Airline Affairs

The twelve months to September also showed strong growth with total tonne-kilometres up by 6. 5 per cent, passenger- kilometres by 6. 5 per cent, and freight tonne-kilometres by 6. 9 per cent. Total hours flown by domestic airlines increased by 4. 9 per cent in the September quarter and by 3. 7 per cent for the twelve months to September.

Ansett Buy Additional Boeing and McDonnell Douglas Jetliners:

Topping off a fantastic buying spree for 1985, Ansett has purchased an additional 6 Boeing 737-300 twinjets and taken options on a further six. Additionally, at press time, we believe an order has been signed with McDonnell Douglas for a number of MD-80 jets, possibly 15 of the long-range MD-83 variant.

Both the 737-300s and the MD-80s are destined for a new company entitled Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services. The new company is to specialise in offshore lease deals and should not be confused with the established Corsair which is now tasked primarily with sub-leasing specific aircraft that were purchased or operated by Ansett Airlines of Australia.

Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services is headed by Mr Alan Yates, Deputy GM of Ansett Airlines and Mr Paul Keen, a senior executive with TNT Bulkships. The new company will compete offshore directly with such operators as Guinness Peat Aviation, International Lease Finance Corp and Irish Aerospace which is a partnership directly between GPA and MDC. It is highly unlikely either of the two ordered types would filter through to Australian operation as the MD-80 alone would trigger off a crewing dispute due to it not requiring the presence of a Flight Engineer.

In the past year the Ansett group has purchased (with options) 17 Airbus Industrie A320s (some of which will be used offshore). 24 Boeing 737-300s (12 destined for Australia), 2 de Havilland Canada Dash 8s, 22 Fokker 50s (7 of which are for Corsair) and an unspecified number of MD-80 series twinjets. Additionally, Ansett Airlines of Western Australia signed for 2 BAe 146-200s with 6 more on option in the first half of 1984. The latest 737s and MD-80s do not as yet show in our sales section as technically at press time they were ‘unannounced’ orders.

Both Ansett and TNT have been performing particularly strongly in the past two years. Ansett Transport Industries recently revealed a nett profit of a massive $64. 7m for the 84/85 year, up 46% on the 83/84 figure which logged a nett profit of a healthy $44. 2m. Total 84/85 revenue was $1. 22bn, up 16. 8% on the previous year. If anybody feels that this is not an excellent result then consider that earlier in the year Qantas announced a record net profit of $62. 7m, which is less than the Ansett figure! TNT has also been vibrant with an 84/85 nett of $76m being recorded and a $26m first quarter profit being recorded for the present financial year. TNT are hoping to log a $100m plus nett for the present year and this sort of ‘fiscal energy’, combined with the comprehensive resources of the Murdoch empire are set to enable Ansett Airlines to branch out into new aviation endeavours in the year ahead.

 Qantas Slashes Melbourne London Flight Time With One-Stop Service:

Qantas will cut about five hours from the existing flight time between Melbourne and London when it introduces one-stop services in April this year.

The new service (QF9) will operate three times a week via Bombay – every Tuesday (7478). Thursday (747EUD) and Saturday (7478). The new services were first mentioned in the June issue, Airline Affairs, but at the time were denied by Qantas. The return service (QF10) will depart London on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, flying via Bombay and Sydney, passing through only one night, arriving in Melbourne a little more than a day later. The new flights will depart Melbourne at 10. 00pm and have been timed to arrive in London at 11. 55am, providing passengers with a more convenient arrival time.

The introduction of the one-stop service will prove a boon for business travellers, effectively saving one whole day. Instead of having to be at the airport at midday, the traveller can complete a full day’s work before joining the flight for dinner. On arrival, the traveller will not face the problem of waiting for hotel rooms in London to become available.

