Ansett Australia
Encyclopedia
Ansett Australia, Ansett, Ansett Airlines of Australia, or ANSETT-ANA as it was commonly known in earlier years, was a major Australia
n airline
group, based in Melbourne
. The airlines flew domestically within Australia and to destinations in Asia during its operation in 1996. The airline was placed into administration
in 2001 after suffering financial collapse, and subsequent organised liquidation
in 2002, subject to deed of company arrangement. Ansett operated for 66 years and 11 days after its first takeoff from Hamilton
, Victoria
.
in 1935 as Ansett Airways Pty. Ltd. This was an offshoot of his road transport business which had become so successful it was threatening the freight and passenger revenue of Victorian Railways. This led the state government to legislate to put private road transport operators out of business. Reg Ansett countered by establishing an airline as aviation was under control of the national government and beyond the reach of the state government.
Ansett's first route was between Hamilton, in western Victoria, and Melbourne, the state capital, operated with a Fokker Universal
monoplane. The rapid success of the airline led Ansett to float the business in 1937. As the route network expanded, Ansett Airways imported Lockheed Electra
aircraft. During World War II Reg Ansett opted to suspend all scheduled services, except the Hamilton service, in favour of more lucrative work for the USAAF. After the war Ansett battled to re-establish his domestic routes using war-surplus Douglas DC-3
s, converted from C-47s and the remaining L-10s.
At this time, the Australian domestic airline travel sector was dominated by Australian National Airways
(ANA), established in 1936 by a consortium of British-financed Australian shipowners. The Chifley
Labor
government was determined to establish a state-owned airline to operate all domestic and international services. It was eventually thwarted in this aim by the High Court of Australia, and so it established Trans Australia Airlines
(TAA) to operate in competition with ANA.
Ansett Airways remained a bit player as TAA
and ANA
battled for supremacy in the 1940s and 1950s. TAA, being blatantly favored by the then Labor Federal Government (which had unsuccessfully attempted to nationalise all Australian domestic airlines), better managed and having better aircraft partly as a result of the Federal Labor Government granting access to U.S. funds to TAA, whilst refusing them to A.N.A., had driven ANA to the verge of bankruptcy by 1957. Ansett operated around the big two, maintaining budget fare interstate operations with DC-3s and later Convair CV-340s. The airline was backed up by extensive road transport operations, including Ansett Freight Express and Ansett-Pioneer Coaches, as well as the Ansair coach-building operation.
The Menzies Liberal government, while supporting TAA, because of the excellent dividends it paid to the government, wanted to avoid TAA having a monopoly on domestic services if ANA collapsed, as seemed likely. The only alternative, as it transpired, was for Ansett to buy the ANA operation. Ansett's bid had a number of financial supporters, most prominent of these being the Shell Oil Company. Douglas Aircraft was also concerned about ANA's demise, as TAA had ceased to be a customer for their aircraft. The ANA directors fiercely resisted this initially, but in October 1957 succumbed to Ansett's offer of 3.3 million pounds for their airline. The new entity was called ANSETT-ANA; the name it retained until 1 November 1968, when it became Ansett Airlines of Australia.
ANSETT-ANA's excellent profit record was, at least in part, courtesy of the Menzies government's 'Two Airlines Policy
', which had initially be put in place to protect A.N.A., propped up ANSETT-ANA and clipped TAA's marketing efforts (& the previous Labor Federal Government's total pro-TAA/anti-private enterprise bias). The policy effectively blocked any other domestic interstate operators by way of a ban on importation of aircraft without a government licence. From 1957 until the 1980s, under the strict rules set down by the Two Airlines Policy, Ansett and TAA operated as virtual carbon copies of each other, operating the same aircraft at the same times, to the same destinations, at fares, which were identical (under strict Federal Government policy). If either airline wished to change their fares, they had to obtain Federal Government approval.
Reg Ansett then set out to ensure no other competitors could rise up to challenge his airline. He took control of Adelaide-based Guinea Airways (renamed Airlines of South Australia
) and Sydney-based Butler Air Transport
(renamed Airlines of New South Wales
). The takeover of Butler was achieved with covert support from the Menzies government and by Ansett engineering his employees' purchases of Butler shares (in a similar way as had just been attempted by Butler). He then flew the employees to a general meeting in Sydney and forced a vote in favour of selling out to Ansett.
ANSETT-ANA was profitable courtesy of government support, but also because of Reg Ansett's parsimonious ways. ANSETT-ANA operated from terminals around the country that were very basic; but, then, so were TAA's.
Following the takeover of ANA, Reg Ansett lobbied the government to block TAA's purchase of Sud Aviation Caravelle
jet aircraft. He was concerned about his airline's ability to finance equivalent jet aircraft, and the major engineering leap required to go from an all-piston fleet direct to pure jet aircraft, TAA had been operating prop-jet Vickers Viscount
s since 1954, and so had expertise in jet technology. Ansett was successful in convincing the government to authorize the importation of more Viscounts and the new Lockheed L-188 Electra
. This action delayed the introduction of pure jet aircraft to Australian skies until 1964, when the Boeing 727–100
began flying.
(which filed for bankruptcy, but survived) and its Hamilton Island resort (which went into receivership). Ansett also paid millions of dollars for the right to be official airline of the Sydney 2000 Olympics
, an investment generally regarded as unwise. This destabilised the financial position of the company considerably.
Ansett expanded into New Zealand in 1987 through its subsidiary Ansett New Zealand
after the New Zealand government opened its skies to the airline. After the Australian government reneged on an agreement to reciprocate, Air New Zealand
tried to acquire a share of Qantas, but was not allowed. Instead it bought a 50% stake in Ansett Australia (without managerial control) for A$540 million in 1996. Ansett Australia then had to divest itself of Ansett New Zealand to avoid creating a monopoly.
Ansett commenced international service on 11 September 1993 to Bali
, Indonesia
. In 1994, it commenced service to Osaka and Hong Kong. Ansett commenced Jakarta Service on 12 January 1996. On 8 June 1997, Ansett commenced flights to Shanghai. Later, Seoul, Taipei and Kuala Lumpur flights were suspended.
Air New Zealand, previously a 50% shareholder, acquired full ownership of Ansett in February 2000, buying out News Corporation
's stake for A$680 million, surpassing Singapore Airlines
's A$500 million bid. This essentially merged Ansett and Air New Zealand into one group, entitled "Air New Zealand/Ansett" although both airlines maintained their individual operations. The purchase by Air New Zealand was widely viewed as a mistake. Monash University
aviation economics
academic
Keith Trace commented "... by taking it on, they ensured that their own airline was in terrible danger. That was a dreadful mistake. They were taken for a ride." Ansett became more of a drain than an asset. This was difficult for Air New Zealand to support because Ansett was the larger airline, with more employees, more aircraft, and more financial overhead.
The Australian government then changed the rules to allow foreign airlines to fly domestic routes. Competition from Qantas
and a succession of start-up airlines (Impulse Airlines
and Virgin Blue), top-heavy and substantially overpaid staff, an aging fleet and grounding of the Boeing 767
fleet due to maintenance irregularities left Ansett seriously short of cash, losing $1.3 million a day. Ansett's main issue was the costs it incurred in running its operations; for every $1 of revenue, 10 cents was profit compared with Qantas' 60 cents for the same amount . Air New Zealand attempted to cut Ansett's costs while maintaining the same level of revenue. This did not work, as the cost cutting hurt Ansett, with the notable incidents being the grounding of planes in Christmas 2000 and Easter 2001. Ansett was thus unable to compete with the low cost carriers and Qantas, who were able to run at a loss on some routes, as they could not maintain revenue while cutting their costs, which included laying off staff. A deal made in April 2001 for Ansett to purchase Virgin Blue was repudiated by Virgin chief Richard Branson
in August, and Singapore Airlines, which was initially blocked from buying Ansett, was also prevented from investing further in Air New Zealand/Ansett by the New Zealand government. It then declined to take up an earlier proposed deal to inject over $500 million into Air New Zealand and Ansett after talks collapsed. In early September 2001, as the trouble worsened, the New Zealand government prepared to rescue Air New Zealand (eventually buying 83% of the company for NZ$885 million) but cut Ansett adrift. Despite public pleas, the Australian government refused to fund Ansett.
Quickly running out of both lines of credit and options, Air New Zealand
placed the Ansett group of companies into voluntary administration with PriceWaterhouseCoopers
on 12 September 2001. In the early hours of 14 September, the administrator determined that Ansett was not viable to continue operations (primarily due to the apparent lack of any funds to cover fuel, catering or employee wages) and grounded the fleets of Ansett and its subsidiaries Hazelton Airlines
, Kendell, Skywest
and Aeropelican
. Flights already in the air at the time the decision was made (international flights from Hong Kong, Japan and domestic red eye Perth flights) continued on to their destinations, unaware of the devastating news that would greet them at the other end come morning. Customers and employees had no warning of the stoppage in operations. Everyone had been told in the days leading up to 14 September that flights would continue on schedule, and Ansett employees did not find out until they showed up for work at dawn that day. Thousands of passengers were left stranded and more than 16,000 people found themselves out of a job, making this the largest mass job loss event in Australian history. Widespread protests were held by workers, including the blockade of an Air New Zealand plane about to carry New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark home from Melbourne. It was alleged by the then administrators that Air New Zealand had engaged in asset stripping
of the airline as well as charging of its fuel costs due to Air New Zealand failing to hedge its fuel costs thus leaving it susceptible to major fluctuations in fuel charges during 2000. This claim was strongly denied by Air New Zealand, noting it had funded Ansett's loss of A$180 million in the last year, and Ansett's administrators soon admitted there was no evidence of any asset stripping.
fleet. This was referred to as 'Ansett Mark II', an operation run and financed by Ansett Australia under administration. The purpose of getting Ansett back into the air was aimed directly at attracting a buyer for the business and generating positive cash flow. Attempts by Ansett's Voluntary Administrators to re-engage Singapore Airlines
(SIA) to consider a role in resurrecting Ansett through a meeting on 6 October 2001 resulted in SIA agreeing to play a consultancy role in this effort. The scaled-back operation ran on a tight budget, and its product reflective of that. It consisted of single class seating with no catering, interlining baggage, valet parking or frequent flyer points. After a month back in the air, the Golden Wing Club Lounges re-opened, however like the scaled-back flying operation, provided no refreshments or other amenities apart from coffee and water. Ansett essentially was in "lock down" mode, while the administrators tried to source buyers in a very challenging market. Ansett Mark II traded only as "Ansett" (minus the Australia) in a different font to separate it from the former operation. It traded from Ansett terminals, with Ansett ground staff, crew and baggage handler
s working around the clock to make it a success with limited resources. Designated gates at each of Ansett's terminals were used for the operation, while aircraft not being utilised (767/737 fleet) were moved away to more distant gates, with the disused concourses being sealed off.
In November 2001, Ansett creditors voted to allow the Tesna consortium, led by Melbourne businessmen Solomon Lew
and Lindsay Fox
, to purchase Ansett's mainline assets. The plan involved creating a whole "new" Ansett out of the ashes of the old (with the "Australia" dropped from the name as per Ansett MK II), but the trademark font and "Star Mark" logo re-instated. It would be a full-service, two-class single-fleet-type domestic airline. It included very reduced staff numbers and an all-new Airbus A320 fleet. The new Ansett would operate out of the old Ansett terminals, and temporary lease the former Ansett's A320 fleet until younger replacements arrived. Loyalty products such as the Golden Wing Club and Frequent Flyer program would be relaunched. Those members of Golden Wing Club at the time of the collapse would have their memberships re-instated for a six-month period if they used the new Ansett. A new CEO was sourced and hired, and began to put together a new management team. A new head office was planned, and Airbus showcased a new A320 to the consortium. A new catering company was selected, with new Business and Economy Class in-flight meals trialled on passengers on select MK II services in readiness for the new operation.
The agreement with Ansett's administrators, although well-advanced, collapsed in late February 2002. Without any prior warning, the administrators announced on 27 February—just days before the new Ansett was due to launch—that Fox and Lew had withdrawn their bid, citing "Inability to complete the transaction on legal advice". A subsequent press conference with Fox and Lew the same day announced that they had received no support from the government for their bid, thus withdrawing their proposal.
