QantasLink

QantasLink is a regional airline brand of Australian airline Qantas and is an affiliate member of the Oneworld airline alliance. As of 2023, QantasLink provides over 2,000 flights each week to over 50 metropolitan and regional destinations across Australia, as well as short-haul international services to New Zealand, the Solomon Islands and East Timor.[1]

Not to be confused with Air Link.

QantasLink
IATA ICAO Callsign
QF QLK
QJE
NWK
QFA		 Q-LINK
Q-JET
NET-LINK
QANTAS
Founded2002 (2002)
Operating bases
Frequent-flyer programQantas Frequent Flyer
AllianceOneworld (affiliate)
Fleet size118
Destinations61
Parent companyQantas
HeadquartersSydney, New South Wales, Australia
Websitewww.qantaslink.com.au

History

QantasLink's origins as a single brand for Qantas' regional airline subsidiaries go back to October 1993, when Qantas acquired Australian Airlink Pty Ltd and its fleet from parent company National Jet Systems,[2] which up to that point had been operating flights on major regional routes for Australian Airlines. The Australian Airlink name remained and the fleet was repainted in Qantas livery, and National Jet Systems was subsequently contracted by Qantas to operate Australian Airlink aircraft.

Prior to 2002, Qantas' various subsidiaries operated under their own names, eventually adopting the Australian Airlines, and later, Qantas liveries. In 2002 a common brand was created, encompassing AirLink (a franchise, operated by National Jet Systems), Sunstate Airlines, Eastern Australia Airlines, and Southern Australia Airlines; Southern Australia has since ceased operations.

For a short while, QantasLink took over some of Qantas' non-trunk routes, such as Sydney - Sunshine Coast, using Boeing 717s that were inherited after Qantas acquired Impulse Airlines. QantasLink ceased operating some of these routes after Qantas formed low-cost subsidiary Jetstar Airways, transferring the Boeing 717 aircraft and routes to the new airline. In 2005/06, eight of the 717s were returned to QantasLink following Jetstar's acquisition of Airbus A320 aircraft, to be operated in Western Australia, Northern Territory and far north Queensland by National Jet Systems.

On 31 July 2015, Network Aviation was rebranded to QantasLink. This was announced by Qantas with the unveiling of a Fokker 100 in QantasLink colours.[3]

In January 2018, Network Aviation confirmed it would lease two Airbus A320s from Jetstar Airways for flights to and from Perth as part of the QantasLink brand.[4]

On 20 May 2020, Qantas announced the purchase of Cobham Australia's National Jet Systems subsidiary which had operated the Boeing 717-200 on behalf of QantasLink for 15 years, bringing both employees and the fleet in-house.[5][6]

On 4 February 2021, Qantas announced that they will be leasing 3 Embraer E190 with the option for up to 14 to operate on routes like Adelaide-Alice Springs, Darwin-Alice Springs, and Darwin-Adelaide.[7]

Fleet

Current fleet

QantasLink flights, except those flown by the Embraer 190s, are operated by the individual airlines that make up the group - Eastern Australia Airlines, National Jet Systems, Network Aviation and Sunstate Airlines. All flights use QF IATA codes. Turboprop aircraft operate under the ICAO callsign QLK ("Q-LINK"). Until 5 January 2009, Eastern and Sunstate operated under their own callsigns. Network Aviation aircraft operate under their own callsign NWK ("NETLINK"). Boeing 717s operate under the callsign QJE ("Q-JET"). As of July 2023, QantasLink operates the following aircraft:[8]

QantasLink fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
J Y Total
Airbus A220-300 — 29 10 127 137[9] Deliveries to begin in late 2023[9]
Airbus A319-100 — 5 — — — Operated by Network Aviation
Airbus A320-200 15 — — 180 180[10] Operated by Network Aviation
Boeing 717-200 16 — 12 98 110[11] Operated by National Jet Systems
To be retired and replaced by Airbus A220-300s from late 2023.[12][13]
— 125 125[14]
De Havilland Canada Dash 8-200 3 — — 36 36[15] Operated by Eastern Australia Airlines
De Havilland Canada Dash 8-300 16 — — 50 50[16]
De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q400 31 — — 74 74[17] Operated by Sunstate Airlines
Embraer 190 17[18] 1 10 84 94[19] Wet-leased from Alliance Airlines[19]
Options for 12 more E190 leases[20]
Fokker 100 18 — — 100 100[21] Operated by Network Aviation
Total 116 35

Former fleet

QantasLink previously operated the following types:[22][23]

Fleet development

QantasLink increased capacity by replacing many of its smaller Dash 8-100 and Q200 aircraft with Q400s. QantasLink pursued this deal despite landing gear problems with Q400 aircraft by some airlines. This problem also saw a grounding of the Q400s by QantasLink, though all were deemed safe and returned to service.

