The short version: Air T took the keys 18 Dec, $172.5m plus a promised $50m top-up, government still holding security over the fleet with strings attached. Stated plan is "return to Classic Rex" – whole Saab fleet back in the air.
Six months in and it’s going the other way. Melbourne–Devonport and KI–Burnie gone from 20 June, Mildura cut from 24 to 19 returns, and Orange has lost its morning and evening stops until mid August – "winter weather", apparently. The Saabs are all pushing 30+, but Air T owns Kingman with a pile of stored 340s and the parts/MRO businesses to match. That’s obviously why they bought the thing. Does it actually fix the economics of flying geriatric Saabs? No replacement type announced. These blokes have never run a passenger airline – FedEx feeders and de-icing trucks, yes, Aussie RPT, no.
Clever play on paper. But clever and profitable aren’t the same thing, and so far the network’s shrinking.
Anyone seeing real change yet? There don’t seem to be any more SAABs in the air. Or a few more years before it all goes bad?
