Indeed 1975/76 was not a kind one to our commercial airlines. From the small feederliners to the giant that is Qantas they all felt the savage impact of reduced passenger traffic alongside rapidly escalating fuel and service costs. Govern­ ment imposed still higher taxes, aviation fuel continued to soar in price, rents on premises increased

A generation ago the process of selecting equipment for an air force was a relatively simple exercise. You had so much in budget and you had four basic types of aircraft – fighter, bomber, transport and trainer. Selection ot a trainer and transport was simply a matter of what was available and used by Mother

The real cliff-hanger in the Australian airline industry for the 1970s has been the choice and timing of a wide-bodied airliner for the domestic services. It is the biggest series of ex­cuses and postponements our airlines have ever known and it could very well continue that way for another year or two. The delay could