Neither the 747B or 747 Extended Upper Deck aircraft that Qantas will use on the route will suffer any passenger or payload restrictions due to the fuel efficiency of the Rolls Royce RB211-D4 engines on the aircraft. The one-stop flights will bring to 10 the number of weekly Qantas services from Australia to London and give the airline a total of 16 European services.

Us Mixed Third Quarter Rings Alarm Bells:

US majors generally had a mixed third quarter (July/Sept) with capacity swamping traffic gains and yield being eroded due to intense fare wars. The dozen majors had a net result of $US338m profit for the quarter as against $US455m for the same period in 1984. Most carriers were forced into a situation of matching United Airlines deep discounts over all of its continental route structure that United used as a tool to win back the traffic base that it lost during its 29 day pilots’ strike in June. That a single airline can have such a dramatic effect on the overall performance of one third of total world civil aviation in just one country augers badly for regional Pacific and Asian internationals when giant United wades south in the early days of 1986! The yield situation though (which is further described on p22 of this issue) is troubling many airlines as they head towards the northern winter, a period that eliminates most of the net profit of even the healthiest carrier over two quarters of the year. Primary problem is that in most areas capacity has outstripped uplift while the majority of the surge in uplift over the past two years has primarily been at the low-end discount section of the market where yield is minimal.

 Taa Chooses Jetstream 31:

Trans Australia Airlines has chosen the Jetstream 31 turboprop airliner for operation on its routes in Western Queensland. The order for three aircraft is worth about $A20 million including spares, and deliveries will be in August and September 1986.

TAA has provided airline services to Western Queensland since 1949 and now operates on routes from Brisbane as far west as Birdsville, and from Townsville as far west as Mount Isa. These low-density routes are of great importance to the communities which they serve and, following the decision by the Queensland Government in April 1984 to accept TAA’s proposals for future operations, the airline has been seeking a suitable new aircraft to replace the current Fokker F278.

The airline plans to provide more frequencies, more direct flights, same-day returns, better timings and shorter journey times with fewer stops and is also looking at increasing the number of ports served in Western Queensland.

The aircraft will be configured with a comfort- able 15-seat layout and will have provision for flight attendant service, a gallery, toilet and stow-age for baggage and cargo. TAA’s order now brings total of Jetstream 31 sales to 97 aircraft in six countries.

Airlines to Collect Departure Tax From July 1st 1986:

The international airlines are to be made responsible for collecting the $20 departure tax effective from July 1st 1986. To effectively operate the system the airlines have banded together to provide a small core of staff to man the departure tax booths which were previously operated by the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs.

Good news is that the $55m due to be collected in the 85/86 financial year will go towards aviation cost recovery, which hopefully will provide about a quarter of the necessary aviation funding as the DotA progressively heads towards its target of full cost recovery by the end of this decade.

A Frustrated East-West Comes Out Fighting:

East West Airlines is to pursue its High Court challenge to the legality of the Two Airline Policy. East West planned to file a statement in the High Court as we went to press though the retrial of Mr Justice Murphy may scuttle Section 92 hearings in the absence of á Full Bench.

“EWA has taken this action in frustration with the limitations of the present two airline system,” claimed Managing Director, Dennis Howe. During the past year East West has suffered a number of crucial refusals on the importation of new aircraft, particularly a fifth F28 jet, and to gaining access to new routes which were subsequently taken up by TAA.

The planned cancellation of traffic rights on EWA’s crucial Sydney/Yulara/Perth route was the last straw in trying to operate a truly competitive and price-conscious service for the travelling public, claimed Mr Howe. East West had been willing to work for a managed, commonsense change to the present system but the Federal Government had shown no interest in moving to a system of competitive airlines, stated Mr Howe.

It is generally felt within aviation industry circles that when Ric Stowe took over East-West late in 1983 that a ‘deal’ of sorts regarding the intention of a High Court challenge initiated by Brian Grey was made between East West and the then Aviation Minister, Kim Beazley. With Kim Beazley’s appointment as Defence Minister in December 1984 the ‘arrangement’ was not apparently carried over to the new Minister who has to all intents and purposes followed the letter of the TAP law in allowing EWA additional freedom of operation. It has been this situation that has now forced East West’s hand and left it no option but to go to the High Court to challenge Section 92 of the Australian Constitution which relates directly to free trade matters.

