ANHSA (AEROVIAS NACIONALES DE HONDURAS, S. A.): Honduras (1950-1986). Private interests form this charter carrier at Tegucigalpa in 1950 to transport government-monopolized liquor (aguardiente) around Honduras. In 1957, the larger SAHSA (Servicio Aereo de Honduras, S. A.) purchases 75% shareholding. The subsidiary is now left to wither. Two DC-3s spend the next 23 years flying scheduled passengers and cargo from Tegucigalpa to Ahuas, Brus Laguna, Puerto Lempira, La Ceiba, La Union, and Olanchito.
SAHSA takes 95% of the stock in 1980 and now provides President Rolando Figueroa’s ANHSA with much of its domestic freight and passenger work. The fleet is increased by the addition of 1 new de Havil-land Canada DHC-7 and 2 ex-SAHSA DC-3s.
En route from La Ceiba to San Pedro Sulla on April 28, 1982, the DHC-7, with 48 passengers, is taken over by four antigovernment revolutionaries. They demand the release of 86 colleagues from Honduran jails, a ransom of one million lempiras, fuel for a flight to Cuba, and publication of a political tract. At San Pedro Sulla, the aircraft is surrounded by police and over the next three days, as negotiations continue, all of the passengers are released. Finally, on May 1, the government provides another transport, which flies the pirates to Havana.
In 1983, the DHC-7 is withdrawn. The route network in 1985 includes Ahuas, Brus Laguna, Guanaja, La Ceiba, La Union, Olanchito, Puerto Lempira, Roatan, San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa, Tocoa, Trujillo, and Utila. The carrier is absorbed into its parent in 1986.
ANIC AIRWAYS: Trg Dragutina Domjanica 6/II, Zagreb, 41260, Croatia; Phone 38 (41) 203 233; Fax 38 (41) 204-253; Code N3; Year Founded 1992. Anic is founded by Damir Anic at Zagreb, Croatia, on March 30, 1992. A single Avions de Transport Regional ATR42-320 is leased and employed, beginning on February 13, 1993, to inaugurate scheduled passenger services linking the company’s base with Split, Dubrovnik, Pula, Vienna, Budapest, Zurich, Tirana, and Ljubljana.
Operations continue and frequencies are increased in 1994-1995 as the fleet is expanded through the addition of 4 Boeing 737-200s and 3 Cessna 402s. Unhappily, the concern is forced to suspend flights during the Yugoslavian civil war. President Anic makes plans in 1996-1998 to resume flights and keeps its certificates current.
No information has been found for the years 1999-2000 and it is possible that, given the Kosovo crisis, that Antic did not restart.
1128. ANJILLAIRLINES: United States (1968-1970). Anjill is set up at Forty Fort, Pennsylvania, in 1968 to provide scheduled daily air taxi flights linking Wilkes-Barre and Scranton with Teterboro, New Jersey.
Piper PA-31-310 Navajo roundtrip revenue frequencies are inaugurated and maintained into 1970.
ANSA (AEROLINEAS NACIONALES, S. A.): Panama (19881996). With a base at Aeropuerto Mascos A Gelabert at Panama City, ANSA is formed in 1988 to offer scheduled third-level passenger and cargo services throughout the nation and into Costa Rica. By 1993, General Manager Manuel Gonzalez’s fleet comprises 3 Pilatus-Britten-Norman PBN-2 Islanders and 2 Cessna 206s. One of the Islanders is withdrawn in 1994. Although service is maintained in 1995, the company shuts down in 1996.
ANSA (AEROLINEAS NACIONALES, S. A. de C. V.): Mexico (1988-1990). ANSA is established at Hermosillo in the summer of 1988 to offer domestic services. Outfitted with three Fokker F.27s, revenue flights commence in September. Early in 1989, authority is sought to inaugurate flights linking its base with Las Vegas, Phoenix, El Paso, and Albuquerque. However, before these can be initiated, the company goes out of business in 1990.
ANSETT AIRLINES OF AUSTRALIA (PTY.), LTD.: Australia (1936-1990). As a railway protection measure, Reginald M. Ansett, in January 1936, is ordered by the Victoria Transport Board to cease his Melbourne-Hamilton motor bus service begun in 1929. Undaunted, Ansett purchases a Fokker Model 4 Universal and forms an airline, Ansett Airways (Pty.), Ltd. On February 17, pilot Vern Cerche flies six passengers above the old bus route from Hamilton to Melbourne’s Es-sendon Field. A mail contract becomes a part of the Universal service on May 25.
