Established Western Australia-based operator Aviair (GD, Kununurra) will launch Nexus Airlines (GD, Kununurra) in July, offering scheduled passenger flights using DHC-8-Q400s between Perth International and Geraldton, WA, and soon after between northwest airports and Darwin. The launch is supported by subsidies of approximately AUD8 million Australian dollars (USD5.33 million) from state and local governments.
In March, ch-aviation reported that Aviair had registered the Nexus Airlines brand name and was acquiring DHC-8-Q400s. The report identified two aircraft going to the airline, VH-8XN (msn 4302) and VH-8XS (msn 4324). Both aircraft come on leases from Nordic Aviation Capital and have ferried to Australia. Reportedly, Nexus plans to ferry in another three DHC-8-Q400s.
The Western Australia government's Inter-Regional Flight Network (IRFN) subsidy scheme is contributing AUD4 million (USD2.66 million) towards launching the intrastate passenger flights to improve connectivity in the sparsely populated 2.646 million km² state. The City of Greater Geraldton, City of Karratha, Town of Port Hedland, and Shire of Broome local governments, along with Broome and Port Hedland Airports are providing another AUD4 million. In return, Nexus will put a cap on ticket prices for residents of these local government areas.
From July 10, Nexus Airlines will deploy its 76-passenger DHC-8-Q400s onto the Perth - Geraldton, WA route, using Terminal 2 at Perth. Network Aviation (NWK, Perth International) already services this sector on behalf of Qantas (QF, Sydney Kingsford Smith), but has reduced services owing to staff shortages. City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that competition on the route was long overdue, saying that the current sole operator regularly charged between AUD400 (USD267) and AUD500 (USD333) to travel the 420 kilometre sector. In addition, Nexus Airlines will fly thrice weekly roundtrips on the Geraldton - Karratha, Karratha - Port Hedland, and Port Hedland - Broome routes. Nexus Airlines also intends to open DHC-8-Q400 bases in Broom and Geraldton.
When further aircraft arrive, Nexus Airlines plans to begin Broome - Kununurra - Darwin flights, taking on Airnorth (Australia) (TL, Darwin), whose service on this route has been criticised for its unreliability and frequent cancellations. "The reliability has been patchy over the past few years. It's pretty limiting having flights in and out of Kununurra every second day," East Kimberley Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Clare Smith told the ABC.
"This is a remarkable outcome where the state government, four local governments, two private airports, and a regional airline have all supported the new and expanded IRFN," Aviair CEO Michael McConachy told outlets.
Founded in 2013, Aviair operates scheduled passenger and charter flights around northwest Australia. Associated entities include rotary wing operator HeliSpirit, and tour operator Kimberley Experiences. According to its website, Aviair operates a mixed fleet of fleet of Beech (twin turboprop) King Air B200s, Cessna (single turboprop) 208Bs, PC-12s, and Gipps Aero GA8 AirVans.
