- Australian Airlines
Infobox_Airline
airline=Australian Airlines
logo=AO_Logo.jpg
logo_size=80
IATA=AO
ICAO=AUZ
callsign=AUSTRALIAN
founded=2001
ceased =28 July 2006
frequent_flyer=None
fleet_size= 5 Ceased Operations
destinations=13 Ceased Operations
Headquarters {Cairns, Australia}Australian Airlines was a full-service
airline based inAustralia , servicingAustralian andAsia n destinations between 2001 and 2006. It was an all economy, full service international leisure carrier and was a wholly owned subsidiary ofQantas Airways , although run independently of the mainline carrier. Its main base was atCairns International Airport (CNS), with a secondary hub at Sydney airport (SYD).The airline ceased transmission under its own livery on
28 July 2006 but continued to operate flights for Qantas under a 'wet leasing' agreement. This means Australian Airlines operated flights for Qantas using its own crew / cost base but under the Qantas brand. Qantas decided to discontinue the public use of the Australian Airlines brand in favour of havingJetstar Airways as its leisure carrier. Qantas and Jetstar is operating services to replace Australian Airlines' routes, with Jetstar International introduced in late 2006 to help expand the Qantas Group's international presence.History
The airline was established in 2001 and started operations on
27 October 2002 , reusing the name Qantas gained when it merged with former Australian domestic carrier Australian Airlines in 1994. Its initial network of flights concentrated on leisure tourism betweenQueensland andJapan . Subsequent expansion brought on other leisure destinations throughoutSoutheast Asia . In 2005 Australian Airlines managed to earn aSKYTRAX "4 Star Airline" rating, despite its "low cost airline tag". However, by 2006, rising fuel costs and dropping passenger numbers caught up with the airline. On12 April 2006 Geoff Dixon, CEO of the Qantas group, announced that the group would be focusing its two-brand strategy, Qantas and Jetstar brands, and as such Australian Airlines brand would cease to exist from July 2006.The airline's aircraft have been painted back into the Qantas livery and returned to Qantas short-haul for use on their domestic and trans-tasman routes. Alternative B767-300 aircraft (in Qantas two class configuration) were supplied to Australian Airlines by Qantas, for them to operate under awet lease agreement in the interim. Australian Airlines continued to operate under this agreement, servicing several routes to Japan including twice daily flights to Narita (Tokyo) and also flights to Manilla, Philippines. Qantas closed down the Australian Airlines operation completely at the end of August 2007.Services
Australian Airlines operated scheduled services to the following destinations at the time before it ceased operations and became Jetstar & Qantas.
*
Australia
**Cairns (Cairns International Airport )
**Darwin (Darwin International Airport )
**Gold Coast (Gold Coast Airport )
**Melbourne (Melbourne Airport )
**Perth (Perth Airport )
**Sydney (Sydney Airport )
*China ,People's Republic of China
**Hong Kong (Hong Kong International Airport )
*Indonesia
**Denpasar ,Bali (Ngurah Rai Airport )
*Japan
**Fukuoka (Fukuoka Airport )
**Nagoya (Chubu Centrair International Airport )
**Osaka (Kansai International Airport )
**Sapporo (New Chitose Airport )
*Malaysia
**Kota Kinabalu (Kota Kinabalu International Airport ) (Suspended prior to ceasing operations)
*Singapore
**Singapore (Singapore Changi Airport )
*Taiwan
**Taipei (Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport ) (Suspended prior to ceasing operations)Fleet
The Australian Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft (as of August 2006) [
Flight International , 3-9 October 2006] :*5 Boeing 767-338ER (VH-OGI to VH-OGL and VH-OGV).
External links
*wayback|http://www.australianairlines.com.au|Australian Airlines official website
References
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