As part of its further expansion, QantasLink entered the South Australian market in December 2005, with flights from Adelaide to Port Lincoln and Kangaroo Island. Interstate flights were also introduced between Kangaroo Island and Melbourne. Due to low passenger loads, these services ceased operation at the end of June 2006, however QantasLink announced a resumption of Melbourne to Kangaroo Island from December 2017 alongside opening up Adelaide to Kangaroo Island flights.[24] On 8 December 2009, QantasLink announced that it would re-enter the Adelaide to Port Lincoln market from February 2010, using Q400 aircraft flying 23 return services a week.[25]

Since 2005, QantasLink 717 services in Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Tasmania have been contracted to National Jet Systems, using the QantasLink brand. The hubs for QantasLink under the contract are in Perth, Cairns, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, and Hobart.

Qantas replaced its daily Melbourne-Launceston mainline service with a three times daily QantasLink Dash 8 service from 1 August 2006. This has now been increased to a four times daily service, supplemented in peak service periods by QantasLink 717 services.

In May 2008, QantasLink announced that it would order nine 717s. Tamworth would be the first New South Wales regional airport to be serviced by the Q400, commencing in mid-August 2008.[26]

On 29 March 2010 QantasLink and the Qantas Group announced that it would start the first international QantasLink route, from Cairns to Port Moresby, utilising Q400 aircraft already based in Cairns. The service commenced in July 2010. A QantasLink spokesperson stated that "the airline would not turn into a fully fledged international airline, but could operate international routes in the future".[27]

On 18 December 2014, QantasLink announced that it would add Whyalla, South Australia, to its network, with double daily flights to commence on 13 April 2015. The route is serviced by the 50-seat Q300.[28] In July 2015, Network Aviation was absorbed into the Qantas Link brand.[29] In November 2014, QantasLink became the first airline to fly to the newly opened Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport, establishing direct Q400 services to Sydney. In February 2016 as a result of strong demand, QantasLink increased weekly services by two flights to fifteen weekly returns.[30]

Alliance Airlines delivered the first of three additional Fokker 100s in July 2016, with two more to be delivered by the end of the year.[31]

In July 2018, Network aviation Acquired two Airbus A320s from Jetstar (Another Qantas Group Subsidiary) for use within Western Australia.[32]

In May 2020, Qantas bought National Jet Systems and brought the Boeing 717 crew and fleet in-house. In August 2020, National Jet systems closed the Perth and Cairns bases of their operation, with Western Australian operations to be taken over by Network Aviation.[33]

In December 2021, Qantas announced an initial order of 20 Airbus A220-300 with additional purchase options to replace its Boeing 717.[34]

Qantas got five E190's wet leased from Alliance Airlines. All (as of 5 June 2021) in Alliance Livery - with artist impression/rendering of the E190's QantasLink Livery.[35]

Destinations
QantasLink destinations served by Alliance Airlines


QantasLink destinations served by Eastern Australia Airlines


QantasLink destinations served by Sunstate Airlines


QantasLink destinations served by National Jet Systems


QantasLink destinations served by Network Aviation

Incidents
  • On 29 May 2003, Qantas Flight 1737, a domestic flight from Melbourne to Launceston operated by a QantasLink Boeing 717 registered VH-NXN, was subject to an attempted hijacking.[43]

See also

Footnotes
Notes

1. ^ QantasLink flights operated by National Jet Systems use the call-sign "QJET", with the ICAO code QJE. All flights continue to operate under the IATA code QF.

2. ^ QantasLink flights operated by Network Aviation do not use an ICAO code and utilise the aircraft registration as a callsign.

