Alliance defies downbeat aviation trend as Embraer jets fly in

At a time when most airlines are sending their aircraft to boneyards or storage site, Alliance has welcomed the first of 14 Embraer jets to its fleet.

The first Alliance Aviation Embraer 190 lands at Brisbane airport, before taxiing away for a deep clean. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen.

At a time when most airlines are sending their aircraft to plane graveyards and storage sites, Alliance has welcomed the first of 14 additions to its fleet: an Embraer 190 jet carrying a very special cargo.

Emblazoned with the Alliance livery, the jet’s arrival at Brisbane Airport late last week followed a marathon five-stage journey from Panama City in South America.

After first jetting to Costa Rica to be painted, the Embraer re­fuelled in San Diego, Honolulu, and then Kiribati before the final leg to Australia with some spare parts and a carton of beer on-board.

“The guys who painted it in Costa Rica are sending the management a carton of beer. It’s on the manifest, it’s been cleared by customs,” laughed Alliance managing director Scott McMillan.

Alliance Airlines’ first Embraer 190 jet in the paint shop in Costa Rica.

Alliance undertook an institutional placement and share purchase plan to pay for the jets, which will be the first new aircraft-type for the airline in 18 years. They cost about $6m each.

Mr McMillan said Alliance, which currently operate an all-Fokker fleet, had considered the Embraer the most desirable addition to their business, and then the COVID crisis came along.

“It has worked out well for us,” said Mr McMillan.

“At a time when the industry is in very poor shape at least we’ve been able to get something out of it.”

With reams of paperwork to complete for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and significant training to be undertaken, the Embraers are not expected to begin service for Alliance until March. Already the airline has been inundated with applications from pilots in Australia and overseas keen to fly the jets, which would be used in all areas of Alliance’s operations.

“It’s an aircraft that’s very well suited to Australia for all sorts of flying, from wet lease to FIFO or general charter,” Mr McMillan said.

“The great thing is it’s got enormous range — that’s the attribute that sets it apart — having flown across the Pacific and only stopping in two places. It’s got a range of about 5500km which for a 100-seat aeroplane is very good.”

Wagga Wagga-based airline Regional Express will be the next to increase its fleet size, with the first of up to 10 ex-Virgin Australia Boeing 737s due to arrive in November. Rex planned to use the 176-seater jets on lucrative Golden Triangle routes (Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane) from late March.

Mr McMillan said there was a lot to be said for buying second-hand aircraft.

“We buy aircraft well and then we make a decision on how we deploy the aircraft,” he said.

“If you’re buying these aircraft brand new out of the box it’s a $35m investment. That’s what a new E190 will cost you and if you do that and you try to do what we do with brand new aircraft, it just doesn’t work.”