Australia's Cobham Aviation ends ARJ100 operations

COBHAM AVIATION AVRO RJ100 VH-NJL (MSN E3213)

Cobham Aviation Services Australia - (Regional) has retired the last of its ARJ-100s, marking the end of an era for the specialist Australian cargo and fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) passenger charter services provider. 

Making the announcement on social media, the company said: “These aircraft have been integral to Cobham since the inception of the company 32 years ago. The distinctive low-slung jet engines and T-shaped tail of the BAe 145/Avro RJ jet have made it a true icon of the skies, and it has been the workhorse of our FIFO and charter operations”.

According to Cobham Aviation, its final flight of a BAe 146/Avro RJ touched down at its base in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia (SA), on Friday the 3rd June 2022. FlightRadar24 ADS-B data showed it to have been the 22-year-old company-owned VH-NJP (msn E3354) which landed at 1733L (0803Z) from Port Augusta.

COBHAM AVIATION AVRO RJ100 VH-NJY (MSN E3331)

Another one of the type, the 23-year old VH-NJY (msn E3331), had returned from Port Augusta to Adelaide a day earlier, on the 2nd June 2022. The aircraft had conducted its final FIFO flight in Western Australia (WA) on the 4th November 2021, when Cobham Aviation consolidated its BAe 146 operations to SA.

Cobham Aviation said it had used the BAe Systems quadjets for FIFO services throughout Australia, Southeast Asia, and Papua New Guinea. The aircraft had been operating in Western Australia (WA) since 1985, initially with Ansett Australia (AN, Melbourne Tullamarine) and Cobham (formerly operating as National Jet Systems (NC, Adelaide)). The fleet supported FIFO contracts with clients such as BHP, Rio Tinto, and Anaconda (Murrin Murrin).

Chobham Aviation said the aircraft proved extremely versatile due to their short take-off and landing (STOL) capacity and low noise profile and were particularly popular on short- to medium-haul flights to regional destinations. Cobham fitted several of the aircraft with a “gravel kit’” which allowed for high-capacity jet operations to more remote mine sites in WA.

COBHAM AVIATION EMBRAER E190LR VH-NJA (MSN 19000404)

Cobham Regional's fleet now includes six Dash-8-Q400s and five E190s, including one ERJ 190-100LR and four ERJ 190-100ARs. Sister firm Cobham Aviation Services Australia - Airline Services (QJE, Adelaide), for which the ARJ-100s had operated, also operates twenty B717-200s.