After adding an Airspeed Envoy, the Melbourne-Hamilton frequency is increased to twice daily on February 8, 1937. The carrier is reorganized and capitalization is increased to A?135,000 on April 14; orders are placed for two Lockheed Model 10A Electras, the first of which is delivered from the United States on July 8, followed by the second 23 days later.
New routes are opened from Melbourne to Mildura and Broken Hill on September 5, Norrander and Sydney on October 4, and from Sydney to Adelaide via Norrander and Mildura on November 29.
Sunday-only direct Melbourne-Sydney flights begin in April 1938. During the year, a flying school is opened at Hamilton. Newly received Lockheed Model 10 Electras are placed on the Adelaide-Sydney route in late fall. Within a few months of the Electras’ introduction, the carrier’s entire fleet, save one of the two Lockheeds, is destroyed in a February 28, 1939 hangar fire at Essendon Airport.
An offer from V. C. Holyman of ANA (Australian National Airways [Pty.], Ltd.) to purchase the little airline is turned down. In July, the government’s Department of Civil Aviation awards an A?45,000 annual subsidy. Commercial operations are halted during 1940-1941, save for service on the Hamilton-Melbourne route with an Electra that escaped the 1939 conflagration.
Having obtained two additional Electras, Ansett, in June 1942 begins flying regular Melbourne-Cairns service on behalf of the U. S. military; in addition to this scheduled route, occasional services are also offered during the remainder of the year and through 1944 to other points, including Darwin and Sydney.
Military and civil contracts are cancelled on January 21, 1945. On February 5, the Electras resume commercial flights over routes from Melbourne to Adelaide via Mount Gamblier and to Canberra via Wagga.
A former military Douglas C-47 with 25 passengers is lost during ascent over the Derwent River estuary on March 10, 1946; there are no survivors.
Having survived World War II, the second Electra is lost in a crash at Parafield, South Australia, on May 16; there are no survivors. The holding company Ansett Transport Industries, Ltd. is formed on May 31 to control the owner’s multifaceted and growing empire of trucking, manufacturing, trading, hotel, and other associated enterprises. The carrier’s first two Douglas DC-3s are placed in service in June.
On July 1, daily Sydney-Canberra DC-3 flights commence, followed by the launch of six-times-per-week Melbourne-Wynyard DC-3 operations on July 22. Melbourne-Hobart DC-3 service is inaugurated in December.
Ansett forms Barrier Reefs Airways (Pty.), Ltd. in mid-1947; this subsidiary begins Consolidated PBY Catalina service on October 8 to the resort Daydream Islands, off Mackay. At year’s end, second-class DC-3 fares are introduced on the main routes.
Fares are cut by 20% in March 1948 in an effort to attract new business. Ansett Transport Industries opens Hayman Island resort in 1950, which is served by BRA’s Catalinas. BRA is merged into its parent during 1952 and the holiday Catalina flights continue.
In the first of many airline purchases, the company acquires and merges Trans-Ocean Airways (Pty.), Ltd. (founded in 1947) in 1953; that carrier’s Sydney-Lord Howe Island and Hobart routes are assumed. All flying boat operations are eventually combined into one division: Ansett Flying Boat Services. The fleet is consolidated in 1954 as new Convair CV-340s enter service.
During 1955-1956, four DC-6Bs are introduced. A DC-3 freighter with two crew strikes the water short of the runway while on final approach to the airport at Frederick Henry Bay, Tasmania, on January 12 of the latter year (one dead).
In March 1957, orders are placed for additional CV-340s and four Vickers Viscount 700s. In June, a A?3-million offer is made to acquire financially troubled ANA (Australian National Airlines [Pty.], Ltd.), the Commonwealth’s largest independent carrier and the same airline that had suggested purchase of Ansett back in 1939. ANA’s board accepts the tender on August 28 and the purchase is formalized on October 21 under the operating name Ansett-ANA, Ltd. Simultaneously, the small Queensland Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. is also purchased.
The government’s Civil Aviation Agreement Act of 1957, supplementing the 1952 law, now comes into force; applied specifically to Ansett and the government-owned Trans Australian Airlines (Pty.), Ltd., it confirms an equal “two-airline” policy. A letter of intent for two Lockheed L-188A Electra turboprops for Ansett-ANA is signed on September 25, with the formal contract signed on December 9.
