Alliance Airlines
Encyclopedia
Alliance Airlines is a charter airline based in Brisbane
, Queensland
, Australia
. It specialises in long-term contract charter to the mining and resources industry and governments in Australia, as well as ad-hoc charter operations and aircraft leasing to international airlines. Its main base is in Brisbane Airport
, with secondary bases at Townsville Airport
, Perth Airport
and Adelaide Airport
.
Alliance had wet-leasing
contracts with Norfolk Jet Express
until that airline was liquidated on 4 June 2005. For the first week after liquidation Alliance was used for services, but Qantas
soon took over. Alliance currently holds dry-leasing contracts with Air Niugini
for Papua New Guinea and North Queensland services.
areas where skilled labour
is in short supply. Alliance currently operates scheduled airline flights on a single route. In June 2007, it commenced operations between Adelaide
and Olympic Dam, South Australia
using two Fokker 50 aircraft in support of BHP Billiton's fly-in fly-out
(FIFO) rosters. This service is marketed by Qantas, and seats can be purchased by the general public. In addition to Olympic Dam, Alliance has charter flights to Coober Pedy, Port Augusta and OZ Minerals
' Prominent Hill mine in South Australia.
Alliance Airlines currently flies from Townsville on behalf of the FIFO operations of Incitec Pivot Limited
(to Phosphate Hill), MMG (to Century Mine), Xstrata
(to Cloncurry, Queensland
), BHP Billiton
(to Cannington Mine) and to Mt Isa. It flies from Cairns to Trepell, Lawn Hill, Cloncurry, Groote Eylandt and Townsville in Australia and to Alotau in Papua New Guinea
. It currently flies from Brisbane on behalf of Alcan
(to Gove
), BHP Billiton (to Cannington Mine), Byrnecut (to Telfer, Western Australia
) and Santos Ltd.
(to Ballera). Charter services also extend from Brisbane to Canberra
, Orange
, Emerald
, Alice Springs, Newcastle
and Lake Eyre
and the Australian Defence Force
s use Alliance for charter flights to East Timor
and the Solomon Islands
.
In November 2006, Alliance Airlines commenced FIFO services from Perth
to BHP Billiton's "Nickel West" operations at Mount Keith
, Leonora
and Leinster, Western Australia
. Karratha, Newman
, Barimunya, Coondewanna and Port Hedland are also served from Perth. In January 2011 the airline took over FIFO services from Perth
to Newcrest Mining's Telfer Gold Mine in Telfer, Western Australia
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It specialises in long-term contract charter to the mining and resources industry and governments in Australia, as well as ad-hoc charter operations and aircraft leasing to international airlines. Its main base is in Brisbane Airport
Brisbane Airport
Brisbane Airport is the sole passenger airport serving Brisbane and the third busiest in Australia, after Melbourne and Sydney Airports. Brisbane Airport has won many awards. Located in the suburb with the same name, the airport serves the city of Brisbane and the surrounding metropolitan area...
, with secondary bases at Townsville Airport
Townsville International Airport
Townsville Airport is a major Australian regional airport that services the city of Townsville. The airport is also known as Townsville International Airport, and Garbutt Airport, a reference to its location in the Townsville suburb of Garbutt...
, Perth Airport
Perth Airport
Perth Airport is an Australian domestic and international airport serving Perth, the capital and largest city of Western Australia. The airport itself is located in the suburb of Perth Airport....
and Adelaide Airport
Adelaide International Airport
Adelaide Airport is the principal airport in the South Australian capital of Adelaide and the fifth busiest airport in Australia, servicing 7,362,000 passengers in the year ending 30 June 2011. Located adjacent to West Beach, it is approximately west of the city-centre...
.
History
Alliance was established and started operations in early August 2002 when Brisbane-based Queensland Airline Holdings acquired the assets of the dormant Flight West Airlines, which had been established in May 1987 and was liquidated in 2001. The airline is wholly owned by Queensland Airline Holdings and has 219 employees.Alliance had wet-leasing
Wet lease
Aircraft leases are a number of types of leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons; to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide temporary increase in capacity...
contracts with Norfolk Jet Express
Norfolk Jet Express
Norfolk Jet Express Pty Ltd was an airline based on Norfolk Island offering scheduled, international, domestic, passenger and cargo services. It ceased operations in June 2005 due to financial difficulties.-History:...
until that airline was liquidated on 4 June 2005. For the first week after liquidation Alliance was used for services, but Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
soon took over. Alliance currently holds dry-leasing contracts with Air Niugini
Air Niugini
Air Niugini Limited is the national airline of Papua New Guinea, based in Air Niugini House on the property of Jacksons International Airport, Port Moresby. It operates a domestic network from Port Moresby and Lae, as well as international services in Asia, Oceania, and Australia. Its main base is...
for Papua New Guinea and North Queensland services.
Destinations
Alliance mainly operates contract charter flights, primarily for the resources sector into outbackOutback
The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
areas where skilled labour
Skill (labor)
Skill is a measure of a worker's expertise, specialization, wages, and supervisory capacity. Skilled workers are generally more trained, higher paid, and have more responsibilities than unskilled workers....
is in short supply. Alliance currently operates scheduled airline flights on a single route. In June 2007, it commenced operations between Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and Olympic Dam, South Australia
Olympic Dam, South Australia
Olympic Dam is a mining centre in South Australia located some 550 km NNW of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is the site of an extremely large iron oxide copper gold deposit producing copper, uranium, gold and silver. The site hosts an underground mine as well as an...
using two Fokker 50 aircraft in support of BHP Billiton's fly-in fly-out
Fly-in fly-out
Fly-in fly-out is a method of employing people in remote areas. It is often abbreviated to FIFO when referring to employment status. This is common in large mining states in Australia...
