WA regional carrier Nexus is claiming early success with a push to service remote fly-in, fly-out mining operations from Geraldton and Broome.
As Perth Airport and the surrounding metropolis become increasingly crowded, Nexus chief executive Michael McConachy said companies and workers were keen to staff mines from the prime coastal communities.
“The companies economic powerhouse is an hour’s flight away from them directly,” said Mr McConachy, pointing to the massive demand for skilled and unskilled workers across the Pilbara.
“It’s looking very positive. We’re being contacted more and more.”
He gave the update a year after Mr McConachy’s HMC aviation, tourism and accommodation group launched Nexus with the help of a $15 million investment by the Federal Government’s Australian Business Growth Fund.
Nexus set up hubs in Broome and Geraldton, from where it connects to Perth daily with its leased Dash 8 aircraft capable of carrying more than 70 people.
The new brand took over the established northern regional flight services operated by Mr McConachy’s Kununurra-based airline Aviair.
Mr McConachy, pictured, was keen to distinguish his airline from Gold Coast-based Bonza, which collapsed last month after its Florida-based private equity backer hit financial turbulence.
A related aircraft leasing company seized Bonza’s Boeing 737-8 jets, some of which had stickers covering the signage of a Canadian affiliate.
Mr McConachy said Gold Coast-based Bonza was a “satellite business” whereas the Aviair business had been operating for four decades, with around 60 aircraft servicing WA and the Northern Territory. “It’s very different,” he said
The Aviair people had seen potential gaps in the WA aviation market, including people having to fly to Perth to get by air between Broome and Karratha.
Mr McConachy did some market testing with a nine-seat plane before launching Nexus.
“We have grown from there,” he said. “It’s not just scheduled services, we’re also doing charters for some of the mining companies.”
He pointed to the Brand and Tonkin highways being well-established paths for workers from Geraldton catching flights from Perth Airport to the Pilbara.
Mr McConachy saw the growth of FIFO flight out of Busselton as a pointer to where services out Geraldton and Broome were heading as airlines competed for slots at Perth Airport and workers looked for an improved lifestyle.
“With the rapidly increasing demand for staff in the regions, they are going to have to look outside of Perth to be able to meet the demand,” Mr McConachy said, who remains the biggest shareholder in HMC.