrange & record the interviews then put it all together for you. It has certainly been educational & eye opening for us as we discussed the issues with our guests, and that’s got to be a good thing :)

The Aus Air Services advert is provided courtesy of Star FM 94.3

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2011/11/03/pcdu-episode-77-qantas-crisis-after-the-grounding/feed/ 2 2:15:08 PCDU Episode 77: Qantas Crisis: After the Grounding Qantas Crisis: After the Grounding aviation, australia, new, zealand, asia, pacific, flying, aircraft www.planecrazydownunder.com no no PCDU Episode 66: That Wasn’t in the Script! http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2011/06/21/episode-66-that-wasnt-in-the-script/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2011/06/21/episode-66-that-wasnt-in-the-script/#comments Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:16:39 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=1111 It’s been a while since we got down & dirty with the Australian commercial airline scene so with that in mind, we called up Ben Sandlilands from the PlaneTalking blog on Crikey.com.au for a chat. There’s some amazing developments going on in the “big iron” side of people moving here in Australia and we went . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 66: That Wasn’t in the Script!]]> It’s been a while since we got down & dirty with the Australian commercial airline scene so with that in mind, we called up Ben Sandlilands from the PlaneTalking blog on Crikey.com.au for a chat. There’s some amazing developments going on in the “big iron” side of people moving here in Australia and we went through the following subjects:

  • The joys of ash clouds (Thanks Chile!)
  • Virgin Australia taking on Qantas & Jetstar with their new pricing structures & business class, including just what kind of passenger they were targeting at the front of the cabin
  • Qantas & JetStar’s industrial issues with their unions
  • Tiger regrouping & focusing on routes where it can do the most damage to the others (watch out Melbourne <-> Sydney and maybe even the Golden Triangle of Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane)
  • Strategic’s foray into the Pacific

In this episode we also include an interview with Kathy Mexted, a freelance writer who we met *way* back at the Centenary of Flight airshow in 2010. Flying is in Kathy’s blood by birth & by marriage and she’s been writing articles for a variety of aviation magazines as well as working on a book about being the spouse of an airline pilot. We’re very happy to announce that Kathy’s also going to be producing some content for us in the near future mostly covering Recreational & General Aviation areas.

Finally, we’re including some new music in our show as Steve’s found out about the royalty free production music by JewelBeat. Watch out for whole new background tracks & cross-over music in this & future episodes :)

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2011/06/21/episode-66-that-wasnt-in-the-script/feed/ 1 1:32:30 Episode 66: That Wasn't in the Script! That Wasn't in the Script! aviation, australia, new, zealand, asia, pacific, flying, aircraft www.planecrazydownunder.com no no PCDU Episode 42: Wings Down Under http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/09/04/episode-42-wings-down-under/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/09/04/episode-42-wings-down-under/#comments Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:35:16 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=694 This episode we’re joined by Will Horton from the Wings Down Under blog to chat about recent aviation news items. We also have Anthony Simmons returning for another View from the Lounge segment and a chat with Damien Rose about his flight training up in Toowoomba. The episode wraps up with some listener mail and . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 42: Wings Down Under]]> This episode we’re joined by Will Horton from the Wings Down Under blog to chat about recent aviation news items. We also have Anthony Simmons returning for another View from the Lounge segment and a chat with Damien Rose about his flight training up in Toowoomba. The episode wraps up with some listener mail and a shout out so it’s a little long but that should make up for the three Election QuickCast episodes we released recently :)

The list of topics we discussed with Will Horton include:

  • A review of the recent Asia/Pacific Aviation Outlook Summit in Sydney
  • The Asia/Pacific outlook for airlines includes a prediction for strong growth
  • “Buy local” for Russia (Sukhoi) & China (Comac) plus India building up its local aeronautics capabilities along with Mahindra & Mahindra buying into Australian aviation companies such as Gippsland Aeronautics
  • Cathay Pacific’s Boeing 777-300 and Airbus A350-900 order
  • V Australia’s 777 useage in Fiji & Bali plus the use of wide bodies (eg: 767/A330) on domestic routes due to slot restrictions
  • Qantas wanting to fly 787s into China & on to Europe
  • Jetstar being boosted over Qantas (if it’s new it’s JQ) and using Singapore as a hub into Europe
  • Qantas’s new smart card system for check-in that relies on elite frequent flyers who are with Qantas, not Jetstar
  • AirAsia setting up a Frequent Flyer program
  • Crawford Rix @ Tiger Airways is against frequent flyer programs as they’re anticompetitive and is hinting that Tiger could go down the RyanAir path (standing seats, pay loos, etc) – at least for the publicity :)
  • Customers in Australia and Asia/Pacific wanting a higher level of standards
  • Tiger setting up a franchise in Thailand (51% Thai owned but still Tiger Thailand)
  • China more likely to have standing seats as the Chinese can lay down the law for their own operations – no need to align with FAA/EASA standards although they’re investing in highspeed trains)
  • AirAsia wants to enter the Australian domestic & trans-tasman market
  • The high quality of the AirAsia experience (a discount carrier that doesn’t nickle & dime their passengers) will hit Jetstar hard
  • Pacific Blue is pulling out of the New Zealand domestic market
  • Repurposing of V Australia’s 777s off the Fiji route
  • United is not worried about Delta-V
  • Qantas’ financial results

Steve & Grant also talk afterwards about Virgin Blue’s financial results which came out after we spoke with Will, along with their news about adding A330s, dropping the E170s (while keeping the E190s) and linking up with Etihad.

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/09/04/episode-42-wings-down-under/feed/ 2 1:59:51 Plane Crazy Down Under Episode #42 Wings Down Under aviation, australia, new, zealand, asia, pacific, flying, aircraft www.planecrazydownunder.com no no PCDU Episode 35: Perseverance & Persistence http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/07/04/episode-35-perseverance-persistence/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/07/04/episode-35-perseverance-persistence/#comments Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:15:20 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=577 These days it’s quite common to find ladies in command of commercial airliners, bizjets and combat aircraft. Thirty years ago, however, this was certainly not the case here in Australia and a female required a stubborn streak & thick skin to push through and gain acceptance in a very male dominated world.

While the situation . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 35: Perseverance & Persistence]]> These days it’s quite common to find ladies in command of commercial airliners, bizjets and combat aircraft. Thirty years ago, however, this was certainly not the case here in Australia and a female required a stubborn streak & thick skin to push through and gain acceptance in a very male dominated world.

