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FIFO operator National Jet Express has signalled plans to add more E190s to its fleet as it launches two new routes in Western Australia.
The airline, which was spun off following the Rex collapse in 2024, has commenced services to the Nifty copper mine in the Pilbara this month for Cyprium Metals following the launch of its route to Marble Bar for AIM late last year.
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NJE currently operates eight E190s and 12 Dash 8 Q400s, but says it is looking to further grow its E-Jet fleet.
“To meet the increasing demand for our E190 jet services, we intend to increase our E190 fleet by at least another 2 aircraft in this year,” said Alex Ananian-Cooper, NJE’s Chief Commercial Officer.
Speaking in 2024, then-interim chief operating officer Robin Furber said the E190s helped NJE’s positioning as “a reliable carrier with modern and fuel-efficient aircraft”.
“The Embraer E190 aircraft is extremely popular with our customers as it provides their staff with a quiet and comfortable cabin featuring wide seats, excellent legroom, a 2-2 abreast cabin (no middle seat) and large overhead lockers,” he said.
“For too long the resource sectors have had to make do with unreliable, 30-year-old aircraft that are environmentally unfriendly for their fly-in/fly-out needs. This explains why NJE is now the first port of call whenever the resource sectors have new requirements for a premium operator that meets their ESG responsibilities.”
NJE added its latest two aircraft, both Q400s, to the fleet in late 2025 to “support the continuing growth of NJE’s presence in the Mining, Resources and Construction industries, as well as providing additional coverage during periods of scheduled aircraft maintenance”.
It came after former Rex executive chairman and now NJE majority owner Lim Kim Hai signalled last April that he was looking to slash costs at the carrier amid the US-China trade war.
In a newsletter to NJE staff seen by The Australian, Lim, who bought the controlling share in the airline previously held by Rex before its collapse, said NJE would need to prepare for a decline in China’s need for resources “due to sluggish exports and a decline in domestic consumption”.
