QantasLink

If you spot in Australia, you see the Qantas kangaroo all the time – but by no means every aircraft with a red tail is a long-haul jet from Sydney. A large share of them fly under QantasLink, the regional brand of the Qantas Group. Behind the name are several companies, a turboprop fleet, a fresh generation change and, with the Fokker 100, one of the last large operators of a classic. This page shows you how to identify QantasLink cleanly.

QantasLink at a glance

QantasLink is the regional brand of Qantas, Australia’s national airline. It connects the state capitals with provincial cities, mining towns and islands – routes on which a big jet would be too large or too expensive. The brand was introduced in 2001. At the time it bundled regional companies that Qantas had acquired in the early 1990s with the takeover of Australian Airlines. These subsidiaries had already been flying in a modified Qantas paint scheme since 1993.

The first big growth spurt also came in 2001: After the collapse of Ansett, many domestic connections were suddenly missing in Australia, and QantasLink stepped in on numerous routes. Since then the brand has been a fixed part of the Qantas network and feeds the big hubs with connecting passengers.

Important for understanding: QantasLink does not hold its own air operator’s certificate. The flights are operated by subsidiaries of the Qantas Group and by a wet-lease partner. For passengers that makes no difference – for spotters all the more.

Codes and callsign

• IATA code QF: QantasLink sells all flights under Qantas flight numbers. On the departure board you therefore see no difference from a Qantas jet.
• ICAO code QLK: appears in the air traffic control flight plan and on flight trackers for most QantasLink flights.
• Callsign “Q LINK”: This is how the crews identify themselves on the radio.

The exception is Western Australia: Network Aviation keeps its own operating certificate and flies under its own ICAO code and callsign, even if the fuselage says “QantasLink”. So if you come across a flight with a QF number but without QLK on the tracker, it is worth looking at the region.

One brand, several companies

Various companies, each with its own history, fly under the QantasLink brand. Their tasks are clearly divided by aircraft type and region.

Company	Types	Focus	Code on the tracker	Special feature
Sunstate Airlines	Dash 8-400	Regional network in the east and south	QLK	Originally a regional airline from Queensland, founded in 1981
National Jet Systems	Airbus A220-300	Jet routes between capital cities and larger regional centers	QLK	Founded in 1988, part of the Qantas Group since 2020
Network Aviation	Airbus A319, A320, Fokker 100	Western Australia, mining charter from Perth	own code	With Qantas since 2011, in QantasLink look since 2015
Alliance Airlines (wet lease)	Embraer E190	Supplement on jet routes	check the tracker	Independent airline, Qantas is a minority shareholder
Eastern Australia Airlines	formerly Dash 8	historical	–	Belonged to the original brand family; the Dash 8 flights have since been taken over by Sunstate

The division of labor helps you with identification: A turboprop with QantasLink titles today practically always comes from Sunstate, an A220 from National Jet Systems, a Fokker 100 from Network Aviation. The E190 is an aircraft of Alliance Airlines that flies for Qantas complete with crew – the principle is explained in the article on wet lease.

The fleet: turboprop, regional jet and classic

The QantasLink fleet has changed a great deal in recent years. The following overview lists the types you see in service as of October 2026. Exact numbers change constantly through new arrivals and retirements, so we deliberately leave out exact figures here.

Type	Operator	Role	Spotter note
De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400	Sunstate	Backbone of the regional network	Largest part of the fleet, some taken over used from WestJet Encore
Airbus A220-300	National Jet Systems	Successor to the Boeing 717	137 seats in two classes, deliveries since December 2023
Airbus A319 and A320	Network Aviation	Western Australia, mining charter	Used aircraft, including from Jetstar
Fokker 100	Network Aviation	Western Australia	Being gradually replaced by Embraer E190s
Embraer E190	Alliance Airlines	Wet lease on jet routes	Alliance aircraft with QantasLink flight numbers

Dash 8-400: the workhorse

The Dash 8-400 is the type you see most often at QantasLink. The first examples came to Sunstate in 2006. For a long time the smaller versions also flew alongside it, the Dash 8-300 and the Dash 8-200. The last Dash 8-300 took off in August 2025, and the Dash 8-200s went to another operator. Since then QantasLink has flown only the Dash 8-400 among its turboprops.

To strengthen the fleet, Qantas bought used Dash 8-400s from WestJet Encore in 2024; the first aircraft arrived at the end of 2024. The type’s manufacturer today is De Havilland Canada. If you still find it hard to tell turboprops apart, the guide telling ATR and Dash 8 apart will help.

