The test on Wednesday was part of the airport’s preparations to open the refurbished international terminal, which will serve Jetstar’s year-round flights to Bali from October with the aim of also attracting other overseas carriers.
The Chilean carrier will increase its non-stop Sydney–Santiago flights from three to seven days a week starting in November, with Melbourne to follow in December. Both schedules will run until March next year to coincide with the South American summer …
The airline blamed “rising supplier costs, high airport fees and intensified competition in the region” for the shock move but insisted the aircraft would help support its domestic fleet renewal program.
The aircraft conducted the mission, Operation Gateway, in the North Indian Ocean and South China Sea, taking off from Royal Malaysian Air Force Base Butterworth.
The low-cost carrier, which in 2014 axed a Darwin-Manila service launched several years prior, is looking to fly from Perth to Manila and Brisbane to Cebu using its A321neo LR fleet, having received approval from Australia’s International Air Services …