While the situation for ladies in aviation is still not completely balanced it is significantly improved over the scene in the mid-70s. One reason for that improvement was thanks to the efforts of Deborah Lawrie (aka Deborah Wardley) who was the first female pilot with Ansett Airlines, one of Australia’s biggest airlines until it’s demise in 2001.

Deborah’s story is one of determination and a drive to achieve her goals, no matter what obstacles society and some organisations put in her path. We are fortunate enough in this episode to have had Deborah join us for a great chat about her interest in aviation, learning to fly, her early commercial days, getting into Ansett, the Australian Pilots’ Dispute of 1989 and her subsequent career working with KLM before returning to Australia where she is currently working with Jetstar as their manager of Safety Investigations (while still also flying their A320s).

It’s an incredible chat and we think that in addition to learning about Deborah’s life, you’ll also learn a lot about the Australian airline environment of the past & present.

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/07/04/episode-35-perseverance-persistence/feed/ 5 1:32:00 Plane Crazy Down Under Episode #35 Perseverance & Persistence aviation, australia, new, zealand, asia, pacific, flying, aircraft www.planecrazydownunder.com no no The Jetstarisation of QANTAS is not over yet http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/02/22/the-jetstarisation-of-qantas-is-not-over-yet/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/02/22/the-jetstarisation-of-qantas-is-not-over-yet/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:00:49 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=369 Thanks to an opportunity presented by Shashank Nigam, Grant’s just had an article about the ongoing Jetstarisation of QANTAS published on Shashank’s Simpliflying site.

It provides a background on the birth of Jetstar, its growth to date and how it is destined to consume more of QANTAS’ mainline routes & aircraft. Head on over to . . . → Read More: The Jetstarisation of QANTAS is not over yet]]> Thanks to an opportunity presented by Shashank Nigam, Grant’s just had an article about the ongoing Jetstarisation of QANTAS published on Shashank’s Simpliflying site.

It provides a background on the birth of Jetstar, its growth to date and how it is destined to consume more of QANTAS’ mainline routes & aircraft. Head on over to Simpliflying and check out the article.

Thanks to Shashank for giving us the opportunity to gain further exposure to the global aviation world, it’s very much appreciated :)

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/02/22/the-jetstarisation-of-qantas-is-not-over-yet/feed/ 2 PCDU Episode 25: Fan Boys http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/02/13/episode-25-fan-boys/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/02/13/episode-25-fan-boys/#comments Sat, 13 Feb 2010 10:14:09 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=351 Yes, Steve & Grant are Fan Boys (big Fan Boys, in fact :) and this episode we demonstrate it once again by interviewing Matt Hall and hanging out with some more fans at the Flight Experience Melbourne Facebook fan page open night in their 737 flight simulator. Seems we’re not the only ones who think . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 25: Fan Boys]]> Yes, Steve & Grant are Fan Boys (big Fan Boys, in fact :) and this episode we demonstrate it once again by interviewing Matt Hall and hanging out with some more fans at the Flight Experience Melbourne Facebook fan page open night in their 737 flight simulator. Seems we’re not the only ones who think a publically accessible 737 simulator is a great thing :)

Here’s how this episode flows:

As usual, our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5) and our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com.

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/02/13/episode-25-fan-boys/feed/ 1 1:28:15 Fan Boys Yes, Steve & Grant are Fan Boys (big Fan Boys, in fact :) and this episode we demonstrate it once again by interviewing Matt Hall and hanging out with some more fans at the Flight Experience Melbourne Facebook fan page open night in their 737 flight simulator. Seems we’re not the only ones who think a publically accessible 737 simulator is a great thing :) Here’s how this episode flows: First class to be stripped from Qantas 747s? (Australian Aviation) QANTAS 767 involved in a tail strike at Sydney Qantas 767 returns to Sydney after tailstrike (Australian Aviation) Qantas plane in tail strike drama (Kate Schneider @ Herald Sun) Air New Zealand has a couple of emergency situations Full-scale emergency response as Air NZ jet aborts take-off (Sydney Morning Herald) Air NZ 777 involved in emergency at Narita (Australian Aviation) Jetstar are rolling out self-service & SMS based check in Jetstar jettisons check-in desks for self-service kiosks (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Jetstar to roll out SMS boarding passes from February (Australian Aviation) Jetstar expect big results from their expansion into Asia Jetstar chooses Singapore for Asian hub (Australian Aviation) Jetstar expects payoff from expansion in Asia (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Garuda are preparing for an IPO PT Garuda, Indonesia’s state-owned carrier, planning a $340 million IPO (P R Venkat & Tom Wright @ The Wall St Journal / The Australian) Garuda to list this year, cancels 787s (Australian Aviation)  We have another interview with Matt Hall Matt Hall announces his supporter’s tour for Perth AVTours set up Matt’s supporter’s tour  We attended the Flight Experience Melbourne Facebook fan open night and recorded some interviews with the instructors & guests who were there at the 737 simulator.  Shout outs Congratulations to Jack Seymour in Wangaratta for doing his trial introductory flight in a Eurofox. You can read about his adventures in flight at his blog: StudentFlight. Thanks to Brendan from Essendon (YMEN) for letting Grant tag along when he went flying out to Tooradin (YTDN). While he didn’t get atthe controls, being in the backseat of a C172 is still flying :) We have a discussion on our forum about where to find the best coffee at airports. As usual, our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5) and our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com. aviation, australia, new, zealand, asia, pacific, flying, aircraft www.planecrazydownunder.com no no PCDU Episode 23: Australia: A TSA free zone (for now) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/01/15/episode-23-australia-a-tsa-free-zone-for-now/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/01/15/episode-23-australia-a-tsa-free-zone-for-now/#comments Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:53:35 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=324 Even down here in Australia we’re being impacted by the out-of-control antics of the TSA, so what the heck, we’ll have a bit of a c’est la vent moment about it. We also have our usual opinionated discussion on some other news items and chat with Shashank Nigam from SimpliFlying.

Here’s how the show proceeds:

. . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 23: Australia: A TSA free zone (for now)]]> Even down here in Australia we’re being impacted by the out-of-control antics of the TSA, so what the heck, we’ll have a bit of a c’est la vent moment about it. We also have our usual opinionated discussion on some other news items and chat with Shashank Nigam from SimpliFlying.

Here’s how the show proceeds:

As usual, our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5) and our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com.

