Aviation is a key component of the economy of Queensland, Australia, but the State currently lacks an overarching aviation network strategy to enable improved consistency between state, regional and local policies for economic growth. The objective of this paper is to learn lessons from three international aviation networks to assist the development of an aviation strategy. The Resource-Based View has been mobilised accordingly as a lens for identifying and explaining the benefits and shortfalls of different governance models for aviation networks around the world, with the aviation networks of Florida, California, and Brazil reviewed. Lessons from each network are discussed for the context of the Queensland aviation network, which is framed as a multi-hub network split between the North and South East regions of the State. The three vignettes demonstrate that a more formal network-level approach to generate whole-of-state objectives for aviation is a plausible option for Queensland to pursue, enabling the state to define an overarching strategy that appreciates the reality of a resource-constrained future while pursuing the State's objectives for overarching social, economic and strategic needs.