Sunstate Airlines

Sunstate Airlines is a subsidiary of Qantas which operates regional flights under the QantasLink banner throughout New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and to Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.

[1] Maryborough businessman Bevan Whitaker,[2] owner of the parent company of Noosa Air, Whitaker Pty Ltd, set up a second airline that commenced operations in December 1981, serving intrastate routes in Queensland vacated by Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) with Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante aircraft.

In 1983, Sunstate changed its code to that of Noosa Air,[3] and by the end of the year, the two airlines had merged fully.

[4] The diverse, combined fleet consisted of two Islanders, two Bandeirantes, three de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters and a Short 330.

[6] In 1989 Australian Airlines, the successor to TAA and previously the owner of now-defunct Air Queensland, took a one-third share in Sunstate.

It also commenced operations from Brisbane into New South Wales, flying once a week to Lord Howe Island from 20 September 1992.

Following Australian Airlines' ceasing operations, Southern Australia commenced flying between Melbourne and Canberra.

[14] Its fleet was expanded in December 1996 when it took delivery of two British Aerospace BAe 146s, using them to commence operations on trunk routes from Hobart and Launceston to Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

[14] By the end of 1997, Sunstate added another Dash 8 and more Short 360s, so that it was operating four of the former and eight of the latter, along with the five Twin Otters, to a network of 21 destinations in Queensland and New South Wales (including to Newcastle from May).

[citation needed] On 25 June 2024, Qantas announced an order for 14 mid-life Dash 8-400 (Q400) aircraft to be operated by Sunstate.