New Jet Service To Hamilton Island The First Of Its Kind In Australia

Ansett are also investing $30 million in the nearby Hayman Island resort and in future all Hayman-bound holiday makers will transit from Hamilton to Hayman in a giant 30kt luxury catamaran in a trip that takes less than an hour. Ansett will still operate daily, except on Tuesdays and Thursdays, into Proserpine and will connect with Qantas 747 flights at Cairns for servicing the Whitsunday group.

Hamilton is generating much interest on the US West Coast, Asia and Japan which explains the eventual aim of being able to bring in special charters direct from overseas using Boeing 747SP aircraft. Introduction of such aircraft will follow when the resort is totally completed around late 1986 which should coincide with Ansett operating 767 jets into Hamilton to satisfy traffic demand. By 1988 it is planned that the combined Hamilton/ Hayman complex will cater for over 5000 people which would theoretically require more than 41 737 services a week to service the resorts. To avoid the island becoming another KSA Ansett will be using their larger aircraft on many services in place of the smaller 737 as soon as practicable.

The airport facilities alone are quite impressive. The runway was built to full DofA specifications as a 747SP-capable strip and is 45 metres wide and 1824 metres long, featuring two coats of bituminous seal overlaying crushed rock pavement. There is a taxiway and sealed parking bay suitable for wide-bodiedjets while at least this is one airport that won’t suffer the stupidity of parallel scheduling! The strip also has a DofA manned control tower while the equipment side features a VASIS (Vision Approach Slope Indicator System), NDB (Non Directional Beacon), VOR (Visual Omni Range) and a DME (Distance Measuring Equipment).

Ansett have long been pioneers in the region. Their initial involvement in the Whitsundays dates back to 1946 when the company purchased Hayman Island and began a massive development unheard of in those bleak post-War days. In 1957 Ansett arranged for Proserpine airstrip to be sealed, helping to increase traffic to the various islands. In 1977 Ansett had Proserpine upgraded to a jet standard airport. To the south, the company was responsible for upgrading the turf airfield at Coolangatta to DC-3 standards back in 1952. Some years later Ansett sealed this strip so that Convair aircraft could be introduced to play a major role in the development of the emerging Gold Coast.

A decade ago you would have been laughed out of the business for suggesting that 747 jets would be flying direct charters into a Barrier Reef resort. Today, thanks to Ansett and Keith Hamilton, that dream is soon to become a reality, and Australia will be the winner.