Category Archives: QANTAS Link

QANTAS Group to lease five Boeing 717s, order three Bombardier Q400s and cancel one Boeing 787

The QANTAS Group (QANTAS Airways) (Sydney) has announced an update to its fleet plan to capitalize on growth in Australian domestic markets.

QANTAS will lease an additional five Boeing 717 aircraft (above) and purchase three Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) aircraft (below), due to start arriving from the second half of 2013.

The company has also made a change to its international fleet plan, with the cancellation of a single Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on order for Jetstar Airways.

The remaining 14 Boeing 787-8s will be delivered to Jetstar as planned, with the first aircraft to arrive in mid-2013. This will enable the gradual transfer of Airbus A330 aircraft from Jetstar to QANTAS Domestic and the retirement of QANTAS’ Boeing 767 fleet.

Mr Joyce said the cancellation of one B787 took advantage of flexibility in its fleet plan and contract with Boeing.

“The original 787 order for Jetstar was designed to replace all 11 of its existing A330s that are used for long haul services plus provide another four lines of flying for future growth.

“While the plan is for Jetstar’s long haul network to keep expanding we are using the flexibility in our agreement with Boeing to cancel a firm order knowing that we can replace it with one of our 50 options for this aircraft down the track, and with a full view of what market conditions are like at the time,” added Mr Joyce.

Jetstar’s short haul growth plans continue to be supported by the QANTAS Group’s existing order of Airbus A320 aircraft.

Mr Joyce said the QANTAS Group remained firmly committed to the Dreamliners for both Qantas International and Jetstar, and that it retained options and purchase rights for 50 Boeing 787s of either -8 or -9 variants available for delivery from 2016.

In an important milestone for the Jetstar Boeing 787 program, production of its first aircraft has just begun. With delivery of the aircraft not due until mid-2013, the airline is confident current technical issues will be resolved by Boeing.

The decision to amend the 787 order was reached at the end of 2012 and the agreement with Boeing has now been finalized.

The fleet changes announced will have no material impact on the Group’s planned capital expenditure, which remains unchanged at $1.8 billion for FY13 and $1.9 billion for FY14.

Top Copyright Photo: Peter Gates. Boeing 717-231 VH-NXN (msn 55095) of Cobham Aviation Services Australia operating as a QANTAS Link carrier poses for the camera at Brisbane.

QANTAS Link-Cobham Aviation Services Australia:

QANTAS Link-Sunstate Airlines:

Bottom Copyright Photo: John Adlard. Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) VH-QOC (msn 4117) of Sunstate Airlines approaches the Sydney hub.

It’s finally true: snakes on a plane!

Alliance Airlines to operate QANTAS Link services on the Brisbane-Emerald route starting on June 4

Alliance Airlines (Brisbane) will start operating Fokker 100s as a QANTAS Link carrier on the Brisbane-Emerald route starting on June 4. So far, no Alliance Fokker F.28 Mk. 0100s have been repainted into QANTAS colors.

QANTAS issued the following statement:

“QANTAS Link has announced it will introduce Fokker F100* jet services between Brisbane and Emerald from June 4, 2012. These new jet services will support Q400 services on the route whilst also providing cascaded growth across several key Queensland markets including Roma and Bundaberg.

Alongside the introduction of 19 F100 jet services, QANTAS Link will also add four extra flights between Brisbane and Emerald taking the total number of return services on the route to 45 per week.

Additional Q400 aircraft services will benefit several key markets as follows:

– Increased flights between Brisbane and Roma with four additional services introduced to provide over 290 new seats per week.
– Customers travelling between Brisbane and Bundaberg will have access to an extra 392 seats per week.
– Customers travelling to and from Newcastle, Hervey Bay and Biloela will also benefit from extra seats becoming available on these markets.

*F100 services between Emerald and Brisbane will be operated on behalf of QantasLink by Alliance Airlines.”

