Flying high/The increased demand for fly-in fly-out workers is leading some Australian airlines down the expansion path

摘要

Mining rarely makes the evening TV news, unless there has been a major tragedy on a mine site or BHP Billiton has unveiled another record-breaking profit. So the amount of interest from the commercial TV stations in the potential of industrial action at National Jet shows just how important fly-in fly-out services have become. Through its own charter services and operation of the regional QantasLink jet service, National Jet is arguably the largest provider of fly-in fly-out services in Australia, with the bulk of its work taking it to Western Australia's Pilbara. National Jet general manager Greg Marshall told Australia's Mining Monthly the company operated "for Rio Tinto, Minara, Newcrest" and also operated an aircraft for Bristow Helicopters flying oil and gas workers to Barrow Island. It plies those routes with its BAE146 aircraft. Marshall said the company also had a BAE146 jet in Adelaide to service Santos Cooper Basin operations.