Combined traffic figures for the year show a total of 833,536 passengers flown.
A low-fare Douglas DC-4 service is started to Perth on January 11, 1958. Brisbane-Mount Isa via Longreach CV-340 flights are inaugurated on February 1. On February 5, Butler Air Transport (Pty.), Ltd., in which Ansett holds 52% interest, is acquired outright and merged; although Butler’s two Viscount 832s are retained, three former British European Airways Corporation (BEA) Elizabethans employed by the merger partner are returned to England. For administrative purposes, Queensland Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. is made a subsidiary of Butler Air Transport (Pty.), Ltd. Daily Sydney-Coolangatta and Melbourne-Canberra via Cooms flights commence on May 10 and July 7, respectively.
The Airline Equipment Act becomes law, providing that Ansett and TAA rationalize their operations so that, on any given route, each would integrate schedules, etc., to ensure that neither receives more than half of the traffic. The law forbids excess capacity and mandates the purchase of airliners of similar performance. Small Southern Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. is purchased and merged on November 1. Enplanements are 785,928, down from 1957.
The first L-188AElectra is delivered on February 27 1959; with “Prop Jet Electra” titles, it enters service over the Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane route on March 18. The second Electra is received in mid-April.
Direct Viscount 832 flights from Melbourne to Coolangatta are inaugurated on May 16. On June 30, the carrier finds itself with 12% minority interest (formerly held by ANA) in the newly reformed Cathay Pacific Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. of Hong Kong.
Melbourne-Alice Springs via Broken Hill operations commence on July 1 and on July 7 Golden Orchid flights begin to Port Moresby as Ansett and TAA take over New Guinea services from Qantas Empire Airways (Pty.), Ltd. During July, Guinea Holdings, parent of Guinea
Airways (Pty.), Ltd. is purchased as is control of South Pacific Airlines (Pty.), Ltd.
Permission is received from the government and, in November, a third L-188A Electra is ordered. On December 17, Ansett renames Butler Air Transport the Airlines of New South Wales (Pty.), Ltd. The year’s boardings skyrocket to 957,301.
Two more Ansett subsidiaries are renamed on January 17, 1960: Guinea Airways (Pty.), Ltd. becomes Airlines of South Australia (Pty.), Ltd. and South Pacific Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. becomes Airlines of New Zealand (Pty.), Ltd. The latter receives two DC-3s transferred from the parent and will begin revenue services on December 14. The third Electra is received in February and enters service in March.
Mandated Airlines (Pty.), Ltd., Gibbes Sepik Airways (Pty.), Ltd., and Madang Air Services (Pty.), Ltd. are now also taken over and are combined into Ansett Airlines of Papua New Guinea (Pty.), Ltd. Employing Bell Model 47Js, Ansett joins with TAA in inaugurating a helicopter service between the new Yarra River Heliport and Essendon Airport on December 20. Bookings advance to 973,421.
The fleet in 1961 comprises 3 L-188As, 5 Viscount 832s, 1 Viscount 747, 4 DC-6Bs, 2 Fokker F.27-100s, 3 CV-440s, 3 DC-4Fs, 11 DC-3s, 1 Bristol 170, 3 Bell Model 47Js, and 1 Bristol 171.
A Viscount 832 with 4 crew and 22 passengers fails its takeoff from Sydney on November 30 and crashes into Botany Bay; there are no survivors.
Based on the number of passenger miles flown (this year’s boardings pass the million mark for the first time), Ansett ranks as the world’s 30th largest airline, ahead of such well-known names as South African Airways (Pty.), Ltd. and El Al Israel Airlines. The combined fleet of Ansett and its subsidiaries in 1962 comprises 84 aircraft.
Controlling interest is taken in MacRobertson-Miller Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. in July 1963. The Air Beef, Ltd. operation begun by ANA in 1948 now ends when a new road is constructed into Western Australia’s Kimberly District; in the 25-year enterprise, 57,000 frozen cattle carcasses have been carried.
Orders are placed for four Boeing 727-100s. Enplanements total 1,092,690.
Airline employment in 1964 stands at 4,480. APiaggio P-166 and two Boeing 727-77s are delivered, the first of the Boeings arriving at Melbourne’s Essendon Airport with a B-727-76 of Trans-Australian Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. on October 26. Although the TAA “three-holer” reaches land before Ansett’s, the latter’s aircraft is able to land first, gaining publicity from local television cameras. The nation’s first domestic jetliners enter service against each other on November 2.
