After a brief period of open borders, this week, airlines have again been forced to cancel hundreds of flights and slash their flight schedules as the Omicron surge continues to send staff into isolation. In this episode of the Australian Aviation Podcast, host Adam Thorn and reporter Hannah Dowling discuss Virgin's proactive decision to announce dramatic flight schedule changes amid ongoing staff shortages, that are sure to be similarly impacting the other airlines. Plus, the team talks about Qantas' major decision to pivot away from previously preferred planemaker Boeing, and head towards a nearly all-Airbus fleet over the next two decades. Finally, Adam eagerly raises the topic of Labour's new plan to make the lucrative Golden Triangle redundant, by means of high-speed rail.

As the news cycle begins to slowly but surely pivot away from constant COVID-19 reporting, the ideas of sustainability, electric aircraft and urban air mobility solutions have once again emerged as key themes in 2021. In this special episode of the Australian Aviation Podcast, host Hannah Dowling sits down with David Rottblatt, the vice-president of business development at Eve Urban Air Mobility – an Embraer subsidiary focused on bringing electric air taxis to the mainstream. David and Hannah discuss the current state of play in the global air taxi market, how far we are from seeing eVTOL taxis flying overhead, where we can expect the rollout of such technologies to be focused on and the opportunities of flying taxi technologies in growing cities. The two also discuss Eve's major focus on the Australian market, its growing myriad of partnerships with local Aussie SMEs – more of which have been announced since this episode was recorded – and what this means for the future of eVTOLs in Australia.

What's it like to be a senior executive in a major international airline when a once-in-a-century pandemic grounds the industry In this special episode of the Australian Aviation Podcast, Singapore's regional manager for public affairs, Karl Schubert, talks host Adam Thorn through the dramatic moments the team made the crunch decisions. He reveals why the airline kept flying despite low demand and stringent arrival caps, whether COVID was worse than they thought and whether he thinks the industry will bounce back to 2019 levels. Finally, the pair discuss the future of the A380. Can it really survive in a world of smaller long-haul aircraft?

In this special episode of the Australian Aviation Podcast, host Adam Thorn talks to Bell Flight's Terry Miyauchi, who previously headed up Arizona Police's Aviation Unit. The former pilot discusses how law enforcement agencies use helicopters in 2021 and how the technology onboard has evolved over the years. Plus, he explains why both emergency services and defence still favour the Bell 429, which first flew more than a decade ago. Finally, with drone uptake increasing and electric aircraft on the horizon, what is the future of parapublic aviation?

Queensland has opened its borders and Australia is planning to further lift international restrictions. But with Omicron lurking around the corner, could our progress be held back?

In this episode of the Australian Aviation Podcast, host Phil Tarrant and guest Adam Thorn talk about what all this means for our aviation industry.

Plus, new airline Bonza sprung a major surprise last week when it announced it was to quadruple its fleet of 737 MAXs. Should Qantas, Virgin and Rex be worried?

Finally, the team discusses the surprising return of the Albatross, which will be built in the NT.

Australia has recently accepted its latest delivery of F-35s – the fifth-generation fighter that represents the biggest upgrade in RAAF's capability in a generation. In this special episode of the Australian Aviation Podcast, Lockheed Martin Australia's Andy Doyle tells host Adam Thorn how they onboarded the platform to the country. The pair discuss what makes the aircraft so special, the scale of the program globally and how pilots, engineers and support staff were selected and trained to help with the transition. Finally, they also chat about keeping the F-35 program going during two challenging years of COVID.

This weekend's Wings Over Illawarra was probably the biggest gathering of fans of flight in two years, as attendees bid goodbye to the retiring Classic Hornet and welcomed its replacement, the F-35. Australian Aviation's Adam Thorn was there to interview some of the key industry figures in attendance. In this special episode, Adam records our podcast onboard a C-130 Hercules with one of its pilots, Flight Lieutenant Brendan Smith, who talks us through how this evergreen aircraft has adapted to the times.

Australia's unique geography arguably makes it more reliant on parapublic aviation services than most countries in the world. In this special episode of the Australian Aviation Podcast, host Adam Thorn talks to Bell Flight's Dan McQuestin about how these services have evolved over the years. A helicopter pilot himself, McQuestin talks through the modern uses and advances in both police and search and rescue aircraft. Finally, he explains how the business is embracing and transitioning into the future, with remotely piloted and electric aircraft on the horizon.

The last fortnight has seen Qantas return the first of 10 Airbus A380s due to return to service for the airline by 2023, while Rex threw ice water on Bonza's fiery launch plans. In this episode of the Australian Aviation Podcast, hosts Adam Thorn and Hannah Dowling discuss the triumphant return of Qantas A380 VH-OQB, a move predicted by Hannah long before the news was made public. Plus, the team talks about comments made by Rex's John Sharp about upcoming budget competitor Bonza, and debates whether or not Bonza will take off. Finally, the crew reveals where we now stand on borders reopening, and what to expect from the latest edition of the Australian Aviation magazine.