With no other saviours, and any chance for Ansett as an airline to be revived now gone, the administrators had no choice but to cease all Ansett flying operations permanently at 23:59 on 4 March 2002, with the very last commercial flight, AN152 from Perth to Sydney, operated by A320-211 VH-HYI, touching down a little after 06:00 on 5 March. "It's an end of an era, an end of a great Australian company and the staff now are faced with unemployment after this flight." said Captain Geoff McDonald, who piloted the final Ansett flight in. Staff filled Golden Wing Lounges across the country for mass wakes as the final flights came into land. At dawn on 5 March, Ansett had officially passed into Australian history for good.
. The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) began an investigation of whether Ansett had gone on trading while insolvent, and eventually determined in July 2002 that it would be too expensive and difficult to proceed with an action which would, in any case, need to be many separate actions on behalf of individual creditors rather than just one. With Ansett now grounded forever, the administrators began the daunting task of selling off Ansett's massive list of assets. This included its regional subsidiary airlines, which still continued to trade – despite Ansett being grounded. Its massive inventory of aircraft, Head Office, ancillery buildings, Engineering Base, Flight Simulator Centre, furniture, terminal leases, supplies, catering and amenities all had to be sold. A creditors meeting post March 2002 voted in favour of an organised wind-up of the operation, under a deed of company arrangement, as opposed to an immediate liquidation. It was viewed that a deed of arrangement would give creditors a greater return than liqidation would provide.
Laid-off Ansett workers were eventually paid most of their entitlements, partly from an A$150 million compensation package offered by Air New Zealand in return for having the ASIC enquiry dropped, but mostly through asset sales and leasing revenue. The Federal Government did provide a A$350 million loan (SEESA) which is being repaid by the Administrators at the same time as the staff are being repaid however, to ensure that there is no exposure to taxpayers, a A$10-per-seat levy was imposed by the Federal Government on Australian airline passengers. This has led to claims of "double dipping" by the Australian Government and a common misconception that former Ansett staff have been fully reimbursed. As at December 2010, former employees still have not been paid their full entitlements, and many employees have not had their superannuation funds released, causing problems for many former employees who have now reached retirement age.
The Ansett Australia administration is being conducted in Melbourne
, Victoria
, Australia, by KordaMentha Pty Ltd
.
The process of administration of the companies' assets continues to this day with employees receiving A$667.7 million out of entitlements estimated at A$766.4 million (or about 90c in the dollar) and it is expected that another A$85.1 million will be raised. Ansett's administrators, KordaMentha
, initially advised creditors that it was unlikely that much more money would be realised, due to the depression of the global aviation industry after 11 September reducing the value of aircraft from A$300 million to A$70 million. In the months following the final flight, the administrators negotiated the sale of the terminal leases back to the airport owners, recouping millions. Auctions were held to sell Ansetts airport furniture and equipment. Its headquarters at 465/489 and 501 Swanston Street in Melbourne were put up for sale and were purchased by PDG corporation. Some aircraft stored in heavy maintenance were broken up; 737
CZD and BAe 146
JJX being the first, as it was not cost-effective to restore them to an airworthy state.
The disposal of the former fleet did not progress quickly, given the events in the U.S and the subsequent lack of demand by other carriers around the world whose operations had been crippled by the 9/11 attacks only months before. Following the final flight, nearly all of the A320 fleet was ferried back empty to Melbourne, where they sat at abandoned gates in storage. The Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft fleets ultimately found new owners first, and randomly departed Australia between March 2002 and December 2006 as the banks finally reclaimed them, or as new owners were found. The two Boeing 747 aircraft that were leased from Singapore Airlines
were reclaimed within weeks of the collapse and returned to Singapore Airlines, where they were repainted back into the colours of their owner. They subsequently found new lives are now leased to Fiji's
national carrier Air Pacific
. The more modern Boeing 767–300 aircraft, of which Ansett had two (BZF and BZL), were reclaimed by the lessors in the following months, while two new delivery Boeing 767–300 aircraft (BZI and BZM) which arrived too late to enter service with Ansett, departed soon after. BZI was wet leased on a short term basis by Qantas to bring additional aircraft to cover the loss of Ansett, but the aircraft retained its Ansett registration while under lease to them. Another new 767-300 which was halfway through its ferry from Canada (VH-BZN) never made it to Australia and returned to Canada. The Kendell
CRJ-200 jets departed back from Canada within twelve months of the initial collapse.
With the newer aircraft gone, most of the older Boeing 767–200 fleet (RMD-RMO) were moved from the Melbourne terminal gates as Virgin Blue moved into the former Ansett Terminal, and were placed into long term storage at the Ansett Engineering Base in Melbourne until late 2004, when most were sold off to Aeroturbine and flown to the United States to be broken up into spare parts. Many of the British Aerospace 146 aircraft were also stored but broken up at Melbourne. As of 2008, the remains of a BAe 146 (JJQ) sit derelict in Brisbane, and a somewhat intact but inoperable BAe 146 (JJT) remains in Perth, although neither of them are still owned by Ansett or expected to fly again. A lone Boeing 767–200, the ex VH-RMF survived the scrappers cull, was sold and continues to fly in the United States as a charter aircraft.
More recently, employees of the former airline have received an additional A$16.4 million in entitlement payments after the sale of over A$22 million of assets, including aircraft and aircraft parts. According to media reports, there are still in excess of 217,000 items and two properties belonging to the airline remaining for sale.
In June 2011, it was announced that the Special Employee Entitlements Scheme for Ansett employees had finished making payments to former staff. Staff received roughly 96 cents in the dollar of their entitlements.
The Ansett Australia fleet as of 13 September 2001 (last day of trading) was made up of the following aircraft:
Only the Airbus A320 was utilised from Ansett's original fleet during the brief re-launch of operations as "Ansett Mark 2" from October 2001 to March 2002. The Boeing 737, Boeing 767, and Boeing 747 fleet was grounded from September '01 onwards and never flew an Ansett revenue flight again. The same went for the BAe 146 fleet, with the exception of a one-off revenue flight from Cairns to Brisbane in November 2001, operating off the back end of a charter flight for the government. Two other Ansett BAe 146 aircraft were chartered by the Howard Government and Federal opposition in late 2001 during the federal election campaigns, VH-JJP (Federal Government) and VH-JJT (Opposition).
Several of the defunct fleet types did operate ferry flights back to Melbourne from wherever they ended up across Australia in the months after the collapse, and operated the occasional test flight around Melbourne to retain currency.
Of the subsidiary fleets, only the Kendell Bombardier CRJ200 did not return to active flying. The Fokker 50, Saab 340, Twin Otter and Metro 23 regional aircraft were all back flying for Skywest, Kendell, Hazelton and Aeropelican in the weeks following the collapse. Both Kendell and Hazelton merged to create REX (Regional Express).
, Bristol Freighter
, Convair 340, Convair 440, de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou
, Douglas DC-3
and C-47 Skytrain, Douglas DC-4
, Douglas DC-6
, Douglas DC-9
, Fokker F-27, Lockheed L-188 Electra
and Vickers Viscount
.
Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services owned the Airbus A300
, Airbus A310
and Boeing 757
for leasing.
One of the most unusual aircraft that was operated by Ansett was the Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair
from the 1960s. Three of the airline's own DC-4s were delivered to the United Kingdom
for conversion by Aviation Traders Limited, the company run by Sir Freddie Laker
as Managing Director.
Historically, whichever aircraft carried the registration VH-RMA (the initials of Reginald Miles Ansett) was the unofficial flagship of the airline. The last aircraft to do so was a Boeing 767-200 owned by Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services until 1997.
International fleet: (B747-400/767-300ER)
Domestic Fleet: (B767-200/B767-300ER/B737-300/A320-200/BAe-146-200)
. It offered forty-two single recliner seats in a 2-2-2 configuration on the main deck, with around 160 degrees of recline. Ansett Australia's retrofitted two Boeing 747-400
series aircraft equipped with these recliner seats mostly served the Australia-Asia (Hong Kong
and Osaka
) international flights. The recliner seats were equipped with inflight entertainment including personal televisions/touch screens with AVOD, personal telephones in every seat and laptop 110 V AC power outlets.
On Ansett International's 767 fleet, Business seating was in a 1-2-2 configuration, with recliner seats and AVOD similar, but not identical to those on the B747.
series, the Boeing 737-300
series, and the BAe-146 fleet in a 2–2 layout. These aircraft mostly served Australian domestic flights, however select 767-200ER, A320 and 737 services were also used on the Australia-Asia/Fiji (Denpasar
, Hong Kong
and Nadi
) international flights as demand dictated.
. It offered 398 seats (747) equipped with adjustable wings in the headrest and an adjustable footrest to provide extra comfort. Ansett Australia's international economy class seats were also installed on some of the Boeing 767-200
series, and some of the Boeing 767-300
series. Seat rows were in a 3-4-3 configuration on the Boeing 747-400
series aircraft lower deck and mostly a 3–3 configuration on the upper deck, a 2-3-2 configuration on the Boeing 767-200
and Boeing 767-300
series aircraft. The Airbus A320
and Boeing 737
fleets retained their domestic configuration for international service. These aircraft mostly served Australian domestic flights and some of the Australia-Asia/Fiji (Denpasar
, Hong Kong
, Osaka
and Nadi
) international flights. The seats were equipped with inflight entertainment including personal televisions and personal telephones in every seat.
, offering 224 seats. Ansett Australia's domestic economy class seats were also installed on some of the Airbus A320 series
, some of the BAe-146 series, some of the Boeing 737-300
series, some of the Boeing 767-200
series and some of the Boeing 767-300
series aircraft. Seat rows were in a 3–3 configuration on the Airbus A320
and the Boeing 737-300
series aircraft, a 2–2 configuration on the BAe 146
series aircraft and a 2-3-2 configuration on the Boeing 767-200
and Boeing 767-300
series aircraft. These aircraft mostly served Australian domestic flights and some of the Australia-Asia/Fiji (Denpasar
, Hong Kong
and Nadi
) international flights.
, Kendell Airlines, Skywest Airlines
and Hazelton Airlines
.
: Terminated prior to Air New Zealand takeover.
: Terminated during the Asian financial crisis.
, a global network of carriers, opening up interline agreements with a dozen different carriers connecting to over 100 countries across the world. Reciprocal rights for certain Star Alliance membership tiers was offered, including earning frequent flyer points and a wide selection of lounge access. The Star Alliance logo was added to every aircraft in the Ansett fleet, as well as its regional subsidiary airlines. Other Star member carriers like United Airlines
benefited greatly by Ansett's membership, with seamless feeder connections from its trans-Pacific services.
Following Ansett's collapse, membership in the Star Alliance was suspended. It was understood that it would re-join Star Alliance upon re-launch under ownership of Tesna, but the March 2002 shutdown soon made that question irrelevant.
, Sydney
, Brisbane
, Adelaide
, Perth
, Canberra
, Cairns, Darwin
, Gold Coast
and Hamilton Island. Ansett also ran international Golden Wing Clubs at Sydney
and Perth
, with an added "First Class" section of the Sydney Club for those travelling International First Class from 1994–1998. Access was available to Golden Wing Club members travelling on an Ansett or subsidiary service (e.g. – Kendell, Aeropelican and Skywest) on the day of travel. Complimentary access was granted for Global Rewards Diamond and Sapphire members, as well as Star Alliance
Gold (and above) members.
Lounges were for a time, located in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch with members being able to access all Star Alliance
Lounges as well. The lounges initially closed following the appointment of administrators and subsequent grounding of the group in September 2001, however select lounges re-opened in a scaled-back capacity in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth only from November 2001 until March 2002 while Ansett Mark 2 was operating. Had Ansett's sale to Tesna gone ahead as planned, the Golden Wing Clubs would all have re-opened in March 2002 as part of the relaunched Ansett.
Following Ansett's final flights in March 2002, the lounges permanently closed. In the weeks that followed, they were emptied of their expensive artwork and other items of value in subsequent auctions, leaving behind furniture and a variety of fittings, most of which was purchased by the various airport owners who bought the terminals back from Ansett's administrators. Today, many of the former Golden Wing Clubs in Australia live on as new lounges, occupied by Virgin Australia (the current name for Virgin Blue) as its member lounge in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Perth, through leases secured with the airport owners. The former Golden Wing in Cairns was used by Qantas as a temporary Qantas Club while the Cairns terminal underwent redevelopment,. The Perth Golden Wing was used firstly by charter airline Alliance and recently became Virgin's sixth lounge. The Adelaide, Gold Coast and Cairns lounges have all been demolished.
