From The Australian

In the air with Chris Ellison’s FIFO aviation dream MinRes Air

Brad Thompson

Mineral Resources founder Chris Ellison.

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22 hours ago.

Updated 16 hours ago

Welcome to MinRes Air.

You can’t buy a ticket, and there are no upgrades. But Chris Ellison’s company airline, which was arguably a peak Ellison moment when the Minerals Resources managing director dropped the news (he told a Macquarie conference in May last year: “We’re starting our own airline. I’m not allowed to say that … but we are”) is unchallenged in FIFO comfort.

The registration on the leased A320 is VH-8FE in a nod to the periodic table (iron).

True to Ellison’s word, the first MinRes Air flight took off last July.

MinRes Air.

He is on the way out, paying the price for his role in an offshore tax scheme and improper use of company property, like having MinRes employees work on his boat, so the long-term future of the airline is unclear. New chair Malcolm Bundey, who starts on Tuesday, and Ellison’s unnamed successor may have a different opinion on the merits of a mining company operating an airline and employing its own pilots, engineers, cabin crew and baggage handlers.

This reporter got to experience the pride of Western Australia’s skies on a trip from Perth to the Pilbara last week.

The MinRes Air experience begins at the company’s own private airport terminal a few hundred metres away from the public terminals where each morning a tiresome FIFO ritual plays out.

Thousands of mine workers rock up in the pre-dawn cold and darkness shuffling and sniffling their way through check-ins and security screenings.

There’s none of that at the MinRes Air terminal. Workers can get dropped off right in front, or walk from the long-term airport parking. Some will be away for more than a week when they are rostered at the company’s new resort-style mining camp.

The perks keep coming. There’s a hot breakfast – freshly cooked bacon and egg roll, or chorizo and hash brown wrap for instance – and barista-made coffee upon arrival. It’s an airline lounge but without the lounging around and posing, according to one worker.

And it’s unfailingly reliable.

“You get breakfast when you get there, and then you’re on the plane straight through,” said dump truck driver Deni Latus, who was headed to Ken’s Bore.

On-board, the seats have been removed to create an extra 25cm of legroom and fully reupholstered. MinRes Air is now operating a dozen flights a week, and the airline also has an A319 on lease and operates some flights out of Brisbane.

A glossy in-house magazine in the seat pocket featuring a morale-boosting message from Ellison adds to the feel of a being a real airline.

Mungala Resort at the Onslow Iron project in the Pilbara. Picture: Mineral Resources

One downside, workers say, is there are no Frequently Flyer points, a hot currency in the Pilbara where FIFO workers can rack up a lot.

MinRes regards the cost of ownership as competitive with an outsourced travel budget to Qantas or other third-party airlines. The flexibility helps in getting staff in and out of site during the cyclone season. MinRes Air did seven special flights in that period. After one-year in service, it has completed a thousand flights.

The aviation division is run by Graeme Taylor, whose previous roles include Network Aviation head of fleet transition and in Qantas airport operations.

On Thursday, MinRes Air was at the centre of a joint venture with traditional owners represented by the Robe River Kuruma.

“We’re going to provide an opportunity for the joint venture to learn how to manage aeroplanes, aerodromes, baggage handling, and all those services,” mining services boss Mike Grey said.

“We don’t expect to take on the world overnight, but certainly we’re well positioned to make this business a long, long way,” he said.

Former MinRes board member Tim Roberts, a business associate and friend of Ellison’s, started out as a 50 per cent owner in MinRes Air through his private company AVWest FIFO Pty Ltd.

The Roberts entity exited last October, leaving MinRes with 100 per cent ownership.

The author travelled on MinRes Air as a guest of Mineral Resources