(FIFO) rosters. This service is marketed by Qantas, and seats can be purchased by the general public. In addition to Olympic Dam, Alliance has charter flights to Coober Pedy, Port Augusta and OZ Minerals
OZ Minerals
OZ Minerals is an Australian mining company, formed from the merger of Oxiana Limited and Zinifex in 2008.In 2009, Chinese state owned China Minmetals proposed a purchase of the heavily indebted company. The Chinese proposal was one of three high profile moves by Chinese firms to acquire stakes in...
' Prominent Hill mine in South Australia.
Alliance Airlines currently flies from Townsville on behalf of the FIFO operations of Incitec Pivot Limited
Incitec Pivot Limited
Incitec Pivot Ltd. is an Australian chemicals & explosives manufacturer based in Southbank, Victoria. Incitec Pivot is the largest supplier of fertilisers in Australia; the largest supplier of explosives products and services in North America; and the second largest supplier of explosives...
(to Phosphate Hill), MMG (to Century Mine), Xstrata
Xstrata
Xstrata plc is a global mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is a major producer of coal , copper, nickel, primary vanadium and zinc and the world's largest producer of ferrochrome...
(to Cloncurry, Queensland
Cloncurry, Queensland
-Notable residents:*Writer Alexis Wright grew up in Cloncurry.*Association Footballer Kasey Wehrman was born in Cloncurry . He went on to play domestically and in Scandinavia. His achievements include winning a NSL Championship in 1996-1997 with the Brisbane Strikers and being capped several times...
), BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...
(to Cannington Mine) and to Mt Isa. It flies from Cairns to Trepell, Lawn Hill, Cloncurry, Groote Eylandt and Townsville in Australia and to Alotau in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. It currently flies from Brisbane on behalf of Alcan
Alcan
Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. is a Canadian company based in Montreal. It was created on November 15, 2007 as the result of the merger between Rio Tinto PLC's Canadian subsidiary, Rio Tinto Canada Holding Inc., and Canadian company Alcan Inc. On the same date, Alcan Inc. was renamed Rio Tinto Alcan Inc..Rio...
(to Gove
Gove Airport
All flights are met by a shuttle bus connecting to Nhulunbuy.- Statistics :Gove Airport was ranked 42nd in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2009-2010....
), BHP Billiton (to Cannington Mine), Byrnecut (to Telfer, Western Australia
Telfer, Western Australia
Telfer is a minesite in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, within the Great Sandy Desert. Telfer was previously the state's most isolated town, located north-east of the state capital Perth...
) and Santos Ltd.
Santos Ltd.
Santos Ltd. is a large Australian oil and gas exploration company. Its name is an acronym for South Australia Northern Territory Oil Search.-Operations:...
(to Ballera). Charter services also extend from Brisbane to Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Orange
Orange, New South Wales
Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney, at an altitude of . Orange has an estimated population of 39,329 and the city is a major provincial centre....
, Emerald
Emerald
Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness...
, Alice Springs, Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
and Lake Eyre
Lake Eyre
Lake Eyre is the lowest point in Australia, at approximately below sea level, and, on the rare occasions that it fills, it is the largest lake in Australia and 18th largest in the world...
and the Australian Defence Force
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
s use Alliance for charter flights to East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
and the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
.
In November 2006, Alliance Airlines commenced FIFO services from Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
to BHP Billiton's "Nickel West" operations at Mount Keith
Mount Keith
Mount Keith is a thirteener on the crest of California's Sierra Nevada, between Mount Bradley to the north, and Junction Peak to the southwest. Its north and west facing slopes feed the Kings River watershed by way of Bubbs Creek, and its east and south slopes feed the Owens River via Shepherd Creek...
, Leonora
Leonora
-People:*Leonora , a feminine given name*Leonora of Castile *Leonora of England*John Leonora, research scientist, Loma Linda University-Arts and entertainment:...
and Leinster, Western Australia
Leinster, Western Australia
Leinster is a town in the northern goldfields area of Western Australia. The town is located 4 km east of the Goldfields Highway, in the Shire of Leonora Local Government Area, northeast of the state capital, Perth...
. Karratha, Newman
Newman
The surname Newman may refer to many people:-A:* Abram Newman* Adrian Newman Suffragan Bishop of Stepney* Al Newman* Alan Newman* Alec Newman* Alfred Newman , U.S. film score composer* Alfred Newman , N.Z...
, Barimunya, Coondewanna and Port Hedland are also served from Perth. In January 2011 the airline took over FIFO services from Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
to Newcrest Mining's Telfer Gold Mine in Telfer, Western Australia
Telfer, Western Australia
Telfer is a minesite in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, within the Great Sandy Desert. Telfer was previously the state's most isolated town, located north-east of the state capital Perth...
Fleet
As of November 2011, the Alliance Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:| Aircraft | In Fleet | Passengers (Business/Economy) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fokker 50 | |||
| Fokker 70 | |||
| Fokker 100 | 2 from Avianca Avianca Avianca S.A. is the flag carrier airline of Colombia since December 5, 1919 when it was initially registered under the name SCADTA. It is headquartered in Bogotá, D.C. with its hub at the El Dorado International Airport... |
||
| Total | 25 |