NC JTE or QJE Parent company Cobham plc Founded 1989 | JTE or QJE JETEX or Q-JET Key people Peter Nottage, CEO Fleet size 35 | |
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Secondary hubs Darwin
Cairns
Perth
Brisbane Subsidiaries Surveillance Australia, Asia Pacific Airlines (PNG) Headquarters Adelaide Airport, South Australia Hubs Perth Airport, Brisbane Airport, Adelaide Airport, Cairns Airport, Darwin International Airport Parent organizations Cobham plc, FR Aviation Ltd. | ||
Cobham Aviation Services Australia (formerly National Jet Systems), is a scheduled and charter airline with its headquarters based in Adelaide, South Australia.
Contents
History
National Jet Systems (NJS) was established in 1989 and started operations on 1 July 1990. It soon commenced scheduled operations on behalf of Australian Airlines, mainly to tourist destinations in northern Australia, operating a fleet of BAe 146 aircraft under the Airlink brand. After Australian Airlines was taken over by Qantas it continued these operations, and in 2005 commenced operating Boeing 717 aircraft, the operation being rebranded as QantasLink at the same time. The services on behalf of QantasLink are contracted until 2026. In September 2014, Cobham announced it will require at least one Embraer E190 to use on its regional Barrow Island contract.
Operations
Cobham Aviation Services provides all crew and engineering support and services for QantasLink's Boeing 717 operations in Australia, and operates freight services for Australian air Express, along with charter services across its regional network for clients such as Chevron Corporation, Metals X, Karara Mining, Westgold and Gold Fields; resource companies that require Fly In/Fly Out (FIFO) services across remote Australia. Cobham Headquarters is at Adelaide Airport, with hubs at Cairns, Darwin, Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Hobart.
Cobham Aviation Services has developed "turnkey" transportation systems, including airport management and reservations services, for major Australian infrastructure projects such as Santos's Cooper Basin gas fields at Moomba and Ballera in the heart of Australia, Chevron's Barrow Island operations into a Class "A" nature reserve with strict quarantine requirements, along with operations for Ok Tedi gold and copper mine in Papua New Guinea.
Cobham Regional Services, also known as National Jet Express, or JetEx, conducts scheduled closed charter flights on its "regional network" and freight services on behalf of Australian air Express (AaE). JetEx operates three BAe 146 freighters on night freight services to and from curfew-restricted Sydney Airport, along with BAe 146 and RJ100 aircraft in Perth and Adelaide on scheduled closed charter flights for bluechip minings clients. Surveillance Australia, or Special Missions business unit operates a civilian aerial surveillance program on behalf of the Border Protection Command. Cobham Airline Services operates the QantasLink Boeing 717 aircraft, these flights use the "QF" IATA code and the ICAO code "QJE" (call sign 'Q-Jet').
In 2014 Cobham Aviation Services announced a four-year contract providing fly-in fly-out services to mining company Gold Fields, servicing Granny Smith and Darlot. As part of this contract Cobham will operate an 82-seat Avro RJ85 equipped with gravel kit allowing the jet aircraft to land on gravel runways. Consecutively, scheduled services to Kambalda ceased, with flights being transferred to Skippers Aviation.
Cobham Aviation Services will introduce the first Embraer E190 to be used in the Australian closed charter sector in 2015. The 104 seat E190 will operate in addition to the Avro RJ100 servicing Chevron Corporation's natural gas operations in Western Australia. The contract is said to be worth more than $160 million.
On 24 October 2014, Australian Maritime Safety Authority awarded a new contract to Cobham SAR Services Pty Ltd to commence in August 2016 for a minimum of twelve years valued at $640 million AUD with three one-year contract extension options which would take the full value to over $700 million AUD. They will replace AeroRescue Pty Ltd who have been operating Dornier 328P aircraft. Cobham SAR Services Pty Ltd will operate four Bombardier CL-604 aircraft specially modified and equipped for the contract, based at Cairns, Melbourne, and Perth.
Flights from Adelaide to Moomba and Ballera ceased on 29 February 2016. This marked the end of Cobham-branded passenger services from Adelaide which had begun 25 years previously. This does not affect QantasLink services operated by Cobham.
Destinations
Cobham's operations can be broken into four separate branches; it flies scheduled services on its own behalf. Scheduled operations on behalf of QantasLink and AaE. It also has an extensive closed charter operation in support of the mining industry.
Fleet
As of February 2016 the Cobham fleet consists of the following aircraft: