Chartair retires Cessna 310s, focuses on larger aircraft

By Andrew Curran.

Australian general aviation operator Chartair has ended Cessna 310s operations, according to CEO Paul Lister, who says the type’s retirement marks a significant step in the airline’s fleet simplification and modernisation strategy.

“The C310 has been a real workhorse, proving itself as a reliable and capable entry-level IFR aircraft, well suited to the demanding operating conditions found throughout the Northern Territory,” Lister wrote on LinkedIn.

Chartair has operated the twin-engine piston aircraft VH-LJF (msn 310R0691) since 2015, according to Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority data. Until relatively recently, the Darwin-based airline was operating five aircraft of the type.

The other four C310s were VH-XXT (msn 310R1617), VH-PBI (msn 310R0831), VH-COQ (msn 310R1643) and VH-JZW (msn 310R0073). In the cases of VH-XXT and VH-PBI, Chartair entities remain the registration holder and registered operator of each aircraft. Both aircraft appear to be parked at Darwin Airport (DRW).

For VH-COQ, Chartair remains the registration holder, while sibling general aviation airline Air Link became the registered operator in mid-2025. Flight-tracking websites show that the aircraft is now active around southern New South Wales and Victoria.

Chartair is owned by privately held Aviation Logistics Holdings, which also owns New South Wales-based Air Link and AirMed.

Only VH-JZW has left the Chartair fleet. It was acquired by Jandakot Flight Centre earlier this year and is used by its training school at Darwin.

On October 21, VH-LJF ferried from Alice Springs (ASP) to Dubbo (DBO) via Bourke (BRK) and will undergo  a full refurbishment and repaint before beginning operations for Air Link. The aircraft is now 50 years old, having been manufactured in 1976.

As part of its fleet simplification and modernisation strategy, Chartair also reduced its C210 fleet from ten aircraft to six. The surplus C210 aircraft were sold in 2025. The airline continues to operate a fleet of C208B Caravans, C441s, and C402s.

"Chartair's future fleet will focus on larger twin engine general aviation types including the C402 and C441, complemented by the single turbine C208 Cessna Caravan," Lister told Aero South Pacific. 

"Our long term fleet strategy is to transition to twin turbine operations and to King Air aircraft given that model remains in production, offers a more modern avionics suite and easy access to a large range of spare parts."

Gam air wraps up Dornier ops, sells last aircraft to Kenyan carrier

Meanwhile, Chartair is not the only Australian airline to have recently retired an aircraft type. Melbourne Essendon Airport (MEB)-based GAM air has sold the last of its Dornier 228s after operating the type for 21 years. All up, the company flew seven Dorniers during that period. As reported by ch-aviation, the last three were sold to Kenyan operator KASAS.

GAM air had operated its last Dorniers as freighters for Toll Group in Queensland, but they have been replaced by Beechcraft 1900Ds.

“Over the years, the Dorniers have been instrumental in building our operational capability, supporting our growth and contributing to the success of GAM,” the company wrote in a social media post last week.

Photo: Chartair
Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com