In an effort to further air freight development, C. L. Warton is appointed general freight manager and two DC-4F freighters are also added.
Passenger boardings accelerate 19% to 1,349,000 and freight traffic is up by 12%.
The workforce is increased to 5,015 in 1965. The third B-727-77 is delivered in September along with 2 Carvair freighters, these joining a fleet that also includes 2 other B-727-77s, 5 DC-6Bs, 5 Viscount 832s, 1 Viscount 747, 6 Fokker F.27-200s, 1 Piaggio P-166, 3 L-188As, 10 DC-3s, s7 DC-4s, 1 Cessna, 1 Sikorsky S-61N, and 7 Bell Model 47Js.
DC-6Bs are replaced on the New Guinea run by L-188s.
An F.27-200 with 4 crew and 19 passengers crashes during final approach to Launceston on March 17; there are no fatalities.
Passenger boardings increase 18.6% to 1,662,000 and freight traffic is up by 13%.
A Bell 206, an S-62A, and the fourth B-727-77 are acquired in 1966 as orders are placed for DC-9-31s with which to begin a program of fleet standardization. En route from Mt. Isa to Brisbane on September 22, a Viscount 832 with 4 crew and 20 passengers crashes 16 km. from the Queensland community of Winton; there are no survivors.
Enplanements for the year fall slightly to 1,623,757.
Airline employment in 1967 is 5,207. Three DC-6Bs, 1 DC-4F, 3 DC-3s, and the Viscount 747 are retired following introduction into service of 3 DC-9-31s in January-March. Passenger boardings rise 6.5% to 1,736,638 and revenues are reportedly up 10.6%.
The employee population in 1968 is 5,697. Two more DC-9-31s are added, leading to the withdrawal of 2 Viscount 832s, 2 DC-6Bs, the last 2 DC-3s, and all but 2 Sikorsky S-61N helicopters, which operate over the Barrier Reef, North Queensland. Enplanements jump 16% to 2,017,867 and freight climbs 15.2%.
The ANA suffix is dropped in 1969. MacRobertson-Miller Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. becomes a wholly owned subsidiary, but is allowed to continue operations under its previous name. At this point, a new red and white color scheme is introduced on company aircraft, which also wear a stylized “A” on their red tails.
The last two DC-6Bs are stricken as 13 Nihon YS-11As are ordered from Japan. Sir Reginald Ansett is knighted. Bookings balloon to 2,286,396.
The workforce in 1970 grows to 6,667. One B-727-77 and 5 DC-9-31s are added as the YS-11A order is cancelled and the last Viscount 832s are retired. Orders are placed for B-727-277As.
A man with a cap pistol pushes his way onto a DC-9-31 on the ground at Sydney on May 14 as it prepares for departure to Brisbane. The crew preoccupies the pirate while the 60 passengers escape, thereby putting him in a position where he must surrender. The man will be tried and given a prison term of five years.
Passenger boardings this year climb 9.7% to 2,532,000 and cargo ascents 5.7%.
The L-188As begin conversion into freighters early in 1971 as two more DC-9-31s and another B-727-77 enter service. Complete retirement of the Viscounts and Electras is within sight. The route network now extends for 20,000 unduplicated miles.
An F.27-200 is damaged beyond repair in a hangar fire at Melbourne’s Essendon Airport on March 25.
In June, all maintenance, flight operations, and freight services are moved to Melbourne’s new Tullamarine Airport.
A total of 2,684,232 passengers are flown on the year and freight climbs 5.7%.
The employee population in 1972 is 7,007, up 0.33%. The fleet now comprises 1 newly added B-727-277A, 6 B-727-77s, 1 DC-4F, 12 DC-9-31s, 12 Fokker F.27s, 3 L-188As, 2 Carvairs, 1 S-61N, and 1 Bell 206.
Two Electras are converted into L-188AFs at the Lockheed Aircraft Service Company in California during July; they return “down under” and enter all-cargo service in October.
On November 15, in one of the nation’s rare skyjackings, a man takes over a scheduled F.27 service from Adelaide to Darwin with a.22-cal-ibur rifle. At Alice Springs, he releases all aboard except one stewardess, whom he holds as hostage. While walking toward a demanded light plane, he is jumped by a private detective; breaking free, he runs into the bush and leans against his rifle. At first, news reports identify the man, M. Nelson, as being fatally shot by police in the abortive attempt to hijack the plane. He is, in fact, named Peter Sandeman, dead by suicide when his effort fails.
