Qantas snaps up three E190s for FIFO flying, more on the way

By Andrew Curran.

Qantas has secured three mid-life E190-100s that will work fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) contracts and regular passenger transport services within Western Australia.

The aircraft are the first of up to 14 Embraers that Qantas will acquire to better service the burgeoning Western Australia market. Qantas has not yet disclosed where they sourced the three aircraft from.

In addition, Qantas has announced cabin upgrades to the twenty-eight A319-100s and A320-200s operated within Western Australia by wholly owned subsidiary Network Aviation.

All the Airbus jets will be fitted WiFi and the nineteen A320s will also get new seats equipped with USB A/C charging ports and portable device holders.

The first refurbished aircraft is expected to begin service later this year, with the full cabin and WiFi program set to be completed in early 2027.

First E190s due by the end of 2026

Meanwhile, the three mid-life E190-100s are due to begin arriving by the end of the year, gradually replacing Network Aviation’s fleet of Fokker F100 aircraft. Network Aviation operates twelve F100s, the youngest being almost 32 years old and the oldest over 35 years.

Like other Network Aviation operated aircraft, the E190s and Airbus jets will operate with QantasLink branding on their fuselages.

“This multi-million-dollar investment reinforces our long-term commitment to serving the critical resources sector in Western Australia and connecting regional communities across the state,” said QantasLink CEO Mark Dal Pra.

Qantas Group carriers fly to over 30 destinations from Western Australia’s capital, Perth (PER), including around 13 airports developed to serve mining and resource projects. All up, the existing Network Aviation Fokker and Airbus jets fly to around two dozen airports from Perth, also operating on many regular passenger transport routes, including flying as far afield as Newcastle (NTL) and Hobart (HBA) on Australia’s east coast.

Dal Pra says the fleet investment will “significantly enhance the travel experience for our customers” and builds on Qantas’ commitment to developing Perth.

Qantas follows Virgin Australia in deciding to deploy E190s into Western Australia. Virgin Australia begun operating the type in the latter half of last year and will, when the full order is delivered, have eight Perth-based E190-E2s in its fleet. Unlike Qantas, Virgin Australia elected to acquire brand new Embraers. Qantas has a recent track record of settling on 'new' mid-life aircraft for the FIFO market.

Qantas is also settling on the more mature E190-100 platform, a type it is already familiar with through its wet-lease arrangement with Alliance Airlines.

Qantas settles on aircraft type with a track record of reliability

Aside from its well-established reliability track record, the E190 market is distinguished by relatively low purchase prices for used aircraft and plenty of spare parts and engines. Additionally, Alliance Airlines has a large maintenance centre in Brisbane which Qantas, as major Alliance shareholder, will likely be able to arrange access to.

The E190 is also smaller (and weighs less) than the existing Network Aviation A319-100s, allowing Qantas to access more airports and giving it the ability to better match aircraft to mining contracts and intra-state city pairs.

“(The E190s) will also help us improve reliability and efficiency across our Western Australia network,” added Dal Pra.

“(The) Embraer fleet continues to grow in Australia,” Raul Villaron, Embraer’s SVP and Asia Pacific region boss, posted on LinkedIn today. “We see a potential for at least 200 Embraer aircraft in country, and we are on track to make it happen.”

Alliance Airlines is the major Embraer operator in Australia, along with Airnorth and Virgin Australia. Qantas’s current Embraer fleet is entirely sourced from Alliance Airlines and operated on a wet-lease basis.

Photo: Qantas.

Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com