Nexus Airlines - WA regional airline

[Icarus2001]

So does anyone have much information on this new company?

www.nexusairlines.com.au

Part of long running Kununurra company Aviair which is owned by HMC Group.

https://www.businessnewsaustralia.com/articles/nexus-airlines-launched-to-service-regional-wa.html

[aussieflyboy]

Slingair and BAS joined together to make Aviair what it is today.

The owner is well connected on a government level so will have significant funding thrown towards the intra state service. Services like what they are proposing wouldn’t be profitable without government support.

[PoppaJo]

I assume the AOC process is well underway as that is a very tight timeframe until operations start, especially if it’s a Nexus AOC not adding more types onto Aviair.

[Alice Kiwican]

I assume the AOC process is well underway as that is a very tight timeframe until operations start, especially if it’s a Nexus AOC not adding more types onto Aviair.

They have been getting prepared for the last 12 months at least I believe

[1234fly]

Owned by aviair. Known for the bonds they make pilots take. It will probably be around 1million dollars for a q400 with a 999year return of service. Pilots to clean plane after every flight

[Saintly]

Would be good to see the Dash 8-400 at CVQ. But not sure the runway can handle an aircraft of that size? Currently CVQ has the Saab 340 (Rex) land there in terms of RPT flights

[topend3]

$422 from Geraldton to Karratha on the 10th of July.

[geeup]

SlingAir gets a Q400.. fark me

[NaFenn]

At it is right now, a Q400 can't go into carnarvon... Not without some form of pavement concession and probably an adjustment to the apron area.

Perth - Carnarvon is also a fully regulated route (So only one airline can provide that service as there isnt enough demand)

[Capn Bloggs]

CVQ must have gone to the dogs because there were F-28s by the truckload going in there in the 70s and 80s. :}

[BuzzBox]

CVQ must have gone to the dogs because there were F-28s by the truckload going in there in the 70s and 80s. :}

It’s been seriously degraded for years. As I recall, there was talk of building a new airport to the north of the townsite about 10-15 years ago, but that was dropped in favour of a new runway and terminal to the east of the existing facilities. Meanwhile, nothing much has been done and the existing runway continues to be patched up every so often.

[topend3]

I think their plan is probably to get set up then bid for the other regulated routes off Rex. A Q400 can get into CVQ with a pavement concession from the council.

[megan]

Advertising that they begin ops to Kununurra and Darwin in July.

[Icarus2001]

Well given Kununurra is the base I guess, Kununurra to Darwin and return?

I will be fascinated to see their transition to RPT as it used to be known and how they will keep cabin crew based in Kununurra.

Good luck.

[megan]

given Kununurra is the baseRaises the question as to where are the aircraft maintained and the operational base at the moment as Kununurra is not currently on the schedule, though they list a Kununurra number for contact.?

[aussieflyboy]

Raises the question as to where are the aircraft maintained and the operational base at the moment as Kununurra is not currently on the schedule, though they list a Kununurra number for contact.?

They took over BASs big Hangar in Broome so could be maintained there. I’d suspect somewhere in Perth as there’d be plenty of Dash Engineers down there - Cobham (NJE) maybe?

[topend3]

They've been advertising for Geraldton based engineers.

[markis10]

They've been advertising for Geraldton based engineers.

Makes sense to do,it in-house given they have a fleet of 6 coming

[aussieflyboy]

Makes sense to do,it in-house given they have a fleet of 6 coming

Like Qantas does…

[topend3]

https://australianaviation.com.au/2023/05/wa-government-disappointed-in-rex-reliability/

gearing up for a change

[Icarus2001]

Interesting that they do not seem to be advertising for line pilots, only C & T pilots. I see adverts for cabin crew and engineers as well. Six frames eh? Well that means about twenty pilots surely? Good luck with that.

[Tbot]

Interesting that they do not seem to be advertising for line pilots, only C & T pilots. I see adverts for cabin crew and engineers as well. Six frames eh? Well that means about twenty pilots surely? Good luck with that.

I would dare say they are banking or internal recruitment from their B200/PC12/C208 guys. Given the state of recruitment/opportunities nationally, these guys/girls would be mad to accept.

[deja vu]

Interesting that they do not seem to be advertising for line pilots, only C & T pilots. I see adverts for cabin crew and engineers as well. Six frames eh? Well that means about twenty pilots surely? Good luck with that.
If they are serious they will need 5 crews per aircraft, I make that 60 pilots.
1 Crew on a day off
1 crew on leave
1 crew on standby
1 crew for AM flights
1 crew for PM flights
...then there is sickness, simulator, compassionate leave etc. Mind you at least one aircraft would be in maintenance at any one time.