These lounges closed at time of administration and did not reopen. In the years since the collapse, many of the former Executive lounges were demolished after the airport owners purchased the leasing rights back off Ansett's administrators. For a time, regional carrier Regional Express Airlines
utilised the former Canberra lounge as a lounge area for its passengers. Virgin Blue utilised the former Executive Lounge in Sydney for its initial "Blue Room" and later on "The Lounge" product, but relocated to the former Golden Wing Club lounge in 2008. The former lounges are still in existence in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Canberra, but are now utilised for other purposes and not accessible to passengers.
from 1991 to 2001. It was formerly known as "Ansett Frequent Flyer". Points could be used for services from Ansett Australia and their partners including flights, upgrades, holidays, hotel stays and car rentals. Diners Club
was a significant financial services partner in Global Rewards. Points held at the time of the airline's collapse lost their value as no other airline took over the program as had taken place with the collapse of some other airlines.
Airport, which offered seamless connection from its Domestic terminal to the International terminal for Ansett Australia services connecting to Ansett International. An Ansett bus operated the shuttle service which departed from a transfer lounge located between its two domestic concourses. The shuttle would route across the airside tarmac and runways and arrive near customs at Terminal 1.
, holding the naming rights to the AFL pre-season competition, the Ansett Australia Cup
. It was also a major sponsor of Waverley Park/VFL Park. The logo was visible around the stadium.
Ansett was also a Major Sponsor of Australian Cricket, with the Ansett Australia Test Series a prominent fixture of the Australian summer. Ansett's logo (called the StarMark) appeared on all players' training and game shirts, as well as around the boundary and on the field during Test Series.
The airline was the official airline of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Aircraft 767-300 ER VH-BZF carried the Olympic Flame from Athens (ATH) to Guam (GUM) for the start of the torch relay through Oceania History VH-BZF. An Airbus A320-211 VH-HYN carried the Olympic Torch from Auckland (AKL) to Uluru (AYQ), to commence the Olympic Torch relay in Australia.
It was also the sleeve / major sponsor of the Brisbane Broncos
National Rugby League
team from 1996–2001.
in the late 1980s, having previously received publicity when its aircraft were used in the filming of another production by Reg Grundy
— 1977's ABBA: The Movie
. Ansett often sponsored Channel 9's Nightline late night news program from 1994–1997.
Ansett also offered on-board News and movies, entitled (Ansett Sky Show). It consisted of a twice daily 30 minute news service (AM and PM), which was recorded by Channel 7 studios in Sydney entitled "Seven Ansett News", which was then transmitted by satellite to all Ansett capital city, and some regional airport locations. The news service was then dubbed to video cassettes, and was then distributed onto Ansett aircraft first thing in the morning and exchanged halfway during the operational day for the second afternoon/evening broadcast. For the domestic fleet, Movies and TV shows were recorded to tape and distributed to each aircraft once a month.
On international aircraft, the news was available in one edition (usually morning). Movies and TV shows were recorded onto a central data system on both 747-400 and one 767-300ER aircraft, which was changed monthly.
Ansett's safety demonstration was done via TV screens throughout the aircraft as well as in person, at the time of its demise.
aircraft leasing
companies. It was Ansett Australia's subsidiary and leasing arm from 1985 until February 2000.
In April 2008, it announced that it was undergoing a major expansion and will be getting simulators for the current-generation Boeing 737, Fokker 100, Beechcraft King Air and Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia, as well as a second Airbus A320 simulator due an extension to centre's existing building.
New business was secured and the engineering skills base continued to grow. The AAES business was acquired by the John Holland Group
in June 2007 under the banner of John Holland Aviation Services (JHAS).
As part of the sale to John Holland Group, 155 AAES staff and management had the opportunity for ongoing employment.
Holland Aviation Services (JHAS) is a division of the John Holland Group, one of Australia's largest and most diverse specialist contracting businesses. It is the only heavy aircraft independent MRO in Australia.
, Boeing
, Bombardier
, British Aerospace
, Douglas aircraft and Fokker
types, with offices in Sylmar, California, Surrey
, the United Kingdom
and Melbourne, Australia. Ansett Aircraft Spares and Services also has a logistics division.
Company
History
Businesses
Employee information and support groups
Official Ansett merchandise
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...
n airline
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
group, based in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. The airlines flew domestically within Australia and to destinations in Asia during its operation in 1996. The airline was placed into administration
Administration (insolvency)
As a legal concept, administration is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry on running their business. The process – an alternative to liquidation – is often known as going...
in 2001 after suffering financial collapse, and subsequent organised liquidation
Liquidation
In law, liquidation is the process by which a company is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed. Liquidation is also sometimes referred to as winding-up or dissolution, although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation...
in 2002, subject to deed of company arrangement. Ansett operated for 66 years and 11 days after its first takeoff from Hamilton
Hamilton, Victoria
Hamilton is a city in western Victoria, Australia. It is located at the intersection of the Glenelg Highway and the Henty Highway...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
.
Beginnings
The company was started by Sir Reginald Miles AnsettReg Ansett
Sir Reginald Myles "Reg" Ansett KBE was an Australian businessman and aviator; best known for founding Ansett Transport Industries Limited, which owned one of Australia's two leading domestic airlines between 1957 and 2001...
in 1935 as Ansett Airways Pty. Ltd. This was an offshoot of his road transport business which had become so successful it was threatening the freight and passenger revenue of Victorian Railways. This led the state government to legislate to put private road transport operators out of business. Reg Ansett countered by establishing an airline as aviation was under control of the national government and beyond the reach of the state government.
Ansett's first route was between Hamilton, in western Victoria, and Melbourne, the state capital, operated with a Fokker Universal
Fokker Universal
The Fokker Universal or "Standard" was the first aircraft built in the United States that was based on the designs of Dutch-born Anthony Fokker, who had designed aircraft for the Germans during World War I. About half of the 44 Universals that were built between 1926 and 1931 in the United States...
monoplane. The rapid success of the airline led Ansett to float the business in 1937. As the route network expanded, Ansett Airways imported Lockheed Electra
Lockheed Model 10 Electra
The Lockheed Model 10 Electra was a twin-engine, all-metal monoplane airliner developed by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in the 1930s to compete with the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2...
aircraft. During World War II Reg Ansett opted to suspend all scheduled services, except the Hamilton service, in favour of more lucrative work for the USAAF. After the war Ansett battled to re-establish his domestic routes using war-surplus Douglas DC-3
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
s, converted from C-47s and the remaining L-10s.
At this time, the Australian domestic airline travel sector was dominated by Australian National Airways
Australian National Airways
Australian National Airways was Australia's predominant carrier from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s.-The Holyman Airways Period:On 19 March 1932 Flinders Island Airways began a regular aerial service using the Desoutter Mk.II VH-UEE Miss Launceston between Launceston, Tasmania and Flinders...
(ANA), established in 1936 by a consortium of British-financed Australian shipowners. The Chifley
Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...
Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
government was determined to establish a state-owned airline to operate all domestic and international services. It was eventually thwarted in this aim by the High Court of Australia, and so it established Trans Australia Airlines
Trans Australia Airlines
Trans Australia Airlines or TAA, was one of the two major Australian domestic airlines between its inception in 1946 and its sale to Qantas in May 1996. During that period TAA played a major part in the development of the Australian air transport industry...
(TAA) to operate in competition with ANA.
Towards a duopoly
Trans Australia Airlines
Trans Australia Airlines or TAA, was one of the two major Australian domestic airlines between its inception in 1946 and its sale to Qantas in May 1996. During that period TAA played a major part in the development of the Australian air transport industry...
and ANA
Australian National Airways
Australian National Airways was Australia's predominant carrier from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s.-The Holyman Airways Period:On 19 March 1932 Flinders Island Airways began a regular aerial service using the Desoutter Mk.II VH-UEE Miss Launceston between Launceston, Tasmania and Flinders...
battled for supremacy in the 1940s and 1950s. TAA, being blatantly favored by the then Labor Federal Government (which had unsuccessfully attempted to nationalise all Australian domestic airlines), better managed and having better aircraft partly as a result of the Federal Labor Government granting access to U.S. funds to TAA, whilst refusing them to A.N.A., had driven ANA to the verge of bankruptcy by 1957. Ansett operated around the big two, maintaining budget fare interstate operations with DC-3s and later Convair CV-340s. The airline was backed up by extensive road transport operations, including Ansett Freight Express and Ansett-Pioneer Coaches, as well as the Ansair coach-building operation.
The Menzies Liberal government, while supporting TAA, because of the excellent dividends it paid to the government, wanted to avoid TAA having a monopoly on domestic services if ANA collapsed, as seemed likely. The only alternative, as it transpired, was for Ansett to buy the ANA operation. Ansett's bid had a number of financial supporters, most prominent of these being the Shell Oil Company. Douglas Aircraft was also concerned about ANA's demise, as TAA had ceased to be a customer for their aircraft. The ANA directors fiercely resisted this initially, but in October 1957 succumbed to Ansett's offer of 3.3 million pounds for their airline. The new entity was called ANSETT-ANA; the name it retained until 1 November 1968, when it became Ansett Airlines of Australia.
ANSETT-ANA's excellent profit record was, at least in part, courtesy of the Menzies government's 'Two Airlines Policy
Two Airlines Policy
The Australian Two Airlines Policy was a policy of Australian Federal Governments from the late 1940s to the 1990s. Under the policy, only two airlines were allowed to operate flights between state capital city and major regional city airports...
', which had initially be put in place to protect A.N.A., propped up ANSETT-ANA and clipped TAA's marketing efforts (& the previous Labor Federal Government's total pro-TAA/anti-private enterprise bias). The policy effectively blocked any other domestic interstate operators by way of a ban on importation of aircraft without a government licence. From 1957 until the 1980s, under the strict rules set down by the Two Airlines Policy, Ansett and TAA operated as virtual carbon copies of each other, operating the same aircraft at the same times, to the same destinations, at fares, which were identical (under strict Federal Government policy). If either airline wished to change their fares, they had to obtain Federal Government approval.
Reg Ansett then set out to ensure no other competitors could rise up to challenge his airline. He took control of Adelaide-based Guinea Airways (renamed Airlines of South Australia
Airlines of South Australia
Airlines of South Australia refers to*A subsidiary of Ansett Airlines that operated from 1959 until 1986, and*An independent airline that operated between 1987 and 2005.- Ansett subsidiary :...
) and Sydney-based Butler Air Transport
Butler Air Transport
Butler Air Transport was a limited liability company created by Cecil Arthur Butler to operate air transport primarily among New South Wales airports in Australia, from 1934 until 1959.-History:...
(renamed Airlines of New South Wales
Airlines of New South Wales
Airlines of New South Wales callsign "NEWSOUTH" was an Australian domestic regional airline that operated from 1959 until its merger into Ansett in 1993. It was formed by Reg Ansett's takeover of Butler Air Transport...
). The takeover of Butler was achieved with covert support from the Menzies government and by Ansett engineering his employees' purchases of Butler shares (in a similar way as had just been attempted by Butler). He then flew the employees to a general meeting in Sydney and forced a vote in favour of selling out to Ansett.
ANSETT-ANA was profitable courtesy of government support, but also because of Reg Ansett's parsimonious ways. ANSETT-ANA operated from terminals around the country that were very basic; but, then, so were TAA's.
Following the takeover of ANA, Reg Ansett lobbied the government to block TAA's purchase of Sud Aviation Caravelle
Sud Aviation Caravelle
The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle was the first short/medium-range jet airliner produced by the French Sud Aviation firm starting in 1955 . The Caravelle was one of the more successful European first generation jetliners, selling throughout Europe and even penetrating the United States market, with...
jet aircraft. He was concerned about his airline's ability to finance equivalent jet aircraft, and the major engineering leap required to go from an all-piston fleet direct to pure jet aircraft, TAA had been operating prop-jet Vickers Viscount
Vickers Viscount
The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...
s since 1954, and so had expertise in jet technology. Ansett was successful in convincing the government to authorize the importation of more Viscounts and the new Lockheed L-188 Electra
Lockheed L-188 Electra
The Lockheed Model 188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed. First flying in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner produced in the United States. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes which prompted an expensive modification program to fix a design...
. This action delayed the introduction of pure jet aircraft to Australian skies until 1964, when the Boeing 727–100
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
began flying.
