The Week in Brief 1 December 2011

Air Australia says it will lease two A330-200s and reposition two of its Europe-based A320s to provide additional capacity for operations within and out of Australia. The airline starts Melbourne-Brisbane services this month, as well as services to Honolulu. It has applied for capacity allowances to Vietnam and says it will head for China mid 2012.

Expect an announcement any day about a new chairman for the Airservices Australia board. Current chairman David Forsyth will step down mid next year making way for this new appointment, which we believe will be from outside the board.

Rex had an interesting arrival at Sydney Airport last Friday when the battery in a passenger's iPhone apparently overheated dramatically, emitting clouds of smoke. Fortunately the Saab 340 was already on the ground and a flight attendant handled the situation with aplomb. The story travelled the globe.

In better news for Rex, the airline received the Best Regional Airline award at this week's Australian Traveller Readers' Choice ceremony in Sydney. 

A cabin crew recruitment drive by China Southern has apparently generated more than 400 applications in the first week. The campaign, which will run through into 2012, is intended to uncover "the next generation of flight attendants who will become the Australian face of China Southern". Successful candidates will be trained in Guangzhou.

Asia Pacific air freight was down 7.7 per cent in October, month on month, continuing the decline of previous months. The director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, Andrew herdman, said that "Asian exports have been negatively impacted by the pattern of slower economic growth seen in Europe and North America, particularly in the second half of the year".

US airlines are expressing increasing concern that lives could be lost in aircraft toilets if there was a sudden decompression at altitude. The FAA mandated the removal of oxygen generators and masks from toilets earlier this year because of security concerns.

Manufacturer Lockheed Martin has rolled out the first international F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The aircraft, a short takeoff/vertical landing version, will be delivered to the UK later in 2012 after ground and flight tests.