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2010/01/15/episode-23-australia-a-tsa-free-zone-for-now/feed/ 12 1:36:44 Even down here in Australia we’re being impacted by the out-of-control antics of the TSA, so what the heck, we’ll have a bit of a c’est la vent moment about it. We also have our usual opinionated discussion on some other news items[...] Even down here in Australia we’re being impacted by the out-of-control antics of the TSA, so what the heck, we’ll have a bit of a c’est la vent moment about it. We also have our usual opinionated discussion on some other news items and chat with Shashank Nigam from SimpliFlying. Here’s how the show proceeds: Prosecutors want Garuda pilot back in jail (ABC News) Farmer’s flight path message for charity (ABC News) The first aircraft taken to Antarctica has been found again: Remains of Antarctica’s first plane found (ABC News) Future of Antarctic plane undecided (ABC News) David Vanderhoof gives us an Aviation History segment Guy Menzies with his crashed Avian (image) Image of an Avian in a pprune.org story QANTAS Super Constellation Air NZ’s new cabin crew outfits like ‘drag queens’ (Greer McDonald & Kiran Chug @ Sydney Morning Herald) Phrase “elephant in the room” is most popular cliche of 2009 (The Mirror) (AirNZ’s use of the phrase “disestablished”) Tiger Airways carries 3 millionth passenger (Travel Daily News) Tiger’s flight delayed 10-hours (The Morning Bulletin) Tiger Airways advances aircraft delivery (Yahoo! Singapore) Discussion about Tiger’s callsign on our forum @ Downwind Jetstar and AirAsia form a Joint Venture: http://au.biz.yahoo.com/100105/2/2am5y.html (Yahoo! FInance) Analyst tips fruitful Jetstar-AirAsia alliance (ABC News) Two-for-one budget airlines (Stephen Bartholomeusz @ Business Spectator) Jetstar maintenance stays onshore (Geoff Easdown @ HeraldSun) Australian executives at Jetstar Pacific not allowed to leave Vietnam: Jetstar Pacific executives questioned in Vietnam (ABC News) Jetstar Pacific probe set to last months (ABC News) QANTAS are impacted by another Amadeus crash: Flights delayed after Qantas glitches (ABC News) Another computer glitch for Qantas (Australian Aviation) Qantas may be just another eyes wide victim of IT ‘lies’ (Ben Sandilands @ Plane Talking on Crikey) Passengers suffer as Qantas check-in fails (Lanai Vasek @ The Australian) We chat with Shashank Nigam from SimpliFlying  We have a c’est la vie moment about the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)  Technical glitch strands Qantas passengers (ABC News)  Listener Mail: Jack Seymour’s got a blog up about his learning to fly (Student Flight Mark mentions Coronal Mass Ejections and their potential impacts on GPS systems Shout Outs: The new Mile High Flyers podcast is well worth listening to (and they refer to our show in their second episode – w00t :) Will & Dave at The Pilot’s Flight Podlog podcast have provided us with a promo piece and are joining in the fun of cross-promoting other podcasts As usual, our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5) and our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com. Podcasts Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) no no PCDU Episode 21: London Calling http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/12/19/episode-21-london-calling/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/12/19/episode-21-london-calling/#comments Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:04:57 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=293

Regent Street in the snow (by Jon Curnow)

For the majority of our listeners it’s warm and getting warmer down here in the Southern Summer with Christmas just around the corner. Not so in London where it’s bleak and somewhat miserable (and that’s the economy, let alone the weather). Saj Ahmad from FleetBuzz Editorial . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 21: London Calling]]>
Regent Street in the snow (by Jon Curnow)

Regent Street in the snow (by Jon Curnow)

For the majority of our listeners it’s warm and getting warmer down here in the Southern Summer with Christmas just around the corner. Not so in London where it’s bleak and somewhat miserable (and that’s the economy, let alone the weather). Saj Ahmad from FleetBuzz Editorial is based in London and recently returned from the scorching skies of Dubai where he’d been attending the Dubai Airshow 2009. Saj generously took some time away from his family to record with us last Sunday (morning his time, evening our time), trying not to look out the window at the winter weather while we discussed the warmth Melbourne was experiencing. The discussion covers the Dubai Airshow, Middle East airlines and their flights to Australia, aircraft orders and the (then) pending first flight of the 787. It’s an enlightening chat and we’ll be sure to have Saj on again early in the new year.

In addition to our chat with Saj, we also recorded some news items to round out the episode. We actually recorded these on the same day the 787 flew and, thanks to the miracle of modern technology, have spliced it all together into a single show. Neat, hey! :)

Topics in this episode include:

As usual, our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5) and our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com.

