With Productivity Commission and Senate inquiries set to spin up later this year, it's been a blockbuster week for regional aviation in the news.

From support for regional cities left in the lurch by the Rex administration, to calls for a "fairer" system for the regions, to rebrands and axed routes, the headlines have been dominated by turboprops and council-owned airports, shining a much-needed spotlight on the country.

On this week's Australian Aviation Podcast, special guest host and former Rex and Virgin Australia pilot, Captain Michelle Huntington, returns to lend Jake her regional aviation expertise as they unpack all the big news from outside the big smoke.

Plus, will the government's new consumer protection measures drive up airfares as the airlines claim, and is Qantas trying to destroy the competition on a Pacific island route?

Qantas is officially exiting the low-cost market in Asia, announcing this week that it will sell off its shares in Jetstar Japan, which comprise a third of the airline, and focus on its operations closer to home.

The surprise move comes not long after the shuttering last year of Singapore-based Jetstar Asia – and with the Flying Kangaroo out of the picture, what is to become of its now-former Japanese joint venture after 14 years in the skies?

On this week's Australian Aviation Podcast, Jake and David look at what's next for Jetstar Japan as it prepares for new ownership – and new branding.

Plus, as if normal weather wasn't bad enough, now airlines have to worry about space weather, too – so how can we defend aircraft from software-scrambling cosmic rays?

The verdict is in: after a review by the Department of Finance, government travellers will be allowed to continue to claim airline status credits on flights for official business, though taking advantage of bonus credit offers is definitively out.

It's a victory for Qantas, which insists that letting bureaucrats take advantage of perks like lounge access and baggage allowances saves taxpayers money – and a setback for Virgin, which argues that the policy unfairly favours Qantas and incentivises taking more expensive flights on the public purse.

On this week's Australian Aviation Podcast, Jake and David dive back into the debate around public servants' airline benefits and ask whether Finance got the balance right.

Plus, a new report warns that cyber-criminals could use drones to hack into Australia's critical infrastructure – but how can a pineapple be used maliciously, and what do raspberry pies have to do with it?

It's a tug-of-war as old as aviation itself – airlines and airports wrangling over fees – and now, the airlines have the ACCC (at least partially) on their end of the rope.

The consumer watchdog and the airline industry are both pushing for an overhaul to the current regulations which they say benefit "geographic monopoly" airports like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, and lead to higher fees and airfares – but are they right?

On this week's Australian Aviation Podcast, Jake and David wade into the eternal stoush and examine the arguments on either side – as well as what the airports need all that money for.

Plus, the latest in the saga of Western Sydney Airport's delayed metro line; passenger numbers continue to surge; and what's the latest on China's answer to Boeing and Airbus?

As AI becomes more ubiquitous in everyday life, airlines like Qantas and Virgin Australia are looking to increase their use of AI tools in operational and customer-facing areas of their business.

Proponents say AI can improve efficiency, safety, productivity and customer experience in aviation – but what are the risks?

On this week's Australian Aviation Podcast, Jake and David are joined by Daniel Croft of AI Daily to discuss whether we should welcome our new robot overlords.

Plus, where do Australian airlines stand in the region's on-time performance stakes?

With just 5.1 per cent of roles in air traffic controllers, pilots and licensed aircraft maintenance held by women – and only 4 per cent globally for pilots – the pace of change towards gender parity in aviation is still glacial.

Though Australia's figures are a little higher, even here we still have a long way to go, and with the aviation industry crying out for talent, it's clear that we need to make a big push for a more diverse workforce.

Leidos Australia has recently hit its goal of 20 per cent female pilots, with the aerospace firm driving hard towards a more inclusive corporate culture at the same time.

On this week's Australian Aviation Podcast, Jake Nelson talks to Jesse Young from Leidos and Kristen Raby of Aviation/Aerospace Australia on how the industry can learn from Leidos' example, and how to break down the barriers to a more diverse workforce.

Keeping operational manuals up-to-date is a vital part of ensuring that any aviation company is maintaining regulatory compliance and that staff are aware of the latest policies and procedures.

Many businesses, however, are still using outdated and clunky methods such as Word documents and PDFs to distribute their manuals – a time-consuming and error-prone process that presents significant operational risks.

Web Manuals, an all-in-one document management system, has recently arrived in Australia and is offering flexible, adaptable, AI-enabled editing, review, distribution and monitoring of operational manuals and other important documents.

On this week's Australian Aviation Podcast, Jake Nelson speaks to Web Manuals CEO Martin Lidgard on the company's Australian expansion and the importance of streamlining compliance management of operational manuals.

It could have been Australia's worst-ever airline disaster – but it wasn't. When an engine exploded aboard Qantas flight 32 in 2010, its crew were faced with a "black swan" event, one so unthinkable they could not possibly prepare for it.

With critical systems in chaos and hundreds of lives at stake, the A380's crew, led by Captain Richard de Crespigny, had to figure out how to get the plane safely back on the ground … and over the course of several harrowing hours, they succeeded.

Not only did the team save the aircraft with the odds stacked against them, but they got every single soul off the aircraft without even one injury, cementing QF32's place in the aviation history books for all the right reasons.

In this week's Australian Aviation Podcast, Captain de Crespigny tells Jake Nelson the story of QF32, 15 years on – and what it taught him about the value of resilience.