and good Pilots
i doupt about the two Sky 190s because they are being earmarked for twice daily Darwin-Dilli-Denpasar,
there will be a big passionate drive to develop Timor as a honeymoon resort.
and the other 190 for daily Perth-Cocos-Christmas, on top of the twice weekly for federal government.
Cocos and Christmas are tourist heavens,just need a marketing boost.
reason the GDS agreements.
in fact 170 will be replaced with a band new 190 to do the Brisbane-Noumea run and develop other regionals dest like Bougainville, etc....
as for a/c swaps, it could be the reverse, they may be taking a 700 or two from virgin surplus for the NATO run.
plans are also in the pipeline to aquire an A 340-300 for supplementing the recently announced increase in troops to the middle east.
regional aviation can be like the last man standing, as recently quoted,
but money and growth are in international routes.