We thought we'd have this episode out within a few days of our previous one, but there was so many news items to review, so much to discuss and so many bits to splice together that it took a whole week to bring it to you. Weighing in at almost 2 hours, this episode has interviews, GA, follow ups and much much more.

With some brilliant segways between topics (and a few clangers), this episode includes the following items:

• Changes after the Kokoda accident
• Australia pledges $2m for Kokoda airstrip upgrade (ABC News)
• Virgin Blue and Delta rebuttal against Air New Zealand
• Virgin and Delta slam Air NZ attacks (Ari Sharp @ The Age)
• As we predicted, JetStar are going to Fiji
• Qantas and Virgin Blue in Fiji fight (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
• Jetstar to spoil V Australia’s Fiji flights? (Alex @ AusAviation)
• Webjet pressured by competition to drop fees
• Pressure On Webjet As Zuji and Expedia Drop Fees (Martin Kelly @ Travel Trends)
• Listener comments about laser pointers and aircraft
• @DanWebbage from the Airplane Geeks provides feedback on United Airlines and their 747-400s on the Pacific route
• @DanWebbage also gives us a report on a recent conference where he got to try different aircraft seats
• Some QANTAS stories from mechanical to financial
• Qantas makes emergency landing in Perth (Geoffrey @ The West Australian)
• Qantas yields remain under pressure (Bill Lindsay @ The Australian)
• Qantas feels the heat from the east (Geoff Easdown @ the Herald Sun)
• Qantas braces for long haul in red: IATA figures (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
• Qantas yield contractions continue, but appear to have stabilised; SIA downgraded on yield squeeze (Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation)
• Discounted tickets lure more to Qantas in July (news.com.au)
• It’s a Jetstar a rising at Qantas (Ben Sandilands @ Crikey)
• The Australian Government is putting its travel management up to tender
• Federal air travel tender to hit Qantas (Scott Rochfort @ the Sydney Morning Herald)
• More bad news for Qantas - Federal air travel tender up for grabs (eTravel Blackboard)
• Virgin hails move to tighten airfare policy (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
• Interview with Karla Courtney from the QANTAS Travel Insider
• Tiger Airlines aircraft hits a flock of birds
• Bird strike grounds Tiger plane at Adelaide Airport (Sam Rodrigues @ Adelaide Now)
• Airplane hits flock of birds in Australia, take off rejected (AvioNews)
• Airline review results are in
• Australians reveal their worst airline (Angela Saurine @ news.com.au)
• Jetstar Pacific in Vietnam may have breached the law
• Jetstar Pacific told to quit using the orange star and ‘Jet’ logo (Look At Vietnam)
• Interview with Shashank Nigam" from SimpliFlying
• Final missing RAAF aircrew from the Vietnam conflict found and returned for burial
• Diggers' bodies to return from Vietnam (news.com.au)
• Vietnam airmen's remains flown home (Max Blenkin @ The Courier Mail)
• 39yr wait over as Toowoomba farewells Vietnam pilot (Sam Burgess @ ABC News)
• State funeral for Vietnam War airman (ABC News)
• http://www.airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum/research/aircraft/series2/A84.htm
• About #2 Squadron in Vietname and more about #2 squadron
• History of Canberras with the RAAF
• Images of the Canberra that crashed
• Thanks to David Vanderhoof for the research

Student pilot makes emergency landing after engine fails (same pilot as the runway overrun reported a few weeks ago)

• Plane makes emergency landing in paddock (ABC News)
• Man survives plane crash in Abbotsbury (Michael Chammas & Stacey Vanoska @ the Fairfield City Champion)
• Student pilot crash lands in paddock in Prospect (Vikki Campion @ the Daily Telegraph)
• NOTE: Thanks to @DavidOptimal for the info
• Observer has to fly King Air until pilot recovers (thanks to @DavidOptiimal and others for the inside story)
• Passenger flies plane after pilot passes out (ABC News)
• Government is taking steps to halt inappropriate development on airports
• Airport building hopes reined in: Bankstown (Steve Creedy @ The Australian)
• We mention some web sites:
• Owen Zupp's website about his trip around Australia to raise money for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (There and Back)
• Noel Kruse has released some free flight training books online (Fly Better)