The Best Job In The World?

Par Avion – more than an airmail service

With charter, eco-tourism, flying training and RPT operations, Par Avion – Airlines of Tasmania – isn’t your typical regional airline. So it’s perhaps unsurprising that managing director Shannon Wells doesn’t consider himself a typical pilot.

“If I fly once or twice a fortnight then I’m pretty happy, but I take more pleasure in having lots of our aircraft flying, knowing that the work I’ve done is a reason why this is happening,” says Wells.

Tasmania’s small size is misleading when it comes to considering the importance of aviation links across the island state, as well as to the populated islets of Bass Strait. And Par Avion, as the only true Tasmanian-based airline, plays an important role in the state’s transport network.

“[It can] take four-five hours to travel to the west or northwest coast of Tasmania,” says Wells. “We also have several islands such as King, Flinders and Cape Barren Islands that need an airlink. These are a no-brainer. However, it’s other areas such as tourism and flyingtraining in which there is much potential for Tasmania as these bring people and money into the state, creating greater employment opportunity. ” Wells continues: “The important thing though is that if someone needs to urgently get to, for example Strahan, for whatever reason, an aircraft is the only way to do it. But we can’t make a living waiting for that once in a blue moon call to fly. Thus we have to do other things with our aircraft so we can supply that service to the community when and if that time comes.

A CPL-rated pilot, Wells grew up in his family’s aviation business, and like many reading this would hang around the airport on weekends. “I saved enough money from mowing lawns to start flying,” Wells recalls. “I logged my first hours at 14 and soloed at 16 in a Cessna 172P registered VH-PIX. ” Wells studied business and information systems at university, working in various operational roles at Par Avion while he studied. Upon graduation he took a graduate position at the Commonwealth Bank where he worked for six years, returning to Par Avion about six years ago.

Wells draws parallels between aviation and banking, suggesting similarities in the environments have helped him succeed in his current role. “Surprisingly, customer service skills are well entrenched into training at Commonwealth Bank. ” Wells brought this customer service focus to Par Avion, an important factor in the company’s success. Furthermore, “the banking industry being highly compliance-driven makes it similar to the expectations and frameworks you see in aviation. ” In 2012, Airlines of Tasmania group – which has been associated with various operators for over

There is no point flying aeroplanes at a loss, thinking tomorrow it will change. SHANNON WELLS

50 years – entered administration and was restructured to support a sustainable long-term operation.

For Wells, going through the experience of administration at a relatively young age only reinforced his belief that even the smallest regional operators need to have a sustainable strategy. Airlines of Tasmania’s book values were inflated, and while the cash position was strong, the airline didn’t have the cash flow to replace equipment and reinvest. Wells believes that essentially “there is no point flying aeroplanes at a loss, thinking tomorrow it will change. ” Post-administration, a little over 12 months ago, Wells was offered the opportunity to take on the challenge of becoming managing director. He now heads a stronger, more diversified operation, but there’s no doubt his young age has allowed him to bring fresh perspective. Par Avion now has a flying training partnership with the University of Tasmania for its aviation programs. In addition, it has increased its exposure to tourism through the purchase of an eco wilderness camp in the Southwest National Park. Says Wells, “as the only practical access is via aircraft, it suits us as an aviation business quite well. ” Diversification has extended to new services outside of Tasmania, with Par Avion commencing RPT services between Essendon and Griffith in March this year.

However, in a common industry theme the cost of regulatory compliance also weighs heavily on Par Avion. It’s created an uneven playing field, with CASA increasing regulatory compliance – already at a higher standard – for low capacity RPT. Wells explains that “over the last few years we’ve been introducing safety 50 years – entered administration and was restructured to support a sustainable long-term operation.

For Wells, going through the experience of administration at a relatively young age only reinforced his belief that even the smallest regional operators need to have a sustainable strategy. Airlines of Tasmania’s book values were inflated, and while the cash position was strong, the airline didn’t have the cash flow to replace equipment and reinvest. Wells believes that essentially “there is no point flying aeroplanes at a loss, thinking tomorrow it will change. ” Post-administration, a little over 12 months ago, Wells was offered the opportunity to take on the challenge of becoming managing director. He now heads a stronger, more diversified operation, but there’s no doubt his young age has allowed him to bring fresh perspective. management systems, continuing airworthiness, sterile hangars, yet our charter-only competitors haven’t gone through any of this. ” It’s a real issue as “[Par Avion] now receives quotes for engines and parts which are 10 or 20 per cent higher as a consequence these new regulations. We can’t just simply increase our ticket prices by 10 to 20 per cent, so we have to absorb these costs, which limits our capacity to invest as much as I would like into new equipment and training. ” Even so, it’s more than just the challenge of managing such a diverse business that challenges Wells. “I’ve been flying for 15 years, and while I don’t have as many hours as others who started flying at the same time, I’ve certainly learned to appreciate and respect aviation in Tasmania, especially south-west Tasmania. The weather can change very quickly down there.

