Virgin Australia Regional Airlines ends Fokker ops

By Andrew Curran.

Virgin Australia Regional Airlines (VARA) has ended Fokker 100 operations. The last two F100s in the fleet operated their final flights in late December and are now parked at Perth (PER) awaiting transfer to their new owner.

VARA operated twelve F100s between 2013 and 2025, primarily using them on mining and resource charter flights in Western Australia. However, the airline slowly began phasing out the aircraft type in 2020.

The final two VARA Fokker 100s were VH-FSQ (msn 11450) and VH-FNR (msn 11488). VH-FSQ flew its last VARA flights on December 22, 2025, the final service operating between Geraldton (GET) and Perth.

VH-FNR operated its last flight for VARA on December 26, flying a Perth – Onslow (ONS) – Perth rotation.

VARA Fokkers to be replaced by E190s

Virgin Australia Regional Airlines is replacing its Fokker fleet with more modern aircraft, including E190-E2s, two of which are already in service. The third E190, VH-E2C (msn 20209), remains at Embraer’s production facility in Brazil, but is expected to be handed over shortly.

At the time of publication, VH-FNR is 31.6 years old and VH-FSQ is 32.8 years old. The aircraft will be sold to a third party. There are unconfirmed reports that Alliance Airlines will acquire the aircraft. That airline still operates F100s. Alliance also keeps a substantial inventory of Fokker spare parts.

Aero South Pacific has contacted Alliance Airlines for comment.

VARA and its sibling airline, Virgin Australia, now service their mining and resource charter flights with a mix of A320-200, B737-700, B737-800, and E190-E2 aircraft. In 2024, the airline ordered eight E190s to replace the F100s. At the time, VARA boss Nick Rohrlach said the Embraers were 30% more fuel efficient than the F100s and substantially quieter.

VARA E190s to fly Perth - Darwin route

The first two E190s arrived in the second half of 2025 and are now in service. While they are primarily operating closed charters, Rohrlach also said the cabin configuration allows VARA and Virgin Australia to easily deploy the aircraft onto regular passenger services if required.

Aero South Pacific research can reveal that one of the first regular passenger routes the E190 will deploy onto is Virgin Australia's Perth – Darwin (DRW) city pair, currently serviced by a combination of A320-200, B737-700, B737-800, and B737-8 aircraft. From January 16, the E190 will start flying the route on some Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

The E2 has also begun operating the Perth - Kununurra (KNX) - Perth rotation scheduled on Fridays and is cropping up on the Perth - Kalgoorlie (KGI) city pair, mostly on Fridays and Saturdays.

Monday to Thursday is the peak period for the mining and resource charters, which the E190-E2 was specifically acquired to service.

Separately, Virgin Australia is retiring a B737-800 on January 7. VH-VUG (msn 34438), an almost 20-year-old leased jet will cease operating for Virgin after working a Brisbane – Perth – Brisbane rotation.

Virgin Australia operates ninety-nine next-generation B737s, a mix of B737-700s and -800s. VH-VUG becomes the fourth next-gen Boeing the airline has handed back to lessors in the past six months. This coincides with the arrival of more modern B737-8s, which Virgin Australia is using to replace its older B737 aircraft as well as grow the airline.

Photo: AI-generated.

Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com