Qantas Retreats from Lord Howe Island

Skytrans has taken over QantasLink’s Sydney-Lord Howe Island services, after Qantas’ regional subsidiary sold the only aircraft in its fleet that can operate the route.

The final QantasLink flight on this route departed on 16 May 2025.

But Qantas isn’t giving up on the island completely. Qantas is now codesharing 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 ultimately extended QantasLink’s license until 25 February 2026, with a transition period while Skytrans takes over. After this time, Skytrans will be the sole operator until at least March 2030.

QantasLink has sold 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 recently sold all of its Dash 8-200 and Q300 propeller aircraft, and is in the process of replacing them with larger Dash 8 Q400s coming from Canadian airline WestJet.

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 had three of these planes, which are each around 29 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.

Before buying QantasLink’s Dash 8-200s, it already had 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. Skytrans is also currently acquiring Airbus jets.

What the Skytrans handover means for passengers

Skytrans has bought QantasLink’s three Dash 8-200 planes. It is using these to fly from the Qantas domestic terminal at Sydney Airport to Lord Howe Island, with the same schedule and frequency as the previous QantasLink flights.

Until 25 February 2026, Skytrans is effectively operating this route on behalf of QantasLink. The flights are still being sold as QantasLink flights, and are only available to book on the Qantas website.

Under this arrangement, fortunately, Qantas Frequent Flyer members can still book Classic Reward seats on this route. Most of the current reward availability is on flights departing within the next few weeks.

From 26 February 2026, these flights will be operated as fully-fledged Skytrans services with “QN” flight numbers. At the time of writing, flights after 26 February 2026 are available to book on the Skytrans website, but not on the Qantas website.

Qantas has said that it will codeshare on the Skytrans flights beyond February 2026. 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, when booking the “QF” flight number.

We understand that Qantas intends to continue offering Classic Flight Rewards to Lord Howe Island in 2026 and beyond, 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.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to more than 100 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. 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.