Virgin Australia Regional Airlines is changing – and changing radically – according to its Executive General Manager Nathan Miller as the airline readies for the delivery of its first of eight 100-seat Embraer 190-E2 jets next month.
“I would characterise us as being in a state of change – exciting change, historical change, cultural change. Going back to its roots, Skywest reinvented itself many, many times over, and we’re doing it now as Virgin Australia Regional Airlines (VARA),” Mr Miller said.
Last year when Virgin ordered the E190-E2s then Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said the new aircraft would improve performance, reliability and customer comfort. “When the first new E190-E2 enters service from October 2025 it will become the first brand new aircraft in the WA charter market this century. The E190-E2 is the most fuel-efficient aircraft in its segment and will reduce emissions by about 30 per cent compared to the outgoing F100,” said Ms Hrdlicka. “These aircraft also feature significantly lower noise profiles and enhanced passenger comfort.
At the signing ceremony, Nick Rohrlach, Virgin’s CEO Velocity Frequent Flyer said that the E190-E2s will offer “significantly improved performance, reliability, customer comfort and fuel efficiency.” He added that “this significant investment will also support the creation of 150 new, WA-based jobs over the next three years – which is great news for our WA team and the State more broadly.”
Embraer Commercial Aviation Chief Commercial Officer Martyn Holmes said the E2 was a game changer. “We are excited to welcome Virgin Australia to the Embraer family and look forward to seeing our best-in-class E2 – renowned for comfort, quietness, and low emissions – take the airline to even greater heights.”
The E190-E2 is not just another FIFO jet it is much more.
Firstly, it comes in a two-by-two seating configuration with eight business class seats, 16 economy X seats, eight preferred seats and 64 economy seats.
The aircraft also features large windows, almost double the size of the Fokker 100 which it will replace providing a roomy and airy atmosphere.
Building upon the first-generation E-Jet’s 20 years of operational excellence, the E190-E2’s enhanced aerodynamics, novel wing design, and new technologies deliver significant improvements in carbon emissions and fuel burn.
It has been certified to fly with blends of up to 50 per cent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and has demonstrated through test flights the engine’s compatibility with 100 per cent SAF5.
The acquisition of new aircraft for VARA is part of a significant group-wide fleet growth and renewal program that includes the acquisition of new Boeing 737 MAX-8 aircraft and the refurbishment of the airline’s existing 737 fleet.
The eight E190-E2s is the final part of a comprehensive fleet renewal with the 137-seat Boeing 737-700 partially replacing the Fokker 100 which has been the backbone of the Skywest/VARA fleet for the past 20 years.
The replacement of the venerable Fokker 100 is a big change and not a simple transition as not every airport can accommodate a 737, sparking the search for the ideal 100-seater.
VARA will retain its workhorse of seven A320s, which operate Fly-In-Fly-Out (FIFO) charters for the Western Australian resources industry as well as some regular public transport (RPT) routes. The 737-700, gives VARA a great middle of the market platform, something that the airline has not previously had.
The E190-E2 being factory fresh with high capital cost will require a different business model as most of the FIFO aircraft are high time machines so it is back to the future for VARA.
When the new 65-seat F28s were introduced in 1969, MMA flew them for long hours. It was the same with the factory fresh BAe 146s in the mid 1980s, the utilisation was high.
Instead of two cycles a day VARA will work to get three and the airline will need to be more versatile in terms of what it does with them.
And versatility is what the new E190-E2 has in spades.
Compared to a 100-seat Fokker 100, the Embraer 190-E2 can carry the same passenger load, plus 2,000 kg extra payload about 2,000 km further, while using 30 per cent less fuel.
The aircraft has a range of around six hours and is powered by Pratt & Whitney’s PW1900G engines.
That sort of performance makes a wide variety of routes possible such as Christmas and Cocos Islands, Singapore, Bali, and anywhere on the east coast of Australia.
For VARA this means it can compete in a space that it has never had the capacity to compete before – those with low volume but longer range.
An aircraft such as the E190-E2 would also enable VARA to continue to service clients with aerodrome constraints, which is a huge environmental plus. And another environmental plus is that aircraft such as the E190-E2 is extremely quiet and has a noise footprint 75 per cent less than the Fokker 100. That reduction means the E2’s noise footprint is confined to the airport boundary.
While the E190 has been around for some time, the E2 version is an almost new aircraft with new engine types, different flight control systems and a new wing.
The first E190-E2, named “Coral Bay” will arrive in Perth from Canberra on Monday September 8 at 1pm and will enter service in October.
It will be quickly followed by three more with the balance to be delivered through 2026.
Last year Mr Miller said VARA wanted to stay in the 100-seat market in a sustainable way so that customers can continue to rely on the airline.
“While some airlines are planning to keep the Fokker 100 for another seven years we are on the front foot and I am really proud to say that Virgin and VARA are ahead of the curve on this change and well ahead of the industry. We are the first to exit the Fokkers and we’re the first to acquire a sustainable replacement.”
Mr Miller says the airline now has the fleet mix just right. “We now have a fleet that puts us in a strong position in terms of efficiency – with regards to leveraging VARA and its history, its culture, its capability to deliver into the market.
Mr Miller is not fazed by the introduction of the factory fresh E190-E2s and reflects back 10 years to when Skywest had received its first A320. “Some people thought they were mad. Some even said Skywest getting the Fokker 100 was a bad idea but look at the fleets today. Skywest led the way – as it has always done in WA.”
VARA has evolved over the years into a charter airline and its biggest customer is Virgin Australia. Mr Miller explains that 40 to 45 per cent of its business is flying for Virgin Australia on flights, for example, from Perth to Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin, Broome, Port Hedland and Karratha.
With the A320, 737-700 and E190-E2, VARA will have the most modern and versatile fleet in Western Australia to service the resource industry and regional centres – a far cry from the six-seat Cessna 337, of Nor’West Air Taxis, that started it all in 1963.
Captain John Roulston, the man who owned Nor’West Air Taxis, would certainly be impressed.
