Wirraway
25th Mar 2004, 17:28
Fri "The Australian"
Higher plane for missions unflappable
By Geoffrey Thomas
March 26, 2004
SUCCESS in the cut-throat airline and air charter business that supports Australia's booming resource industry is all about getting planes to perform missions for which they were not designed - and achieving levels of reliability that only an aircraft salesman would dare to promise.
Adelaide-based National Jet Systems, which operates in its own right, as well as providing a significant number of QantasLink flights, has turned the much maligned British Aerospace BAe 146 into a thoroughbred that's winning contract after contract.
NJS traces its origins to the 1990 merger of Jet Systems and National Jet and the securing of a single contract operating passenger charter services for Santos between Adelaide and South Australia's Moomba natural gas fields with a BAe 146-100.
In 1991, the operation was expanded with three more 146-100s operating Queensland regional flights on behalf of Australian Airlink, Australian Airlines' then regional arm.
After Qantas took over Australian in 1994, the Airlink operation was more than doubled in size with expansion into resource-rich Western Australia. At this stage it was renamed QantasLink.
In 2000, NJS, which was started by aviation identity Warren Seymour, was sold to UK-based Cobham and comes under its FR Aviation Group umbrella.
It has 44 aircraft and 1000 staff across 18 locations, with five engineering centres and six support centres. NJS growth is due to Qantas's strategy of leasing-in equipment and crews to circumvent legacy union contracts that were a major factor in the demise of Ansett. This strategy has resulted in rather complex branding whereby NJS aircraft can be seen on the ramp in the colours of QantasLink, NJS and freight hauler Australian Air Express.
"We're the real low-cost airline in Australia. If we weren't, we wouldn't survive," claims NJS MD Daniela Marsilli. The carrier's costs were estimated by industry analysts as being up to 35 per cent below those of Ansett, which enabled the operation to snare more and more lucrative resource charter contracts for fly-in/fly-out shift changes.
The low-cost base also has enabled NJS's passenger jet fleet to grow from one BAe 146 in 1990 to 16 aircraft today. They also have eight freighters.
QantasLink accounts for ten BAe 146s, while six Avro RJ70s/BAe 146s operate under the NJS banner and another three use the colours of Australian Air Express (AAE), a joint venture between Qantas and Australia Post. Late last year, NJS acquired five 727-200Fs and related equipment and infrastructure from the administrator of TransAustralia Air, which had been contracted to AAE and subsequently won a $100million three-year contract to operate aircraft for AAE.
Championing the BAe-146 is NJS business development general manager Hugh Davin, who enthusiastically proclaims it to be the DC-3 of the jet age.
"Its performance is superb and on one contract the BAe 146 completed 588 flights with only three delays of more than 15 minutes."
The aircraft's performance into high-and-hot airfields in the outback has also been winning praise and enabling NJS/QantasLink to make a virtual clean sweep of resource contracts where jets are required.
"The BAe 146-100 can carry 71 miners and their baggage and equipment out of a 1800m runway on a 46 degree Celsius day and fly 1113 kilometres to Perth," says Mr Davin.
"Many of the airfields at the resource sites are short, and wedged between rugged iron ore ranges, making climb and engine-out performance critical."
NJS also operates flights in its own right to Cocos Island and Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean under an Australian Government contract won in 1998 from Ansett. Last year the contract for a twice-weekly service was renewed for another five years plus options.
Under the QantasLink banner the carrier operates flights from Perth to Port Hedland, Broome, Karratha, Kununurra, Paraburdoo, Newman, Alice Springs, Ayers Rock (Uluru) and Cairns.
On the downside, the QantasLink operation on the eastern seaboard has gone through a significant change since Qantas purchased low-cost competitor Impulse Airlines and took over leases on its fleet of 14 106-seat 717-200s.
Holding to its strategy of separating its various operations, Qantas has operated Impulse's 717s under the QantasLink brand with former Impulse staff employed under their original contracts.
This has affected the NJS BAe 146 operation, with many routes being taken over by 717s. The surplus BAe 146s have been disposed of or transferred to Western Australia to support growth in the resource sector.
But in the ever-changing airline business, NJS believes it is well positioned to increase its flying on behalf of Qantas as the latter moves its 717s to launch Jetstar, its new low-cost answer to Virgin Blue.
Jetstar has ordered A320s to replace the 717s, which are set to be phased out over the next two years.
Qantas has yet to determine its longer term fleet strategy for QantasLink. It has ordered more Dash 8 Q300s for short-range east coast missions but a BAe 146 replacement has slipped in priority.
Ms Marsilli has the Embraer 170 on the radar and NJS has done considerable work on the business case for that aircraft, although a large lease is in the 2006 timeframe due to production being tied up by orders from JetBlue and Air Canada.
"Our future with QantasLink very much depends on schedule requirements, and moving the 717s out is a positive for us," Ms Marsilli said.
"Right now, Qantas's focus is on Jetstar and it may be some time before their longer-term regional plans are clear."
As Qantas does not break down the contribution of each segment that makes up QantasLink, it is not possible to apply a conventional measure to the success of NJS.