The carrier’s timing though was abysmal as the day after the airline announced its challenge, Mr Justice Murphy was granted a retrial, which effectively scuttled any High Court activity in the area of Section 92 till at least next July. The reason for this is that no such dramatically important matters as the Constitution, the High Court demands that a Full Bench must be sitting, something that it cannot achieve while Justice Murphy is in his current predicament.

For East-West Airlines, 1986 could be a very frustrating year.

Qantas Future Plans:

Qantas is enjoying an encouragingly smooth transition to service of their new Boeing 767-200ERs. Whether or not Qantas purchases additional -200s is a moot point as recent discussions with the airline point to a greater interest in the stretched 767-300ER which can seat around fifty more passengers than the -200 while flying the same long-range mission.

Qantas is also vitally interested in ultimately replacing its existing 747-238Bs with the new -400 variant which has the range capability of the SPs while uplifting the passenger complement of the existing -300EUD. Qantas hope to have the -400 in operation by the end of this decade and will then look to using the aircraft on the Sydney/Los Angeles non-stop in place of the SP. A new route that Qantas hope to then introduce is a Sydney/Tahiti/New York service using the available SP capacity. This has definite market potential in both high-yield passenger and freight traffic claimed a senior Qantas official. The use of the SPs on such routes also ensures them a place in Qantas livery for many years to come and eventually these aircraft themselves may be replaced with the ultra long range 767-300LR if and when long range twin-engine overwater rules are relaxed.

 Taa’s New General Manager:

The Australian National Airlines Commission has appointed Mr James Strong as general manager of TAA. Mr Strong has succeeded Mr Frank Ball who retired on November 26. Mr Ball has been appointed to the Commission for two years.

Mr Strong, 41, is the chief executive of the Australian Mining Industry Council and a director of the Confederation of Australian Industry. Mr Strong, who is based in Canberra with the Australian Mining Industry Council (AMIC). was with Nabaloo Pty Ltd for 13 years before joining the AMIC. The Council represents all major mining companies in Australia.

Economic Team Review Regulation Expanded:

Two additional members have been appointed to assist Mr Tom May in the Review of economic regulation of the domestic aviation industry. Mr May had sought assistance in light of the large number of submissions and the associated workload, due to the high level of public interest.

In these circumstances the Minister for Aviation Mr Peter Morris said it was decided to appoint Professor Gordon Mills, of Sydney University and Mr Ted Butcher, a member of the Interstate Commission, to constitute a three man review team under the Chairmanship of Mr May.

Mr Morris indicated that the revised arrangements will mean that the team will not complete the review until the latter half of the year. Professor Mills was a member of the review team that undertook the National Road Freight Inquiry and Mr Butcher was appointed to the Interstate Commission on its re-establishment in 1984. of

The Deregulation Hearings, What the Airlines Are Saying:

Due to the vast amount of data submitted to the Federal Government’s Independent Review Economic Regulation of Domestic Aviation, the Minister for Aviation, Peter Morris, has decided to expand the size of the Review and allow it several more months in which to report. Initially it was hoped that the entire project would be wrapped up by mid-year though it now appears more likely that a full announcement from the Minister will not be forthcoming till the Spring.

The airlines and dozens of other travel and tourism oriented interests have laid their cards on the table. Most want deregulation in one form or another as a means of expanding Australia’s aviation base and so with it increasing the opportunities for both residents and overseas visitors to see more of Australia in a cost effective manner.

The submissions by the four major airlines, indeed the key players in the deregulation extravaganza, are as one would expect – varied. Understandably both TAA and Ansett basically want things to stay as they are while Maverick East West is shooting for as much change as it can get. Qantas on the other hand principally wants its interline rights back along with increased flexibility in flying domestic sectors with overseas passengers, etc.

