South Australian air charter company Air South is expanding its regional and outback services with the acquisition of two new 30-seater, cabin-style planes.

The first of the two Embraer Brasilia 120 aircraft is being unveiled at Adelaide Airport today, with the second due to be delivered early next year.

AE Charter Services, which operates Air South and Rossair, said the twin-prop planes could fly at speeds up to 100km per hour faster than similar-sized aircraft, making them ideal for servicing regional airports such as Coober Pedy, Whyalla, Moomba, Kingscote, Port Lincoln, Alice Springs and Broken Hill.

They are also capable of flying as far as eastern Western Australia, the Northern Territory and far-west Queensland.

SA Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis hailed the expansion as a boost for the state’s resources industry.

“The addition of these aircraft means resources companies can transport their workers on faster and more frequent services to our mining centres and in particular to the state’s Cooper Basin, which is the most productive onshore oil province in Australia,” he said.

Koutsantonis said a new sealed airstrip being built at Innamincka, in the Cooper Basin, could be used by the new charter aircraft to deliver fly-in, fly-out workers closer to the region’s mining centres.

The Embraer Brasilia 120s are operated by a captain and first officer, along with a cabin attendant, and AE Charter Services has hired seven new staff as part of the expansion. The company’s total fleet in 2015 will number 12 aircraft.

Air South-Rossair director Mark Lindh said the new planes balanced features such as safety, remote airstrip capability, speed and comfort, with on-board toilets and full air-conditioning.

“The introduction of these aircraft gives companies and governments a real alternative to the traditional Australian airlines in transporting their people to regional areas, with the flexibility of working to their own specific schedules, particularly those who wish to reside in the Adelaide region, in an efficient, safe and cost-effective way.”