- Pearl Aviation
Infobox Airline
airline = Pearl Aviation
logo_size =
fleet_size = 25
destinations =
IATA =
ICAO =
callsign =
parent = Paspaley Pearling
company_slogan =
founded = 1964
headquarters =Darwin, Northern Territory
key_people =
hubs =Darwin International Airport
secondary_hubs =
focus cities =
frequent_flyer =
lounge =
alliance =
subsidiaries =
website = [http://www.pearlav.com.au/ www.pearlav.com.au]Pearl Aviation is the most prominent of a group of aviation companies owned by Paspaley Pearling. It is an
air charter company based inDarwin, Northern Territory ,Australia . It operates specialist aviation services includingair ambulance , mining site flights, offshore oil support and contract charter. Its main base isDarwin International Airport , with other bases atAdelaide International Airport ,Alice Springs Airport ,Broome International Airport ,Gove Airport and Katherine Airport.cite news | title= Directory: World Airlines | work=Flight International | page= 62 | date= 2007-04-10] . Other companies in the Pearl group conductbusiness jet charter andsearch and rescue operations,Fixed base operator services, and operations in support of Paspaley's pearling activities, from bases at Darwin Airport,Perth Airport ,Mungalalu Truscott Airbase ,Cairns International Airport ,Essendon Airport andBrisbane Airport .History
The airline was formed and started operations in 1964 as Skywest Aviation, which acquired East-West Airlines in 1984 and was itself acquired by Ansett Airlines in
1987 . The company was divided into airline and non-airline operations and the non-airline operations were purchased in 1996 by Paspaley Pearling (which by that time had been operating aircraft to its pearl farms for over ten years) and renamed. [ [http://www.aeropearl.com.au/Intercom7.pdf AeroPearl Intercom Newsletter No. 7.] Retrieved:9 September 2008 .] One of the divisions of East-West that was purchased was an operation atSydney Airport , conducting air ambulance flights for theAmbulance Service of New South Wales . In 2004 Pearl Aviation was awarded a ten-year contract to operate fourBeechcraft Super King Air s configured as air ambulances for the Northern Territory Aerial Medical Service, [ [http://newsroom.nt.gov.au/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewRelease&id=940&d=5 "Aerial Medical Service Celebrates 60 Years Of Service"; Northern Territory Government Media Release.] Retrieved:10 September 2008 ] after losing a similar Ambulance Service of New South Wales contract to theRoyal Flying Doctor Service of Australia the previous year. Pearl Aviation is wholly owned by the Paspaley Pearls Group and has 120 employees (at March2007 ).Paspaley's other aviation companies
AeroPearl is a
joint venture between Pearl Aviation andAerodata Flight Inspection ofGermany , based at Brisbane Airport. [ [http://www.aeropearl.com.au/where.htm "Where we are"; AeroPearl website.] Retrieved:9 September 2008 .] It operates under contract toAirservices Australia ; it uses twoBeechcraft Super King Air s to check the network of Australian civil aviation navaids, and has also performed similar work in various Asian countries. [ [http://www.aeropearl.com.au/operations.htm "Key Operations and Current Programs"; AeroPearl website.] Retrieved:9 September 2008 .]AeroRescue conducts Search and Rescue flights on behalf of the
Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), using a fleet of fiveDornier 328 s and one Beechcraft 200T Super King Air based around Australia (Perth, Darwin, Cairns, Brisbane and Melbourne). AeroRescue was awarded a contract by AMSA to provide aircraft in late 2005, and reached its full complement of aircraft in 2007. [ [http://www.aerorescue.com.au/company.html AeroRescue Company profile.] Retrieved:9 September 2008 .] [ [http://www.aerorescue.com.au/locations.html AeroRescue locations.] Retrieved:10 September 2008 .]Lloyd Aviation Jet Charter, also known as Pearl Air International, operates a fleet of Grumman Turbo Mallards to fly Paspaley employees to the company's pearl farms. The Mallards have been a feature of Paspaley's pearling operations since the early 1980s, and were modified in-house to be powered by
Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turbine engines in place of the originalradial engine s. Lloyd Aviation also operates aDassault Falcon 900 C business jet on charter flights. [ [http://www.paspaleypearls.com/english/images/pdf/growing_2.pdf "Pearl Aviation"; pdf version of Paspaley Pearls web paqe.] Retrieved:9 September 2008 .] [ [http://www.casa.gov.au/casadata/aoc/download/NT223173-09.pdf Lloyd Aviation Jet Charter Pty. Ltd. AOC.] Retrieved:9 September 2008 .]Pearl Flight Center is a Fixed Base Operator (FBO), providing ground handling services for corporate and private aircraft as well as the company's aircraft, via two facilities at Darwin Airport and a facility at Perth Airport. It also manages the charter operations of Pearl group aircraft. [ [http://www.pearlflightcentre.com.au/about.html About Us - Pearl Flight Centre.] Retrieved:
9 September 2008 .]Fleet
As of September 2008 the Paspaley Group fleet consists of: [http://www.casa.gov.au/casadata/regsearch/airsresults.asp?VHin=&framein=all&manuin=&modelin=®holdin=®opin=AeroRescue&serialin=&num_results=20&Search=Search Australian civil aircraft register search] using "AeroRescue" as the Registered Operator search parameter. Search conducted
2008 -09-10 .] [http://www.casa.gov.au/casadata/regsearch/airsresults.asp?VHin=&framein=all&manuin=&modelin=®holdin=paspaley®opin=&serialin=&num_results=50&Search=Search Australian civil aircraft register search] using "Paspaley" as the Registered Owner search parameter. Search conducted2008 -09-10 .] [ [http://www.casa.gov.au/casadata/regsearch/airsresults.asp?VHin=&framein=all&manuin=&modelin=®holdin=®opin=pearl+aviation&serialin=&num_results=50&Search=Search Australian civil aircraft register search] using "Pearl Aviation" as the Registered Operator search parameter. Search conducted2008 -09-10 .]*6 Beechcraft 200 Super King Air (owned by Pearl Aviation; one operated by AeroPearl, one operated on behalf of the Northern Territory Aerial Medical Service)
*3 Beechcraft 200C Super King Air (owned and operated by Pearl Aviation on behalf of the Northern Territory Aerial Medical Service)
*1 Beechcraft 200T Super King Air (leased, operated by Aero Rescue)
*1 Beechcraft B200 Super King Air (owned and operated by Pearl Aviation)
*1 Beechcraft B300 Super King Air 350 (owned by Airservices Australia, operated by AeroPearl)
*5 Dornier 328-100 (leased, operated by Aero Rescue)
*4 Fairchild Metro 23 (owned and operated by Pearl Aviation)
*1 Dassault Falcon 900C (owned by Paspaley Pearls, operated by Lloyd Aviation)
*3 Grumman G-73T Turbo Mallard (owned by Paspaley Pearls, operated by Lloyd Aviation)External links
* [http://www.pearlav.com.au Pearl Aviation]
* [http://www.aeropearl.com.au/index.html AeroPearl]
* [http://www.aerorescue.com.au/ AeroRescue]
* [http://www.pearlflightcentre.com.au/index.html Pearl Flight Centre]
* [http://www.health.nt.gov.au/Hospitals/Aerial_Medical_Services/index.aspx Northern Territory Aerial Medical Service]
* [http://www.paspaleypearls.com/home.htm Paspaley Pearls]References
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