To bring you up to date with what the carriers were saying towards the end of 1985, and their attitudes may well alter through 1986, we offer the following summaries: The submission by Ansett is probably best remembered for what it doesn’t say rather than what it does say. It is no secret that Ansett would simply prefer no change at all and in- deed it goes a long way to stating this in suggesting that there really has not been enough time since the last Airlines Agreement in 1981 to fully appreciate the changes that have occurred in the domestic airline market. Essentially though Ansett wants better coordination between fare setting via the IAFC and capacity controls via the Minister. The IAFC also to be given more resources with which to properly undertake Cost Allocations Reviews. Some consideration to partially privatising TAA as was contemplated in 1981, and to reduce the overlap of responsibilities between State and Federal departments of transport or aviation.

Ansett’s attitude to deregulation can probably be best summed up by their joint Managing Director, Sir Peter Abeles when he recently said in Perth “They (speaking on behalf of Rupert Murdoch as well) would prefer a deregulated free market in aviation. But they both believed the Two Airlines Policy was the best solution to Australia’s unique situation. ” Considering that deregulation and the Two Airline Policy are as about as similar as communism and capitalism, then if you, like us, are a little confused then don’t feel alone! East West Airlines feels that the level of change should fall somewhere between what we have today and full deregulation. The smallest of the four carriers feels that the inbuilt restrictions of the past 33 years is such that total deregulation would not be feasible in practical terms even if it was allowed. What their submission does suggest is an end of public funding of TAA, making legislation of the TAP subject to the Trade Practices Act and setting a policy of common use for airline terminals. They also suggest the ending of loan guarantees on new aircraft imports by TAA and Ansett, and that public disclosure of performance should increase with the degree of protection afforded.

EWA feels that it can tap new travelling markets if given the opportunity to compete head on with both the domestics. The airline also feels that any new policy should ensure that air services to remote and second-echelon communities does not suffer as a consequence of any moves towards partial deregulation.

Qantas, while not essentially operating under the control of the TAP is deeply affected by its day-to-day operational implications. What Qantas wants is its interline rights restored. These rights, claims the airline, were arbitrarily taken away from it in 1979 by the Minister of the day without recourse or reason. Despite the fact that they were never deleted from the Act they have never been reinstated despite years of protestation by the carrier.

Qantas claims it is the only international carrier that cannot carry overseas passengers on internal services or indeed not to operate specific internal domestic sectors in its own country. Australia’s international airline also seeks to carry domestic air freight and to be able to operate domestic charters. It strongly opposes any entry to international markets by the domestics though one gets the feeling that this may be negotiable if a meaningful entry to the domestic market could be achieved by way of barter.

Trans Australia Airways is a little like Ansett in that most of its suggestions surround a fine-tuning of the present system rather than a push to greatly alter the present situation. TAA would however retain the practice of import licensing aircraft as a means of controlling capacity. TAA would also like to phase out aircraft utilisation and passenger load factor controls, thus allowing individual airlines to determine on economic grounds the utilisation and deployment of their fleets.

TAA would also like to change the role of the IAFC to that of fare monitoring rather than as a fare-setting organisation and to convene a State/Federal conference to establish a “fair and equitable procedure” for all airlines to have access to intrastate as well as trunk routes. This point is dear to the heart of TAA which has no intrastate base and is now even having to see its Air Queensland on-carriage disappear into Ansett jets due to a secret agreement between the two carriers that TAA was apparently not aware of when it purchased the Queensland regional carrier early in 1985.

TAA also wants all domestic carriers to publish quarterly statements outlining traffic and financial statistics and to conduct periodic reviews to evaluate the effectiveness of the Commonwealth’s aviation policies in meeting consumer and industry needs. The government-owned domestic also wants airport curfews to be based on accepted ICAO noise standards and applied to specific runways. This would allow aircraft such as the A300, Boeing 737-300, BAe 146 and Boeing 767 to operate at night into such sensitive areas as Kingsford Smith using Runway 34 with a limited use of thrust reverse, if any.

