Sharp Airlines

Sharp Airlines is a regional airline founded in Hamilton, Victoria, Australia in 1990. Sharp operates scheduled airline services in the southern states of Australia. Its main bases are Essendon Airport,[2] Adelaide Airport[3] and Launceston Airport. The airline also provides charter operations to regional Victoria and South Australia. The parent company, Sharp Aviation, has its main maintenance base at Launceston Airport.

Sharp Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
SH SHA N1 SHARP
Founded1990
HubsEssendon Airport
Launceston Airport
Adelaide Airport
Fleet size15
Destinations7
Parent companySharp Aviation Pty. Ltd.[1]
HeadquartersHamilton, Victoria, Australia
Key peopleManaging Director: Malcolm Sharp
Director: Peter Sobey
Websitewww.sharpairlines.com.au

History

Commencing operations using the Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain, the airline has continued to grow, acquiring Fairchild Metro aircraft to replace the Chieftains, and adding Essendon Airport to the route network. In April 2008, it commenced services to Port Augusta from a new Adelaide Airport base of operations. Services from Adelaide to Port August were terminated in May 2017.[4]

In October 2009, Sharp Airlines commenced a trial service connecting Adelaide with Portland and Avalon Airport. In January 2010, it became a permanent addition to the flight schedule[5] but was subsequently terminated.

In October 2010, Sharp Airlines took over routes to Flinders Island from Launceston in Tasmania and Essendon Airport in Melbourne, Victoria from the previous operator, Airlines of Tasmania. In late 2011, twice-daily flights to King Island from Launceston via Wynyard started.

In May 2019, the airline announced that it would cease operating its Melbourne (Essendon Airport) - Warrnambool - Portland service after 30 June 2019, due to a lack of patronage.[6]

In June 2019, the airline announced that it would commence operating a Melbourne (Essendon Airport) to Griffith, New South Wales service on 15 July 2019.[7] This will be the first time that Sharp Airlines has operated an airline service to a destination in New South Wales. The service will operate daily (except Saturdays) with a flight time of one hour.

During the 2019-2020 COVID-19 Pandemic Sharp Airlines was one of the Regional Airlines that was able to survive due to Government Assistance.

Destinations
Sharp Airlines7 September 2016 Fairchild Metro III at Essendon Airport

Sharp Airlines has no registered ICAO code.

Sharp operates the following scheduled services.[8][9]

The airline also has a base at Adelaide Airport with 4-6 aircraft based there at any given time. Although there are no longer any regular passenger services out of Adelaide, the company operates frequent charters, mainly to mine sites throughout South Australia, some to Queensland and the Northern Territory. The scheduled services are operated using the airline's Metro III and Metro 23 aircraft. It also operates charter services using the Cessna 441 as well as the Metros throughout Australia.

Fleet

As of August 2018 the Sharp Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:[10]

Sharp Airlines fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers Notes
Cessna 441 4 8 Predominantly used for charter services.
Fairchild SA227-AC Metro III 3 19 Used predominantly for scheduled passenger services, also used for freight and charter services
Fairchild SA227-DC Metro 23 7 19 Used predominantly for scheduled passenger services, also used for freight and charter services
Piper PA-34-220T Seneca IV 1 5 Used for flight training and charter. Aircraft is currently for sale.
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References
  1. National Training Information Service - Registered Training Organisation
  2. Sharp Airlines :: About Sharp Airlines
  3. Sharp Airlines :: About Sharp Airlines
  4. https://www.transcontinental.com.au/story/4637809/sharp-ditch-port-augusta/
  5. Sharp Airlines: Adelaide Flight Services to Continue into 2010
  6. "Cessation of Warrnambool/Portland Airline Services". Sharp Airlines. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  7. "Griffith Residents Are Getting Direct Flights To Melbourne!".
  8. http://sharpairlines.com/pub/Flight_Schedule_4Feb_2008.pdf
  9. http://sharpairlines.com/pub/FlightSch-AugustaAdelaideMildura.pdf
  10. Australian civil aircraft register search, using "Sharp Aviation" as the search parameter. Search conducted 25 August 2018.
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