The Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics is very pleased to inaugurate this new information product.

In the last issue we announced upcoming changes to Waterline. Work is progressing and we will be inviting key interest groups to comment on the changes.

The first of two articles in this issue is the January airport charges update, which expands on the airport charges article in the inaugural edition of Avline.

This issue opens with a feature article on aviation in regional Australia. The Airport Charges section has now been incorporated into the State of Play in Australian Aviation section and the indicators in this section reordered.

Readers may be aware that we have been reviewing the indicators used in Waterline.

As foreshadowed in Avline 3, this issue of Avline opens with a feature article on the development of Australian domestic airline on time performance in formation and the reporting of on time performance statistics from November 2003 to February 20

July 2004 marks the 10th anniversary of Waterline. This issue contains a special feature on the changing face of the waterfront from 1993 to 2004 as reported in the pages of Waterline.

The Australian domestic aviation industry has undergone significant change since the events that led to the collapse of Ansett in September 2001.

This issue contains an article on Australian International Shipping. It summarises Australia's maritime trade 2002–2003, including cargo movements, main trading partners as well as major port activity with the main focus on international trade.

This issue's feature article examines domestic on time performance, one year after the commencement of reporting of on time data. The article explores total industry trends and some of the factors influencing the results.