That, in a very brief summary, is an overview of the submissions placed before the May enquiry. Any reader wishing additional information, or dates of future hearings (which have now changed due to the extension of the period of review) is free to contact the Independent Review of Economic Regulation of Domestic Aviation Committee, PO Box 1189, Queanbeyan 2620, ph (062) 97 4222 or telex 61982.

Transcorp off and Running:

Transcorp Airways Limited commenced its freight operation into Australia during early December with the first flight of its converted Boeing 707 freighter. The Brunei-backed, Perth-based freight airline is planning on a Singapore/Brunei/Melbourne/Perth regular routing though this may change to suit the circumstances of the moment. Qantas was operating a 747 as a freighter on the Perth/ Brunel route during October/November but withdrew as loads were insufficiently viable. The freighter itself was to be based in Perth but has since gone to Hong Kong. Registered D-ABUA, the 707 has an interesting history in that it has (or had, prior to being zero-timed) logged over 75,000 hours or some 55 million kilometres in 23 years of service with Lufthansa. This aircraft was also the final 707 to serve in Lufthansa colours and was a part of that carrier’s freight operation for a number of years till purchased by Transcorp in 1985.

 Qantas and Jal Team on Freighter Link:

Qantas and JAL have teamed to provide a near 50% increase in the cargo uplift from Australia to Japan. Using a JAL Boeing 747F freighter and crew, the link will provide a capability for up to 220 tonnes a week between the two countries. Of particular benefit will be primary producers and electronics manufacturers who have had to previously ship their products via the underfloor holds of existing 747 passenger aircraft.

Changes to Air Freight a Boon to Primary Producers:

Changes to international air freight charter policy will provide primary producers with greater opportunities to develop export markets, claims the Minister for Aviation, Mr Peter Morris.

The changes result from recommendations made in the report of the independent committee inquiring into the Internal Air Freight Charter Policy.

Previously all outbound primary produce charter flights were allowed to carry only one type of produce from one consignor to one consignee. Now, mixed consignments will be permitted to any destination. The new policy would help ease the shortage of air cargo capacity in peak periods.

Relaxation of the rules will also assist exports from Australia’s smaller international airports, by allowing primary produce exports to be picked up from more than one of the ‘secondary gateways’ (Cairns, Darwin, Hobart, Norfolk Island, Port Hedland and Townsville). Livestock flights, as at present, will still allow more than one consignor/consignee, but in addition, outbound livestock flights may also carry a mix of primary produce.

United Make Boeing’s Year With Massive Order:

Long expected as the ‘order of the decade’, United airlines moved during November to upgrade their aged fleet of regional transports. UAL, which operates more than 350 jet transports, has ordered 110 Boeing 737-300 twinjets and up to 6 747-200 aircraft. The 737s will be delivered from late 1986 through to 1990 at the rate of two a month, though will not replace United’s present fleet of 50 727-100, 74 737-200 and 104 727- 200s in United livery. Total value of the pack-age is nearly four billion Australian dollars.

Meanwhile, United’s plans to take over PanAm’s Pacific routes were in the hands of President Reagan as we closed for the press after gaining US Department of Transportation approval early in November. There- don’t appear to be any problems with UAL commencing operations to Australia though in Japan the issue is being hotly negotiated between JAL and UAL with the result that the latter will probably have to forsake one of its three US west coast gateways. UAL presently would be able to hub into Tokyo, which is the key to its entire Pacific stategy, from Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. United will probably have to drop Seattle from the trio though it is not known at this stage if JAL wishes to gain additional entry into the US market as a countertrade.