Enplanements grow 8.2% to 2,924,000, but cargo dips 0.2%. Passenger boarding climb 3.3% to 280,000, and its freight traffic rises 6%.
A second B-727-277A is placed in service in 1973 and a B-727-76 is leased from Trans-Australian Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. Local operations in Papua New Guinea are handed over from Ansett Airlines of Papua New Guinea (Pty.), Ltd. to the new Air Niugini (Pty.), Ltd in November.
The workforce is now 7,563. Passenger boardings rise 21% to 3.5 million while cargo soars 25%.
A former American Airlines L-188A is purchased in August 1974. In one of the greatest airline evacuations in recent history, Ansett transports 5,417 people following the Christmas Day cyclone devastation of Darwin.
On the year, boardings accelerate 8.8% to 3,836,000 and cargo is up 9.3%. Passenger boardings rise 12.9% to 368,000, while freight, at 57.9 million ton kilometers, jumps 10.36%. The subsidiary MacRobertson-Miller Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. does nearly as well with bookings up 8.9% to 315,000. With airline operations accounting for 70%, Ansett shows total revenues of $A272.7 million and net gain of $A8.19 million ($11.6 million U. S.).
Airline employment in 1975 totals 8,413. The fleet now comprises 6 B-727-277As, 6 B-727-77s, 12 DC-9-31s, 11 F.27s, 1 S-61N, and 1 Bell 206.
The ex-AA Electra received the previous year is converted to L-188AF freighter configuration in August.
Passenger traffic grows 5.7% to 4,056,000, but freight is off 5.3%.
One more B-727-277A is delivered in 1976 as two B-727-100s are retired. The workforce declines 3.1% to 8,140. Service is launched from Cairns-Alice Springs via Mount Isa. Passenger boardings dip 4.3% to 3,880,000, but cargo is up 2.4%. Passenger boardings reach 4,103,616 in 1977.
One more B-727-77 is retired in 1978 as the eighth B-727-277A is received, along with another S-61N; four more B-727-200s are ordered. Passenger boardings are up 7.2% to 4,422,394 and freight rises 2%.
The workforce is increased a scant 0.6% in 1979 to 8,581. Two B-727-77s are sold as two additional B-727-277As enter service. Passenger boardings jump 10.5% to 4.6 million. Late in the year, Sir Reginald Ansett sells Ansett Transport Industries to Rupert Murdoch’s News, Ltd. and Sir Peter Abeles’s Thomas Nationwide Transport (TNT) on a fifty-fifty basis; Ansett remains chairman while 30-year veteran executive E. J. B. “Ted” Forrester also stays on. At the same time, the last remaining interest held in Cathay Pacific Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. is sold to its parent, the Swire Group.
The Murdoch-Abeles acquisition is consummated in January 1980, with the two principals becoming joint chairmen. Henceforth, News, Ltd. and not the airline itself will employ all managing directors.
In March, the largest aircraft purchase contract in the history of Australian aviation is signed: A$600 million ($437 million U. S.) for 5 B-767-277s, 12 737-277s (plus 4 options) and 4 B-727-277As. In July, Ansett Air Freight, the airline cargo division, is formed as a separate division under ATI. The first B-767-277 also arrives in July.
Walter Landor Associates is hired to perform a complete makeover of the carrier’s image. Later in the year, the first international route is opened as B-727-277As inaugurate service to Christchurch, New Zealand. During the year, the workforce is reduced 5.3% to 8,124.
Although freight dips 6.6% to 50.87 million FTKs, passenger boardings rise 6.8% to 4,449,000.
Airline employment grows 3.6% in 1981 to 5,419 as the holding company, Ansett Transport Industries, Ltd. is created. In May, the wholly owned subsidiary Airlines of Northern Australia (Pty.), Ltd. is formed to replace the defunct Northern Airlines (Pty.), Ltd.
Four B-727-277As and eight B-737-277s are delivered to the parent, beginning in June. Simultaneously, eight DC-9-31s begin one-per-month retirement, although one is wet-leased to Air Vanuatu (Operations), Ltd. for two months.
On July 2, Ansett Airlines of South Australia (Pty.), Ltd. is retitled Airlines of South Australia (Pty.), Ltd. while Ansett Airlines of New South Wales (Pty.), Ltd. is renamed Air New South Wales (Pty.), Ltd. Simultaneously, MacRobertson-Miller Airlines (Pty.), Ltd., which has been operating under its own name since becoming a wholly owned subsidiary in 1969, is renamed Airlines of Western Australia (Pty.), Ltd.
