Qantas Retreating from Lord Howe Island

Skytrans will take over QantasLink’s Sydney-Lord Howe Island services from 2026, as Qantas’ regional subsidiary retires the only aircraft in its fleet that can operate the route.

But Qantas isn’t giving up on the island completely. Qantas will codeshare on the new Skytrans services between Sydney and Lord Howe Island, an island paradise in the Tasman Sea.

Sydney-Lord Howe Island is a licensed route

Sydney-Lord Howe Island is one of two regulated routes in NSW, alongside Sydney-Moree. This means that airlines must apply for a license to be the sole carrier to fly the route, and also receive a guaranteed monopoly.

State governments may regulate specific intrastate routes if they believe there is not enough demand for the route to sustain two airlines. This is done to ensure the carrier awarded the license is able to operate the route sustainably, and that the affected regional communities don’t lose air service altogether.

QantasLink has held the license to operate the Sydney-Lord Howe Island route since 1991. This license was up for renewal in March 2025. The NSW government has just extended QantasLink’s license until 25 February 2026, after which time Skytrans will become the sole operator until at least March 2030.

QantasLink will soon retire its Dash 8-200s

By most accounts, QantasLink has done a good job of serving Lord Howe Island for more than three decades. The airfares on the route can be high, but it’s an expensive route to operate – costly weather diversions are common – and each flight only has 36 seats available.

Qantas will soon retire all of its Dash 8-200 and Q300 propeller aircraft, replacing them with larger Dash 8 Q400s. We understand these will be mid-life Q400s coming from Canadian airline WestJet Encore.

Currently, the Dash 8-200 is the only aircraft in QantasLink’s fleet capable of taking off and landing on Lord Howe Island, due to the airport’s short runway. QantasLink has three of these planes, which are each around 28 years old.

Why not extend the runway or use another plane?

QantasLink’s Q400 could operate to Lord Howe Island if the runway was extended. But a feasibility study commissioned by the Lord Howe Island Board in 2018 found that a runway extension would not be economically viable. It would cost too much and there would be an environmental impact of reclaiming land that’s currently part of a lagoon.

In theory, the Saab 340 could take off and land on Lord Howe Island’s existing short runway. Rex and Link Airways already fly Saab 340s on Australian regional routes. But those 34-seat planes don’t quite have enough range to fly to Lord Howe Island and also then divert to a mainland airport in case they aren’t able to land on the island.

The ATR42S might be able to service this route as well. But it’s no longer being built, and no Australian airlines have any.

What is Skytrans?

Skytrans is an Australian regional airline based in Cairns. It primarily flies from its bases in Cairns and Horn Island to destinations in Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait.

It already has five Dash 8-100 and two Dash 8 Q300 planes in its fleet. The average age of those planes is over 35 years old, with one aircraft now over 40 years old.

What the Skytrans handover means for passengers

Skytrans will buy QantasLink’s three Dash 8-200 planes. It will use them to fly from the Qantas domestic terminal at Sydney Airport to Lord Howe Island, with the same schedule and frequency as the current QantasLink flights.

Qantas has said it will codeshare on the Skytrans flights. They will be available to book through both Qantas and Skytrans. This means Qantas customers will still be able to earn points and status credits when booking the “QF” codeshare. Eligible Qantas Club members and frequent flyers will also continue to enjoy access to the Qantas lounges in Sydney.

We understand that Qantas intends to continue offering Classic Flight Rewards to Lord Howe Island, but the airline has not yet confirmed this. It will depend on the final codeshare agreement that the airline negotiates with Skytrans.

Qantas Frequent Flyer members will no doubt be hoping that Qantas continues to offer Classic Rewards on the route, particularly given the high airfares.

During a transition period between April 2025 and February 2026, Skytrans pilots and cabin crew might be training on or operating some of the QantasLink flights.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.