Qantas Airways Limited
(ASX:QAN) has signed a three-year agreement to provide charter flights to the Roy Hill Pilbara iron ore project beginning in mid-August, according to media reports.
The deal is the latest sign that Gina Rinehart's Roy Hill project, which is 70 per cent owned by Mrs Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting, is showing signs of life.
It comes soon after Japan's Marubeni raised its stake in the project to 15 per cent and reports emerged that there is optimism the project may be approved by December, the reports say.
As part of the contract, Qantas will provide fly-in, fly-out services to the mine three times a week and those are likely to increase when the project reaches its forecast peak of about 3,600 workers.
Qantas Airways generated a net profit of $111 million in the first half of the 2013 financial year.