References
  1. "QANTAS Fact File" (PDF). Qantas. September 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
  2. "VH-NJC BAe 146-100A Australia". www.aussieairliners.org. Archived from the original on 22 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  3. "Network Aviation becomes QantasLink | Australian Aviation". australianaviation.com.au. 31 July 2015. Archived from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  4. "QantasLink to operate Airbus A320 aircraft". Airline Hub Buzz. Archived from the original on 17 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  5. "Qantas brings regional fleet back in-house". Australian Financial Review. 20 May 2020. Archived from the original on 26 May 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  6. Cobham Aviation Services Australia (20 May 2020). "Qantas Group B717s update". Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  7. "Qantas ups domestic capacity with Alliance E190 deal". Australian Aviation. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  8. CASA civil aircraft register search Archived 25 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine, using "Eastern Australia Airlines", "Network Aviation" and "Sunstate Airlines" as keyword search parameters; and "717-200" as Aircraft Model search parameter. Search conducted 9 May 2019. Included in the results are five Eastern Australia Dash 8-300s operated on behalf of Jetstar in New Zealand.
  9. "Qantas A220 guide: order, delivery, seats and routes [2023] - Executive Traveller". www.executivetraveller.com. 12 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  10. "Airbus A320-200 | Qantas". Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  11. "Qantaslink Seat Map Boeing 717-200 12 Business 98 Economy" (PDF). Qantas. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  12. "QANTAS GROUP ANNOUNCES MAJOR AIRCRAFT ORDER TO SHAPE ITS FUTURE". 2 May 2022. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  13. Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Qantas switches to Airbus to replace domestic fleet | DW | 16.12.2021". DW.COM. Archived from the original on 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  14. "Qantaslink Seat Map Boeing 717-200 125 Economy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  15. "Qantaslink Seat Map Dash 8 Q200 36 Economy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  16. "Qantaslink Seat Map Dash 8 Q300 50 Economy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 November 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  17. "Qantaslink Seat Map Dash 8 Q400 74 Economy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  18. "Full Complement: Qantas Ups Its E190 Leases To 18 Planes". simpleflying.com. 22 April 2022. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  19. "QANTAS AND JETSTAR MEET STRONG DOMESTIC DEMAND WITH MORE AIRCRAFT, FLIGHTS". Qantas. 17 June 2021. Archived from the original on 17 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  20. "QANTAS GROUP UPDATES FLEET PLAN TO BOOST CAPACITY". Qantas. 23 February 2023. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  21. "Qantaslink Seat Map Fokker 100 100 Economy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2001.
  22. . 9 February 1997 https://web.archive.org/web/19970209181842/http://www.qantas.com.au/. Archived from the original on 9 February 1997. Retrieved 6 September 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. "Qantas Airways". 19 July 2002. Archived from the original on 19 July 2002. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  24. "Qantas to offer direct flights to Kangaroo Island in tourism boost". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 June 2017. Archived from the original on 18 June 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  25. "The Advertiser - Latest Adelaide and South Australia News - The Advertiser". www.news.com.au. Archived from the original on 11 December 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  26. "Bigger is better: Qantas introduces 72 seater". Northern Daily Leader. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  27. Creedy, Steve (19 March 2010). "QantasLink seeks openings for young fleet". The Australian.
  28. "QANTASLINK ADDS WHYALLA TO ITS MAP". www.qantasnewsroom.com.au (Press release). Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  29. "Network Aviation becomes QantasLink". australianaviation.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  30. "QantasLink boosts Toowoomba service with two extra flights - Australian Aviation". australianaviation.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  31. "Alliance delivers Fokker 100 to QantasLink". Australian Aviation. 13 July 2016. Archived from the original on 14 July 2016.
  32. "Mixing the fleet - Network brings the A320 to QANTAS". Australian Aviation. 19 July 2018. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023.
  33. "Qantaslink Axes Cairns and Perth B717 Bases". Australian Aviation. 31 August 2020. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023.
  34. Flynn, David. "Airbus beats out Boeing: Qantas to order A321XLR, A220 jets (16 December 2021)". Executive Traveller. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  35. "Qantas Is Now Operating 5 Embraer E190s From Alliance Airlines". Simple Flying. 1 June 2021. Archived from the original on 5 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  36. From the barossa to hunter flights between Adelaide and Newcastle to take off qantasnewsroom.com.au Archived 20 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine
  37. Flights and jobs take off in the top end with new jet base in Darwin qantasnewsroom.com.au Archived 24 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine
  38. New routes qantasnewsroom.com.au Archived 7 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine
  39. "From the beach to the bush". 1 July 2020. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  40. https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/broken-hill-bound-flying-kangaroo-to-launch-new-flights-to-iconic-aussie-outback-town/ Broken Hill bound flying kangaroo to launch new flights to iconic Aussie outback town] qantasnewsroom.com.au Archived 7 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine
  41. "AIRPORT TAKES FLIGHT WITH QANTAS DEAL" (Press release). Qantas Airways Limited. 3 September 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2015.
  42. "New Qantas service to fly from Bendigo to Sydney six days a week". Bendigo Advertiser. 10 December 2018. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  43. Peters, Luke. "19 Years Ago: The Failed Hijacking Of Qantas Flight 1737". Simple Flying. Archived from the original on 10 September 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.

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