Expansion beyond domestic aviation
The airline prospered during the second half of the 20th century, especially in the 1980s. However, a number of substantial investments performed badly, including a share in the US airline America West AirlinesAmerica West Airlines
America West Airlines corporate offices were in Tempe, Arizona and the main hub was at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The airline became part of the US Airways Group after a merger in 2005....
(which filed for bankruptcy, but survived) and its Hamilton Island resort (which went into receivership). Ansett also paid millions of dollars for the right to be official airline of the Sydney 2000 Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, an investment generally regarded as unwise. This destabilised the financial position of the company considerably.
Ansett expanded into New Zealand in 1987 through its subsidiary Ansett New Zealand
Ansett New Zealand
Ansett New Zealand was a wholly owned airline subsidiary of Ansett Australia, serving the New Zealand domestic market between 1987 and 2000. In order to comply with regulatory requirements relating to the acquisition of Ansett Australia by Air New Zealand, Ansett New Zealand was sold to News...
after the New Zealand government opened its skies to the airline. After the Australian government reneged on an agreement to reciprocate, Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand Limited is the national airline and flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 26 domestic destinations and 24 international destinations in 15 countries across Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania, and is...
tried to acquire a share of Qantas, but was not allowed. Instead it bought a 50% stake in Ansett Australia (without managerial control) for A$540 million in 1996. Ansett Australia then had to divest itself of Ansett New Zealand to avoid creating a monopoly.
Ansett commenced international service on 11 September 1993 to Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. In 1994, it commenced service to Osaka and Hong Kong. Ansett commenced Jakarta Service on 12 January 1996. On 8 June 1997, Ansett commenced flights to Shanghai. Later, Seoul, Taipei and Kuala Lumpur flights were suspended.
Air New Zealand merger and collapse
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
's stake for A$680 million, surpassing Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines Limited is the flag carrier airline of Singapore. Singapore Airlines operates a hub at Changi Airport and has a strong presence in the Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and "Kangaroo Route" markets...
's A$500 million bid. This essentially merged Ansett and Air New Zealand into one group, entitled "Air New Zealand/Ansett" although both airlines maintained their individual operations. The purchase by Air New Zealand was widely viewed as a mistake. Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
aviation economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
academic
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
Keith Trace commented "... by taking it on, they ensured that their own airline was in terrible danger. That was a dreadful mistake. They were taken for a ride." Ansett became more of a drain than an asset. This was difficult for Air New Zealand to support because Ansett was the larger airline, with more employees, more aircraft, and more financial overhead.
The Australian government then changed the rules to allow foreign airlines to fly domestic routes. Competition from 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...
and a succession of start-up airlines (Impulse Airlines
Impulse Airlines
Impulse Airlines was an independent airline in Australia which operated regional and low cost trunk services between 1994 and 2001. It was acquired by Qantas in 2001 and later formed the basis of Qantas' low-cost airline Jetstar...
and Virgin Blue), top-heavy and substantially overpaid staff, an aging fleet and grounding of the Boeing 767
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
fleet due to maintenance irregularities left Ansett seriously short of cash, losing $1.3 million a day. Ansett's main issue was the costs it incurred in running its operations; for every $1 of revenue, 10 cents was profit compared with Qantas' 60 cents for the same amount . Air New Zealand attempted to cut Ansett's costs while maintaining the same level of revenue. This did not work, as the cost cutting hurt Ansett, with the notable incidents being the grounding of planes in Christmas 2000 and Easter 2001. Ansett was thus unable to compete with the low cost carriers and Qantas, who were able to run at a loss on some routes, as they could not maintain revenue while cutting their costs, which included laying off staff. A deal made in April 2001 for Ansett to purchase Virgin Blue was repudiated by Virgin chief Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
in August, and Singapore Airlines, which was initially blocked from buying Ansett, was also prevented from investing further in Air New Zealand/Ansett by the New Zealand government. It then declined to take up an earlier proposed deal to inject over $500 million into Air New Zealand and Ansett after talks collapsed. In early September 2001, as the trouble worsened, the New Zealand government prepared to rescue Air New Zealand (eventually buying 83% of the company for NZ$885 million) but cut Ansett adrift. Despite public pleas, the Australian government refused to fund Ansett.
Quickly running out of both lines of credit and options, Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand Limited is the national airline and flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 26 domestic destinations and 24 international destinations in 15 countries across Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania, and is...
placed the Ansett group of companies into voluntary administration with PriceWaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest professional services firm measured by revenues and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms....
on 12 September 2001. In the early hours of 14 September, the administrator determined that Ansett was not viable to continue operations (primarily due to the apparent lack of any funds to cover fuel, catering or employee wages) and grounded the fleets of Ansett and its subsidiaries Hazelton Airlines
Hazelton Airlines
Hazelton Air Services Pty Limited, trading as Hazelton Airlines, was an Australian regional airline which operated until 2001. It was established as an independent airline but by the end of its existence had become a subsidiary of Ansett Australia....
, Kendell, Skywest
Skywest Airlines
Skywest Airlines Pty Ltd is a regional airline company based in Perth, Western Australia, Australia; servicing key towns in the state of Western Australia, Darwin, Northern Territory and Melbourne, Victoria; as well as charter flights to Bali, Indonesia....
and Aeropelican
Aeropelican Air Services
Aeropelican Air Services Pty Ltd is a regional airline based in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Its main base is Newcastle Airport , with a hub at Sydney Airport.- History :...
. Flights already in the air at the time the decision was made (international flights from Hong Kong, Japan and domestic red eye Perth flights) continued on to their destinations, unaware of the devastating news that would greet them at the other end come morning. Customers and employees had no warning of the stoppage in operations. Everyone had been told in the days leading up to 14 September that flights would continue on schedule, and Ansett employees did not find out until they showed up for work at dawn that day. Thousands of passengers were left stranded and more than 16,000 people found themselves out of a job, making this the largest mass job loss event in Australian history. Widespread protests were held by workers, including the blockade of an Air New Zealand plane about to carry New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark home from Melbourne. It was alleged by the then administrators that Air New Zealand had engaged in asset stripping
Asset stripping
Asset stripping involves selling the assets of a business individually at a profit. The term is generally used in a pejorative sense as such activity is not considered productive to the economy. Asset stripping is considered to be a problem in economies such as Russia or China that are making a...
of the airline as well as charging of its fuel costs due to Air New Zealand failing to hedge its fuel costs thus leaving it susceptible to major fluctuations in fuel charges during 2000. This claim was strongly denied by Air New Zealand, noting it had funded Ansett's loss of A$180 million in the last year, and Ansett's administrators soon admitted there was no evidence of any asset stripping.
Ansett Mark II and Tesna
After receiving a federal government guarantee, Ansett resumed limited services between major cities on 1 October 2001, utilising only the Airbus A320Airbus A320 family
The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
fleet. This was referred to as 'Ansett Mark II', an operation run and financed by Ansett Australia under administration. The purpose of getting Ansett back into the air was aimed directly at attracting a buyer for the business and generating positive cash flow. Attempts by Ansett's Voluntary Administrators to re-engage Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines Limited is the flag carrier airline of Singapore. Singapore Airlines operates a hub at Changi Airport and has a strong presence in the Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and "Kangaroo Route" markets...
(SIA) to consider a role in resurrecting Ansett through a meeting on 6 October 2001 resulted in SIA agreeing to play a consultancy role in this effort. The scaled-back operation ran on a tight budget, and its product reflective of that. It consisted of single class seating with no catering, interlining baggage, valet parking or frequent flyer points. After a month back in the air, the Golden Wing Club Lounges re-opened, however like the scaled-back flying operation, provided no refreshments or other amenities apart from coffee and water. Ansett essentially was in "lock down" mode, while the administrators tried to source buyers in a very challenging market. Ansett Mark II traded only as "Ansett" (minus the Australia) in a different font to separate it from the former operation. It traded from Ansett terminals, with Ansett ground staff, crew and baggage handler
Baggage handler
In the airline industry, a baggage handler is a person who loads and unloads baggage , and other cargo for transport via aircraft...
s working around the clock to make it a success with limited resources. Designated gates at each of Ansett's terminals were used for the operation, while aircraft not being utilised (767/737 fleet) were moved away to more distant gates, with the disused concourses being sealed off.
In November 2001, Ansett creditors voted to allow the Tesna consortium, led by Melbourne businessmen Solomon Lew
Solomon Lew
Solomon Lew is an Australian businessman, and one of Australia's richest men. His principal commercial activities involve importing apparel, toys and other goods into Australia from China and share market investments, principally in retail companies.He was formerly a director then Chairman of the...
and Lindsay Fox
Lindsay Fox
Lindsay Edward Fox AC is an Australian businessman. As of 2009, he was the 10th richest person in Australia, with a net worth of around 1.5 billion . He is best known as the founder and chairman of his family-owned trucking and logistics company, Linfox.- Early life :Lindsay Fox was brought up in...
, to purchase Ansett's mainline assets. The plan involved creating a whole "new" Ansett out of the ashes of the old (with the "Australia" dropped from the name as per Ansett MK II), but the trademark font and "Star Mark" logo re-instated. It would be a full-service, two-class single-fleet-type domestic airline. It included very reduced staff numbers and an all-new Airbus A320 fleet. The new Ansett would operate out of the old Ansett terminals, and temporary lease the former Ansett's A320 fleet until younger replacements arrived. Loyalty products such as the Golden Wing Club and Frequent Flyer program would be relaunched. Those members of Golden Wing Club at the time of the collapse would have their memberships re-instated for a six-month period if they used the new Ansett. A new CEO was sourced and hired, and began to put together a new management team. A new head office was planned, and Airbus showcased a new A320 to the consortium. A new catering company was selected, with new Business and Economy Class in-flight meals trialled on passengers on select MK II services in readiness for the new operation.
The agreement with Ansett's administrators, although well-advanced, collapsed in late February 2002. Without any prior warning, the administrators announced on 27 February—just days before the new Ansett was due to launch—that Fox and Lew had withdrawn their bid, citing "Inability to complete the transaction on legal advice". A subsequent press conference with Fox and Lew the same day announced that they had received no support from the government for their bid, thus withdrawing their proposal.
With no other saviours, and any chance for Ansett as an airline to be revived now gone, the administrators had no choice but to cease all Ansett flying operations permanently at 23:59 on 4 March 2002, with the very last commercial flight, AN152 from Perth to Sydney, operated by A320-211 VH-HYI, touching down a little after 06:00 on 5 March. "It's an end of an era, an end of a great Australian company and the staff now are faced with unemployment after this flight." said Captain Geoff McDonald, who piloted the final Ansett flight in. Staff filled Golden Wing Lounges across the country for mass wakes as the final flights came into land. At dawn on 5 March, Ansett had officially passed into Australian history for good.
Entitlements
By this point, the administration of the company had transferred to newly formed insolvency firm KordaMenthaKordaMentha
KordaMentha is an Australian business known for their work as insolvency and restructuring practitioners. They also provide Corporate Recovery Services, Turnaround Restructuring Services, Real Estate Advisory and Forensic services...
. The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) began an investigation of whether Ansett had gone on trading while insolvent, and eventually determined in July 2002 that it would be too expensive and difficult to proceed with an action which would, in any case, need to be many separate actions on behalf of individual creditors rather than just one. With Ansett now grounded forever, the administrators began the daunting task of selling off Ansett's massive list of assets. This included its regional subsidiary airlines, which still continued to trade – despite Ansett being grounded. Its massive inventory of aircraft, Head Office, ancillery buildings, Engineering Base, Flight Simulator Centre, furniture, terminal leases, supplies, catering and amenities all had to be sold. A creditors meeting post March 2002 voted in favour of an organised wind-up of the operation, under a deed of company arrangement, as opposed to an immediate liquidation. It was viewed that a deed of arrangement would give creditors a greater return than liqidation would provide.
Laid-off Ansett workers were eventually paid most of their entitlements, partly from an A$150 million compensation package offered by Air New Zealand in return for having the ASIC enquiry dropped, but mostly through asset sales and leasing revenue. The Federal Government did provide a A$350 million loan (SEESA) which is being repaid by the Administrators at the same time as the staff are being repaid however, to ensure that there is no exposure to taxpayers, a A$10-per-seat levy was imposed by the Federal Government on Australian airline passengers. This has led to claims of "double dipping" by the Australian Government and a common misconception that former Ansett staff have been fully reimbursed. As at December 2010, former employees still have not been paid their full entitlements, and many employees have not had their superannuation funds released, causing problems for many former employees who have now reached retirement age.