Locally, United was hoping to operate its first service into Australia on January 1st. The giant Chicago-based carrier was to actually commence operation using its own 747 aircraft with a specially developed PanAm overlay livery. Apparently when the transition is complete a special chemical wash can be used to remove the PanAm livery in a matter of hours. Indeed, the entire route-wide transition is expected to be fully completed in less than 15 days once formal Presidential approval is given and a firm agreement is reached with the Japanese.

If you think that Air New Zealand and Qantas are worried, then you are right. Qantas, for instance, derives a third of its total income from the Pacific, United by comparison will barely achieve one percent of its total revenue base from routes already serviced by Qantas. The opportunity for the giant United to wage a potentially savage fare war against the regional carriers in their own backyard is immense and something that both local carriers are dreading.

Taa Canberra/Melbourne Fokker a Potential Source of Embarrassment for Airline:

When East-West attempted to commence a discount Canberra/ Melbourne F27 service during 1985 it was thwarted by TAA which reluctantly took up the service in an attempt to deep EWA out. This, under the terms of the TAP (Two Airline Policy). was of course totally correct and so TAA brought one of its F27s down from Queensland to operate a once daily service between the two capitals.

What has occurred though could be potentially embarrassing to TAA if opponents of the TAP wish to make it so. Load factors on the TAA Fokker are very high, much higher tan expected and begging for additional scheduling to take advantage of a market which Canberra residents certainly feel exists. At present the operation is totally uneconomic to TAA. The aircraft, despite being a 36-seater, is manned by two flight attendants instead of one and has its two pilot tied up for a full shift when the F27 could be running up to three such services daily between the two ports for the same crew utilisation. The flight times are also only suitable for VFR traffic rather than business which is not the case with the proliferation of similar services on busy Sydney! Canberra route.

East West has proven what cheap fares can do to a market with their well-established Canberra/Sydney route doing nicely despite an influx of similar flights by Ansett F27s in the latter half of ’85. Moreover, travelling to Sydney by coach, car or XPT train are all highly viable alternatives. Yet the growth in this sector of the market is evidenced by the uplift these discount propjet services are getting with both the leisure and business market. Melbourne also historically has a greater population base influence on Canberra than Sydney, it is a long way to drive to (21⁄2 times the driving time), has no real train connection and yet only one daily discount Fokker where many could be supported.

TAA has no plans for increasing frequency on its present lon F27 service as it feels that this might erode its jet uplift base from the ACT in addition of swinging more of the higher yield traffic across to Ansett. TAA might have lost the Toss of the coin’ in inheriting its lone F27 discount service in place of Ansett, though in time both domestics could well ive to regret the day East West ever gave notice of its intention to serve the route. For protagonists of Deregulation, it could be just the ammunition the are looking for! of

Minister Gives Pledge of Efficiency in Launching the Federal Airports Corporation:

Al Australia’s state capital city airports-the major ones as well as the general aviation airports- will be managed by the soon-to-be-established Federal Airports Corporation. This was announced in November by the Minister for Aviation, Mr Peter Morris when introducing in Parliament the new legislation to establish the Corporation. The Corporation will ensure that the management of these airports is efficient, commercial and flexible.

Mr Morris said the Corporation would be able to act more readily to meet the changing needs of the travelling public and the aviation industry. “The Federal Airports Corporation is an important part of the Government’s overall strategy to improve the efficiency of the aviation industry and the levels of services to the consumer,” he said. The Corporation will be required to disclose its results and publish indicators, showing its performance on an airport-by-airport basis. “As well, it will have to forward to me each year a three-year forward program, including its budget for the following year and details of its corporate plans,” the Minister said. However, Mr Morris emphasised the Corporation would be free in its day-to-day management and to exercise its commercial judgement.

Airports to be included are: Sydney (Kings- ford-Smith), Bankstown, Hoxton Park, Cam- den, Melbourne (Tullamarine), Essendon, Moorabbin, and Brisbane (Eagle Farm). Archerfield, Coolangatta, Adelaide, Parafield, Perth, Jandakot, Hobart, Cambridge and Launceston.

