They’ve become an indispensable part of our modern digital lives, but airlines are increasingly wary of portable lithium batteries and power banks, which can have an alarming tendency to catch fire if damaged or short-circuited.

Though power banks are already required to be carried in cabin luggage to ensure easy access if something goes wrong, some carriers have gone further, banning their use and charging entirely during flights – and Virgin Australia may be next, after a bag burst into flames in an overhead locker on a flight to Hobart.

As in-seat charging ports become more common, Adam and Jake plug in to the issue and ask: is banning in-flight power bank use a reasonable safety step or an overreaction?

Plus, regional airports are becoming international gateways as travellers and airlines look to bypass the big city hubs, and how can we bring the “glamour” back to aviation careers?

Sydney Airport has a new slot manager, one with no ties to the big domestic airlines … and yet, Qantas Group has still nabbed the majority of available take-off and landing slots over the end-of-year peak, with Virgin a distant second.

With 52 per cent of the slots allocated to Qantas and Jetstar, the Flying Kangaroo’s dominance at Sydney continues – but might this put to bed the idea that the old slot manager was too cosy with the major airlines?

Adam and Jake dig into the data and ask whether the great Sydney slot debate will ever go away.

Plus, what went wrong in a disastrous Melbourne drone show two years ago that saw 427 drones plummet into the Yarra?

It’s been just over a week since Qantas suffered a major data breach, with cyber criminals stealing a trove of customer data from a call centre including names, email addresses and frequent flyer numbers.

The reputational shellacking is one the Flying Kangaroo certainly didn’t need, but has the backlash been fair, and what has Qantas been doing to protect customers in the wake of the attack?

Adam and Jake are joined by special guest David Hollingworth from Cyber Daily to discuss the impact and aftermath of the hack, and how you can protect your data.

Plus, Huey Award laureate Hinterland Aviation is up for sale – who might snap up the much-loved regional carrier?

After a long wait and a marathon ferry flight from Hamburg, Qantas’ first A321XLR, VH-OGA, has finally touched down in Australia, a significant step in the Flying Kangaroo’s “Project Winton” fleet renewal.

It’s the beginning of the end for Qantas’ ageing 737-800 fleet, even as the airline looks to acquire a few more “mid-life” 737s to tide it over as it waits – and with a range of 8,700km, compared to around 5,000km on the 737-800, might the A321XLR fleet fly internationally as well as domestically?

Adam and Jake discuss the latest on Qantas’ fleet changes, including plans to replace QantasLink’s Fokker 100s with Embraer E190s, and what the A321XLR might do for the national carrier beyond Australia’s shores.

Plus, a “rain bomb” blows a massive hole in Sydney Airport’s schedule – is the new two-hour recovery period enough to mitigate the disruptive effects of wild weather?

It was a day five years in the making for Virgin Australia, and it went off without a hitch: Australia’s second-largest airline group is finally back on the ASX, with CEO Dave Emerson ringing the bell for its IPO on Tuesday.

The relisting caps off a remarkable turnaround for Virgin Australia after it collapsed into administration in 2020 during COVID-19 – but now that the long road back to public trading is over, what’s next for the carrier?

Adam and Jake discuss how Virgin got back on its feet, how it’s changed its business model, and where its future might take it.

Plus, with tensions in the Middle East playing havoc with flights through the region, should airlines be looking at more connecting hubs between Australia and Europe?

Almost 40 years after its rebranding as Australian Airlines – and just over 30 years after its merger with Qantas – a consortium is planning to bring back Trans Australia Airlines, or TAA, with an ambitious plan that would see Rex become the resurrected airline’s regional arm.

While Rex’s administrator has knocked back Renaissance Partners’ dark-horse bid a second time, the firm is not yet giving up on its goal of turning Darwin into a hub for incoming flights from Australia’s north – but could it actually work?

Adam and Jake discuss the plan for the new TAA, what it might do for passengers, and whether it could avoid Australia’s ever-growing airline graveyard.

Plus, Virgin’s IPO finally hits the runway next week, big milestones at Western Sydney International Airport, and why the Air India crash doesn’t necessarily spell doom for the Dreamliner.

With co-host Jake Nelson off sick, Australian Aviation has had to improvise for this week’s podcast.

But what a treat we have for you. Two weeks ago, Australian Aviation’s sister brand, Space Connect, hosted its Australian Space Summit & Exhibition, otherwise known as AusSpace 25.

In our best panel, regular host Adam Thorn moderated a panel with three Australian astronauts, with the questions asked by schoolchildren.

Paul Scully-Power was Australia’s first-ever astronaut, who went to space in 1984. Eric Philips blasted off to space on a private SpaceX mission in April, while Katherine Bennell-Pegg was the first astronaut to formally qualify under the Australian flag.

With Western Sydney International Airport still a year and a half from opening, an unexpected alternative might be about to hit the congested NSW market: Newcastle Airport, a couple of hours north of Sydney, will soon have flights to Perth and Bali with more routes potentially on the way.

The news will not only allow Hunter Region residents to travel further afield without having to make the trek down to Sydney, it could also give Sydneysiders an alternative to the city’s own crowded airport while WSI finishes construction, providing to Sydney what Gold Coast Airport does to Brisbane.

As Newcastle Airport nears completion on its ambitious international terminal redevelopment, Adam and Jake look at what it might do for commercial aviation on the east coast.

Plus, after the tumult of the last few years, is Qantas finally climbing its way out of a massive public trust deficit?

On 2 July, associate professor Andrew Kornberg, senior neurologist at The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, will set off from Moorabbin Airport on a journey around Australia in his own single-engine plane to raise $4.5 million for children with rare and complex neurological conditions.

The “Fly for the Kids” campaign – similar to Andrew’s previous flight in 2017 – will see him cover 27,000 kilometres over more than 50 hours in the air, in the hopes of establishing dedicated facilities and staff at the RCH for advanced therapies.

Along the way, Andrew will visit patients who have been given these new treatments in an effort to raise awareness of how kids with rare conditions can be given longer and happier lives.

Andrew spoke to the Australian Aviation Podcast ahead of his journey.

After five tumultuous years as head of Air New Zealand, CEO Greg Foran is preparing to hang up his wings this October.

Between COVID-19 border closures, fleet delays, maintenance issues and other problems, it’s fair to say the Kiwi flag carrier has had a rough half-decade – but how well has it weathered the storm?

On location in Auckland, Australian Aviation’s Jake Nelson talks to Foran about his tenure, what he might have done differently, and what might be next for the airline.

Plus, Adam and Jake discuss the rest of the week’s news, including Qantas’ ongoing attempts to draw a line under the Joyce era.

Jake Nelson travelled as a guest of Air New Zealand.