Administration and asset sales
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia, by KordaMentha Pty Ltd
KordaMentha
KordaMentha is an Australian business known for their work as insolvency and restructuring practitioners. They also provide Corporate Recovery Services, Turnaround Restructuring Services, Real Estate Advisory and Forensic services...
.
The process of administration of the companies' assets continues to this day with employees receiving A$667.7 million out of entitlements estimated at A$766.4 million (or about 90c in the dollar) and it is expected that another A$85.1 million will be raised. Ansett's administrators, KordaMentha
KordaMentha
KordaMentha is an Australian business known for their work as insolvency and restructuring practitioners. They also provide Corporate Recovery Services, Turnaround Restructuring Services, Real Estate Advisory and Forensic services...
, initially advised creditors that it was unlikely that much more money would be realised, due to the depression of the global aviation industry after 11 September reducing the value of aircraft from A$300 million to A$70 million. In the months following the final flight, the administrators negotiated the sale of the terminal leases back to the airport owners, recouping millions. Auctions were held to sell Ansetts airport furniture and equipment. Its headquarters at 465/489 and 501 Swanston Street in Melbourne were put up for sale and were purchased by PDG corporation. Some aircraft stored in heavy maintenance were broken up; 737
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
CZD and BAe 146
BAe 146
The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...
JJX being the first, as it was not cost-effective to restore them to an airworthy state.
The disposal of the former fleet did not progress quickly, given the events in the U.S and the subsequent lack of demand by other carriers around the world whose operations had been crippled by the 9/11 attacks only months before. Following the final flight, nearly all of the A320 fleet was ferried back empty to Melbourne, where they sat at abandoned gates in storage. The Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft fleets ultimately found new owners first, and randomly departed Australia between March 2002 and December 2006 as the banks finally reclaimed them, or as new owners were found. The two Boeing 747 aircraft that were leased from Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines Limited is the flag carrier airline of Singapore. Singapore Airlines operates a hub at Changi Airport and has a strong presence in the Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and "Kangaroo Route" markets...
were reclaimed within weeks of the collapse and returned to Singapore Airlines, where they were repainted back into the colours of their owner. They subsequently found new lives are now leased to Fiji's
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
national carrier Air Pacific
Air Pacific
Air Pacific Limited, Fiji's international airline, operates international and domestic services around the Pacific and to North America and Hong Kong. It is also a partner with the frequent flyer programmes of Qantas, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines...
. The more modern Boeing 767–300 aircraft, of which Ansett had two (BZF and BZL), were reclaimed by the lessors in the following months, while two new delivery Boeing 767–300 aircraft (BZI and BZM) which arrived too late to enter service with Ansett, departed soon after. BZI was wet leased on a short term basis by Qantas to bring additional aircraft to cover the loss of Ansett, but the aircraft retained its Ansett registration while under lease to them. Another new 767-300 which was halfway through its ferry from Canada (VH-BZN) never made it to Australia and returned to Canada. The Kendell
Kendell
Kendell Airlines was a regional airline in Australia, at times the largest in the country. It served major regional centres in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania from Melbourne, Adelaide, and Sydney...
CRJ-200 jets departed back from Canada within twelve months of the initial collapse.
With the newer aircraft gone, most of the older Boeing 767–200 fleet (RMD-RMO) were moved from the Melbourne terminal gates as Virgin Blue moved into the former Ansett Terminal, and were placed into long term storage at the Ansett Engineering Base in Melbourne until late 2004, when most were sold off to Aeroturbine and flown to the United States to be broken up into spare parts. Many of the British Aerospace 146 aircraft were also stored but broken up at Melbourne. As of 2008, the remains of a BAe 146 (JJQ) sit derelict in Brisbane, and a somewhat intact but inoperable BAe 146 (JJT) remains in Perth, although neither of them are still owned by Ansett or expected to fly again. A lone Boeing 767–200, the ex VH-RMF survived the scrappers cull, was sold and continues to fly in the United States as a charter aircraft.
More recently, employees of the former airline have received an additional A$16.4 million in entitlement payments after the sale of over A$22 million of assets, including aircraft and aircraft parts. According to media reports, there are still in excess of 217,000 items and two properties belonging to the airline remaining for sale.
In June 2011, it was announced that the Special Employee Entitlements Scheme for Ansett employees had finished making payments to former staff. Staff received roughly 96 cents in the dollar of their entitlements.
Fleet
- Airbus A320Airbus A320 familyThe Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
x20 (VH-HYA to HYL) and (HYN,O,Q,R,S,T,X,Y) - BAe 146BAe 146The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...
x18 (-200 and -200QT models used by both Ansett Australia and -300 models used by Ansett New Zealand)(VH-EWM,R,S, JJP,Q,S,T,U,W,X,Y,Z and ZK-NZG,H,I,J,K,L,M,N) - Boeing 727-200FBoeing 727The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
x1 (VH-RMX - freighter) - Boeing 737-300Boeing 737 ClassicThe Boeing 737 Classic is the name given to the -300/-400/-500 series of the Boeing 737 following the introduction of the -600/-700/-800/-900 series. They are short- to medium- range, narrow-body jet airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The Classic series was introduced as the 'new...
x23 (VH-CZA to CZX) - Boeing 747-400Boeing 747-400The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
x2 (VH-ANA and ANB leased from Singapore Airlines) - Boeing 767-200Boeing 767The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
x9 (VH-RMD to RMH) and (RMK,L,M,O) - Boeing 767-300Boeing 767The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
x4 (VH-BZF, BZL, BZI, BZM) - BombardierBombardier AerospaceBombardier Aerospace is a division of Bombardier Inc. and is the third-largest airplane manufacturer in the world. It is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada.- History :...
CRJ-200Bombardier CRJ200The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 are a family of regional airliner manufactured by Bombardier, and based on the Canadair Challenger business jet.-Development:...
x12 (Operated by Kendell) - DeHavilland Twin OtterDe Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin OtterThe DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian 19-passenger STOL utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada and currently produced by Viking Air. The aircraft's fixed tricycle undercarriage, STOL abilities and high rate of climb have made it a successful cargo, regional passenger airliner and MEDEVAC...
x4 (VH-KZN,O,P,Q - operated by AeropelicanAeropelican Air ServicesAeropelican Air Services Pty Ltd is a regional airline based in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Its main base is Newcastle Airport , with a hub at Sydney Airport.- History :...
) - Fokker 50 x9 (Operated by SkywestSkywest AirlinesSkywest Airlines Pty Ltd is a regional airline company based in Perth, Western Australia, Australia; servicing key towns in the state of Western Australia, Darwin, Northern Territory and Melbourne, Victoria; as well as charter flights to Bali, Indonesia....
) - Fokker F27Fokker F27The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.-Design and development:Design of the Fokker F27 started in the 1950s as a replacement to the successful Douglas DC-3 airliner...
x1 (VH-WAN) - Fokker F28Fokker F28The Fokker F28 Fellowship is a short range jet airliner designed and built by defunct Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.-Design and development:...
x4 ** (VH-EWD and FKI, J, O – None operational at time of collapse) - Saab 340Saab 340The Saab 340 is a discontinued Swedish two-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by a partnership between Saab and Fairchild Aircraft in a 65:35 ratio...
x16 (Operated by Kendell and Hazelton AirlinesHazelton AirlinesHazelton Air Services Pty Limited, trading as Hazelton Airlines, was an Australian regional airline which operated until 2001. It was established as an independent airline but by the end of its existence had become a subsidiary of Ansett Australia....
) - Fairchild Metro 23Fairchild Swearingen MetrolinerThe Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner or the Fairchild Aerospace Metro is a 19-seat, pressurised, twin turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild at a plant in San Antonio, Texas, United States....
x7 (Operated by Kendell and Hazelton AirlinesHazelton AirlinesHazelton Air Services Pty Limited, trading as Hazelton Airlines, was an Australian regional airline which operated until 2001. It was established as an independent airline but by the end of its existence had become a subsidiary of Ansett Australia....
)
Only the Airbus A320 was utilised from Ansett's original fleet during the brief re-launch of operations as "Ansett Mark 2" from October 2001 to March 2002. The Boeing 737, Boeing 767, and Boeing 747 fleet was grounded from September '01 onwards and never flew an Ansett revenue flight again. The same went for the BAe 146 fleet, with the exception of a one-off revenue flight from Cairns to Brisbane in November 2001, operating off the back end of a charter flight for the government. Two other Ansett BAe 146 aircraft were chartered by the Howard Government and Federal opposition in late 2001 during the federal election campaigns, VH-JJP (Federal Government) and VH-JJT (Opposition).
Several of the defunct fleet types did operate ferry flights back to Melbourne from wherever they ended up across Australia in the months after the collapse, and operated the occasional test flight around Melbourne to retain currency.
Of the subsidiary fleets, only the Kendell Bombardier CRJ200 did not return to active flying. The Fokker 50, Saab 340, Twin Otter and Metro 23 regional aircraft were all back flying for Skywest, Kendell, Hazelton and Aeropelican in the weeks following the collapse. Both Kendell and Hazelton merged to create REX (Regional Express).
Historical fleet
At various times Ansett Australia and its predecessors and partnering carriers operated the Boeing 727Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
, Bristol Freighter
Bristol Freighter
The Bristol Type 170 Freighter was a British twin-engine aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company as both a freighter and airliner, although its best known use is as an air ferry to carry cars and their passengers over relatively short distances.-Design and development:The...
, Convair 340, Convair 440, de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou
De Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou
The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou is a Canadian-designed and produced specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing capability...
, Douglas DC-3
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
and C-47 Skytrain, Douglas DC-4
Douglas DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
, Douglas DC-6
Douglas DC-6
The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range...
, Douglas DC-9
McDonnell Douglas DC-9
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is a twin-engine, single-aisle jet airliner. It was first manufactured in 1965 with its maiden flight later that year. The DC-9 was designed for frequent, short flights. The final DC-9 was delivered in October 1982.The DC-9 was followed in subsequent modified forms by...
, Fokker F-27, Lockheed L-188 Electra
Lockheed L-188 Electra
The Lockheed Model 188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed. First flying in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner produced in the United States. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes which prompted an expensive modification program to fix a design...
and Vickers Viscount
Vickers Viscount
The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...
.
Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services owned the Airbus A300
Airbus A300
The Airbus A300 is a short- to medium-range widebody jet airliner. Launched in 1972 as the world's first twin-engined widebody, it was the first product of Airbus Industrie, a consortium of European aerospace companies, wholly owned today by EADS...
, Airbus A310
Airbus A310
The Airbus A310 is a medium- to long-range twin-engine widebody jet airliner. Launched in July 1978, it was the second aircraft created by Airbus Industrie,a consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. the consortium of...
and Boeing 757
Boeing 757
The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the twinjet have a capacity of 186 to 289 persons and a maximum range of , depending on variant and cabin configuration...
for leasing.
One of the most unusual aircraft that was operated by Ansett was the Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair
Aviation Traders Carvair
The Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair was a large piston-engine transport aircraft. It was a Douglas DC-4-based air ferry developed by Freddie Laker's Aviation Traders Limited , with a capacity of 25 passengers and five cars, loaded at the front.-Design and development:Freddie Laker's idea to...
from the 1960s. Three of the airline's own DC-4s were delivered to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for conversion by Aviation Traders Limited, the company run by Sir Freddie Laker
Freddie Laker
Sir Frederick Alfred Laker was a British airline entrepreneur, best known for founding Laker Airways in 1966, which went bankrupt in 1982...
as Managing Director.
Historically, whichever aircraft carried the registration VH-RMA (the initials of Reginald Miles Ansett) was the unofficial flagship of the airline. The last aircraft to do so was a Boeing 767-200 owned by Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services until 1997.
