Is Australia ready for a new Wagga-based airline with integrity?

Wagga lawyer and entrepreneur Farhan Rehman has always aimed high in life and he’s hoping his next venture will literally take off.

Farhan has his sights set on launching Australia’s next airline from his hometown in the Riverina.

While Farhan has plenty on his plate as the managing partner at the Rehman Sheriff Group (RSG) and co-founder of Wagga food brand Habibi Chicken, he said an airline dedicated to serving regional Australia was a long-held ambition.

“This has been something that I’ve been working on for many, many years,” he said.

“One of the things that I wanted to do when I was young was definitely to start a law firm, then there was hospitality, but with everything I do, I wanted it to be purposed in Wagga.”

Wagga has a surprisingly long aviation history, with the first homegrown airline, Premiair Aviation, founded out of the flying school in 1967 with a single route to Melbourne.

Renamed Kendell Airlines in 1971, the Wagga-based company became the largest regional service in the country before the Ansett Australia collapse in 2001 bought them unstuck.

Kendell Airlines was sold in 2002 and absorbed into what would become Regional Express (Rex).

With airlines Bonza and Rex the latest to fall in 2024 and regional customers again at the mercy of the major carriers, Farhan suggested that it was time to get back to basics.

“What I don’t like about the airline industry, is the service offering and how expensive it is,” he said.

“I get that there are serious operational costs, but I just don’t feel like there’s any care given to regional Australia when they’re rolling into this and the focus is still on profits, dividends and revenue rather than the customers.”

While it’s early days, Farhan and his team are finalising their application to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and drafting a prospectus with a unique business model.

“We are still working on the strategy behind it, but I want to create social enterprise in the sense that it gives back to the community and I want the community to be involved with creating the business itself,” he said.

“I want to launch this from here in Wagga and, like we have done with our hospitality business, take it slow and steady and build a good foundation.”

While the plan is rooted in an ideal, Farhan said they were not naive about the challenges of the famously difficult industry.

Together, Qantas and Virgin control 95 per cent of Australia’s domestic market and jealously guard their territory.

“There are so many airlines out there that just stuck around for a bit of time, tried and failed, and usually they fail because once they enter, the big airlines will come in and there are allegations of price gouging and they make it very difficult for the other party to operate,” he said.

The next player to enter the market will be Koala Airlines with a vague commitment to “redefining air travel and setting new standards in ways that resonate with today’s travellers which will reshape the Australian landscape”.

Koala CEO Bill Astling has acknowledged the “insane” challenge ahead for the new carrier but is banking on the public’s dissatisfaction with the big two and a desire for a more competitive service.

While Koala is aiming big and is in the process of purchasing a fleet for its future launch, Farhan is taking a step-by-step approach that will be grounded in a service philosophy.

“When the bottom line becomes money and if your view is just that, I’m just gonna expand and make money, all the principles go out the window,” he said.

“I want to make sure that, first of all, regional Australia has accessibility to the main cities and that the service offering is done in a way where we really care about the consumer and the flight experience.”

The airline is yet to be named, something Farhan is hoping to workshop with the community, but the clock is ticking on a three-year plan.

“We are in the process of that initial certification and we are planning to lease a plane towards a launch in three years,” he said.

“But my number one goal is to see Wagga do well. I want to see this place become known for entrepreneurial, innovative minds and thinking and to bring the community on that journey.”

Watch this space!