A new “stars-and-stripes” livery is introduced late in the year; the single word “Ansett” now appears on the all-white aircraft fuselages. Founder Sir Reginald Ansett dies in December.
Freight accelerates 17.4% during the year to 59.7 million FTKs, but enplanements remain level at 4,967,736.
The workforce is reduced 2.9% in 1982 to 8,169. The fleet begins the year with 4 B-737-277s, 16 B-727-277As, 10 Fokker F.27s, 3 Lockheed L-188AFs, and 3 helicopters. Five F.27s are withdrawn later on as 4 B-737-277s are added.
On January 1, the ANSACARE computerized reservations system is introduced in an effort to alleviate some of the difficulties handicapped persons have in making flight arrangements. The last DC-9-31 is withdrawn in September; it had also been the first to arrive, in January 1967.
Freight declines 3.4% to 57.67 million FTKs and passenger boardings drop 3.6% to 4,788,774.
Airline employment is cut another 10.1% in 1983 to 7,347. In an effort to reduce two years of decline, the owners appoint E. J. B. “Ted” Forrester general manager with Graeme J. McMahon as his deputy. The first of four B-767-277s to arrive during the year is delivered on May 4. Eight B-737-277s are also received.
Although freight is up 3.1%, passenger boardings for the national are off again, down 8.7% to 4,371,296; however, freight jumps 5.1% to 60.49 million FTKs.
The employee population is increased 2.3% in 1984 to 7,534. A fifth B-767-277 joins 4 others in a fleet that now also includes 13 B-727-277As, 12 B-737-277s, 1 Fokker F.27-500, and 5 F.27-200s. The B-727-277A Frank Hann is leased to Trans-Australian Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. between May 1 and November 30.
Ansett—the original Electra operator that has flown its turboprops the longest—disposes of its L-188AFs at midyear.
Passenger boardings climb 4.8% to 4,581,000, but cargo declines 4.2% to 84.56 million FTKs.
Ansett’s workforce increases 4.9% in 1985 to 7,792. Orders are placed in July for 12 B-737-377s and 6 Airbus Industrie A320s (with 8 options). In late spring, a frequent flyer program, Golden Wing, is established and attractively appointed lounges are opened at the stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Canberra.
Passenger boardings for the parent are up 4.6% to 4,791,000, while cargo grows 9.3% to 73.19 million FTKs.
The payroll grows 7.5% in 1986 to 8,374 and, in January, the fiftieth anniversary is celebrated. In March, orders are placed for 6 MD-83s for delivery the following January. In April, the separate leasing company Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services (Pty.)., Ltd. is established while the national parliament begins the May Inquiry, a deregulation study of the national air transport scene. Meanwhile, in August, ATI gains 50% control of the New Zealand domestic airline Newman’s Air, Ltd., while in October, the national seeks a contract to manage distressed PLUNA (Primeras Lineas Uruguayas de Navegacion Aerea, S. A.) of Uruguay.
Also in October, the first B-737-300s become available for lease. Late in the fall, the subsidiary Ansett New Zealand, Ltd. is formed. During the year, US$84 million is spent to upgrade the Hayman Island resort.
Customer bookings jump 5.5% to 5,071,000, but freight falls by 3.9% to 70.33 million FTKs.
In 1987 the employee population rises 8.1% to 9,053. East-West Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. is acquired, but continues operations under its own name as a subsidiary. In addition, 20% shareholding is acquired in America West Airlines. Nonstop daytime flights are inaugurated in July from Melbourne to Hamilton Island and night services begin to that destination from Melbourne.
Passenger boardings accelerate 3.5% to 5,249,000 and cargo climbs 9.8% to 77.23 million FTKs.
Hiring continues in 1988 as the workforce reaches 9,459, a 4.4% increase. During July-September, the company introduces 100 new flights per week to business travel and holiday destinations and its services now include 112 flights per week from Melbourne to Sydney, 110 from Sydney to Melbourne, 81 from Sydney to Brisbane, and 78 from Brisbane to Sydney.
In early October, fares are increased across-the-board at approximately 5.75%; later in the month, General Manager Forrester retires and is succeeded as managing director by Graeme J. McMahon.
Customer bookings jump 9.4% to 6,197,000 and freight rises by 9.1% to 85.97 million FTKs.
