Pionair Australia is a passenger and cargo airline based at
Bankstown Airport
Bankstown Airport is an airport and business park located in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, approximately from the Sydney Central Business District (CBD), Australia and west of Sydney Airport. It is situated on of land and has three pa ...
in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
.
History
Pionair Australia specialises in both dangerous and non-dangerous cargo transport, FIFO operations and charter transport.
The airline holds an IAOC permit, allowing the airline to operate and carry passengers and cargo worldwide. From 2016 to early 2020, Pionair Australia operated
Virgin Australia
Virgin Australia, the trading name of Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd, is an Australian-based airline. It is the largest airline by fleet size to use the Virgin Group, Virgin brand. It commenced services on 31 August 2000 as ''Virgin Blue ...
Cargo flights under contract via
TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
. Since March 2020 the contract has moved to Qantas and Pionair is operating up to 4 Bae146 freighters on the same schedule for Qantas Cargo and TNT.
Fleet
As of November 2020, Pionair currently operates 9
British Aerospace BAe146 aircraft, five of which are freighters and the remaining four are passenger aircraft. The first of two Embraer E190-E2 were delivered in January 2020 for operations on behalf of
Air Kiribati
Air Kiribati (pronounced Air Kiri'bas) is the flag carrier of the Republic of Kiribati and operates scheduled passenger services to 20 atolls spread over an area of 3.5m sq km.
It is headquartered at Bonriki International Airport on the island o ...
, scheduled to start in mid-2020 (now delayed due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
). These aircraft are brand new. One used Embraer E190-E1 (built in 2011) has been purchased by Pionair and is due for delivery November 2020 for company growth and expansion.
In February 2022, it was announced that Pionair Australia had acquired two surplus
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
British Aerospace BAe 146 transports.
The airline previously operated two
Convair 580s within Australia.
Both of the airline's Convair 580s are preserved at the Parkes HARS Museum.
See also
*
List of airlines of Australia
The airline industry in Australia began in the early 1920s with Western Australian Airways on the west coast, and Australian Aircraft and Engineering Company on the east coast. In 1921, Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (QANTAS ...
References
External links
*
{{Airlines of Australia
Cargo airlines of Australia
Companies based in Sydney