National Jet Systems

National Jet Systems, formerly Cobham Aviation Services Australia - Airline Services, is an Australian regional airline based at Adelaide Airport, operating regular scheduled services as part of the QantasLink brand.[1]

Not to be confused with its former sister company National Jet Express.

National Jet Systems
IATA ICAO Callsign
QF QJE[1] Q-JET
Founded1989
AOC #CASA.TAAOC.0213
Hubs
Frequent-flyer programQantas Frequent Flyer
AllianceOneworld (affiliate)
Fleet size20[2]
Destinations22
Parent companyQantas
HeadquartersAdelaide, Australia[1]

History

Foundation and early years
A former National Jet Systems Avro RJ70 in 2003.

National Jet Systems was established in 1989 and started operations on 1 July 1990. Initial flights commenced in 1991 on behalf of Australian Airlines, mainly to tourist destinations in northern Australia, operating a fleet of four British Aerospace 146-100 aircraft under Australian’s Airlink brand.

In 1992, Australian Airlines was acquired by Qantas, and the aircraft operated by National Jet on behalf of Airlink were repainted in a modified Qantas livery.[3] The fleet was expanded in 1993 with the addition of three leased BAe 146-200 aircraft and two chartered BAe 146-300 aircraft, which commenced operations in 1994 from Brisbane and Cairns, respectively.[4]

In 1994, National Jet Express was established as a subsidiary to operate charter and scheduled services using National Jet's own branding, as well as freighter aircraft on behalf of Australian Air Express.[5] Another subsidiary, Surveillance Australia, was also awarded the Australian Coastwatch contract to operate fixed-wing aerial surveillance aircraft and patrols in the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone (AEEZ).[6][7][8]

In 1999, National Jet Systems, including National Jet Express and Surveillance Australia, were acquired by Cobham for £24.5 million.[9]

In 2002, Qantas launched QantasLink as a single brand for their regional airline subsidiaries and operations, and the livery on aircraft operated for QantasLink was updated to reflect the new name.[10]

In 2005, the airline commenced operating ex-Jetstar Boeing 717-200 aircraft on behalf of QantasLink[11] in Western Australia, and transferred the remaining BAe 146 fleet to its National Jet Express subsidiary. All eught 717s formerly operated by Jetstar were transferred to National Jet Systems by October 2007.[12]

In March 2007, the Boeing 717 operations agreement was renewed, and included an expansion of the fleet from eight to eleven aircraft. National Jet also commenced a program with Qantas and Rolls-Royce to upgrade the aircraft to the 'High Gross Weight' specification, which increased their thrust from 18,500lbs to 21,000lbs per engine, and was aimed at improving passenger-carrying performance in hot conditions.[13]

In 2009, National Jet Systems was rebranded Cobham Aviation Services Australia - Airline Services to align its branding with the broader Cobham Group and to differentiate its role from that of National Jet Express.

Development since 2010

In 2011, the contract for operation of Boeing 717 aircraft on behalf of QantasLink was extended until 2018. Valued at $AUD500 million, the extension also increased the size of the B717 fleet from 11 to 13 aircraft, and expanded operations into Queensland.[14]

In 2013, an additional five Boeing 717 jets were acquired to support flights from Canberra to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.[15]

In April 2015, the company ceased performing heavy maintenance on the QantasLink Boeing 717 fleet as a result of the work moving in-house to Qantas.[16]

In July 2016, the contract for operation of Boeing 717 aircraft on behalf of QantasLink was renewed for a further 10 years. The value of the contract was stated as being $AUD1.2 billion.[17]

In January 2020, it was included in the takeover of Cobham by Advent International.[18] In May 2020 Qantas purchased the National Jet Systems division, with National Jet Express and Surveillance Australia remaining under Cobham ownership. The transition to Qantas ownership was completed in July 2020.[19] In August 2020 the bases at Cairns Airport and Perth Airport were closed.[20]

Destinations

National Jet Systems serves the following destinations as part of Qantas Link:

Fleet
A National Jet Systems Boeing 717-200 in QantasLink livery.

Current fleet

As of January 2023 the National Jet Systems fleet consists of the following aircraft:[21]

Aircraft In service On order Notes
Airbus A220-300 — 29 Will be operated on behalf of QantasLink
Boeing 717-200 16 — Operated on behalf of QantasLink
Total 20 —

Historic fleet

National Jet Systems previously also operated the following aircraft types:

Incidents
  • 13 October 2010: A National Jet Systems Boeing 717-200, operating in Qantas livery, was close to stalling. The flight from Perth to Kalgoorlie had two 'stick shaker' (stall) warnings. They were caused by the pilot entering the wrong weight of the aircraft into the flight management system (FMS), and by the pilots not following correct stall recovery procedures.[22][23]
  • 27 May 2015: A National Jet Systems Boeing 717-200, operating from Brisbane to Gladstone in Qantas livery, was on its initial climb out of Brisbane when it suffered a 'stick shaker' (stall) warning. It was caused by the pilot retracting the flaps by mistake.[24]

See also

References
  1. ch-aviation.com - Cobham Aviation Services Australia - Airline Services retrieved 11 March 2023
  2. "Login required".
  3. "VH-NJC. British Aerospace 146-100A. c/n E1013". Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  4. "AUSTRALIAN AIRLINK (PTY.), LTD". Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  5. "NATIONAL JET EXPRESS PTY LTD ACN 063 561 482".
  6. "Surveillance Australia Pty Ltd - Submission to the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit - Review of Coastwatch" (PDF).
  7. "Australian Coastwatch".
  8. "Surveillance Australia wins Coastwatch prize". 10 January 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  9. "Coastal watch sold to British". Australian Financial Review. 20 December 1999. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  10. "The QantasLink Group".
  11. "QantasLink deal to NJS". 15 February 2005. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  12. "What Happened To Jetstar's Boeing 717 Fleet?". 4 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  13. "QantasLink Expands Fleet To 11 Planes". 27 March 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  14. "Cobham extends QantasLink contract with Qantas". 18 October 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  15. "Back to the future as reborn DC-3 returns to Canberra". Australian Aviation. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  16. "COBHAM EXPECTS JOB LOSSES AFTER LOSING QANTAS 717 HEAVY MAINTENANCE WORK". 13 April 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  17. "COBHAM GETS 10-YEAR, A$1.2 BILLION CONTRACT EXTENSION FOR QANTASLINK 717 FLYING". 4 July 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  18. "Advent completes £4 billion takeover of Cobham". Advent International. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  19. "Qantas buys Cobham Aviation; to take B717s in-house". 22 May 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  20. "Qantas to close B717 bases in Cairns, Perth". 27 August 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  21. "planespotters.net - National Jet Systems".
  22. "Pilot error throws Qantas flight into near-chaos". News.com.au. News Corp Australia. 10 February 2012.
  23. Sandilands, Ben (9 February 2012). "ATSB report into Qantaslink 717 incident says crew entered wrong flight data and didn't follow operating procedures". Plane Talking. Crikey. Archived from the original on 13 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  24. "ATSB report: Stickshaker activation involving a Boeing 717-200". Australian Transport Safety Bureau. 22 December 2015.

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