Skywest expansion - more F100s & A320 in 2008
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Skywest expansion - more F100s & A320 in 2008
From The Australian:
Skywest adds two Fokkers
Geoffrey Thomas | December 07, 2007
THE rise of Perth-based Skywest Airlines has continued with the delivery of two more 100-seat Fokker 100 jets and a move for regulatory approval to fly a 180-seat A320.
The two Fokker 100s take the airline's fleet to five jets - with one more (Fokker 100) for delivery in March - plus seven 46-seat Fokker 50 turboprops.
Skywest is also looking at an additional two Fokker 100s to meet demand as it closes on a number of major resource fly-in/fly-out contracts.
The airline's managing director, Hugh Davin, was coy about details of the contracts but confirmed that the airline was about to launch its air operator's certificate application for the Airbus A320, due for delivery in November next year.
Mr Davin was lured back to Skywest 12 months ago from National Jet Systems, in the most significant management move in the West Australian airline industry in decades, to lead the Perth-based carrier's drive into the resource sector.
Mr Davin spent 23 years with Skywest before leaving in 1993 over concerns about retaining the Coastwatch contract and the airline's development of the resources market.
In 1994, he set up NJS in Western Australia with just two BAe146s. Over the next 12 years, the NJS fleet grew to 18 jets, based in Western Australia, and the airline secured work with most of Australia's blue chip mining companies, the Coastwatch contract and also the right to operate a fleet of eight Boeing 717s for QantasLink.
In the past 12 months, Mr Davin, aided by new CEO Paul Daff, formerly of Jetstar Asia, and COO Mike Hoar, has taken Skywest's jet fleet from three Fokker 100s operating just five hours a day to five operating or contracted to operate from December1 for almost 11 hours a day.
The new management team at Skywest turned around the airline's operational performance, which had suffered because of a lack of focus. They improved elements such as on-time performance, which has soared from a low of 77 per cent late last year to 99 per cent in September.
The turnaround has also been marked with a significant lift in revenue and profits. The airline has just announced a 33 per cent jump in revenue to $103 million for the 2006-07 year and a 50 per cent lift in profit to $6.28 million despite much higher fuel costs and a $3.76 million one-off tax charge. The revenue rise was boosted by a 62 per cent increase in charter work from the resource sector, while RPT (Regular Public Transport) revenue rose 25 per cent.
Skywest has lifted its scheduled charter revenue from a "low base" in 2003 to about $35 million in the 2006-07 year.
Skywest's plans for an A320 were first mentioned in September last year but put on hold until Mr Davin arrived early this year. Originally the airline announced an ambitious lease of four aircraft, but that has been scaled back to one to be delivered in November next year. Yet insiders suggest that by the time the first arrives, a second will be scheduled. Long-term plans still call for at least four A320s.
The A320s would be used to meet increasing demand on routes such as Perth-Broome and Perth-Karratha and for resource contracts.
Skywest finds itself in a unique position in Western Australia in that it can combine RPT and scheduled charter on the same flight. This is valuable for the larger resource-sector clients, who are required by the state Government to support local communities in return for their right to mine certain resources.
Regards,
David
Skywest adds two Fokkers
Geoffrey Thomas | December 07, 2007
THE rise of Perth-based Skywest Airlines has continued with the delivery of two more 100-seat Fokker 100 jets and a move for regulatory approval to fly a 180-seat A320.
The two Fokker 100s take the airline's fleet to five jets - with one more (Fokker 100) for delivery in March - plus seven 46-seat Fokker 50 turboprops.
Skywest is also looking at an additional two Fokker 100s to meet demand as it closes on a number of major resource fly-in/fly-out contracts.
The airline's managing director, Hugh Davin, was coy about details of the contracts but confirmed that the airline was about to launch its air operator's certificate application for the Airbus A320, due for delivery in November next year.
Mr Davin was lured back to Skywest 12 months ago from National Jet Systems, in the most significant management move in the West Australian airline industry in decades, to lead the Perth-based carrier's drive into the resource sector.
Mr Davin spent 23 years with Skywest before leaving in 1993 over concerns about retaining the Coastwatch contract and the airline's development of the resources market.
In 1994, he set up NJS in Western Australia with just two BAe146s. Over the next 12 years, the NJS fleet grew to 18 jets, based in Western Australia, and the airline secured work with most of Australia's blue chip mining companies, the Coastwatch contract and also the right to operate a fleet of eight Boeing 717s for QantasLink.
In the past 12 months, Mr Davin, aided by new CEO Paul Daff, formerly of Jetstar Asia, and COO Mike Hoar, has taken Skywest's jet fleet from three Fokker 100s operating just five hours a day to five operating or contracted to operate from December1 for almost 11 hours a day.
The new management team at Skywest turned around the airline's operational performance, which had suffered because of a lack of focus. They improved elements such as on-time performance, which has soared from a low of 77 per cent late last year to 99 per cent in September.