Alliance Slide Show: CLICK HERE

QANTAS Link to expand Boeing 717 operations in Queensland

QANTAS Link will launch new Boeing 717 services to Rockhampton and Gladstone on March 15 and Mackay on March 26, 2012.

The introduction of two 115-seat QANTAS Link Boeing 717-200 aircraft in Queensland will deliver an increase of over 200,000 seats per year in Queensland.

The combined QANTAS Link fleet includes five Bombardier DHC-8 200s (Q200s), 16 DHC-8-300s (Q300s), 25 DHC-8-400s (Q400) and 11 Boeing 717-200 aircraft.

Cobham Aviation Services (formerly National Jet Services) (Adelaide) Cobham operates the 11 Boeing 717-200 aircraft on behalf of QANTAS regional subsidiary QANTAS Link. The company flies more than one million passengers for QANTAS Link each year, across 300 sectors per week. Other than the physical supply of the actual Boeing 717 aircraft by QANTAS, Cobham provides all the necessary resources and infrastructure required to deliver this service. This includes all pilots, cabin crew, the high capacity CASA approved Air Operators Certificate (AOC) and associated regulatory compliance systems as well as the engineering and maintenance support for the entire Boeing 717 fleet, maintaining QANTAS Link’s branding strategy and standards.

Top Copyright Photo: Planegeezer.

Bottom Copyright Photo: Cobham Aviation Services.

Cobham Route Map:

Please click on the map to expand.

Sunstate Airlines dedicates a Q400 for the Taronga Western Plains Zoo

Sunstate Airlines’ (QANTAS Link) (Brisbane) 74-seat Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) VH-QOW (msn 4285) aircraft showcasing the images of the Taronga Western Plains Zoo animals was introduced yesterday (November 1) in Sydney to help promote regional tourism. The airliner is decorated with images of giraffes and rhinoceros.

The Bombardier Q400 aircraft in its wildlife livery was launched at a special debut event at the QANTAS Jet Base at Sydney Mascot that included a visit by Taronga’s wildlife outreach ZooMobile and the animals that help Zoo educators teach communities about the needs of wildlife.

The Taronga Western Plains Zoo is located in Dubbo, NSW. Formerly known as the Western Plains Zoo, it opened to the public on February 28, 1977, to provide more living and breeding space for large animals which needed more space than was available at the restricted Sydney site. The zoo is run by the Taronga Conservation Society (formerly Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales), along with the Taronga Zoo.

QANTAS Link operates 50 roundtrip flights each week between Sydney and Dubbo, providing easy access to Taronga Western Plains Zoo’s famous Zoofari Lodge wildlife Safari experience, along with access to the Orana region’s many attractions.

QANTAS grounds five Bombardier Q400s

QANTAS Link-Sunstate Airlines Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) VH-QOS (msn 4263) BNE (Peter Gates), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

QANTAS Airways (Sydney) grounded five Bombardier DHC-8-400 (Q400) turboprop aircraft due to landing gear problems.

The aircraft, operated by its QANTAS Link carriers were removed from service on August 21 following advice from the manufacturer, the airline said in a statement.

Cracks were discovered in a major component of a landing gear fitting in five of its 21 Q400s, with the remaining 16 Q400s unaffected and to remain in service.

The company issued the following statement:

CLICK HERE

QANTAS orders seven additional Bombardier Q400s

QANTAS Link-Sunstate Airlines Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) VH-QOH (msn 4132) (pink NBCF) SYD (John Adlard), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

QANTAS Airways (Sydney) has placed a firm order for seven additional Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) NextGen turboprop airliners. The aircraft will be operated by QANTAS’ regional carriers operating under the QANTAS Link banner.

This order will increase to 28 the number of Q400 and Q400 NextGen airliners operated by Sunstate Airlines (QANTAS Link). The group also operates two Bombardier DHC 8-200, three DHC-8-200 (Q200) and 16 DHC-8-300 (Q300) aircraft.