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/12/19/episode-21-london-calling/feed/ 0 1:38:57 Regent Street in the snow (by Jon Curnow) For the majority of our listeners it’s warm and getting warmer down here in the Southern Summer with Christmas just around the corner. Not so in London where it’s bleak and somewhat miserable (an[...] Regent Street in the snow (by Jon Curnow) For the majority of our listeners it’s warm and getting warmer down here in the Southern Summer with Christmas just around the corner. Not so in London where it’s bleak and somewhat miserable (and that’s the economy, let alone the weather). Saj Ahmad from FleetBuzz Editorial is based in London and recently returned from the scorching skies of Dubai where he’d been attending the Dubai Airshow 2009. Saj generously took some time away from his family to record with us last Sunday (morning his time, evening our time), trying not to look out the window at the winter weather while we discussed the warmth Melbourne was experiencing. The discussion covers the Dubai Airshow, Middle East airlines and their flights to Australia, aircraft orders and the (then) pending first flight of the 787. It’s an enlightening chat and we’ll be sure to have Saj on again early in the new year. In addition to our chat with Saj, we also recorded some news items to round out the episode. We actually recorded these on the same day the 787 flew and, thanks to the miracle of modern technology, have spliced it all together into a single show. Neat, hey! :) Topics in this episode include: The 787 finally flew – you can check out Boeing’s ‘first flight’ site for all the videos Jet star’s check-in system goes down and then a few days later, so does Virgin Blue’s: Check-in system problem delays Jetstar flights (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Airport chaos as system goes down (ABC News) Stranded airline passengers booked into hotels (ABC News) Expect major delays, Virgin tells passengers (ABC News) Airline struggles to clear backlog of flights (ABC News) Former doctor Geoffrey Edelsten crashes his helicopter on his first solo Lucky escape as Edelsten’s chopper crashes (ABC News) Geoffrey Edelsten in helicopter crash landing at Moorabbin Airport (Wayne Flower @ The Herald Sun) Delta & V Australia tighten their alliance in steps towards the full Delta-V marriage Virgin’s V Australia agrees key deal with Delta Air Lines (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) V Australia and Delta sign lounge and loyalty agreements (Australian Aviation) Discussion with Saj Ahmad Air New Zealand opens direct Sydney to Rotorua flights Rotorua: International Air Service Begins (Scoop NZ) Trouble on first Rotorua trans-Tasman flight (Stuff.co.nz) The Garuda pilot who was convicted for negligence in the cause of a fatal crash ha his conviction quashed Garuda pilot’s conviction quashed (Sydney Morning Herald) Garuda crash pilot obsessed with flying again (ABC News) Garuda pilot wins appeal against jail sentence The Australian Federal Government releases their eagerly awaited aviation white paper A National Aviation Policy Statement – the Aviation White Paper (download it from the federal government) Albanese releases Aviation White Paper (Australian Aviation) Sydney Flight Training Centre collapses leaving many students with debts (Pilot pupils left grounded after flight school collapse (Andrew Carswell @ the Daily Telegraph)) A DC-10 fire bomber arrives for the Victorian forest fire season DC-10 firebomber arrives at Avalon (Australian Aviation) Giant water bomber ready for fire season (ABC News) First use of a SkyCrane fire bomber this season (Air crane used on Blue Mountains blaze (ABC News)) David Vanderhoof’s aviation history down under segment (at last – Grant forgot to include it in episode 19 – ooops) Listener mail, including George from New Zealand with his super sexy Falco aircraft There’s a chartered Air New Zealand 747 flying to Oshkosh 2010 (details with Avtours Australia) and we’re dreaming of being on it (it’s only AUS$4k each including accommodation – anyone want to help donate to get us there? :) As usual, our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simps[...] Podcasts Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) no no PCDU Episode 19: Interview with a Vampire … Pilot (& Other Stories) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/12/05/episode-19-interview-with-a-vampire-pilot-other-stories/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/12/05/episode-19-interview-with-a-vampire-pilot-other-stories/#comments Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:27:37 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=264 Steve’s out sick (he must have eaten the fish :) so Grant’s flying solo on this one and cheating madly by assembling a few interviews and a slightly modified version of the Australia Desk segment we recorded for the Airplane Geeks’ Thanksgiving episode. The interviews include:

Matt Hall & Nigel Lamb Carlo Santoro from Flight . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 19: Interview with a Vampire … Pilot (& Other Stories)]]> Steve’s out sick (he must have eaten the fish :) so Grant’s flying solo on this one and cheating madly by assembling a few interviews and a slightly modified version of the Australia Desk segment we recorded for the Airplane Geeks’ Thanksgiving episode. The interviews include:

  • Matt Hall & Nigel Lamb
  • Carlo Santoro from Flight Experience Melbourne
  • Nick Brau on flying hot air balloons over Melbourne city

The news items we covered include:

  • British Airways again discussing a merger with QANTAS
  • The US FAA wil be conducting an Air Safety examination of Australia’s air operations
  • 30th Anniversary of Air New Zealand’s DC10 crashing on the side of Mt Erebus in Antarctica
  • Virgin Blue likely to have a profit in FY09/10
  • QANTAS to purchase additional aircraft and will be assigning more of their 787s to Jetstar
  • QANTAS introduces the airport of the future concept
  • Airport capacity in Sydney and the need for a second airport
  • Australian Transport Safety Bureau provides interim reports on the QANTAS A330 ADIRU issues and QANTAS 747 oxygen bottle incidents
  • RAAF to purchase 14 F35 fighters even though Lockheed has admitted the project is running late
  • The first two Wedgetail AEW aircraft have been delivered
  • Last flight of the Caribou in Australia & it’s potential replacement

We hope you enjoy the show and we will return to our usual levels of interviews, discussions & opinionated news reviews in a week or so.

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/12/05/episode-19-interview-with-a-vampire-pilot-other-stories/feed/ 0 0:58:22 Steve’s out sick (he must have eaten the fish :) so Grant’s flying solo on this one and cheating madly by assembling a few interviews and a slightly modified version of the Australia Desk segment we recorded for the Airplane Geeks’[...] Steve’s out sick (he must have eaten the fish :) so Grant’s flying solo on this one and cheating madly by assembling a few interviews and a slightly modified version of the Australia Desk segment we recorded for the Airplane Geeks’ Thanksgiving episode. The interviews include: Matt Hall & Nigel Lamb Carlo Santoro from Flight Experience Melbourne Nick Brau on flying hot air balloons over Melbourne city The news items we covered include: British Airways again discussing a merger with QANTAS The US FAA wil be conducting an Air Safety examination of Australia’s air operations 30th Anniversary of Air New Zealand’s DC10 crashing on the side of Mt Erebus in Antarctica Virgin Blue likely to have a profit in FY09/10 QANTAS to purchase additional aircraft and will be assigning more of their 787s to Jetstar QANTAS introduces the airport of the future concept Airport capacity in Sydney and the need for a second airport Australian Transport Safety Bureau provides interim reports on the QANTAS A330 ADIRU issues and QANTAS 747 oxygen bottle incidents RAAF to purchase 14 F35 fighters even though Lockheed has admitted the project is running late The first two Wedgetail AEW aircraft have been delivered Last flight of the Caribou in Australia & it’s potential replacement We hope you enjoy the show and we will return to our usual levels of interviews, discussions & opinionated news reviews in a week or so. Podcasts Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) no no PCDU Episode 16: Rant on Steve, Rant on http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/11/15/episode-16-rant-on-steve-rant-on/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/11/15/episode-16-rant-on-steve-rant-on/#comments Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:08:59 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=227 Steve & Grant discuss all the latest news items that were of interest over the past couple of weeks. Steve also gets to have a few “c’est la vent” moments on some topics that were annoying him.

As if all that wasn’t enough, we also have a chat with Owen Zupp and reveal the winner . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 16: Rant on Steve, Rant on]]> Steve & Grant discuss all the latest news items that were of interest over the past couple of weeks. Steve also gets to have a few “c’est la vent” moments on some topics that were annoying him.

As if all that wasn’t enough, we also have a chat with Owen Zupp and reveal the winner of our first ever give away competition. Sorry, you’ll have to listen to the episode to discover who were the close runners up and who was the winner :)

So, sit back, relax and enjoy episode 16, in which we discuss:

As usual, our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com and our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5).