[Icarus2001]

Well I had guessed that but pulling 15-20 pilots across to the Nexus operation leaves a large hole to fill.

If they are serious they will need 5 crews per aircraft, I make that 60 pilots.

That is why I said 20.:E​​​​​​​

[Tbot]

Well I had guessed that but pulling 15-20 pilots across to the Nexus operation leaves a large hole to fill.

Absoloutely it will.

[deja vu]

Well I had guessed that but pulling 15-20 pilots across to the Nexus operation leaves a large hole to fill.



That is why I said 20.:E
You obviously know them better than I do, but I get your drift.

There was a time when we had regulator who would require an RPT or Reg 203 operator to have sufficient crew available to ensure advertised services could be legally completed. Ah, the good old days.

[the_rookie]

Didn't they start advertising for crew months ago? I'm sure I saw it online

[aussieflyboy]

I would dare say they are banking or internal recruitment from their B200/PC12/C208 guys. Given the state of recruitment/opportunities nationally, these guys/girls would be mad to accept.

Might be hard for some to understand but there are some people who would love to live in the Kimberley!

[BuzzBox]

Didn't they start advertising for crew months ago? I'm sure I saw it online

Line pilot positions based in Broome were advertised on SEEK around Oct/Nov last year.

[Saintly]

CVQ must have gone to the dogs because there were F-28s by the truckload going in there in the 70s and 80s. :}

BAe 146 aircraft also flew to CVQ as well.

[Saintly]

It’s been seriously degraded for years. As I recall, there was talk of building a new airport to the north of the townsite about 10-15 years ago, but that was dropped in favour of a new runway and terminal to the east of the existing facilities. Meanwhile, nothing much has been done and the existing runway continues to be patched up every so often.

There's a new terminal but not sure much work has been done on the existing runway to strengthen it to accommodate larger aircraft (beyond MTOW of 22,000kg)

[Saintly]

At it is right now, a Q400 can't go into carnarvon... Not without some form of pavement concession and probably an adjustment to the apron area.

Perth - Carnarvon is also a fully regulated route (So only one airline can provide that service as there isnt enough demand)

But once contract/agreement has expired (currently carried out by REX) then Nexus could put in a bid once tender becomes available?

[Saintly]

I think their plan is probably to get set up then bid for the other regulated routes off Rex. A Q400 can get into CVQ with a pavement concession from the council.

Just to clarify mate, what's a "Pavement Concession"?

[Mach E Avelli]

Just to clarify mate, what's a "Pavement Concession"?
That's the thing you get from the airport owner that permits you to tear up their tarmac in order to bring cashed up tourists to town or cashed up bogans to your mine site.
Sometimes you have to let some air out of your tyres to keep CASA happy and buy a few litres of fuel from the local guys to keep them happy.
The way they encourage fuel sales is by restricting weight so you land on vapours.

[Saintly]

That's the thing you get from the airport owner that permits you to tear up their tarmac in order to bring cashed up tourists to town or cashed up bogans to your mine site.
Sometimes you have to let some air out of your tyres to keep CASA happy and buy a few litres of fuel from the local guys to keep them happy.
The way they encourage fuel sales is by restricting weight so you land on vapours.

And the owners of CVQ airport i think are the Carnarvon Shire.

[Badengo]

They took over BASs big Hangar in Broome so could be maintained there. I’d suspect somewhere in Perth as there’d be plenty of Dash Engineers down there - Cobham (NJE) maybe?

The BAS hangar in Broome is tiny, the 400 would never fit, also the 400 is too large for that taxiway.

NJE (Rex) are busy enough and share no love with another 400 operator. There’s a lot of engineers in Perth, but one cannot just work for other companies, way too much paperwork involved and good luck getting the permission to do so.

So there’s actually no hangar large enough north of Perth in all of Western Australia that can accommodate the 400, even Darwin- none there too.
But, sheds are cheap and with 6 to 12 aircraft expected that may be the best option.

[smiling monkey]

But once contract/agreement has expired (currently carried out by REX) then Nexus could put in a bid once tender becomes available?

We may not have to wait for the contract to expire by the looks of things.

https://amp.abc.net.au/article/102472374

And this is an absolute disgrace. I can understand if the diversion was a tech issue, but this appears not to be.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-08/rex-airline-flight-fails-to-make-scheduled-monkey-mia-stop/102450024

[Icarus2001]

It almost reads like a softening up in preparation for a withdrawal from the WA market.

sheds are cheap and with 6 to 12 aircraft expected that may be the best option.