”Elaborating further, Wells describes, “the amazing scenery, interesting terrain, ever-changing weather, and the ease of escaping traffic in uncontrolled airspace. ” Par Avion’s ownership of Cambridge Airport gives the company a lot of operational freedom. “If we fly IFR, we are treated just like everyone else – so it’s a great mixture of freedom when you want, but procedures when needed. ” Overall, Wells’s enthusiasm is underpinned by a strong commitment to his home state. “We’re fortunate as Tasmania offers a wonderful quality of life. We can’t match the payroll of major airlines, so we try and promote the work/life balance. ” He continues smiling, “former pilots tell me that south-west Tasmania was some of the best flying they have ever done. ”

From Rex to CX

Flying in regional Australia was an experience like no other for Dave McNulty. “Every day was really enjoyable,” he recalls fondly. “It’s not a conventional analogy, but it was like going to the go-kart track – while safety always comes first you always knew you would have fun and be challenged. ” Now a second officer on Cathay Pacific’s Boeing 747 fleet, McNulty’s passion for aviation had an unconventional start – a family friend convincing him to join Qantas as a flight attendant for the fabulous lifestyle it offered. It turned out to be more than lifestyle: “The atmosphere of flying at Qantas was amazing, and it’s really what inspired me to start flying on the side,” he says. Gaining his PPL, and with a little over 100 hours he was selected to join Rex’scadetship program in one of the initial intakes.

Initially the program was a challenge. “We were grounded for the first four months as there were teething issues with the program, which included having no training AOC which was a source of frustration for the cadets – particularly those who had never flown before. ” He was assigned an initial post at Adelaide, later moving to Melbourne, but both bases provided exposure to Australia’s diverse and often harsh operating environments. He believes this is what accelerated his career into Cathay where he entered the most advanced level of the new pilot entry program.

“The hand-flying time you get in a Saab with VOR and NDB approaches was massive. There’s just so muchstick and throttle experience – you’re hand-flying into airports with poor lighting and you’re going up and down three or four times a day without much autopilot use. ” At Cathay he trained with a couple of guys who came straight from the 172. McNulty observes “they were amazing with procedures, but their hand-flying experience needed work, and that became a focus of their training”.

This he says is also one of the excellent things about Cathay’s flight training department. “At Rex they had a lot of pass or fail metrics, if you failed one of these elements you failed your flight test. ” A demoralising experience.

“Cathay’s standards are set commensurate to experience at SO, FO or captain level. ” Continues McNulty, “If you score well on one element, but lower on other procedures that are attributed to a higher level of experience it’s not necessarily a fail. There is a focuson the identified weaknesses so you can improve in particular areas that require work. ” McNulty’s job at Rex was made easier by Rex’s frontline staff and the country people on board who were always easy-going and happy to help out. “The Saab’s small size meant we were always managing centre of gravity manually, shifting freight and passengers around. Passengers were understanding. ” He also highlights the awareness his time as a flight attendant gave him. “I understood how tough it was, and appreciated what was going on down the back. ” That awareness translated into a more cooperative working environment on board at Rex and something he brought with him to Cathay.

“We taught the crew to be aware of the aircraft and alert to noises, to let us know if they thought something was up which made them more proactive. ” The age of some Saab 340s made this particularly important. “There wasoften something that you had to figure out and fix. ” The biggest challenge though was handling winter weather. Conditions would change quickly, and often dramatically. “Australia can throw some really interesting weather phenomena at you. It’s testing when you’re concentrating on making tough decisions while you’re being thrown around in rough weather. ” He continues, “one of the most challenging I’ve had was a night approach into Wynyard [Burnie] in Tassie. It was the third sector for the night, and weather at the airport was horrible. The cross-wind component on the runway was at 35kt – the max for a 340 – and the cloud was sitting at minima. We made three approaches, and then had the choiceto hang around, divert to another airport with bad weather, or go back to Melbourne. We flew back to Melbourne, and by the time we were on the ground the weather had lifted, so we turned around and went back. You just can’t take the risk in conditions like those. ” It’s challenges like these that can’t be trained – no matter the number of simulator sessions – but they teach rigour and give a sense of satisfaction.

He misses the stick and throttle nature of Saab flying, but McNulty speaks of his time on Cathay’s 747s as an amazing experience which has brought new challenges. And as he prepares for his upgrade he’s grateful for the unique skills that flying regionally gave him to take on the Queen of the Sky.