Airbus A220-300: the new jet

The Airbus A220-300 is the biggest novelty at QantasLink. According to Airbus, the Qantas Group took delivery of the first aircraft in December 2023 in Mirabel, Canada, and had it ferried to Sydney via Vancouver, Honolulu and Nadi. The cabin has 137 seats, split into 10 Business and 127 Economy seats. In total the group has ordered 29 A220s. According to Airbus, the first example carries a special livery based on an Aboriginal artwork – a sought-after motif.

According to Airbus, the A220 can fly every connection within Australia nonstop and can therefore also serve routes for which the 717 did not have enough range. The manufacturer is Airbus; the type was originally developed by Bombardier as the CSeries.

Boeing 717: the farewell

The Boeing 717 is now history at QantasLink. Qantas received its first 717s at the end of 2001 with the takeover of Impulse Airlines. The aircraft moved to Jetstar for a while and returned to QantasLink under National Jet Systems from 2005. For many years the 717 then flew jet routes such as Canberra, Hobart or regional centers; from 2014 it even replaced the Boeing 737 on Hobart routes.

The 717’s last day of flying with Qantas was in October 2024. If you have the type in QantasLink colors in your archive, you now own a historic shot. How to classify old pictures correctly and check an aircraft’s age is covered in the article on aircraft age.

Fokker 100: the last of their kind

In Western Australia, Network Aviation flies the Fokker 100, mainly out of Perth to mining towns such as Karratha, Port Hedland or Newman. Since 2015 these aircraft have worn the QantasLink paint scheme. The Fokker 100 is robust and well suited to the sometimes short runways in the outback – but it has become rare worldwide. In 2025 Qantas chose the Embraer E190 as its successor; the first aircraft for Network Aviation arrived in Perth in September 2026. For spotters this means: The days of the Fokker under QantasLink titles are numbered.

How to recognize QantasLink

The paint scheme follows Qantas closely: white fuselage, red tail with a white kangaroo. The difference is in the lettering on the forward fuselage: It says “QantasLink” there instead of just “Qantas”. With Jetstar, the group’s low-cost offshoot, you see an orange-and-black design with a star instead – the risk of confusion there is low.

The second identifier is the aircraft type. Qantas itself flies mainly Boeing 737-800s and Airbus A330-200s domestically, but no turboprops, A220s or Fokkers. So if you see one of those types with a kangaroo, you are almost certainly looking at QantasLink. The registration starts with VH-, like all Australian aircraft – how the system works is explained in the article understanding aircraft registrations.

The exception is the Airbus A319 and A320 of Network Aviation: They are medium-haul jets and could look like Qantas aircraft at first glance. Here the titles on the fuselage decide. For spotters who collect alliance liveries: An overview of the alliances’ special liveries is in the article on alliance liveries; QantasLink itself belongs to oneworld via Qantas – how the alliances work is explained in the article Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam.

Spotting QantasLink in Australia

QantasLink can be seen daily at almost all of Australia’s major airports. Which types you catch, however, depends strongly on the region.

• Sydney and Brisbane: lots of Dash 8-400s and A220s. At Sydney Airport, Shep’s Mound is a well-known spot; more tips are in the guide plane spotting in Sydney.
• Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra and Hobart: good chances of the A220 and the Dash 8-400, depending on the route also an E190 from Alliance.
• Cairns and Queensland: turboprop country – here the Dash 8-400s dominate on routes to the north.
• Perth: the only opportunity for the Fokker 100 as well as the A319 and A320 of Network Aviation, often early in the morning when the mining flights depart.

Besides QantasLink, in Australia you also meet the regional aircraft of Rex Regional Express and the jets of Virgin Australia. The comparison is worthwhile: Rex flies the Saab 340, QantasLink the Dash 8 – two very different turboprops that you can tell apart just by the fuselage cross-section.

Common mix-ups

• Taking QantasLink for a separate airline – it is a brand; the flying is done by Sunstate, National Jet Systems, Network Aviation and Alliance.
• Logging every kangaroo jet as Qantas – the titles on the fuselage decide whether it is a regional flight.
• Listing the E190 as a QantasLink-owned aircraft – the Embraers belong to Alliance Airlines and fly on wet lease.
• Still expecting the 717 in the schedule – it has been retired from Qantas since October 2024.
• Confusing the Dash 8-300 and -400 – today only the long Dash 8-400 flies at QantasLink.
• Expecting QLK on every flight – Network Aviation in Western Australia uses its own code.

Conclusion

QantasLink is the part of Qantas that you see most often in Australia without noticing it. Behind the brand are several companies, the Dash 8-400 as the backbone, the A220 as the new jet and, with the Fokker 100, a classic on its farewell tour. The Boeing 717 is already history. If you note title, type and ICAO code together, you classify every sighting correctly – and have exciting generation changes in front of your lens for the next few years.