Largely as a result of a job action by pilots that will begin during the summer, the workforce is cut 4.2% in 1989 to 9,059. During the spring, Australian artists David Rankin, Clifton Pugh, and Rolf Harris paint a B-727-277A in a cheery animal motif. In June, it is employed for a three-day series of Dream Flights offered to the nation’s disadvantaged children; the plane is sold to Federal Express at month’s end. On July 17, the carrier introduces Executive Class business service and upgrades its first-class product, Premier Class.
On August 24, pilots from Ansett, Australian Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. and Qantas Airways (Pty.), Ltd., are suspended. The Australian Federation of Air Pilots has spent months contesting the government’s decision to grant only a 6% wage increase instead of the 13% requested. Union members respond to the suspension by resigning en masse. Without pilots, Ansett is forced to temporarily shut down. In an effort to maintain essential air service, the government turns to the Royal Australian Air Force in September (with unhappy early results) and also invites those international airlines making more than one stop in Australia to begin carrying domestic traffic. Cathay Pacific Airways (Pty.), Ltd., Thai Airways International, Ltd. (THAI), Garuda Indonesian Airlines, Malaysian Airlines, Ltd. (MAS), Continental Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Ltd., British Airways, Ltd. (2), and Olympic Airways, S. A. are able to provide only 22,000 of the 250,000 seats required weekly.
As a result of its shareholding in America West Airlines, Ansett is able to turn to the U. S. carrier for help. Complete with crews, 3 B-737-3G7s are leased to provide Australian domestic capacity, while 3 B-737-377s are dry-leased to the Phoenix-based major.
The labor difficulty causes passenger boardings to drop 30.7% to
4.297.000 and freight to decline by 37.8% to 53.46 million FTKs.
Company employment grows by 6.1% in 1990 to 9,611. Domestic
Flight operations are back to normal by February and the America West Airlines Boeings are returned. The first physical act in the initiation of domestic deregulation occurs on March 1 when the DOT opens the terminal-access process by requiring Ansett and Australian Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. to make available a limited amount of gate space for new entrants at the airports at Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth.
In preparation for Australian airline deregulation, Ansett Transport Industries, Ltd. gradually divests itself of most peripheral activities; the airline itself changes its name to Ansett Australia (Pty.), Ltd. during the fall. A new logo and livery are introduced and all aircraft are repainted and new uniforms are introduced. Statistics for the year are provided under its new name.
ANSETTAIRLINES OF NEW SOUTH WALES (PTY.), LTD.: Australia (1958-1981). On February 5, 1958, Butler Air Transport (Pty.), Ltd. , in which Ansett Transport Industries, Ltd. holds 52% interest, is acquired outright, together with its subsidiary, Queensland Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. and merged. Although Butler’s 2 Vickers Viscount 832s are retained, 3 former British European Airways Corporation (BEA) Elizabethans employed by the merger partner are returned to England.
The company is renamed Ansett Airlines of New South Wales (Pty.), Ltd. in December 1959 and continues operation of Butler’s services to and from destinations in Queensland and New South Wales. Shortly thereafter, Ansett Flying Boat Services operations are integrated. The first of 4 Fokker F.27-200s is delivered on February 12, 1960 and enters service before the end of the month.
A DC-3C with three crew crashes near Sydney on December 11 during a training flight; there are no survivors.
Service continues apace in 1961-1963. In 1964, Ansett Airlines of New South Wales (Pty.), Ltd. transports a total of 272,958 passengers. Airline employment is 194 and the fleet comprises 8 aircraft.
The workforce in 1965 stands at 175. The Ansett carrier operates a fleet comprising the same 4 Fokker F.27-200s and 4 Douglas DC-3s. Orders are outstanding for another Dutch-made Friendship.
A DC-3 is lost at Warranambool on April 1; there are no fatalities.
In November, five stops in New South Wales served by the carrier are transferred to another airline with a loss of passengers estimated to be
50.000 per year. A severe drought also reduces revenues. Still, enplane-ments grow slightly, up 1% to 275,715.
Bookings drop to 222,000 in 1966, due largely to the previous year’s route restructuring.
In 1967, the workforce is 220 and the fleet comprises 8 aircraft: 1 DC-3, 5 F.27-200s, and 2 Shorts S-25s. Passenger boardings accelerate to 245,362. Ten more employees are hired in 1968 as enplanements climb to 254,495.
