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New WA-based regional carrier Nexus Airlines has landed in Perth for the first time.
Flight GD2448 from Geraldton arrived in Perth at 8:04am on Monday, the first service by Nexus into the Western Australian capital. The service, which uses 76-seater de Havilland Dash 8-Q400 aircraft, is estimated to add around 95,000 seats between the two destinations per year.
According to Perth Airport’s acting CEO Kate Holsgrove, Nexus’ Perth-Geraldton service will connect more people to WA’s mid-west region.
“Perth Airport forms a critical link to Western Australia’s regions, and we look forward to working with Nexus Airlines to further connect Perth and deliver more regional routes,” she said.
“The State Government’s initiative to expand the State’s Inter-Regional Flight Network is a fantastic opportunity to grow regional tourism in Western Australia.
“Geraldton was awarded Silver in the Western Australian Top Tourism Town Awards 2023 and the new service provides Perth residents with another option to visit this beautiful region.”
Nexus Airlines, launched in May, also offers multi-stop services from Geraldton–Karratha–Port Hedland–Broome and Broome–Kununurra–Darwin. It will compete with NT-based regional carrier Airnorth, and maintain two regional bases in Geraldton and Broome.
Michael McConachy, managing director of Nexus, said in May that the airline’s name represents its goal of providing new and improved connections between towns and cities in regional WA.
“We have a proud history of supporting and contributing to regional communities and we understand that reliable and regular air connectivity is a key economic driver and is fundamentally important in attracting and retaining people,” he said.
“I’m confident that Nexus Airlines will enhance the livability of our regional towns and will boost our regional economies.”
The WA government has committed $4.05 million over four years until June 2027 to expand the state’s Inter-Regional Flight Network (IRFN), having granted Nexus owner Aviair a monopoly to establish the service in 2019.
