Australian regional carriers Skywest and Virgin Blue made an inaugural flight on 18 May of a Boeing 737-700 for mining firm Fortescue Metals.
The 142-seat aircraft - provided by Virgin and operated by Skywest under a long-term contract with Fortescue - will provide fly-in/fly-out services for Fortescue staff from Perth, Western Australia to the Cloudbreak iron ore mine.
The 737 replaces the smaller twin-engined Fokker 100 and will remain in service until August when a Skywest Airbus A320 takes over the regular shuttle service. That 162-seat aircraft is now undergoing testing and compliance testing in Melbourne.
"In late 2009 a review of the growing workforce showed that we would soon outgrow the current flight capacity," says Fortescue. "This time last year approximately 8,500 seats were booked each month. This year that figure is getting closer to 12,000 seats per month. As our teams grow in size, so too have the services that support the mines, including flights."
Source: Flight International
