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| Founded | 1992 | |||
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| Ceased operations | January 2009 | |||
| Hubs | Brisbane Airport Cairns Airport Townsville Airport |
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| Fleet size | 10 | |||
| Destinations | 29 | |||
| Headquarters | Townsville, Queensland, Australia | |||
| Key people | Terry Byrt (Owner) | |||
MacAir Airlines Pty Ltd[1] was a regional airline based in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It operated scheduled passenger services throughout Queensland from major regional locations, as well as regular and ad hoc charters for the minerals industry in Queensland. Its main operations base was Townsville International Airport, with hubs at Cairns International Airport, Brisbane Airport and Mount Isa Airport.[2]
In January 2009 the airline was placed in receivership.[3]
Contents |
History
MacAir Airlines was established and started charter operations in 1992 as McKinlay Air Charters, adding scheduled services in 1998. In May 2000 the Collings family sold the airline to Transjet, owner of Transtates Airlines. The two brands were merged and operate under the MacAir name. In November 2003 MacAir acquired Horizon Airlines. MacAir Airlines grew to become a major player in Australia's regional aviation network and played an important role in providing transport to both passengers and freight throughout regional Queensland.
MacAir Airlines was based in Townsville. Staff were based in Townsville, Cairns, Mount Isa and Brisbane.
In 1998 the growth of the mining industry and MacAir Airlines' fly-in fly-out operations led to the expansion of the carrier and the introduction of passenger services in North Queensland. The year 2000 saw further expansion for MacAir when it merged with passenger airline Transtate Airlines and incorporated their Gulf of Carpentaria services under the MacAir banner.
The link between Townsville and Mount Isa was one of the busiest. Passenger volumes on this route serving the mining industry saw the company introduce its ATR 42-500 into service.
MacAir Airlines was a Qantas commercial partner. As such, the airline had worldwide distribution through the Qantas reservation system. This agreement between the two carriers gave passengers the ability to choose several options for booking tickets along with the ability to accrue and utilise frequent flyer points on a number of services.
On 29 January 2009, MacAir placed itself into voluntary administration; the following day major creditor Suncorp-Metway appointed Ernst & Young as receivers and the airline ceased operations. MacAir had previously asked the Queensland government for a $7 million one-off ex gratia payment, but the government refused, saying that MacAir had "systemic issues."[3] On 6 February the business was closed by the receiver and its 200 employees dismissed.[4] The administrators will now wind up the business and sell off the company's assets.
Destinations
At the end of January 2009 MacAir operated to the following scheduled destinations: [5]
- From Townsville to:
- Mount Isa (Mount Isa Airport)
- Cloncurry (Cloncurry Airport)
- Winton (Winton Airport)
- Longreach (Longreach Airport)
- Moranbah (Moranbah Airport)
- Mackay (Mackay Airport)[6]
- Emerald (Emerald Airport)[6]
- Brisbane (Brisbane Airport)
- Hughenden (Hughenden Airport)
- Richmond (Richmond Airport)
- Julia Creek (Julia Creek Airport)
- From Cairns to:
- From Brisbane to:
- Moranbah (Moranbah Airport)
- Townsville (Townsville Airport)
- Oakey (Oakey Army Aviation Centre)
- St George (Saint George Airport)
- Cunnamulla (Cunnamulla Airport)
- Thargomindah (Thargomindah Airport)
- Charleville (Charleville Airport)
- Quilpie (Quilpie Airport)
- Birdsville (Birdsville Airport)
- Bedourie (Bedourie Airport)
- Boulia (Boulia Airport)
- Mount Isa (Mount Isa Airport)
Charter Connections for Mining Companies from Townsville to
Osborne, BHP's Cannington, Zinifex Century Mine
Fleet
As of January 2009 the Macair Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:[7]
References
- ^ ABNLookup - Current details for 62 073 278 378
- ^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International: p. 46. 2007-04-10.
- ^ a b "Airline passengers stranded". The Courier Mail. 2009-01-30. http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24983874-952,00.html. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- ^ http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,27574,25016493-3102,00.html
- ^ http://www.macair.com.au/cmsAssets/images/timetables%20%20eff%2023jun08.pdf
- ^ a b http://macair.com.au/cmsAssets/images/timetables%20%20eff%2018oct08.pdf
- ^ Australian civil aircraft register search, using "Macair" as the search parameter. Search conducted 21 January 2009.
External links
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