Cabin services
Ansett Australia offered up to three cabin classes (First, Business and Economy Classes) in varied seat configurations throughout its 66 year run. At the time of its collapse, this had reverted to just two travel classes (Business and Economy), both domestically and internationally:International fleet: (B747-400/767-300ER)
- International Business Class
- International Economy Class
Domestic Fleet: (B767-200/B767-300ER/B737-300/A320-200/BAe-146-200)
- Domestic Business Class
- Domestic Economy Class
International business class
Ansett International's last business class was introduced with the arrival of the Boeing 747-400Boeing 747-400
The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
. It offered forty-two single recliner seats in a 2-2-2 configuration on the main deck, with around 160 degrees of recline. Ansett Australia's retrofitted two Boeing 747-400
Boeing 747-400
The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
series aircraft equipped with these recliner seats mostly served the Australia-Asia (Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
) international flights. The recliner seats were equipped with inflight entertainment including personal televisions/touch screens with AVOD, personal telephones in every seat and laptop 110 V AC power outlets.
On Ansett International's 767 fleet, Business seating was in a 1-2-2 configuration, with recliner seats and AVOD similar, but not identical to those on the B747.
Domestic business class
Originally launched as "BusinessFirst" in 1997, and then reverting back to just "Business Class" in 1999, Ansett Domestic's last business class offered twenty-four single lounge chair seats grouped in groups of two allowing a more spacious area on its domestic configured 767-300ER and 200ER/200 fleet in a 2-2-2 configuration. Ansett Australia's domestic business class seats were also installed on the Airbus A320-200Airbus A320 family
The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
series, the Boeing 737-300
Boeing 737 Classic
The Boeing 737 Classic is the name given to the -300/-400/-500 series of the Boeing 737 following the introduction of the -600/-700/-800/-900 series. They are short- to medium- range, narrow-body jet airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The Classic series was introduced as the 'new...
series, and the BAe-146 fleet in a 2–2 layout. These aircraft mostly served Australian domestic flights, however select 767-200ER, A320 and 737 services were also used on the Australia-Asia/Fiji (Denpasar
Denpasar
Denpasar is the capital city of the province of Bali, Indonesia. It has a rapidly expanding population of 788,445 in 2010, up from 533,252 in the previous decade. It is located at .-History:...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Nadi
Nadi
Nadi is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Indian or Fijian, along with a large transient population of foreign...
) international flights as demand dictated.
International economy class
The new international economy class was introduced with the arrival of the Boeing 747-400Boeing 747-400
The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
. It offered 398 seats (747) equipped with adjustable wings in the headrest and an adjustable footrest to provide extra comfort. Ansett Australia's international economy class seats were also installed on some of the Boeing 767-200
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
series, and some of the Boeing 767-300
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
series. Seat rows were in a 3-4-3 configuration on the Boeing 747-400
Boeing 747-400
The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
series aircraft lower deck and mostly a 3–3 configuration on the upper deck, a 2-3-2 configuration on the Boeing 767-200
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
and Boeing 767-300
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
series aircraft. The Airbus A320
Airbus A320 family
The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
and Boeing 737
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
fleets retained their domestic configuration for international service. These aircraft mostly served Australian domestic flights and some of the Australia-Asia/Fiji (Denpasar
Denpasar
Denpasar is the capital city of the province of Bali, Indonesia. It has a rapidly expanding population of 788,445 in 2010, up from 533,252 in the previous decade. It is located at .-History:...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
and Nadi
Nadi
Nadi is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Indian or Fijian, along with a large transient population of foreign...
) international flights. The seats were equipped with inflight entertainment including personal televisions and personal telephones in every seat.
Domestic economy class
The new domestic economy class was also introduced with the arrival of the Boeing 767-300ERBoeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
, offering 224 seats. Ansett Australia's domestic economy class seats were also installed on some of the Airbus A320 series
Airbus A320 family
The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
, some of the BAe-146 series, some of the Boeing 737-300
Boeing 737 Classic
The Boeing 737 Classic is the name given to the -300/-400/-500 series of the Boeing 737 following the introduction of the -600/-700/-800/-900 series. They are short- to medium- range, narrow-body jet airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The Classic series was introduced as the 'new...
series, some of the Boeing 767-200
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
series and some of the Boeing 767-300
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
series aircraft. Seat rows were in a 3–3 configuration on the Airbus A320
Airbus A320 family
The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
and the Boeing 737-300
Boeing 737 Classic
The Boeing 737 Classic is the name given to the -300/-400/-500 series of the Boeing 737 following the introduction of the -600/-700/-800/-900 series. They are short- to medium- range, narrow-body jet airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The Classic series was introduced as the 'new...
series aircraft, a 2–2 configuration on the BAe 146
BAe 146
The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...
series aircraft and a 2-3-2 configuration on the Boeing 767-200
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
and Boeing 767-300
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
series aircraft. These aircraft mostly served Australian domestic flights and some of the Australia-Asia/Fiji (Denpasar
Denpasar
Denpasar is the capital city of the province of Bali, Indonesia. It has a rapidly expanding population of 788,445 in 2010, up from 533,252 in the previous decade. It is located at .-History:...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Nadi
Nadi
Nadi is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Indian or Fijian, along with a large transient population of foreign...
) international flights.
Ansett Mark II cabin
Following Ansett's limited re-launch under administration, it operated only Economy Class with a scaled back no-frills service. Those A320s with convertible Business Class seating were configured back to all Economy, while the A320 cabins with fixed Business Class seating retained the Business seat but was considered all one cabin. Bottled water was offered throughout the flight.Destinations and Routes
Ansett Australia operated to many destinations in Australia and Asia prior to its collapse in 2001. This list does not include destinations only served by subsidiaries Aeropelican, Ansett New ZealandAnsett New Zealand
Ansett New Zealand was a wholly owned airline subsidiary of Ansett Australia, serving the New Zealand domestic market between 1987 and 2000. In order to comply with regulatory requirements relating to the acquisition of Ansett Australia by Air New Zealand, Ansett New Zealand was sold to News...
, Kendell Airlines, Skywest Airlines
Skywest Airlines
Skywest Airlines Pty Ltd is a regional airline company based in Perth, Western Australia, Australia; servicing key towns in the state of Western Australia, Darwin, Northern Territory and Melbourne, Victoria; as well as charter flights to Bali, Indonesia....
and Hazelton Airlines
Hazelton Airlines
Hazelton Air Services Pty Limited, trading as Hazelton Airlines, was an Australian regional airline which operated until 2001. It was established as an independent airline but by the end of its existence had become a subsidiary of Ansett Australia....
.
Oceania
AustraliaAustralia
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...
-
- Australian Capital TerritoryAustralian Capital TerritoryThe Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
- CanberraCanberraCanberra 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...
(Canberra International AirportCanberra International AirportCanberra International Airport , now trading as Canberra Airport, is the airport serving Australia's capital city, Canberra, and the city of Queanbeyan, NSW. Located at the eastern edge of North Canberra, it is the 8th busiest airport in Australia. The airport is the main hub for Brindabella Airlines...
)
- Canberra
- New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
- SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
(Sydney AirportSydney AirportSydney Airport may refer to:* Sydney Airport, also known as Kingsford Smith International Airport, in Sydney, Australia* Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport, in Nova Scotia, Canada...
)
- Sydney
- Northern TerritoryNorthern TerritoryThe Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
- Alice SpringsAlice Springs, Northern TerritoryAlice Springs is the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as "the Alice" or simply "Alice", Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory...
(Alice Springs AirportAlice Springs AirportAlice Springs Airport is a small regional airport 14 kilometres south of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia.The airport has two runways, the largest of which can accommodate a Boeing 747 or 777 landing...
) - DarwinDarwin, Northern TerritoryDarwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
(Darwin International AirportDarwin International AirportDarwin International Airport is the busiest airport serving the Northern Territory and the tenth busiest airport in Australia. It is the only airport serving Darwin....
) - UluruUluruUluru , also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park....
(Ayers Rock AirportAyers Rock AirportAyers Rock Airport is situated near Yulara, around away from Alice Springs, Northern Territory, and 20 minutes drive from Uluru itself. An average of 400,000 passenger movements per year pass through this airport in the middle of Australia.-History:Connellan Airport was originally started by...
)
- Alice Springs
- QueenslandQueenslandQueensland 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...
- BrisbaneBrisbaneBrisbane 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...
(Brisbane AirportBrisbane AirportBrisbane 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...
) - Cairns (Cairns International AirportCairns International AirportCairns Airport is an international airport in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Formerly operated by the Cairns Port Authority, the airport was sold by the Queensland Government in December 2008 to a private consortium. It is the seventh busiest airport in Australia. The airport is located north of...
) - Gold CoastGold Coast, QueenslandGold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
/CoolangattaCoolangatta, QueenslandCoolangatta is the southernmost suburb of the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It has a population of 4,869 and is named after the schooner Coolangatta which was wrecked there in 1846....
(Gold Coast AirportGold Coast AirportGold Coast Airport, or Coolangatta Airport, is an Australian domestic and international airport on the Gold Coast and is located some south of Brisbane and 25 km south of Surfers Paradise. The entrance to the airport is situated in the suburb of Bilinga on the Gold Coast...
) - Hamilton IslandHamilton Island, QueenslandHamilton Island is the largest inhabited island of the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland, Australia. Hamilton Island, like most in the Whitsunday group, was formed as sea levels rose creating numerous drowned mountains that are situated close to the east coast of Queensland, Australia...
(Hamilton Island AirportHamilton Island AirportGreat Barrier Reef Airport is the primary airport of the Whitsunday Islands Group, and airport of Hamilton Island...
) - Mount Isa (Mount Isa AirportMount Isa AirportMount Isa Airport is an airport serving the western Queensland city of Mount Isa, Australia. It is served by a variety of scheduled regional airlines, with flights to Brisbane, Townsville and Cairns as well as several other regional centres....
) - ProserpineProserpine, Queensland-External links:* * * * *...
(Whitsunday Coast Airport) - Sunshine CoastSunshine Coast, QueenslandThe Sunshine Coast is an urban area in South East Queensland, north of the state capital of Brisbane on the Pacific Ocean coastline. Although it does not have a central business district, by population it ranks as the 10th largest metropolis in Australia and the third largest in...
/MaroochydoreMaroochydore, QueenslandMaroochydore is an urban centre on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.Maroochydore is a major commercial area of the Sunshine Coast with most shopping precincts located in the central business district. It is home to the Sunshine Plaza shopping centre and the Sunshine Coast's major bus...
(Sunshine Coast AirportSunshine Coast AirportSunshine Coast Airport is an Australian airport serving Sunshine Coast, Queensland. It is the gateway to holiday destinations such as Noosa, Maroochydore, Mooloolaba and Caloundra...
) - Townsville (Townsville Airport)
- Brisbane
- South AustraliaSouth AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
- AdelaideAdelaideAdelaide 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...
(Adelaide International AirportAdelaide International AirportAdelaide 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...
)
- Adelaide
- TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
- HobartHobartHobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
(Hobart International AirportHobart International AirportHobart International Airport is an airport located in Cambridge, east of Hobart, Tasmania. The Federal government owned airport is currently being operated on a 99 year lease to the Tasmanian Gateway Consortium. The airport has seen strong passenger growth in the last few years, primarily due to...
)
- Hobart
- Victoria
- MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
(Melbourne AirportMelbourne AirportMelbourne Airport , also known as Tullamarine Airport, is the primary airport serving the city of Melbourne and the second busiest in Australia. It was opened in 1970 to replace the nearby Essendon Airport. Melbourne Airport is the sole international airport of the four airports serving the...
)
- Melbourne
- Western AustraliaWestern AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
- Argyle (Argyle AirportArgyle AirportArgyle Airport is an airport at Argyle, Western Australia. The airport serves the nearby Argyle Diamond Mine....
) - BroomeBroome, Western AustraliaBroome is a pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of Perth. The year round population is approximately 14,436, growing to more than 45,000 per month during the tourist season...
(Broome International AirportBroome International AirportBroome International Airport is a regional airport located at Broome, Australia.Broome International Airport is the regional hub of the northwestern part of Western Australia. It is considered the gateway to the Kimberley. In the year ending 30 June 2009 the airport handled 391 914 passengers...
) - KalgoorlieKalgoorlie, Western AustraliaKalgoorlie, known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder, is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, and is located east-northeast of state capital Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway...
(Kalgoorlie-Boulder AirportKalgoorlie-Boulder AirportKalgoorlie-Boulder Airport is an airport in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The airport is 7 km from the town center.In November 2007, Skywest Airlines attempted a three times weekly direct service from Kalgoorlie to Melbourne, which failed due to lack of patronage. This service has since been...