Ansett Continues to Expand in the Pacific:

Ansett Airlines has further expanded its influence in the Pacific region following the signing of an agreement with the Cook Islands to provide managerial expertise and equipment for an international airline.

Ansett already provide similar support for Air Vanuatu and Polynesian Airlines and forfeited Air Pacific to Qantas late in 1984 after a vigorous battle between the two carriers through most of that year. The new service would most probably use a 767 providing a direct non-stop service between Australia’s east coast and the Cook Islands which lie northeast of New Zealand.

Qantas Expanding Services as New Aircraft Arrive:

Qantas is in the process of expanding its frequencies as its new Boeing 767ER fleet become operational. New services set to commence in April will link Cairns with Tokyo using a 767 with capacity shared jointly between OF and JAL. Perth will also be linked with Tokyo as a new non-stop service while 767s will replace the larger, and less frequent, 747s into Bali, Port Moresby and Bangkok during the first half of 1986.

Qantas also launched their new weekly Hobart/Auckland 767 service on December 17 and through October and November ran four supplementary 767 services non-stop between Sydney and Tokyo to cater for peak season travel on this sector.

 BA Booming Down Under:

British Airways certainly are looking good these days and no better than on their Australia/Europe link. Figures released recently by the airline show that growth this year, compared with last, was a solid 20% for an average load factor of 81%. This represents the highest rate of growth, on a seat capacity basis, of all BA’s regions. With half their accounting year gone, BA reported that their system-wide growth was a comfortable 10% with a load factor of 73%-a far cry from the dismal days of 1981/81 and a good introduction for their privatisation in the coming months.

The Airlines Go Comet Chasing:

While the southern skies may be full of the sight of a fiery Halley’s Comet next April they will also play host to a large number of aircraft specially chartered to give budding astronomers a better view of this remarkable event.

Rebel Air, the Sydney based DC-3 operator, has joined forces with Himalayan Expeditions to operate a number of flights to view the comet. Ansett are perhaps launching the biggest effort and will fly Boeings out of each major Australian City at the peak viewing time between April 7-15. Several flights a night will operate, each lasting for two hours and including refreshments and a special Halley’s Comet Commemorative Pack. Astronomers from the Mt. Stromlo observatory near Canberra will also accompany each Ansett flight to provide a backgrounder on the occasion. What is also good news is that Ansett will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Royal Children’s Hospital in each state for the purchase of much needed equipment.

Brian Grey Returns to Aviation:

Brian Grey, the maverick entrepreneur who changed the face of once-staid East West Airlines back in 1981 and later sold out to Ric Stowe’s Skywest Airlines at a considerable profit, is back in the air with hopefully a commuter service linking Hamilton with Melbourne.

Ironically this is the very route that launched the late Sir Reginald Ansett into aviation a hall century ago. Grey plans to use his own Mitsubishi MU2 eight-seat turboprop on the route which was only recently vacated by Kendell Airlines with their much larger Metroliners.

Ansett Happy With Bae Operations:

With six months of revenue service under their belts, Ansett WA is pleased with the performance of their two BAe 146-200 jetliners. The aircraft supplement the carrier’s fleet of smaller F28s and operate as far east as northern Queensland. Indeed AWA believe they are operating the world’s longest domestic routing. Departing Perth at 0001 hours on Saturday and returning at 2215 hours the same day, the aircraft achieves 17 hours and 20 minutes flying time over 14 sectors. The routing is Perth/Pt Hedland/Broome/Derby/ Kununurra/Darwin/Gove/Cairns and return, a total journey of 8,514kms.

Ansett have found that passenger acceptance has been excellent and that the 75-seat business class style configuration has proven a marketing boon on the long WA sectors. Fuel burn is also around 5% less than originally forecast by BAe which in itself is worth one or two bonus points on the load factor scale which is running at better than seventy percent overall.