Register #400 | Slow but steady growth for commercial fleets

Two new Airbus A321XLR planes were added to the register for Qantas between December 2025 and February 2026, registered as VH-OGE and VH-OGF, while budget subsidiary Jetstar welcomed another Airbus A321neo, registered VH-OSE. In the Sunshine State, Virgin Australia has registered its 15th Boeing 737 MAX 8, registration VH-8VG, which will be named Peregian Beach. If you told me in 2020 that Virgin Australia would rebuild itself from the ashes, after abandoning its long-haul Boeing 777 routes and planes entirely, AND THEN back the then-controversial Boeing 737 MAX as its domestic and short-haul international workhorse, I’m not sure I would have believed you. And yet, here we are! The 737 MAX is soon to be considered the cornerstone of Virgin’s network, bolstering its short-haul international operations – with destinations now spanning to Bali and the Pacific Islands – as well as much of its domestic network. The once-embattled airline just posted an underlying profit after tax of $279 million for the half-year.

Down the other end of the spectrum, if you told me in 2020, when Alliance was sailing through the COVID-19 pandemic with a record profit due to its wildly successful slew of E190 wet lease agreements, that nearly six years later they would see a $100 million loss, I’d also have been in shock. Alliance has posted a $105.8 million loss for the first half of the financial year, off the back of the drastic depreciation of its Fokker F70 and F100 fleet and accessories. The regional airline still holds 35 of the type, the youngest of which is 30 years old. It’s this shaky balance sheet that has allegedly seen Alliance move to negotiate its long-standing wet-lease deal with Qantas. The deal, under which it operates up to 30 on behalf of the Flying Kangaroo’s regional branch, QantasLink, was originally negotiated during the COVID-19 pandemic and was not prepared to keep up with inflation and the increased costs of fuel, maintenance, and staffing, according to Alliance.

General aviation appears strong, with Cessna aircraft alone accounting for around 18 per cent of all aircraft added or returned to the register, while in the rotor world, the most popular model was the Robinson R22, followed by the R44. Deletion data was the most difficult to procure this quarter, given the new information output, however some removals were apparent. In January 2026, Virgin offloaded another long-held Boeing 737-800, registered VH-VUG and named Jasmine Tasman. Virgin has held the plane since it was a brand-new airframe, nearly 20 years ago, when it was delivered to Virgin Blue. The plane was withdrawn from commercial use on 2nd January, and then flown on what is assumed to be its final journey from Brisbane to the Mirana Pinal aircraft graveyard in Arizona. Virgin’s regional arm, Virgin Australia Regional Airlines, is also preparing to wave goodbye to two more of its Fokker 100 regional jets, VH-FNR and VH-FSQ.

​Rival Qantas also said farewell to one of its Fokker 100s this quarter, VH-NHO, which played a major role in the growth of Network Aviation from a small regional operator to a wholly-owned Qantas subsidiary and major player in Western Australia’s FIFO and charter scene. The aircraft, one of the airline’s oldest, is set to be put on display by HARS in Parkes, NSW. Read more on this over in this issue’s Warbirds column.