JetGo Australia (Brisbane International) is planning to add E175 equipment to its fleet following the signing of a partnership agreement with the city of Karratha in Western Australia.

In a statement, the municipality said Jetgo would operate regular passenger transport (RPT) services from Karratha to each of Brisbane International (2x weekly) and Singapore Changi (2x weekly) during the first half of 2018.

Service launch is dependent on the requisite government approvals being secured.

Commenting on the development, Jetgo Managing Director Paul Bredereck said the Brisbane-Karratha-Singapore service offered new niche opportunities for the airline.

“The agreement with the City of Karratha would underpin Jetgo moving up from its current fleet of Embraer ERJ regional jets in the 37- to 50-seat market segment to the larger 88-seat Embraer E175. This is a logical step for our business and builds on five and a half years of jet operations, including domestic airline services along with domestic and international jet charter services.”

“We have selected the Embraer E175 due to a combination of size, payload-range, cargo capacity, economics and the ready supply of local expertise due to existing E170 and E190 operators in Australia. It also builds upon an already strong relationship between Jetgo and Embraer.”

Karratha is currently connected to Perth International by each of Qantas (through Network Aviation and Cobham Aviation Services Australia - Airline Services) and Virgin Australia International (through Virgin Australia Regional).

JetGo currently operates two E135s, three E140s, and two E145s on scheduled passenger flights covering twelve destinations throughout Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.