Australian Aviation Podcast Network

In a matter of months, a second Australian airline has gone into voluntary administration: this time it’s Rex, whose ambitions of challenging Qantas and Virgin on capital city flights with 737-800s have dramatically hit the rocks. But with its regional Saab 340B flights still running, and the federal government signalling it doesn’t want to see Rex fail, there’s still plenty of hope that the airline won’t completely go the way of Bonza – or, for that matter, its predecessor Ansett. Adam and Jake discuss what went wrong at Rex, the possible paths forward, and whether something needs to be done about the dominance of the Qantas-Virgin duopoly. Plus, Air New Zealand scraps its 2030 sustainability target – are dreams of a greener sky in danger?

It wasn’t the news more than 300 Bonza employees wanted to hear – but after a buyer for the grounded carrier failed to materialise, administrator Hall Chadwick has sacked all staff and cancelled every future flight.

With Bonza now seeming to be running on borrowed time, is there now any hope for a miracle rescue or a silver lining for hundreds of dedicated staff members now out of a job?

Adam and Jake examine the bad news and ask what’s next for Bonza, its erstwhile staff – and its administrator.

Plus, Rex embarks on a major leadership shake-up, putting a local CEO in charge for the first time – so who is the Aussie set to lead Australia’s third largest airline group?

It’s been three-and-a-half months since Rex went into administration, and while the planes are still flying, so far the administrators have yet to find a buyer for its regional turboprop operations despite securing a deal to sell off the profitable aeromedical wing Pel-Air.

Enter the federal government, which has extended its support for the airline to the tune of $80 million in financing, which the administrator has indicated it wants to use to keep the lights on until at least mid-2025 while growing the operational fleet.

Adam and Jake discuss whether this latest effort from the government is likely to bear fruit, and what it might mean for Rex’s regional rivals.

Plus, Qantas objects to Virgin’s wet-leasing deal with Qatar – but does the Flying Kangaroo have a leg to hop on?

This week, the RAAF’s attempts to evacuate thousands of Australians from Kabul Airport in Afghanistan became mainstream news.

In this episode, Phil and Adam talk about the latest updates and discuss whether the war in Afghanistan was always unwinnable.

Plus, COVID and aviation stories intertwine again as state premiers appear to diverge on when the country should open up.

Finally, the pair talk through the latest issue of the Australian Aviation print magazine.

Last week, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk advised citizens not to travel to NSW – but stopped short to shutting her borders.

It meant many businesses were in limbo, denied insurance payments but also unable to travel or put on events.

In this week’s episode, Phil and Adam discuss where Australia’s state border chaos goes. Should there be a national plan, and has the country surrendered its advantage with its slow vaccine rollout?

Finally, the pair talk about the ongoing capacity wars: does Virgin have a chance of knocking Qantas off its pedestal as airlines scramble to reclaim lost market share?