) - KarrathaKarratha, Western Australia-Facilities:A range of hotel, motel, B&B and caravan/RV accommodation is available for visitors. However, as the town is booming, accommodation is often hard to come by.The town has restaurants, a tavern, two hotels and two night clubs...
/DampierDampier, Western AustraliaDampier is a major industrial port in the north-west of Western Australia. The Dampier Port is part of the Dampier Archipelago. The port services petrochemical, salt, iron ore and natural gas export industries. Rio Tinto exports large volumes of iron ore through the port, and in September 2010...
(Karratha AirportKarratha AirportKarratha Airport is an airport in Karratha, Western Australia. The airport is 14 km from Karratha and 8 km from Dampier. The airport was opened in December 1983, and upgraded in 1998. The Karratha Airport is the second busiest Airport in Western Australia with Perth Airport being the busiest...
) - KununurraKununurra, Western AustraliaKununurra is a town in far northern Western Australia located at the eastern extremity of the Kimberley Region approximately from the border with the Northern Territory. Kununurra was initiated to service the Ord River Irrigation scheme....
(Kununurra AirportKununurra AirportKununurra Airport is an airport in Kununurra, Western Australia. The airport is from the town centre.- Airlines and destinations :* Airnorth * Skywest Airlines - Charter airlines :* Shoal Air...
) - NewmanNewman, Western AustraliaNewman, located about 1186 km north of Perth and 9 km north of the Tropic of Capricorn, is a town in the Pilbara region. It can be reached by the Great Northern Highway...
(Newman AirportNewman AirportNewman Airport is an airport near Newman, Western Australia. Situated 11 km from the town centre, it is the most ready form of transport between Perth and Newman....
) - Geraldton (Geraldton AirportGeraldton AirportGeraldton Airport is an airport located east of Geraldton, Western Australia, along the Geraldton-Mount Magnet Road. Approximately 60,000 passengers use the airport annually.- Background :...
) - PerthPerth, Western AustraliaPerth 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....
(Perth AirportPerth AirportPerth 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....
) - Port HedlandPort Hedland, Western AustraliaPort Hedland is the highest tonnage port in Australia and largest town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with a population of approximately 14,000 ....
(Port Hedland Airport) New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
- Argyle (Argyle Airport
- AucklandAucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
(Auckland Airport) FijiFijiFiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island... - NadiNadiNadi is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Indian or Fijian, along with a large transient population of foreign...
(Nadi International AirportNadi International AirportNadi International Airport is the main international gateway for the islands of Fiji. It serves about 1.2 million people per year, and is the main hub of Air Pacific. The airport is 10km from the city of Nadi. In 2009 it handled 1,220,000 passengers on international and domestic...
)
- Australian Capital Territory
Asia
China, People's Republic ofPeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
-
- ShanghaiShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
(Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport) Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
(Hong Kong International AirportHong Kong International AirportHong Kong International Airport is the main airport in Hong Kong. It is colloquially known as Chek Lap Kok Airport , being built on the island of Chek Lap Kok by land reclamation, and also to distinguish it from its predecessor, the closed Kai Tak Airport.The airport opened for commercial...
) and Kai Tak Airport before 1998 IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an... - JakartaJakartaJakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
(Soekarno-Hatta International AirportSoekarno-Hatta International AirportSoekarno–Hatta International Airport , popularly abbreviated SHIA or Soetta is the main airport serving the greater Jakarta area on the island of Java, Indonesia. The airport is named after the first President of Indonesia, Soekarno, and the first vice-president, Mohammad Hatta. The airport is...
) - DenpasarDenpasarDenpasar is the capital city of the province of Bali, Indonesia. It has a rapidly expanding population of 788,445 in 2010, up from 533,252 in the previous decade. It is located at .-History:...
(Ngurah Rai AirportNgurah Rai AirportNgurah Rai International Airport , also known as Denpasar International Airport, is located in southern Bali, 13 km south of Denpasar...
) JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... - OsakaOsakais a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
(Kansai International AirportKansai International Airportis an international airport located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay, southwest of Ōsaka Station, located within three municipalities, including Izumisano , Sennan , and Tajiri , in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The airport is off the Honshu shore. The airport serves as an...
) Korea, South - SeoulSeoulSeoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
(Gimpo International AirportGimpo International AirportGimpo International Airport , commonly known as Gimpo Airport , is located in the far western end of Seoul and was the main international airport for Seoul and South Korea before it was replaced by Incheon International Airport in 2001...
) Malaysia - Kuala LumpurKuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
(Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah AirportSultan Abdul Aziz Shah AirportSultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport , LTSAAS , often called Subang Airport or Subang Skypark, is an airport located in Subang, Selangor, Malaysia, and primarily serves general aviation and some turboprop domestic flights...
) TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following... - TaipeiTaipeiTaipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
(Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport) (formerly Chiang Kai Shek International Airport)
- Shanghai
: Terminated prior to Air New Zealand takeover.
: Terminated during the Asian financial crisis.
Star Alliance
On 30 March 1999 – Ansett Australia joined the Star AllianceStar Alliance
Star Alliance is the world's first and largest airline alliance, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany . The alliance was founded in 1997 by five of the world's leading airlines: Air Canada, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways International and United Airlines...
, a global network of carriers, opening up interline agreements with a dozen different carriers connecting to over 100 countries across the world. Reciprocal rights for certain Star Alliance membership tiers was offered, including earning frequent flyer points and a wide selection of lounge access. The Star Alliance logo was added to every aircraft in the Ansett fleet, as well as its regional subsidiary airlines. Other Star member carriers like United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
benefited greatly by Ansett's membership, with seamless feeder connections from its trans-Pacific services.
Following Ansett's collapse, membership in the Star Alliance was suspended. It was understood that it would re-join Star Alliance upon re-launch under ownership of Tesna, but the March 2002 shutdown soon made that question irrelevant.
Services
Ansett Australia offered travellers a range of services up to the time of 14 September 2001:Golden Wing Club
Golden Wing Club was the airport lounge service owned and operated by Ansett. Members received a bi-monthly magazine called "Travelling Life", as well as many other features. Golden Wing Club Lounges were located throughout Australia in MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Brisbane
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...
, 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...
, 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....
, 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...
, Cairns, Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
and Hamilton Island. Ansett also ran international Golden Wing Clubs at Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and 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....
, with an added "First Class" section of the Sydney Club for those travelling International First Class from 1994–1998. Access was available to Golden Wing Club members travelling on an Ansett or subsidiary service (e.g. – Kendell, Aeropelican and Skywest) on the day of travel. Complimentary access was granted for Global Rewards Diamond and Sapphire members, as well as Star Alliance
Star Alliance
Star Alliance is the world's first and largest airline alliance, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany . The alliance was founded in 1997 by five of the world's leading airlines: Air Canada, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways International and United Airlines...
Gold (and above) members.
Lounges were for a time, located in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch with members being able to access all Star Alliance
Star Alliance
Star Alliance is the world's first and largest airline alliance, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany . The alliance was founded in 1997 by five of the world's leading airlines: Air Canada, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways International and United Airlines...
Lounges as well. The lounges initially closed following the appointment of administrators and subsequent grounding of the group in September 2001, however select lounges re-opened in a scaled-back capacity in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth only from November 2001 until March 2002 while Ansett Mark 2 was operating. Had Ansett's sale to Tesna gone ahead as planned, the Golden Wing Clubs would all have re-opened in March 2002 as part of the relaunched Ansett.
Following Ansett's final flights in March 2002, the lounges permanently closed. In the weeks that followed, they were emptied of their expensive artwork and other items of value in subsequent auctions, leaving behind furniture and a variety of fittings, most of which was purchased by the various airport owners who bought the terminals back from Ansett's administrators. Today, many of the former Golden Wing Clubs in Australia live on as new lounges, occupied by Virgin Australia (the current name for Virgin Blue) as its member lounge in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Perth, through leases secured with the airport owners. The former Golden Wing in Cairns was used by Qantas as a temporary Qantas Club while the Cairns terminal underwent redevelopment,. The Perth Golden Wing was used firstly by charter airline Alliance and recently became Virgin's sixth lounge. The Adelaide, Gold Coast and Cairns lounges have all been demolished.
Ansett Executive Lounge
The Ansett Executive Lounge, also known as "Ansett Pass" and "Ansett Managers Lounge" was an exclusive airport lounge service owned and operated by Ansett. Membership was via invitation only, and offered opulence and luxury to that of the world's finest five-star hotels. As membership was quite select, the lounges were significantly smaller than that of Golden Wing Clubs. Executive Lounges were located throughout Australia (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Perth) and New Zealand (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch).These lounges closed at time of administration and did not reopen. In the years since the collapse, many of the former Executive lounges were demolished after the airport owners purchased the leasing rights back off Ansett's administrators. For a time, regional carrier Regional Express Airlines
Regional Express Airlines
Regional Express Pty Ltd is an airline based in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. It operates scheduled regional services. It is Australia's largest regional airline outside the Qantas group of companies and serves New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, North Queensland and Tasmania...
utilised the former Canberra lounge as a lounge area for its passengers. Virgin Blue utilised the former Executive Lounge in Sydney for its initial "Blue Room" and later on "The Lounge" product, but relocated to the former Golden Wing Club lounge in 2008. The former lounges are still in existence in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Canberra, but are now utilised for other purposes and not accessible to passengers.
Ansett Business Class Lounge
Ansett offered Business class lounges at 6 of its domestic airports. These lounges were offered to all passengers travelling in domestic Business Class from 2000 onwards. In January, 2000 three business class lounges were installed to Ansett's domestic terminals at Sydney, Melbourne and Perth respectively. In September,2000 a fourth business class lounge was added to Brisbane Airport's domestic terminal. This lounge connected with Ansett's Golden Wing Club at the airport. In February, 2001 a business class lounge was built in Cairns and the following week a brand new Business Class lounge was unveiled in Adelaide. At international terminals and at airports where Ansett did not have domestic Business class lounges, Business Class travellers were given passes to Ansett's Golden Wing Clubs. Two more Business Class lounges had been planned for construction (one at Canberra and another at Darwin) however, these were not completed before the airline's collapse. The former Business Class lounge at Brisbane was incorporated into the former Golden Wing Club space and became the home of Virgin Australia's (the current name for Virgin Blue) "The Lounge", In Sydney the Business Class lounge became the Qantas Club at Terminal 2 serving passengers on QantasLink and JetStar flights. In Melbourne the Business Class lounge was for a time used by Regional Express Airlines, however the "REX Lounge" soon relocated to the former Executive Lounge, and the Business Class lounge was turned into a series of retail outlets. Every other Business Class Lounge was demolished. The former Business Class lounge in Cairns was turned into a series of retail outlets. The former lounge in Adelaide was used for additional customs areas.Global Rewards
Global Rewards was Ansett Australia's Frequent Flyer ProgramFrequent flyer program
A frequent flyer program is a loyalty program offered by many airlines. Typically, airline customers enrolled in the program accumulate frequent flyer miles corresponding to the distance flown on that airline or its partners. There are other ways to accumulate miles...
from 1991 to 2001. It was formerly known as "Ansett Frequent Flyer". Points could be used for services from Ansett Australia and their partners including flights, upgrades, holidays, hotel stays and car rentals. Diners Club
Diners Club
Diners Club International, founded as Diners Club, is a charge card company formed in 1950 by Frank X. McNamara, Ralph Schneider and Matty Simmons...
was a significant financial services partner in Global Rewards. Points held at the time of the airline's collapse lost their value as no other airline took over the program as had taken place with the collapse of some other airlines.
Chauffeur drive
Ansett offered a limousine service, for those wishing to hire for journeys to and from the airport to the CBD in Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. It also offered airport-to-suburb service in Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.Valet parking
Ansett offered a valet parking service in major Australian (and New Zealand) airports. This also offered the convenience of kerbside check-in, and even car cleaning for additional cost.Capital Shuttle
Ansett's Capital Shuttle operated between Sydney and Canberra. This service mainly used Saab 340 and Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft, with small use of A320 and 737 aircraft mostly in peak periods. 'Capital Shuttle' services departed from a specially marked gate at Sydney Airport, Gate 14.Air cargo
Also known as Ansett Air Freight during its time, Ansett ran a significant freight operation which specialised in the transport of items too large for normal carriage, along with heavy-freight contracts with numerous suppliers and contractors.Terminal transfers
Ansett ran a scheduled terminal transfer service at SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
Airport, which offered seamless connection from its Domestic terminal to the International terminal for Ansett Australia services connecting to Ansett International. An Ansett bus operated the shuttle service which departed from a transfer lounge located between its two domestic concourses. The shuttle would route across the airside tarmac and runways and arrive near customs at Terminal 1.