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/11/15/episode-16-rant-on-steve-rant-on/feed/ 16 1:29:50 Steve & Grant discuss all the latest news items that were of interest over the past couple of weeks. Steve also gets to have a few “c’est la vent” moments on some topics that were annoying him. As if all that wasn’t enou[...] Steve & Grant discuss all the latest news items that were of interest over the past couple of weeks. Steve also gets to have a few “c’est la vent” moments on some topics that were annoying him. As if all that wasn’t enough, we also have a chat with Owen Zupp and reveal the winner of our first ever give away competition. Sorry, you’ll have to listen to the episode to discover who were the close runners up and who was the winner :) So, sit back, relax and enjoy episode 16, in which we discuss: Jetstar engine fire forces evacuation at Newcastle airport (ABC News) Victoria launches bid for Red Bull Air Race (Australian Aviation) We both express displeasure that the Red Bull Air Race was not available online via web-streaming for Australians despite Channel 10 not showing it live V Australia to get 777-200LRs? We discuss Air New Zealand replacing its 737-300′s with A320′s Air NZ opts for Airbus (Australian Aviation) Air New Zealand to replace Boeing fleet with Airbus A320 (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Airbus knocks 50 per cent off New Zealand deal (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Air New Zealand’s Chris Nassenstein Tapped For Qantas Post (Aero-News Net) We discuss the political turn-around associated Victoria trialling heavy jet fire bombers Victoria to trial fire-fighting jet (The Age) Victoria commissions fire fighting jet (SBS) Giant water bomber to soak Victorian bushfires (ABC news) Water bomber could have saved lives (ABC News) Victoria looks to bigger fire bombers (Australian Aviation) It seems that it’s not just in the USA that airline pilots make silly mistakes Qantas pilots forgot to lower landing gear (ABC News) Qantas pilots forgot to lower wheels (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Pilots stood down over landing gear incident (Australian Aviation) We chat with Owen Zupp about our recent competition, the runners up and the big winner David Vanderhoof provides a look at “this week in aviation” Qantas will not be ‘Jetstarised’: Joyce (The Age) We discuss the expansion of Tiger Airways as they open new routes Tiger spreads wings to five biggest cities (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Tiger’s eyes on Avalon (Herald Sun) Tiger ups Melbourne & Sydney services, stalking Avalon? (Australian Aviation) Tiger to fly Melbourne-Brisbane (Australian Aviation) Tiger launches Adelaide-Brisbane (Australian Aviation) Steve has a major “What Cheese Me Off!” session about the advertising for Melbourne Airport (you can see the adverts as a banner on the Melbourne Airport website We discuss JAL’s new premium economy class seating on the Sydney to Narita route (thanks to Dan Web for the lead) Final F-111 exits deep maintenance (Australia Aviation) Boeing completes Wedgetail counter-measures testing (Australian Aviation) (plus a ‘heads up’ by David Vanderhoof) We review some listener mail As usual, our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com and our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5). Podcasts Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) no no PCDU Episode 15: And now for something completely different, here is the news http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/11/01/episode-15-and-now-for-something-completely-different-here-is-the-news/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/11/01/episode-15-and-now-for-something-completely-different-here-is-the-news/#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:37:51 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=192 We’re back to being our opiniated selves with a backlog of news stories to work through and discuss. Once again Bas Scheffers joins us for some of the news and to discuss a number of RA-Aus items. From Beavers to Tigers and even Kiwi Skyhawks doing battle with bureaucracy, we cover a diverse range of . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 15: And now for something completely different, here is the news]]> We’re back to being our opiniated selves with a backlog of news stories to work through and discuss. Once again Bas Scheffers joins us for some of the news and to discuss a number of RA-Aus items. From Beavers to Tigers and even Kiwi Skyhawks doing battle with bureaucracy, we cover a diverse range of topics including:

As usual, our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com and our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5).

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/11/01/episode-15-and-now-for-something-completely-different-here-is-the-news/feed/ 15 1:33:07 We’re back to being our opiniated selves with a backlog of news stories to work through and discuss. Once again Bas Scheffers joins us for some of the news and to discuss a number of RA-Aus items. From Beavers to Tigers and even Kiwi Skyhawks [...] We’re back to being our opiniated selves with a backlog of news stories to work through and discuss. Once again Bas Scheffers joins us for some of the news and to discuss a number of RA-Aus items. From Beavers to Tigers and even Kiwi Skyhawks doing battle with bureaucracy, we cover a diverse range of topics including: QANTAS shareholders fail to block Dixon’s $3m payment Shareholders blast Qantas over Dixon payout (ABC News) Qantas shareholders slam Dixon payout (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Jetstar tight-lipped on Facebook ‘sacking’ (ABC News) RedBull AirRace returns to Perth in 2010 (see Tourism West Australia’s release) Rocket Lab Primed To Launch New Zealand’s First Rocket Into Space (Voxy.co.nz) Crash fears after 10 near misses a year in NSW (Sydney Morning Herald Qantas unveils Socceroos 747 (Australian Aviation) Jetstar plane evacuated after engine fire (ABC News) Virgin Blue 737′s nose wheel ‘disintegrates’ on landing Plane wheel ‘disintegrates’ on landing (ABC news) Virgin Blue hits back at ALAEA after wheel issue Virgin Blue denies plane wheel disintegrated Police guard staff after Tiger passengers left stranded (Mex Cooper @ Sydney Morning Herald) Qantas passengers stranded for 26 hours(Kate Schneider @ News.com.au) Next QANTAS A380s delayed due to technical issues Technical issues force delay to Qantas’s next two A380s (Australian Aviation) Qantas talks straight on Airbus problem (ABC News) Qantas A380 project takes out award (Australian Aviation) Russian jets ‘refused’ on Black Saturday (Melissa Jenkins @ NineMSN) General Aviation & RA-Aus round-up Australia’s centenary of powered flight to be celebrated at Diggers Rest between March 18th & 21st, 2010 (see Victorian government’s release RFDS enters jet age (Australian Aviation) The Last Super Beaver (Australian Aviation) Mayor calls for Jandakot curfew Bas reports on his experiences at the Jamestown airshow Discussion on changes coming up in RA-Aus (25nm over water, 600kg for non-ISA but no increase of weight to 760kg) Bas talks about the AeroScene flying group RNZAF A4 Skyhawks battle bureaucracy to get sold Update on RAAF Airbus KC-30 MRTT Third tanker enters conversion facility (Australian Aviation) Second RAAF tanker flies (Australian Aviation) $1bn industry package & early availability for a RAN Romeo buy As usual, our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com and our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5). Podcasts Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) no no PCDU Episode 12: It’s not that late in Adelaide… http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/10/12/episode-12-its-not-that-late-in-adelaide/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/10/12/episode-12-its-not-that-late-in-adelaide/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:39:02 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=169 Despite his better judgement, Bas Scheffers comes back to hang out with us once again as we discuss some of the news items from the past week or so. Topics of discussion in this episode include:

Jetstar flight attendant gets in trouble with Facebook:

Jetstar attendant contacted 15yo passenger on Facebook (ABC News) Jetstar worker . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 12: It’s not that late in Adelaide…]]> Despite his better judgement, Bas Scheffers comes back to hang out with us once again as we discuss some of the news items from the past week or so. Topics of discussion in this episode include:

Please note that our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com and our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5).

