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SmartLynx Australia has said it is “firmly committed” to maintaining regional turboprop operations following its rebrand from Skytrans.
The Queensland-based regional carrier, which was bought by global aviation firm Avia Solutions Group last year in order to add wet-leasing operations with A319s, rebranded in July and plans to axe the Skytrans livery for an all-white fleet.
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Despite its new focus on ACMI services, the airline says its regular passenger transport flights are here to stay, having recently taken over the Lord Howe Island route from QantasLink.
“The rebrand from Skytrans to SmartLynx Australia and expanding our service offering with ACMI is about strengthening our current RPT and charter services, not replacing them,” said CEO Gytis Gumuliauskas in a statement.
“We are here to support the entire Australian and Asia-Pacific markets when capacity is needed. That is exactly what being part of the Avia Solutions Group enables us to do.”
SmartLynx currently operates two A319s alongside its fleet of 10 Dash 8s, and says it is currently aiming to improve its reliability for RPT services. It had an on-time arrival rate of 79.6 per cent, on-time departure rate of 84.2 per cent, and 2.2 per cent cancellation rate for the month of September 2025.
“The SmartLynx Australia team has been working hard to improve performance across all metrics, and over the last six months, the results are starting to show the impact of that dedication,” said Gumuliauskas.
“We see these results as a reassurance not just to passengers but also to airlines looking at options for extending their capacity.”
The airline in May axed its Cessna 208B flights to eleven islands in the Torres Strait, with Gumuliauskas saying at the time the decision was made to “mitigate risks and complexity of having single engine operations in combination with turboprops and jets”.
“The market has the coverage of Torres Strait with other operators. We are tailoring RPT network and schedules, but there are no other cuts planned in terms of the fleet,” he said, as reported by ch-aviation.
“We are looking to offer more capacity with our Dash 8 and A319-100 fleet to address regional market needs and support other carriers, including regional flying.”
SmartLynx Australia received CASA approval for its ACMI services earlier this year, with its second A319 having arrived in Australia in February after the first touched down in December.
The airline is looking to use its A319s to boost passenger capacity for airline clients during peak seasons, as well as allow other regional carriers to test new routes, and offer airlines a stopgap measure while their own aircraft are undergoing maintenance.