The turnaround has also been marked with a significant lift in revenue and profits. The airline has just announced a 33 per cent jump in revenue to $103 million for the 2006-07 year and a 50 per cent lift in profit to $6.28 million despite much higher fuel costs and a $3.76 million one-off tax charge. The revenue rise was boosted by a 62 per cent increase in charter work from the resource sector, while RPT (Regular Public Transport) revenue rose 25 per cent.
Skywest has lifted its scheduled charter revenue from a "low base" in 2003 to about $35 million in the 2006-07 year.
Skywest's plans for an A320 were first mentioned in September last year but put on hold until Mr Davin arrived early this year. Originally the airline announced an ambitious lease of four aircraft, but that has been scaled back to one to be delivered in November next year. Yet insiders suggest that by the time the first arrives, a second will be scheduled. Long-term plans still call for at least four A320s.
The A320s would be used to meet increasing demand on routes such as Perth-Broome and Perth-Karratha and for resource contracts.
Skywest finds itself in a unique position in Western Australia in that it can combine RPT and scheduled charter on the same flight. This is valuable for the larger resource-sector clients, who are required by the state Government to support local communities in return for their right to mine certain resources.
Regards,
David
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topend3 wrote:
As long as Jetstar 'absorb' the flight and cabin crews, then that would be alright by me! 
i've also heard NJS are going to lose the QFLink contract and Jetstar are going to assume these routes with A319 equipment...or retain the 717's...
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The only problem Jetracer is that of seniority. If indeed Jetstar do take over QFLink in W.A. with A319's you would expect current Jetstar F/O's to get the command positions and the current NJS pilots may have to start down the bottom of the pack.
Is that still ok with you?
Is that still ok with you?
i've also heard NJS are going to lose the QFLink contract and Jetstar are going to assume these routes with A319 equipment...or retain the 717's...
Plusi cant see JQ getting any/many contracts at all, most companys like the full service carriers and for one companys, flights for FIFO workers must have food and drink provided and alcohol at the persons own cost. They also like the fact the plane has Qantas written on it............
Really cant see JQ taking over, it would have major implications for both QF and NJS and QF wouldnt take any contracts with them would they? since they are all run under NJS (717 services anyway).
Hard to say if JQ would do well in WA, think DJ will do alright when they get their A into G. JQ just dont have the offerings the others do ie. FF programs (unless you par horrendous fares on JQ), food+drink etc etc
Also i really cannont see QF canabalising their own markets, which they must make a killing on especially where there is no or barely any competiton, PER-KTA, PER-Hedland and PER-BRM must do alright for them as well.
must have food and drink provided and alcohol at the persons own cost
DJ have been sniffing around for contracts and I know they are planning to visit the Pilbara ports early in '08 to look at options for operating the E-Jets...
i thought JQ did this, you can buy meals and drinks, most of the internal sectors are 2 hrs or less so is this really an issue? If JQ can do it at a much lower cost then why wouldn't this be an attractive option for QF?
On topic.........
Will be interesting to see what Skywest do with the 320, Hopefully they give KTA and BRM a daily service each with it, even do a PER-KTA-BRM-PER simialr to what NJS used to do.
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article quote......."approval to fly a 180-seat A320"
ok men,fill me in.....whats the config(seats) of the A-320,that they can cram 180 seats in this beitch..... obviously no first class,.....enlighten me
ok men,fill me in.....whats the config(seats) of the A-320,that they can cram 180 seats in this beitch..... obviously no first class,.....enlighten me
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pakeha-boy if you have done most of flying in North America, you may not have experienced planes that give passengers far less comfort than the planes in North America.
Where 737-200s used to have 112-121 seats in AirNZ single class service, the Inclusive Tour airlines in UK/Europe had 130 seats. You sat in these planes for three or four hours to go on your annual holiday.
When the first LCCs started in Europe, they adopted IT seating, so Easyjet had 149 seats in a 737-300 where Southwest had 138 or 142 seats. Ryanair operates 737-800s with 189 seats.
Easy tried operating A219s with 156 seats, but they had to take some seat out. In North America, I think Skybus is hoping to use 156 seats in A319s, that is the first US carrier to introduce European levels of comfort.
180 seats in normal for a European IT/LCC carrier, and that is round about the seating capacity of Tiger and Jetstar in Australian service.
If Skywest is wanting to win mining charters with A320s in 180 seat configuration, the mining companies will expect some feedback from their employees about the tight seating configuration.
Where 737-200s used to have 112-121 seats in AirNZ single class service, the Inclusive Tour airlines in UK/Europe had 130 seats. You sat in these planes for three or four hours to go on your annual holiday.
When the first LCCs started in Europe, they adopted IT seating, so Easyjet had 149 seats in a 737-300 where Southwest had 138 or 142 seats. Ryanair operates 737-800s with 189 seats.
Easy tried operating A219s with 156 seats, but they had to take some seat out. In North America, I think Skybus is hoping to use 156 seats in A319s, that is the first US carrier to introduce European levels of comfort.
180 seats in normal for a European IT/LCC carrier, and that is round about the seating capacity of Tiger and Jetstar in Australian service.
If Skywest is wanting to win mining charters with A320s in 180 seat configuration, the mining companies will expect some feedback from their employees about the tight seating configuration.