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Higher plane for missions unflappable
By Geoffrey Thomas
March 26, 2004
SUCCESS in the cut-throat airline and air charter business that supports Australia's booming resource industry is all about getting planes to perform missions for which they were not designed - and achieving levels of reliability that only an aircraft salesman would dare to promise.
Adelaide-based National Jet Systems, which operates in its own right, as well as providing a significant number of QantasLink flights, has turned the much maligned British Aerospace BAe 146 into a thoroughbred that's winning contract after contract.
NJS traces its origins to the 1990 merger of Jet Systems and National Jet and the securing of a single contract operating passenger charter services for Santos between Adelaide and South Australia's Moomba natural gas fields with a BAe 146-100.
In 1991, the operation was expanded with three more 146-100s operating Queensland regional flights on behalf of Australian Airlink, Australian Airlines' then regional arm.
After Qantas took over Australian in 1994, the Airlink operation was more than doubled in size with expansion into resource-rich Western Australia. At this stage it was renamed QantasLink.
In 2000, NJS, which was started by aviation identity Warren Seymour, was sold to UK-based Cobham and comes under its FR Aviation Group umbrella.
It has 44 aircraft and 1000 staff across 18 locations, with five engineering centres and six support centres. NJS growth is due to Qantas's strategy of leasing-in equipment and crews to circumvent legacy union contracts that were a major factor in the demise of Ansett. This strategy has resulted in rather complex branding whereby NJS aircraft can be seen on the ramp in the colours of QantasLink, NJS and freight hauler Australian Air Express.
"We're the real low-cost airline in Australia. If we weren't, we wouldn't survive," claims NJS MD Daniela Marsilli. The carrier's costs were estimated by industry analysts as being up to 35 per cent below those of Ansett, which enabled the operation to snare more and more lucrative resource charter contracts for fly-in/fly-out shift changes.
The low-cost base also has enabled NJS's passenger jet fleet to grow from one BAe 146 in 1990 to 16 aircraft today. They also have eight freighters.
QantasLink accounts for ten BAe 146s, while six Avro RJ70s/BAe 146s operate under the NJS banner and another three use the colours of Australian Air Express (AAE), a joint venture between Qantas and Australia Post. Late last year, NJS acquired five 727-200Fs and related equipment and infrastructure from the administrator of TransAustralia Air, which had been contracted to AAE and subsequently won a $100million three-year contract to operate aircraft for AAE.
Championing the BAe-146 is NJS business development general manager Hugh Davin, who enthusiastically proclaims it to be the DC-3 of the jet age.
"Its performance is superb and on one contract the BAe 146 completed 588 flights with only three delays of more than 15 minutes."
The aircraft's performance into high-and-hot airfields in the outback has also been winning praise and enabling NJS/QantasLink to make a virtual clean sweep of resource contracts where jets are required.
"The BAe 146-100 can carry 71 miners and their baggage and equipment out of a 1800m runway on a 46 degree Celsius day and fly 1113 kilometres to Perth," says Mr Davin.
"Many of the airfields at the resource sites are short, and wedged between rugged iron ore ranges, making climb and engine-out performance critical."
NJS also operates flights in its own right to Cocos Island and Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean under an Australian Government contract won in 1998 from Ansett. Last year the contract for a twice-weekly service was renewed for another five years plus options.
Under the QantasLink banner the carrier operates flights from Perth to Port Hedland, Broome, Karratha, Kununurra, Paraburdoo, Newman, Alice Springs, Ayers Rock (Uluru) and Cairns.
On the downside, the QantasLink operation on the eastern seaboard has gone through a significant change since Qantas purchased low-cost competitor Impulse Airlines and took over leases on its fleet of 14 106-seat 717-200s.
Holding to its strategy of separating its various operations, Qantas has operated Impulse's 717s under the QantasLink brand with former Impulse staff employed under their original contracts.
This has affected the NJS BAe 146 operation, with many routes being taken over by 717s. The surplus BAe 146s have been disposed of or transferred to Western Australia to support growth in the resource sector.
But in the ever-changing airline business, NJS believes it is well positioned to increase its flying on behalf of Qantas as the latter moves its 717s to launch Jetstar, its new low-cost answer to Virgin Blue.
Jetstar has ordered A320s to replace the 717s, which are set to be phased out over the next two years.
Qantas has yet to determine its longer term fleet strategy for QantasLink. It has ordered more Dash 8 Q300s for short-range east coast missions but a BAe 146 replacement has slipped in priority.
Ms Marsilli has the Embraer 170 on the radar and NJS has done considerable work on the business case for that aircraft, although a large lease is in the 2006 timeframe due to production being tied up by orders from JetBlue and Air Canada.
"Our future with QantasLink very much depends on schedule requirements, and moving the 717s out is a positive for us," Ms Marsilli said.
"Right now, Qantas's focus is on Jetstar and it may be some time before their longer-term regional plans are clear."
As Qantas does not break down the contribution of each segment that makes up QantasLink, it is not possible to apply a conventional measure to the success of NJS.
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