Where did you get up to 12 airframes from?

[NaFenn]

And this is an absolute disgrace. I can understand if the diversion was a tech issue, but this appears not to be.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-08/rex-airline-flight-fails-to-make-scheduled-monkey-mia-stop/102450024
Rex's PR is atrocious. The issue with Monkey Mia is simple - it doesn't have the facilities for an RPT service to land at night or in poor weather. I can't speak for that particular incident, but if the flight was delayed to the point that they would have gotten there at night, or if the weather was crap then that's all they had to say. Keeping tight lipped for the sake of keeping tight lipped has shot them in the foot there as it is giving the public the impression that they skipped Monkey Mia because they felt like it.

[ebt]

Rex's PR is atrocious. The issue with Monkey Mia is simple - it doesn't have the facilities for an RPT service to land at night or in poor weather. I can't speak for that particular incident, but if the flight was delayed to the point that they would have gotten there at night, or if the weather was crap then that's all they had to say. Keeping tight lipped for the sake of keeping tight lipped has shot them in the foot there as it is giving the public the impression that they skipped Monkey Mia because they felt like it.

It was quite nice of them to put it back on the state Department of Transport when they are the ones who caused the issue. The tender for RPT services closed late last year but as nothing has been announced I wonder if there has been a bit of a hiccup. In theory the current contract/license runs to the end of June but there is an option to extend until a new operator steps in, so watch this space.

Rex are also getting savaged by the Esperance community over cancellations, and it wouldn't surprise me if DoT were getting a little sick of the excuses. Ironically, the airline did pretty well by the state during the pandemic but now they seem to have dropped the ball. It seems to me that could be the opportunity for Nexus, given they have a HeliSpirit base there and as they come from a tourism company they would probably do a better job of building up traffic and attracting visitors than Rex could.

[Mach E Avelli]

.

There was a time when we had regulator who would require an RPT or Reg 203 operator to have sufficient crew available to ensure advertised services could be legally completed. Ah, the good old days.

Getting an RPT AOC after the two airline policy was scrapped was easier back then than it is now. Not that it was ever easy...
If they don't have enough crew, or enough engineers, or access to a suitable maintenance facility, or suffer any other lack of required staffing, training and infrastructure, they won't be issued an AOC or a variation to their existing AOC (should that be their chosen path).
Having agreements in place with the W.A. Government will obviously be a good thing in showing viability, but the very thing CASA do NOT look at (and should) is viability. CASA never seems to look at funding, only whether or not the operation complies with all their complex rules.
I wish them well, as it is time W.A.regional air services got a good shake-up and some half decent equipment.

[Saintly]

Getting an RPT AOC after the two airline policy was scrapped was easier back then than it is now. Not that it was ever easy...
If they don't have enough crew, or enough engineers, or access to a suitable maintenance facility, or suffer any other lack of required staffing, training and infrastructure, they won't be issued an AOC or a variation to their existing AOC (should that be their chosen path).
Having agreements in place with the W.A. Government will obviously be a good thing in showing viability, but the very thing CASA do NOT look at (and should) is viability. CASA never seems to look at funding, only whether or not the operation complies with all their complex rules.
I wish them well, as it is time W.A.regional air services got a good shake-up and some half decent equipment.

Well said. WA regional aviation needs reliable air services.

[BuzzBox]

I see they’re advertising again for a Q400 Training Manager, having first advertised the position last year. Did they fail to find somebody suitable the first time, or did the person appointed leave before they even commenced operations?

[Skippy69]

Management told them that they would still have duty pilot days so as any respectable person over the age of about 28 would do- they probs told em' to stick it. 😍

[Mach E Avelli]

I see they’re advertising again for a Q400 Training Manager, having first advertised the position last year. Did they fail to find somebody suitable the first time, or did the person appointed leave before they even commenced operations?

Management told them that they would still have duty pilot days so as any respectable person over the age of about 28 would do- they probs told em' to stick it. 😍
If you are a management pilot you are always on duty. Just make sure the money is worth it.
And if you tick all the CASA boxes to be a management pilot don't sign a bond... they need you !

[Checkboard]

Local news advertising event:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=806153417885360&ref=sharing

[Saintly]

I see Rex (through NJE) are using Dash 8-400 aircraft to fly to CVQ starting from November.

[Icarus2001]

So they are up and running and selling tickets. Any feedback on how operations are going? I really hope it works, great for the local communities they serve.