Contracted air transport company National Jet Services will increase services to Murrin Murrin and Coondewanna under contracts with two Perth mining companies.
Contracted air transport company National Jet Services will increase services to Murrin Murrin and Coondewanna under contracts with two Perth mining companies.
National, a subsidiary of British manufacturing company Cobham Plc, will expand its services to Murrin Murrin with the use of a 98-seat BAe 146-300 aircraft.
The route, which had previously been served by a 70-seat aircraft, serves nickel and cobalt mining company Murrin Murrin Operations Ltd, a subsidiary of Perth-based Minara Resources Ltd.
National has also commenced a Perth-Coondewanna service for Henry Walker Eltin, using the 76-seat BAe 146-100 to serve its iron ore processing operations in the area.
National regional services general manager Greg Marshall said the two signings were an example of the good relationships between the company and its clients.
"We continue to position ourselves to meet our clients' needs as they grow and strive to provide them with effective, safe services, with a healthy element of the flexibility for which we are renowned," he said.
National also operates flights to Cocos and Christmas Islands in the Indian Ocean under an Australian government contract won in 1998 from Ansett.
In 2004, the contract for a twice-weekly service was renewed for a further five years plus options.
National has been operating BAe146s in QantasLink colours since 1991 but these have been phased out in favour of Boeing 717s, which they also operate.
The full text of a company announcement is pasted below
NATIONAL JET EXPANDS CONTRACTS WITH MURRIN MURRIN, HENRY WALKER ELTIN
National Jet has begun expanded services for clients Murrin Murrin Operations Pty Ltd and Henry Walker Eltin, under separate contracts in Western Australia.
On Monday December 11 National Jet launched the first of its expanded services to Murrin Murrin with a larger 98-seat BAe 146-300 aircraft.
National Jet has operated to Murrin Murrin for almost a decade, beginning with a Dash 8 turboprop aircraft operating to an unpaved airstrip in the mine's early phase in 1997. The relationship has since expanded into operations requiring a 70-seat BAe 146 four-engine jet, and on December 11, to a larger BAe 146 to meet growing demand.
Murrin Murrin is located between Leonora and Laverton in the North Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Minara mines lateritic ore for production of nickel and cobalt.
And on Tuesday December 12, under a contract amendment with Henry Walker Eltin (HWE), National Jet began operating a BAe 146-100 between Perth and Coondewanna in the "Area C"' mining region in the state's northwest. The flights will service Henry Walker Eltin's iron ore mining and processing operations, conducted on behalf of BHP Billiton. This contract extends a long-term partnership with HWE that began with a Dash 8 turboprop operating to another Area C airfield, Yandi.
"Both of these signings are demonstrations of good long term relationships between National Jet and its clients," said National Jet Regional Services General Manager, Greg Marshall. "In both cases we have migrated a smaller service to larger aircraft.
"We continue to position ourselves to meet our clients' needs as they grow and strive to provide them with effective, safe services, with a healthy element of the flexibility for which we are renowned."