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/10/12/episode-12-its-not-that-late-in-adelaide/feed/ 4 1:08:10 Despite his better judgement, Bas Scheffers comes back to hang out with us once again as we discuss some of the news items from the past week or so. Topics of discussion in this episode include: Jetstar flight attendant gets in trouble with Faceboo[...] Despite his better judgement, Bas Scheffers comes back to hang out with us once again as we discuss some of the news items from the past week or so. Topics of discussion in this episode include: Jetstar flight attendant gets in trouble with Facebook: Jetstar attendant contacted 15yo passenger on Facebook (ABC News) Jetstar worker in strife over Facebook incident (ABC News) Mile-high matchmaking: social networking service (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Jetstar eyes growth in Asia, India (David McIntyre @ Brisbane Times) Mid-air dramas trigger action: Qantas (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Qantas criticised over foreign butter (ABC News) Air New Zealand says demand recovering, no capacity cuts (Reuters) Investigations into fatal plane crashes begin (ABC News) Regional Express (REX) flying into Northern Queensland again: New airline arrives in town (Bianca Clare @ the Daily Mercury) New routes launched during the last week (Saturday 26 September – Friday 2 October) (from Airline Network News & Analysis – scroll down to the end of the article) Landing scare at Wagga airport (ABC News) Smelly, fat, seat-kickers worst plane passengers (ABC News) Boeing Receives Australian Industry Award For F-111 Support (Aero-News.net) Defence told to clean up creek contamination (ABC News) New delay for RAAF KC-30s (Australian Aviation) More news of air traffic system improvements Qantas calls for air traffic overhaul (ABC News) Qantas has called for ‘smarter skies’ (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Airlines to save millions as defence flight paths open (Sydney Morning Herald) Virgin Blue and The Black Eyed Peas join music’s Mile High Club (Access All Areas) Please note that our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com and our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5). Podcasts Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) no no PCDU Episode 8: Riding Our Segways http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/09/11/episode-8-riding-our-segways/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/09/11/episode-8-riding-our-segways/#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:48:27 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=114 We thought we’d have this episode out within a few days of our previous one, but there was so many news items to review, so much to discuss and so many bits to splice together that it took a whole week to bring it to you. Weighing in at almost 2 hours, this episode has . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 8: Riding Our Segways]]> We thought we’d have this episode out within a few days of our previous one, but there was so many news items to review, so much to discuss and so many bits to splice together that it took a whole week to bring it to you. Weighing in at almost 2 hours, this episode has interviews, GA, follow ups and much much more.

With some brilliant segways between topics (and a few clangers), this episode includes the following items:

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/09/11/episode-8-riding-our-segways/feed/ 0 1:49:06 We thought we’d have this episode out within a few days of our previous one, but there was so many news items to review, so much to discuss and so many bits to splice together that it took a whole week to bring it to you. Weighing in at almost[...] We thought we’d have this episode out within a few days of our previous one, but there was so many news items to review, so much to discuss and so many bits to splice together that it took a whole week to bring it to you. Weighing in at almost 2 hours, this episode has interviews, GA, follow ups and much much more. With some brilliant segways between topics (and a few clangers), this episode includes the following items: Changes after the Kokoda accident Australia pledges $2m for Kokoda airstrip upgrade (ABC News) Virgin Blue and Delta rebuttal against Air New Zealand Virgin and Delta slam Air NZ attacks (Ari Sharp @ The Age) As we predicted, JetStar are going to Fiji Qantas and Virgin Blue in Fiji fight (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Jetstar to spoil V Australia’s Fiji flights? (Alex @ AusAviation) Webjet pressured by competition to drop fees Pressure On Webjet As Zuji and Expedia Drop Fees (Martin Kelly @ Travel Trends) Listener comments about laser pointers and aircraft @DanWebbage from the Airplane Geeks provides feedback on United Airlines and their 747-400s on the Pacific route @DanWebbage also gives us a report on a recent conference where he got to try different aircraft seats Some QANTAS stories from mechanical to financial Qantas makes emergency landing in Perth (Geoffrey @ The West Australian) Qantas yields remain under pressure (Bill Lindsay @ The Australian) Qantas feels the heat from the east (Geoff Easdown @ the Herald Sun) Qantas braces for long haul in red: IATA figures (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Qantas yield contractions continue, but appear to have stabilised; SIA downgraded on yield squeeze (Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation) Discounted tickets lure more to Qantas in July (news.com.au) It’s a Jetstar a rising at Qantas (Ben Sandilands @ Crikey) The Australian Government is putting its travel management up to tender Federal air travel tender to hit Qantas (Scott Rochfort @ the Sydney Morning Herald) More bad news for Qantas – Federal air travel tender up for grabs (eTravel Blackboard) Virgin hails move to tighten airfare policy (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Interview with Karla Courtney from the QANTAS Travel Insider Tiger Airlines aircraft hits a flock of birds Bird strike grounds Tiger plane at Adelaide Airport (Sam Rodrigues @ Adelaide Now) Airplane hits flock of birds in Australia, take off rejected (AvioNews) Airline review results are in Australians reveal their worst airline (Angela Saurine @ news.com.au) Jetstar Pacific in Vietnam may have breached the law Jetstar Pacific told to quit using the orange star and ‘Jet’ logo (Look At Vietnam) Interview with Shashank Nigam” from SimpliFlying Final missing RAAF aircrew from the Vietnam conflict found and returned for burial Diggers’ bodies to return from Vietnam (news.com.au) Vietnam airmen’s remains flown home (Max Blenkin @ The Courier Mail) 39yr wait over as Toowoomba farewells Vietnam pilot (Sam Burgess @ ABC News) State funeral for Vietnam War airman (ABC News) http://www.airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum/research/aircraft/series2/A84.htm About #2 Squadron in Vietname and more about #2 squadron History of Canberras with the RAAF Images of the Canberra that crashed Thanks to David Vanderhoof for the research Student pilot makes emergency landing after engine fails (same pilot as the runway overrun reported a few weeks ago) Plane makes emergency landing in paddock (ABC News) Man survives plane crash in Abbotsbury (Michael Chammas & Stacey Vanoska @ the Fairfield City Champion) Student pilot crash lands in paddock in Prospect (Vikki Campion @ the Daily Telegraph) NOTE: Thanks to @DavidOptimal for the info Observer has to fly King Air until pilot recovers (thanks to @DavidOptiimal and others for the inside story) Passenger flies plane after pilot passes out (ABC News) Government is taking steps to halt inappropriate development on airports Airport building hopes reined in: Ba[...] Podcasts Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) no no PCDU Episode 5: Jet Lag Recovery http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/08/16/episode-5-jet-lag-recovery/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/08/16/episode-5-jet-lag-recovery/#comments Sat, 15 Aug 2009 22:41:05 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=69 Steve’s back from his trip to the USA and, despite some jet lag woes, he’s in the recording studio and the banter is flowing in our longest episode yet. Sadly, the first 15 minutes sound like Grant’s testing NASA’s new Interplanetary Internet and experiencing a really crappy connection. Not to worry, it soon clears up . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 5: Jet Lag Recovery]]> Steve’s back from his trip to the USA and, despite some jet lag woes, he’s in the recording studio and the banter is flowing in our longest episode yet. Sadly, the first 15 minutes sound like Grant’s testing NASA’s new Interplanetary Internet and experiencing a really crappy connection. Not to worry, it soon clears up and the rest of the episode quite clearly reveals our usual commentary on this week’s local aviation news stories, including the following topics:

]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/08/16/episode-5-jet-lag-recovery/feed/ 3 1:15:48 Steve’s back from his trip to the USA and, despite some jet lag woes, he’s in the recording studio and the banter is flowing in our longest episode yet. Sadly, the first 15 minutes sound like Grant’s testing NASA’s new Interp[...] Steve’s back from his trip to the USA and, despite some jet lag woes, he’s in the recording studio and the banter is flowing in our longest episode yet. Sadly, the first 15 minutes sound like Grant’s testing NASA’s new Interplanetary Internet and experiencing a really crappy connection. Not to worry, it soon clears up and the rest of the episode quite clearly reveals our usual commentary on this week’s local aviation news stories, including the following topics: Airlines PNG Twin Otter crash at Kokoda Pilot in PNG crash had six months’ experience (Michael McKenna and Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Flyers may have lost their bearings (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Landing gear incidents @ Bankstown (YSBK) Planes Lose Wheels (The Torch newspaper) Regional airlines worrying about aircraft Regional airlines face plane shortage (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Flying Doctor losing a contract Flying doctor service loses $70m contract (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Royal Flying Doctor Service – history Royal Flying Doctor Service – Wikipedia Steve discusses his visit to the TWiT Cottage and meeting Leo Laporte (go on gang, you *know* you’re jealous :) Steve clarifies that he went to Eaker AFB while in the USA but named it incorrectly during his update on the previous episode Steve talks about his flights with V Australia Tainted Virgin Blue chicken wraps induced births (Jamie Walker @ The Australian) Virgin-Delta joint venture to get a clear run (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) We discuss an article by Andrew McLaughlin in the July issue of Australian Aviation magazine about United Airlines fighting to retain share on the Pacific route Tiger is taking steps to improve its image Airline complaints head sky-high (Clive Dorman @ The Age) V Australia wants to fly to Fiji V Australia applies for Fiji route (Greg Waldron @ Flight Global) Grant talks about his experiences going to Sydney for the SimpliFlying/PCDU Tweet Up along side the Asia Pacific Aviation Outlook Summit 2009 conference QANTAS links its frequent flyer program to the Woolworths loyalty program Qantas loyalty deal with Woolies a big seller (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) AirAsiaX news Capital city rivals out to land Asia (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) AirAsiaX will boost its Gold Coast route Malaysia Airlines getting stung by low cost carriers Discount rivals hit MAS results (Geoff Easdown @ The HeraldSun) Laser taggers arrested Laser pointer accused faces court (ABC News) Podcasts Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) no no PCDU Episode 4: Hand Propped http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/08/07/episode-4-hand-propped/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/08/07/episode-4-hand-propped/#comments Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:47:41 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=58 This week’s episode comes out a little late as Steve’s still in the USA and Grant was up in Sydney for the PCDU / SimpliFlying TweetUp that happened along side the Asia / Pacific Aviation Outlook Summit 2009. A great time was had by all who attended the event but now it’s back to work . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 4: Hand Propped]]> This week’s episode comes out a little late as Steve’s still in the USA and Grant was up in Sydney for the PCDU / SimpliFlying TweetUp that happened along side the Asia / Pacific Aviation Outlook Summit 2009. A great time was had by all who attended the event but now it’s back to work as there’s news to read, interviews to arrange and a podcast to produce.

This week’s episode includes the following topics:

  • Tiger Improves its Act
  • Remains of last missing RAAF airmen returned from Vietnam
  • Merpati Twin Otter crashes
  • Bangkok Airways ATR72 crashes at Koh Samui
  • RNZAF Upgrades Tech Training Fleet
  • Hand Propping Accident
  • Steve Visscher presents an update from the USA including flying an old tail dragger, seeing more C130s than the RAAF could ever own and starting the long flights back home
    • ]]>     http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/08/07/episode-4-hand-propped/feed/ 0 0:33:44 This week’s episode comes out a little late as Steve’s still in the USA and Grant was up in Sydney for the PCDU / SimpliFlying TweetUp that happened along side the Asia / Pacific Aviation Outlook Summit 2009. A great time was had by all [...] This week’s episode comes out a little late as Steve’s still in the USA and Grant was up in Sydney for the PCDU / SimpliFlying TweetUp that happened along side the Asia / Pacific Aviation Outlook Summit 2009. A great time was had by all who attended the event but now it’s back to work as there’s news to read, interviews to arrange and a podcast to produce. This week’s episode includes the following topics: Jetstar launches world first SMS based boarding pass Jetstar’s SMS boarding passes (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Comparing Geoff Dixon with Alan Joyce at QANTAS Qantas boss a cautious optimist (Matt O’Sullivan @ The Age) Global aviation faces slow return to profits: Dixon (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Joyce rules out Qantas merger (Matt O’Sullivan @ The Age) Alan Joyce kills off IPO plans amid Pacific rationalisation forecast (Ross Kelly @ The Australian) QANTAS fights back Qantas vows to slug out fare ware (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Qantas relaunches branded website (The Age) Qantas business blitz to hit Virgin (Steve Creedy @The Australian) Swine Flu impacts air travel and Cathay Pacific struggles Asia-Pacific travel recovery falls foul of flu (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Times are turbulent for Cathay as it faces storm (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Virgin fights back, raises money and has a health scare V Australia Launches New One Way Fares to USA Virgin share offer takes flight (Matt O’Sullivan @ WA Today) Food poisoning scare on Virgin flights (ABC News) Tiger Improves its Act Complaints drop as Tiger Airways listens to customers (John Wright @ The Courier Mail) Remains of last missing RAAF airmen returned from Vietnam Missing Vietnam airmen’s remains found (ABC News) Merpati Twin Otter crashes Plane wreckage found in Papua (ABC News) Bangkok Airways ATR72 crashes at Koh Samui Pilot killed as plane skids off runway (ABC News) RNZAF Upgrades Tech Training Fleet NZAF to Upgrade Aircraft for Training (Aviation Today) Hand Propping Accident Cessna takes off without pilot (ABC News) Steve Visscher presents an update from the USA including flying an old tail dragger, seeing more C130s than the RAAF could ever own and starting the long flights back home Podcasts Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) no no     PCDU Episode 3: Flying Solo http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/07/31/episode-3-flying-solo/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/07/31/episode-3-flying-solo/#comments Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:23:28 +0000 Grant (Falcon124) http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=45 We were a little delayed because Grant was trying to do it all this week, but better late than never. With Steve in the USA, Grant was flying solo and discovering that he missed having someone to put the gear up on take off.

    This week’s episode includes the following topics:

    Air New Zealand joins . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 3: Flying Solo]]>     We were a little delayed because Grant was trying to do it all this week, but better late than never. With Steve in the USA, Grant was flying solo and discovering that he missed having someone to put the gear up on take off.

    This week’s episode includes the following topics:

    ]]>     http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/07/31/episode-3-flying-solo/feed/ 0 0:23:08 We were a little delayed because Grant was trying to do it all this week, but better late than never. With Steve in the USA, Grant was flying solo and discovering that he missed having someone to put the gear up on take off. This week’s episod[...] We were a little delayed because Grant was trying to do it all this week, but better late than never. With Steve in the USA, Grant was flying solo and discovering that he missed having someone to put the gear up on take off. This week’s episode includes the following topics: Air New Zealand joins Tiger to say that Delta teaming up with V Australia (Delta V) is bad, but QANTAS stays out of it Qantas aloof as Air NZ joins Delta V opponents (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) QANTAS 737 de-pressurises during flight Engineers probe Qantas midair mishap (ABC News) Jetstar upsetting Kiwi pax with baggage charges Bags cost shocks traveller (Rebecca Lewis @ the New Zealand Herald) It’s official, Regional Express (REX) is the world’s best regional carrier Rex ruled the world’s best regional carrier (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Virgin Blue 737 loses a nose wheel Safety fears raised after plane wheel falls off (ABC News) Brett Godfrey announces he’ll retire from Virgin Blue Brett Godfrey to retire from Virgin Blue (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Virgin Blue to raise capital Godfrey to quit as Virgin raises capital (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) John Holland Group wins Virgin Blue’s Embraer maintenance work John Holland in 10-year deal to maintain Virgin Blue’s Embraer jets (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) Macquarie Airports to separate from the Macquarie Group Macquarie Airports takes over management from Macquarie Group (Allison Jackson @ The Australian) Sydney airport traffic declines; Melbourne rises (Business Day) Airports fly against economic downturn (Steve Creedy @ The Australian) PelAir chosen for Ambulance Victoria contract Pel-Air Chosen As Preferred Contractor By Ambulance Victoria (Aero-News) Steve Visscher presents an update from the USA, including flight comparisons and the TSA Podcasts Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) no no     PCDU Episode 1: And so it begins… http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/07/16/episode-1-and-so-it-begins/ http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/07/16/episode-1-and-so-it-begins/#comments Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:54:35 +0000 admin http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/?p=8 Weighing in at a whole 27 minutes and 18 seconds, here’s the first episode of the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast. During this episode, we discuss the following news items:

    Emirates EK407 tailstrike – the Captain tells his story and we comment on fatigue issues The RAAF’s first F/A-18F Super Hornet rolls off the production . . . → Read More: PCDU Episode 1: And so it begins…]]>     Weighing in at a whole 27 minutes and 18 seconds, here’s the first episode of the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast. During this episode, we discuss the following news items:

    • Emirates EK407 tailstrike – the Captain tells his story and we comment on fatigue issues
    • The RAAF’s first F/A-18F Super Hornet rolls off the production line plus comments on the pending F-111 & DH4C Caribou retirements
    • Tiger Airways adds a 7th aircraft to get an incredible increase in capacity out of Melbourne and their reality TV show launches
    • QANTAS has bad customer service (and associated PR) in Perth following a lightning strike on an A330, cops freight fines in Canada and has an A380 go around at LHR
    • Jetstar apologises for their bad service in New Zealand
    • Virgin Blue’s V Australia is experiencing low yields so far
    • Delta operates their first flight into SYD

      • ]]> http://www.planecrazydownunder.com/2009/07/16/episode-1-and-so-it-begins/feed/ 4 0:27:19 Weighing in at a whole 27 minutes and 18 seconds, here’s the first episode of the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast. During this episode, we discuss the following news items: Emirates EK407 tailstrike – the Captain tells his story and we c[...] Weighing in at a whole 27 minutes and 18 seconds, here’s the first episode of the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast. During this episode, we discuss the following news items: Emirates EK407 tailstrike – the Captain tells his story and we comment on fatigue issues The RAAF’s first F/A-18F Super Hornet rolls off the production line plus comments on the pending F-111 & DH4C Caribou retirements Tiger Airways adds a 7th aircraft to get an incredible increase in capacity out of Melbourne and their reality TV show launches QANTAS has bad customer service (and associated PR) in Perth following a lightning strike on an A330, cops freight fines in Canada and has an A380 go around at LHR Jetstar apologises for their bad service in New Zealand Virgin Blue’s V Australia is experiencing low yields so far Delta operates their first flight into SYD Podcasts Steve Visscher & Grant McHerron (www.planecrazydownunder.com) no no