Vee H Aviation Pty Ltd, operating as Link Airways, formerly known as Fly Corporate, is an Australian

regional airline A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North ...

based at

Brisbane Airport Brisbane Airport is an international airport serving Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland. The airport services 31 airlines flying to 50 domestic and 29 international destinations, total amounting to more than 22.7 mill ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. The airline operates scheduled regional passenger services in Queensland,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Victoria,

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

and the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

. Link Airways operates a fleet of Saab 340B Plus and Fairchild Metro 23

turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...

aircraft.

Overview

Launching in 2016 under the Fly Corporate brand, the airline was established by parent company Corporate Air, an

air charter Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flight ...

company that has been operating since 1972, to fly scheduled air services. The airline bases its aircraft at

and

Canberra Airport Canberra Airport is an international airport situated in the district of Majura, Australian Capital Territory. It serves Australia's capital city, Canberra, as well as the nearby city of Queanbeyan and regional areas of the Australian Capital ...

, from where it operates to regional destinations across

, Victoria, and

. It has its own heavy maintenance facility at Goulburn Airport in New South Wales.

History

The first scheduled route announced under the Fly Corporate brand was from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour, locally nicknamed Coffs, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 a ...

. During 2016, more routes were added from Brisbane to major centres in the

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

and North West Slopes regions of New South Wales. The airline used a mixture of four Saab 340s and two Metroliners to serve this network. In September 2018, the airline successfully tendered to operate flights from

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

to Brisbane and Essendon in Melbourne, restoring both the city's air links that were lost when the previous carrier JetGo collapsed in June of that year. Fly Corporate also began operating other former JetGo routes including to Orange and

Dubbo Dubbo (; ) is a city in the Orana (New South Wales), Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the ...

from Essendon. On 11 August 2020 the company rebranded from Fly Corporate to Link Airways. In October 2020, Link Airways announced that it would begin scheduled flights between Canberra and

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

(6 days per week) as well as Canberra and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

(11 times per week). On 30 January 2022 Link Airways commenced operating flights for

Virgin Australia Virgin Australia, formerly known as Virgin Blue, is an Australian airline based in Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of two active airlines (the other being Virgin Atlantic) to use the Virgin Group, Virgin brand, as well as the larger by fleet ...

on the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

to Canberra route under a wet lease arrangement. On 18 January 2024, Virgin Australia announced it would

codeshare A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...

with Link on 17 regional routes, including ten destinations from Brisbane, three from Melbourne and two each from Canberra and Sydney. In the lead up to this announcement, Link Airways moved its Melbourne terminal from Essendon to Tullamarine on 7 January.

Fleet

As of July 2022, the Link Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft:

Destinations

Link Airways operates to the following destinations: *

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 23,967 as of the 2021 census. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands reg ...

** Inverell **

Narrabri Narrabri ( ) is a locality and seat of Narrabri Shire Local government in Australia, local government area in the North West Slopes, New South Wales, Australia on the Namoi River, northwest of Sydney. It sits on the junction of the Kamilaroi Hi ...

** Orange **

** Tamworth **

** Biloela **

Bundaberg Bundaberg () is the major regional city in the Wide Bay-Burnett region of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is the List of cities in Australia by population, ninth largest city in the state. The Bundaberg central business district is situa ...

* Victoria ** Melbourne (Tullamarine)

Codeshare agreements

, Link Airways has codeshare agreements with the following airlines: *

Incidents and accidents

* On 21 November 2022, a Link Airways Saab 340B, registered VH-VEQ operating on behalf of Virgin Australia as flight VA-633 from Canberra to Sydney made an emergency landing shortly after takeoff. While accelerating on the runway, a ratchet strap used to secure the left-hand propeller while the aircraft is on the ground penetrated the side of the fuselage into the passenger cabin. The strap had not been removed before flight by the crew. The airline reported that the crew stopped the climb as soon as they became aware of the damage and aircraft landed safely seven minutes after departure, with no injuries to passengers. However, the

Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the principal Federal police, federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government responsible for investigating Crime in Australia, crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth ...

reported that three passengers had been treated for minor injuries after landing. The

Australian Transport Safety Bureau The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is Australia's national transport safety investigator. The ATSB is the federal government body responsible for investigating transport-related accidents and incidents within Australia. It covers ai ...

classified the occurrence as a serious incident and opened an investigation. The final report subsequently confirmed that one passenger had been injured by debris that penetrated the cabin. The ATSB investigation identified four safety issues related to flight preparation and ground handling procedures by both Link Airways and contracted ground services provider Swissport.

References

External links

* {{Regional Aviation Association of Australia Airlines established in 2016 Australian companies established in 2016 Airlines of Australia Companies based in Canberra Regional Aviation Association of Australia