Cobham Aviation Services Australia

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 Australian’s Airlink brand. After Australian Airlines merged with Qantas, these operations continued using QantasLink branding. The Boeing 717 entered the fleet in 2005, with the Qantas-branded BAe 146s being transferred to National Jet’s charter division.

National Jet Express (NJE) was established to operate charter and scheduled services using National Jet’s own branding, using BAe 146, BAe Jetstream and Dash 8 aircraft, and freighter services on behalf of Australian air Express using the BAe 146 and Boeing 727. For a short time in the 1990s, NJE operated a Boeing 737-300.[1] NJE’s scheduled services included Australian Indian Ocean Territories and Kambalda, which ended in 2010 and 2012 respectively. National Jet was rebranded to Cobham Aviation Services Australia in 2009, to align it with parent company Cobham plc. In 2014, Cobham announced it would acquire an Embraer E190 to use on its closed charter services to Barrow Island.[2] The first aircraft was introduced in 2015, and withdrawn in 2018, with a second being sourced in May 2019. In June 2018, Cobham donated the forward section of one of their retired BAe 146 aircraft to the South Australian Aviation Museum. The section features the flight deck, forward galley and cabin, and is intended to be turned into an interactive exhibit.[3] Cobham introduced the Q400 into the charter fleet in August 2019.[4] Cobham continues to operate its fleet of BAe 146 freighters, now using Qantas Freight branding.

Cobham Aviation Services, and its parent company Cobham plc, were acquired by Advent International in January 2020.[5] In May 2020, the Qantas Group purchased the National Jet Systems division, operating the Boeing 717 on behalf of Qantas, for an undisclosed sum. The transition to Qantas ownership was completed in July 2020.[6] National Jet Express, operating charter and freight services, remains owned by Advent International.

Cobham Aviation Services provides aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for the Australian Government using highly modified Dash 8 aircraft.[7]

Cobham Aviation Services operates freight services for Qantas Freight, 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.[8]

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 Qantas Freight.[9] JetEx operates four BAe 146 freighters on night freight services to and from curfew-restricted Sydney Airport, along with BAe 146, Avro RJ, Embraer E190 and Q400 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.[10] Cobham Airline Services operated the QantasLink Boeing 717 aircraft, these flights used 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.[11] Consecutively, scheduled services to Kambalda ceased, with flights being transferred to Skippers Aviation.

Cobham Aviation Services introduced the first Embraer E190 to be used in the Australian closed charter sector in 2015. The 104 seat E190 operated in addition to the Avro RJ100 servicing Chevron Corporation's natural gas operations in Western Australia. The contract was said to be worth more than $160 million.[12]

On 24 October 2014, Australian Maritime Safety Authority awarded a new contract[13] 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.[14] 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.[15]

Flights from Adelaide to Moomba and Ballera ceased on 29 February 2016. At that time, it marked the end of Cobham-branded passenger services from Adelaide which had begun 25 years previously. Flights from Adelaide, servicing Port Augusta and Prominent Hill, commenced in August 2017.[16]

Cobham introduced the Q400 onto their closed charter services in August 2019.[17] Boeing 717 services on behalf of QantasLink ended in July 2020, after which that division became a fully owned subsidiary of Qantas.

Cobham BAe 146s at Perth Airport, in the new livery.

National Jet Avro RJ70 at Perth Airport (2003), in the old livery.

Cobham BAe 146-300QT in the colours of Australian air Express

A Boeing 717 in QantasLink livery at Canberra Airport, November 2013, operated by Cobham at the time

National Jet BAe 146-200 at Sydney Airport

Cobham's operations can be broken into two separate branches: scheduled operations on behalf of Qantas Freight, and an extensive closed charter operation in support of the mining industry.[18][19]

Cobham charter services

• Western Australia
  • Barrow Island
  • Darlot
  • Granny Smith
  • Jundee Gold Mine
  • Karara
  • Meekatharra
  • Murrin Murrin Joint Venture (Murrin Murrin)
  • Perth (Perth Airport)
  • Plutonic Gold Mine
  • Mount Keith
  • Nova Nickel-Copper Mine
  • Leonora
  • Laverton
  • Tropicana Gold Mine
• South Australia
  • Adelaide (Adelaide Airport)
  • Port Augusta
  • Prominent Hill
  • Carrapateena

Freight scheduled destinations for Qantas Freight

• Queensland
  • Brisbane (Brisbane Airport)
• Victoria
  • Melbourne (Melbourne Airport)
• New South Wales
  • Sydney (Sydney Airport)
• South Australia
  • Adelaide (Adelaide Airport)

As of January 2021 the Cobham fleet consists of the following aircraft:[20]

• 13 October 2010: A Cobham 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]
• 29 April 2014: The no. 2 engine of a Cobham Aviation Avro RJ100, registration VH-NJI, failed shortly after take-off from Perth. Witnesses described a trail of sparks leaving the back of the No. 2 (left-hand, inner) engine. The aircraft made a successful landing with no injuries.[24][25]
• 27 May 2015: A Cobham 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.[26]

• 30 July 2019: A Cobham Aviation Avro RJ85 made contact with a lighting structure at Perth Airport and was subsequently damaged beyond economical repair. The final report attributed a loss of brake pressure and pilot error as contributing factors.[27]

• Sir Alan Cobham, who flew from Britain to Australia in August 1926. 60,000 were at Essendon Airport, Melbourne to welcome him.
• List of airlines of Australia

Media related to National Jet Systems at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website