Australia's progress during the past year has been turbulent at times, as airlines and airports struggled to cope with the rapid return of traffic.

JetBlue in July announced its $3.8 billion deal to acquire ULCC Spirit and has been awaiting regulatory approval, a process Hayes acknowledged was “complex.”

An upturn in commercial deliveries marks turnaround for Bell as the long-delayed certification of the 525 helicopter nears.

Production delays and inflated costs associated with this slow civil aviation recovery could morph into a long-term structural problem.