Australia’s Regional Express has alerted the country’s competition watchdog on what it called an “opportunistic strategy of flooding the regional airline market with excess capacity” by rival Qantas. Rex, which most recently gained regulatory approval to commence domestic jet operations, also called on the Australian government to halt subsidies to Qantas, which it argues will “entrench the market power of the dominant carrier”. The criticism comes as Qantas announced a major expansion its regional network across three states. From February 2021, the Oneworld carrier will launch seven new regional routes, most of them from Melbourne. The new flights, to be operated by Dash 8-300s, add more than 320,000 seats annually. It will also see Qantas, together with its regional unit QantasLink, operate more domestic destinations than its pre-pandemic network. Qantas also announced that it was adding frequencies to existing domestic and regional flights from 2021, tapping into what it called “pent-up demand for travel”. This comes as international borders remain closed off to curb the spread of the coronavirus. In recent months, state borders across Australia have gradually reopened, leading to a surge in domestic travel demand. Rex, in its latest statement, has slammed its rival’s move as “clearly anti-competitive”. It adds that it was “particularly unconscionable at a time when Qantas is receiving almost one billion dollars of federal assistance, while laying off thousands of workers under the pretext of reducing losses”. Noting that Qantas “is choosing to incur huge losses” on the regional routes, Rex adds: “It is clear that Qantas is very worried about Rex’s entry into the domestic market as it is well aware of Rex’s superior efficiencies and on-time performance. Qantas is trying to weaken Rex by attacking its profitable regional operations even at the cost of heavy losses for itself.” Rex cited the example of intra-state flights between Sydney and Orange, which Qantas launched in July, noting that the route was “barely big enough for one operator”. Qantas, it contends, only carried an average of 10 passengers per flight since launching operations. Says Rex: “Qantas is well known for quickly dropping a route once it no longer serves its strategic objectives. If Qantas succeeds in driving Rex away from these routes, there is every possibility they will never have a regional service again when they are no longer relevant to Qantas.” “History has shown that once regional airlines are squeezed out, the loss is permanent and regional and rural communities suffer the consequences,” the regional carrier adds. It has since alerted the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on the matter and is urging the Australian government to allow the commission to “protect new entry and expansion” in the regional airline market. Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, Rex operated 60 Saab 340 turboprops to 59 regional destinations. From March 2021, the carrier will launch domestic services with six Boeing 737-800s.

As the world’s airlines begin distributing Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine to various corners of the globe, Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration are reminding carriers about dry-ice shipping guidelines. That is because Pfizer’s vaccine must be shipped with dry ice, and dry ice – in excessive quantities – can cause problems in aircraft cabins. “In order to transport Covid-19 vaccines, operators may plan to carry dry ice quantities larger than quantities they may carry during typical operations,” says an FAA 10 December safety alert. “This volume of dry ice may present risks that existing mitigations do not adequately address.” The FAA’s alert came ahead of the vaccine shipping frenzy. The US Food & Drug Administration approved Pfizer’s vaccine on 11 December, and US passenger and cargo airlines have started distributing the inoculation. Because Pfizer’s vaccine much be kept at a chilly -70°C (-94°F), the drug company packs it with dry ice in custom boxes. Each box contains 23kg (51lb) of dry ice, according to Pfizer. Reports say each box holds 5,000 vaccine doses. “High levels of CO2 gas in compartments can lead to unrecognised degradation of cognitive functioning and present an asphyxiation hazard to persons in that space,” the FAA adds. Just how much dry ice can a jet carry? ANA Cargo’s website says it allows 800kg of dry ice on passenger 777-300s, 250kg on passenger 737s and 1,300kg on freighters, according to its website. A 2005 ICAO document shows that one airline, in the past, permitted 114kg of dry ice on narrowbodies and 200kg on widebodies. But when carried in insulated containers, limits jumped to 1,088kg for widebodies. But the FAA recently approved United Airlines to transport 6,800kg of dry ice on some flights, according to reports. The FAA publishes a formula for determining the limit, and Boeing provides airlines with guidance and related charts. “We are in very much a supporting role with our operators. We’ve worked proactively to provide our operators with the guidance they need to transport dry ice,” says Boeing engineering leader Dan Freeman. “At the end of November we issued new charts for all or our models.” Several factors determine how much dry ice a jet can safely carrying, including cabin volume, temperatures, aircraft model, the capability of the jet’s environmental control system, number of people aboard and the sublimation rate of the dry ice. Sublimation is the process by which dry ice, which is frozen CO2, converts over time to gaseous CO2. Sublimation rates vary significantly based on the packaging in which the dry ice ships, according to FAA documents. In 1963, Pan American conducted tests showing that 100lb of dry ice lost about 1lb through sublimation hourly – a 1% sublimation rate. A later FAA study puts the rate at about 2% for smaller amounts of dry ice. Another vaccine made by Moderna does not need to be kept so cold and therefore may not require dry ice to ship.

A European staffing company is reportedly hiring some 160 pilots to assist Boeing’s customers with various aircraft models, including the 737 Max. Reuters reports that Isle of Man-based pilot personnel shop CCL Aviation is hiring the “Global Engagement Pilots” on Boeing’s behalf. The news outlet reports that the pilots will help Boeing ensure its 737 Max jet returns to service smoothly, and build trust with customers. A source familiar with the hiring stresses that the pilots will assist with all Boeing’s passenger aircraft models, not just the 737 Max. They will be embedded with Boeing’s customers, providing expertise on training, flight operations and other topics, and observing operations, the source adds. Boeing declines to comment specifically about the hiring. “We continue to work closely with global regulators and customers to safely return the 737-8 and 737-9 to service worldwide,” the company says. Boeing has recently been “expanding its use of contract pilots” employed by CCL, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), which represents Boeing pilots, said in September. At the time, SPEEA disclosed that Boeing had laid off seven “flight training airplane pilots”, whose jobs involved helping airlines operate aircraft that are new to their fleets. That role is different from the role of the newly hired 160 pilots, a source confirms. SPEEA said, “CCL contract pilots will do nearly all simulator and in-flight training involved in the 737 Max return to service.”