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Showing posts with the label air travel

Rex announces plans to upgrade planes to electric

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An Australian regional airline has announced plans to improve some of its planes with electric propulsion engines, describing it as the future of air travel. Key points: Rex Airlines has announced plans to trial electric propulsion technology on several existing regional aircraft It said retrofitting would help reduce carbon emissions and could lead to cheaper airfare Rex Airlines says it will be able to swap fuel engines for electric motors after trials in 2024 Rex Airlines has flagged Mount Gambier, in the South Australian region, as one of its initial routes to pilot electric aircraft in 2024, which promises to be quieter, less polluting and easier to maintain than existing jet engines. It will be the first airline in Australia to pilot electric commercial flights. Other smaller airlines say they will do the same by the end of the decade. Airline vice chairman John Sharp also hopes it will eventually result in cheap airline tickets for state passengers. Mr Sharp said Rex had invest

Airport ground crew 'too much' threatens strike

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Long queues, flight cancellations and baggage delays at Australia’s main airports could worsen, with “chronically overworked” ground crew threatening to go on strike because of pay and working conditions. Key points: The company supplies ground handling aircraft for up to 20 airlines including Qantas The strike is likely to impact thousands of travelers at Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne international airports Ground crews have warned of chronic staff shortages, airport chaos and safety incidents The Transportation Workers’ Union (TWU) said about 700 baggage and ramp operations staff at global airline, Dnata, would apply to the Fair Work Commission on Tuesday to hold a vote on industry action. TWU claims the company is seeking to push through a new “unpleasant” employment agreement that “provides pay cuts to experienced workers and under minimum reward conditions”. Filing an application means staff will be protected under the Fair Work Act if they choose to support industry action, whic