As Rex has limped on in administration over the past half-year, with prospects for a sale dimming, the question has occasionally been asked: might the government step in more forcefully to keep its essential services in the air?

Now we have our answer: if the administrators can’t find a buyer, the government is looking at the option to buy Rex itself, which would make the carrier the first in Australia to be publicly owned since the privatisation of Qantas around 30 years ago. But what would await the government if it were to stump up the cash for the ailing airline – and is it a good idea in the first place?

Adam and Jake discuss what might be behind the decision, and whether it’s scuppered any chance for a commercial sale.

Plus, with the ACCC looking to wave the Qatar deal through, are Virgin Australia flights to Doha now all but inevitable?

The news came like an assassin in the night: Paul Jones, the long-rumoured frontrunner to replace Jayne Hrdlicka as CEO of Virgin Australia, was out of contention following pushback by the powerful TWU.

With no further word on who might be under consideration for the top job – and with Hrdlicka still saying she intends to leave the airline – when might we know who will sit in the captain’s chair of Australia’s second-largest airline group?

Adam and Jake discuss what might be next for Virgin as the CEO search continues.

Plus, will a Finnair pilots’ strike throw a spanner in Qantas’ works?

It’s been a few months since the announcement of one of the biggest deals in recent Australian commercial aviation history: the purchase of 25 per cent of Virgin Australia by Qatar Airways, and with it, the return of Virgin international wide-body services through a wet-lease agreement for flights to Doha.

Approval for those services currently rests with the International Air Services Commission, a government body that will decide whether to award Virgin the necessary 28 flights per week to Qatar – and Virgin has said in a letter to the IASC that there is essentially no reason to block the proposal, which has received widespread support and is not being contested.

Adam and Jake revisit the politics at play and ask when the airlines – and punters – could see the new flights greenlit.

Plus, is the federal government on a path to nationalising Rex, and could we see the return of commercial supersonic travel sooner than we expected?

The Spitfire, the Hurricane, the Kittyhawk – when asked to name the fighter planes that won World War II, most people would place these legendary machines high on the list.

Yet largely absent from these lofty histories is the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation’s CA-13 Boomerang – Australia’s home-grown fighter plane, adapted from a training aircraft design and deployed in the Pacific theatre.

Though it was plagued with teething problems and never took down an enemy aircraft, the Boomerang carved out its own niche working with the Army in battlefields like the dense jungles of New Guinea.

In this week’s Australian Aviation Podcast, Jake Nelson talks to Don Williams, author of The CAC Boomerang: Australia's Own WWII Fighter, about the unique role played by the Boomerang in Australia’s aviation history – and how it can be better remembered.

In the wake of Bonza’s collapse and Rex’s administration last year, another prospective domestic carrier – Koala Airlines – was suddenly garnering media attention despite not yet having aircraft or a clear business plan.

While its website, filled with glossy renders of 737 MAX 8s, promised to “carve out a unique niche” in Australia’s aviation sector, a winding-up application filed against it in Victoria last week has raised questions about whether it would ever actually get off the ground.

Adam and Jake discuss whether Koala’s lofty ambitions of “creating a lasting impact on the industry” are over before they even began.

Plus, Perth Airport booms as it invests big in the future, transport links to Western Sydney Airport take shape, and how many podcast hosts does it take to assemble a model plane?

As water bombers try to contain the dramatic wildfires besieging Los Angeles, there are fresh warnings that longer fire seasons overseas may prevent other countries from sending their firefighting aircraft to help Australia in future.

Though the bushfire seasons since 2019–20’s Black Summer have been comparatively mild, it’s likely only a matter of time before the conditions are right for a repeat – but will Australia’s sovereign firefighting fleet be ready?

Adam and Jake discuss the progress that has been made since the royal commission and whether successive governments have done enough to prepare for the next catastrophic bushfires.

Plus, as Jetstar continues to expand its Sunshine Coast operations and Launceston looks for new entrants to take over Bonza’s former routes, will other airlines try – or be able – to fill the void the low-cost carrier left behind?

Last year ended in another aviation tragedy, with the horror crash of Jeju Air flight 7C2216 in Muan, South Korea, killing all but two people on board. As investigators sift through the plane’s wreckage and the black boxes to figure out what went wrong, light aircraft crashes closer to home are raising questions about whether our own transport safety watchdog, the ATSB, should expand its remit. Adam and Jake examine once again the issue of aviation safety and look at what might have gone wrong in Muan. Plus, the government’s proposed charter of customer rights is out – will it actually improve the passenger experience?

It’s been five decades since the year “Santa never made it into Darwin”, when Cyclone Tracy devastated the Northern Territory capital in the wee hours of Christmas morning 1974.

In the wake of the disaster, the city – and all of Australia – pulled together to make sure its 40,000 people could safely rebuild.

This included the nation’s aviation industry, with Darwin Airport becoming a vital lifeline as airlines and the RAAF brought much-needed people and supplies to and from the Top End in one of the biggest airlifts in Australian history.

In this special episode of the Australian Aviation Podcast, Jake Nelson talks to Paul Boyce, who was TAA’s Darwin manager when the cyclone hit in 1974, for his firsthand account of the disaster – and what came next.

Twelve months is a long time in aviation, and 2024 has been longer than most – not least because of the ignominious collapse of two domestic airlines, Rex and Bonza, which a year ago had seemed in far better shape than they actually were.

Of course, these weren’t the only major developments, with Qatar and Virgin announcing a big new tie-up, the government releasing its highly-anticipated Aviation White Paper, and supply chain issues continuing to squeeze aircraft production.

In this final regular Australian Aviation Podcast for 2024, Adam and Jake break down the biggest stories of the year and look ahead to 2025.

Plus, speculation abounds that the government might buy out the biggest share of Rex’s debt – but would it get its money’s worth?

A few months after the government’s Aviation White Paper promised action on disability access in airports and planes, a new advocacy campaign is calling for faster change in the industry.

Led by disability rights spokesperson Shane Hryhorec, the campaign says there are significant systemic problems around access that are leaving disabled passengers at risk of humiliation or injury, and that people with disabilities should get a seat at the table to push for improvements.

Adam and Jake unpack the issue and ask whether the industry – and government – are doing enough to make sure disabled passengers can travel safely and comfortably.

Plus, airports make the jump to 100 per cent renewable energy, the problem with Qantas’ new Christmas livery, and from Florida with love – will Sydney Airport’s “woman with the golden gun” fly another day?