Accidents and incidents
- On 30 November 1961, Ansett-ANA Flight 325Ansett-ANA Flight 325On 30 November 1961 a Vickers Viscount aircraft departed from Sydney, Australia late in the afternoon for a flight of 128 nautical miles to Canberra. There were thunderstorms to the north and south of the airport. From about 9 minutes after takeoff the crew of Ansett-ANA Flight 325 did not...
, a Vickers ViscountVickers ViscountThe Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...
, crashed into Botany BayBotany BayBotany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
shortly after take-off from Kingsford-Smith AirportSydney AirportSydney Airport may refer to:* Sydney Airport, also known as Kingsford Smith International Airport, in Sydney, Australia* Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport, in Nova Scotia, Canada...
, SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. The starboard wing failed in a thunderstorm. All 15 people on board were killed. - On 22 September 1966, Ansett-ANA Flight 149Ansett-ANA Flight 149On 22 September 1966 a Vickers Viscount aircraft departed from Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia for a 73 minute flight to Longreach. Forty-four minutes after takeoff a fire started in one of the engines. The crew were unable to extinguish the fire or feather the propeller so made an emergency...
, a Vickers ViscountVickers ViscountThe Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...
, crashed at Winton, QueenslandWinton, Queensland-Qantas:Winton was one of the founding towns of the Australian airline Qantas. The first board meeting was held at the Winton Club on 10 February 1921.-Waltzing Matilda:...
after a mid-air fire caused structural failure of the port wing. All 24 people on board were killed. - On 19 October 1994, Boeing 747-300 VH-INH Landed at Sydney (SYD) without the nose wheel extended. Approximately one hour after departure the crew shut down the number one engine because of an oil leak. They returned the aircraft to Sydney where the approach proceeded normally until the landing gear was selected. With selection of the landing gear and selection of the flap beyond a setting of flaps 20, the landing gear warning horn began to sound because the nose landing gear had not extended. The flight crew unsuccessfully attempted to establish the reason for the warning. Believing the gear to be down, the crew elected to complete the landing, with the result that the aircraft was landed with the nose gear retracted. There was no fire and the pilot in command decided not to initiate an emergency evacuation. All passengers and crew were evacuated safely Incident VH-INH
- On 19 May 2000, Boeing 767-200 VH-RMO suffered a nose wheel collapse at Sydney Terminal (SYD) during an overnight service. The aircraft was not occupied by passengers or crew at the time History VH-RMO
Sport
Ansett Australia was one of the major sponsors of the AFLAustralian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
, holding the naming rights to the AFL pre-season competition, the Ansett Australia Cup
Australian Football League pre-season competition
The Australian Football League pre-season competition, which is known at present as the NAB Cup, is a competition held before the beginning of the Australian Football League premiership season...
. It was also a major sponsor of Waverley Park/VFL Park. The logo was visible around the stadium.
Ansett was also a Major Sponsor of Australian Cricket, with the Ansett Australia Test Series a prominent fixture of the Australian summer. Ansett's logo (called the StarMark) appeared on all players' training and game shirts, as well as around the boundary and on the field during Test Series.
The airline was the official airline of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Aircraft 767-300 ER VH-BZF carried the Olympic Flame from Athens (ATH) to Guam (GUM) for the start of the torch relay through Oceania History VH-BZF. An Airbus A320-211 VH-HYN carried the Olympic Torch from Auckland (AKL) to Uluru (AYQ), to commence the Olympic Torch relay in Australia.
It was also the sleeve / major sponsor of the Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
team from 1996–2001.
Film and television
Ansett Australia sponsored the soap opera NeighboursNeighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
in the late 1980s, having previously received publicity when its aircraft were used in the filming of another production by Reg Grundy
Reg Grundy
Reginald Roy "Reg" Grundy, AC, OBE is one of the most successful Australian entrepreneurs, and media and television moguls of his generation.He was the only child born to Roy Grundy and Lillian Lees...
— 1977's ABBA: The Movie
ABBA: The Movie
ABBA: The Movie is a 1977 film about the pop group ABBA's Australian tour. It was directed by Lasse Hallström, who directed most of the group's videos. The film has become a cult film among ABBA fans...
. Ansett often sponsored Channel 9's Nightline late night news program from 1994–1997.
Ansett also offered on-board News and movies, entitled (Ansett Sky Show). It consisted of a twice daily 30 minute news service (AM and PM), which was recorded by Channel 7 studios in Sydney entitled "Seven Ansett News", which was then transmitted by satellite to all Ansett capital city, and some regional airport locations. The news service was then dubbed to video cassettes, and was then distributed onto Ansett aircraft first thing in the morning and exchanged halfway during the operational day for the second afternoon/evening broadcast. For the domestic fleet, Movies and TV shows were recorded to tape and distributed to each aircraft once a month.
On international aircraft, the news was available in one edition (usually morning). Movies and TV shows were recorded onto a central data system on both 747-400 and one 767-300ER aircraft, which was changed monthly.
Ansett's safety demonstration was done via TV screens throughout the aircraft as well as in person, at the time of its demise.
Documentaries and books
Documentaries about Ansett and the company's background include Air Australia: War in suites and The Ansett Story. Books have also been written, including Ansett: The Collapse and Ansett: The Story Of The Rise And Fall Of Ansett 1936–2002.Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services (AWAS)
Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services (AWAS) or simply Ansett Worldwide is one of the world's largest commercial jetAirliner
An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...
aircraft leasing
Aircraft finance
Aircraft finance refers to financing for the purchase and operation of aircraft. Complex aircraft finance shares many characteristics with maritime finance, and to a lesser extent with project finance....
companies. It was Ansett Australia's subsidiary and leasing arm from 1985 until February 2000.
Ansett Flight Simulator Centre / Ansett Aviation Training
The Ansett Australia Flight Simulator Centre located in Melbourne, had continued trading under administration, following the company's insolvency as it was one of the few Ansett businesses that could operate profitably, independent of the airline. An agreement was reached by the Deed Administrators in October 2004 for its sale to Aviation Training Australasia Pty Ltd. The sale included the business, related buildings, land and the Ansett owned Flight Simulators. Nineteen former Ansett Australia employees jobs were saved in the sale, and Aviation Training Australasia elected to operate the centre under the trading name of Ansett Flight Simulator Centre and later Ansett Aviation Training, dropping the "Australia" off the end of Ansett, but retaining the well recognised Ansett Star Mark logo, reflective of Ansett's last livery.In April 2008, it announced that it was undergoing a major expansion and will be getting simulators for the current-generation Boeing 737, Fokker 100, Beechcraft King Air and Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia, as well as a second Airbus A320 simulator due an extension to centre's existing building.
John Holland Aviation Services (JHAS)
With the demise of Ansett airline operations in 2002, the engineering services business, formerly known as the Ansett Australia Maintenance Base located at Melbourne Airport, was retained under the name of Ansett Aviation Engineering Services (AAES), primarily to care for the Ansett aircraft held in storage having mandatory ongoing maintenance, and also for other airlines supplying third party maintenance. Through five years of administration, AAES continued to operate despite Ansett Australia no longer trading.New business was secured and the engineering skills base continued to grow. The AAES business was acquired by the John Holland Group
John Holland (engineer)
Sir John Holland AC was an Australian engineer and construction magnate, who founded the John Holland Construction Group in 1949, was Managing Director until 1972, Chairman until 1986, and President from 1986 until his death...
in June 2007 under the banner of John Holland Aviation Services (JHAS).
As part of the sale to John Holland Group, 155 AAES staff and management had the opportunity for ongoing employment.
Holland Aviation Services (JHAS) is a division of the John Holland Group, one of Australia's largest and most diverse specialist contracting businesses. It is the only heavy aircraft independent MRO in Australia.
Ansett Aircraft Spares and Services
Ansett Aircraft Spares and Services is a company that serves the aviation community by selling aircraft spares as well as maintenance work for airplanes such as AirbusAirbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
, Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, Bombardier
Bombardier Aerospace
Bombardier Aerospace is a division of Bombardier Inc. and is the third-largest airplane manufacturer in the world. It is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada.- History :...
, British Aerospace
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
, Douglas aircraft and Fokker
Fokker
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names, starting out in 1912 in Schwerin, Germany, moving to the Netherlands in 1919....
types, with offices in Sylmar, California, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Melbourne, Australia. Ansett Aircraft Spares and Services also has a logistics division.
List of associated businesses
- Ansett New ZealandAnsett New ZealandAnsett New Zealand was a wholly owned airline subsidiary of Ansett Australia, serving the New Zealand domestic market between 1987 and 2000. In order to comply with regulatory requirements relating to the acquisition of Ansett Australia by Air New Zealand, Ansett New Zealand was sold to News...
, a defunct airline, originally a subsidiary of Ansett Australia - Kendell Airlines, subsidiary of Ansett Australia
- Hazelton AirlinesHazelton AirlinesHazelton Air Services Pty Limited, trading as Hazelton Airlines, was an Australian regional airline which operated until 2001. It was established as an independent airline but by the end of its existence had become a subsidiary of Ansett Australia....
, subsidiary of Ansett Australia
- Both of Kendell & Hazelton were merged each other and became Regional Express after collapse of Ansett Australia.
- Aeropelican Air ServicesAeropelican Air ServicesAeropelican Air Services Pty Ltd is a regional airline based in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Its main base is Newcastle Airport , with a hub at Sydney Airport.- History :...
, former subsidiary of Ansett Australia - Skywest AirlinesSkywest AirlinesSkywest Airlines Pty Ltd is a regional airline company based in Perth, Western Australia, Australia; servicing key towns in the state of Western Australia, Darwin, Northern Territory and Melbourne, Victoria; as well as charter flights to Bali, Indonesia....
, former subsidiary of Ansett Australia - Ansett Aviation Engineering Services
- Ansett Aircraft Finance Ltd
- Ansett Australia and Air New Zealand Engineering Services Ltd
- Ansett Aviation Equipment Pty Limited
- Ansett Equipment Finance Ltd
- Ansett Flying Boat Services
- Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services (AWAS), an aircraft leasing organisation which used to be a subsidiary of Ansett Australia
- Diners Club Australia, credit card provider. 68.2% share owned, was sold back to Diners Club USA in 1999.
- National Instrument Company (later renamed Ansett Technologies), originally part of ANA, an aircraft instrument and avionics servicing business. Also involved in defence electronics systems integration.
- Austrama Television Pty Ltd, which commenced television broadcasting in Melbourne in 1964 as ATV-0 (later ATV-10).
- Universal Telecasters Queensland (TVQ-0 Brisbane), 49.9% was purchased in 1964, with full control gained in 1970.
- Ansair, originally a manufacturer of aircraft seats, the business diversified to bus and coach manufacture.
- Ansett Wridgways
- Ansett International Travel
- Transport Industries Insurance
- Aeropelican Air Services
See also
- Ansett New ZealandAnsett New ZealandAnsett New Zealand was a wholly owned airline subsidiary of Ansett Australia, serving the New Zealand domestic market between 1987 and 2000. In order to comply with regulatory requirements relating to the acquisition of Ansett Australia by Air New Zealand, Ansett New Zealand was sold to News...
- Kendell Airlines
- List of companies of Australia
- Transport in AustraliaTransport in Australia-Roads:Australia has the second highest level of car ownership in the world. It has three to four times more road per capita than Europe and seven to nine times more than Asia. Australia also has the third highest per capita rate of fuel consumption in the world. Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane are...
External links
AdministrationCompany
- Company website (Archive)
History
- Sir Reginald Ansett Transport Museum
- Key Australian Aviation Policy Developments: The Ansett Airlines Context 1937–18 July 2003 Chronology, Economics, Commerce and Industrial Relations Group, Parliamentary Library, Parliament of AustraliaParliament of AustraliaThe Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
- Ansett Airlines Ephemera, National Library of AustraliaNational Library of AustraliaThe National Library of Australia is the largest reference library of Australia, responsible under the terms of the National Library Act for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the...
- AIRLINES & AIRCRAFT OF THE ANSETT GROUP 1921-2002
Businesses
Employee information and support groups
Official Ansett merchandise