Airflite Flying College (Moorabbin) has taken delivery of its first DHC-8-Q300 as it pursues a CASR Part 121 Air Operator's Certificate (AOC), necessary to operate larger aircraft in-house. In the interim, the company has confirmed to ch-aviation that the turboprop will be available for lease to other operators.

The 22-year-old De Havilland Aircraft of Canada turboprop, VH-AO9 (msn 591), arrived at Perth International after a journey from Malé via Hambantota, Banda Aceh, Johor Bahru, Majalengka Kertajati International, Denpasar, and Port Hedland, between November 5 and 20. Powered by Pratt & Whitney PW100 engines, it was configured with 50 all-economy seats during its time with its former operator, Maldivian (Q2, Malé), which continues to fly three units of the type.

Originally delivered to ANA Wings in January 2003, the aircraft served with the Japanese regional carrier for 11 years before being returned to lessor Nordic Aviation Capital. Following 18 months of inactivity, it joined Maldivian’s fleet in October 2015 as 8Q-IAR.

With the aircraft now available for lease, the ch-aviation fleets module shows that twenty-one DHC-8-Q300s are currently active with four Australian operators. Eastern Australia Airlines, a Qantas subsidiary operating as QantasLink, has the largest fleet with 16 units. Maroomba Airlines and Skippers Aviation each operate two, while Skytrans has one in its fleet.

In November 2023, Airflite acquired another turboprop from the DHC-8 family, DHC-8-Q200 VH-AO8 (msn 579), which was de-registered in April 2024. "The aircraft has not been operated since purchased, and as it was close to its fatigue life we will be using the fuselage for cabin crew training as part of our growth plans for our Aviation College at Perth Jandakot," its managing director Homer Constantinides told ch-aviation.

Airflite holds a CASR Part 119 AOC, enabling it to offer charter services. The company’s current fleet includes one Beech (twin turboprop) King Air B200, fourteen Cessna 172Ss, two Cessna 182Ts, one Cessna 208B, twelve Diamond DA-40NGs, two Piper PA-34s, twelve Piper PA-44s, and one American Champion 8KCAB Decathlon. Most of these are used for flight training.

In addition to its flying college and charter operations, Airflite offers a range of aviation solutions including aircraft sales, leasing, maintenance, repair, and defence support. The firm also provides fixed-base operations (FBO) services at Perth International.