Airline employment grows to 244 in 1969 as bookings accelerate to 272,813.
The fleet in 1970 includes 4 F.27-200s and 1 new F.28 Fellowship; the jetliner is placed into intrastate service, the first within New South Wales. Capt. I. A. Brown is named operations manager. Passenger boardings rise a slight 3.9% to 283,884 as cargo falls by 0.8%. Bookings total 253,720 in 1971.
In 1972 the workforce of the Ansett subsidiary stands at 260, up 0.1% over 1971 while its fleet comprises 5 Fokker F.27-200s. Enplanements climb 4% to 280,000 and freight is up by 6%.
Two additional Dutch-made Friendships are received in 1973. Employee numbers grow to 286. Passenger boardings advance 11.3% to
309.000 and cargo traffic is up by 5%.
The eighth F.27-200 is obtained in 1974, the same year that the flying boat service between Sydney and Lord Howe Island is, upon completion of a runway on the island, suspended. The last 2 Shorts S-25 Sandringham 4s, which have flown the Lord Howe run for over a decade, are now sold to the U. S. operator Antilles Air Boats, Inc. Customer bookings accelerate 8.4% to 368,000.
In 1975 the payroll is 288 and the fleet includes 6 F.27-200s and 1 F.27-600. Two of the former are replaced by F.27-500s late in the year. Bookings rise 2.8% to 381,000, but cargo is down 10.2%.
The employee population in 1976 drops 6.2% to 270. Two more F.27-200s are withdrawn and succeeded by F.27-500s received in July. Enplanements fall 1.8% to 374,000, and freight is off 2.9%.
A total of 391,346 passengers are carried in 1977. Two additional
F.27-500s are received while the last F.27-200s are sold.
In 1978, cargo is up 1.3% and enplanements are up 6.6% to 418,788. Airline employment in 1979 stands at 330. Enplanements climb 4.2% to 436,634, while cargo accelerates 13.3% to 913,000 pounds.
The workforce grows by 3.3% in 1980 to 1,102. Freight slips 5.3% to
861.000 pounds, but bookings grow, up 2.8% to 448,713. On July 2, 1981 the carrier is renamed Air New South Wales (Pty.), Ltd.
ANSETT AIRLINES OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA (PTY.), LTD.: Australia (1960-1973). During 1960, Ansett Transport Industries, Ltd., parent of Ansett Airlines of Australia (Pty.), Ltd., acquires the assets and routes of Mandated Airlines (Pty.), Ltd., Gibbes Sepik Airways (Pty.), Ltd. , and Madang Air Services (Pty.), Ltd. These are combined to form Ansett Airlines of Papua New Guinea (Pty.), Ltd. Employing certain aircraft of the merger partners as well as airlines from the Ansett fleet, the new subsidiary undertakes many of the previous services between Australia and the mandated territory.
Within a decade, significant improvements have been made. In 19701971 the fleet comprises 5 Fokker F.27s, 6 Douglas DC-3s, 2 de Havil-land Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters, and 1 Shorts SC-7 Skyvan.
Airline employment in 1972 totals 260. A DC-3 is damaged beyond repair at Wapenamunda on July 17.
The Skyvan, with a pilot and three passengers, smashes into Mt. Siluwe on September 1; there are no survivors. Enplanements climb 7% to 316,000 and freight rises by an equal amount.
Scheduled passenger and cargo flights continue in something of a status quo situation until November 1, 1973. Then the Ansett airline is dissolved and replaced by the new national airline of Papua New Guinea, Air Niugini (Pty.), Ltd., in which Ansett holds 16% interest.
ANSETT AIRLINES OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA (PTY.), LTD.: Australia (1960-1981). During July 1959, Guinea Holdings, parent of Guinea Airways (Pty.), Ltd., is purchased by Ansett Transport Industries, Ltd. On January 17, 1960, Guinea Airways (Pty.), Ltd. becomes Airlines of South Australia (Pty.), Ltd. Scheduled passenger and cargo services are operated from Adelaide to Port Lincoln, Kangaroo Island, Whyalla, Mount Gambier, Broken Hill, and Ceduna. A charter service is also provided to the government’s Woomera Weapons Research Establishment.
By 1974 the carrier’s enplanements are rising; at 195,000, they are 8.4% higher than just a year earlier. By 1978, employment at General Manager L. Connelly’s company is 129 and the fleet comprises of 3 Fokker F.27-200 Friendships. On July 2, 1981, the carrier is renamed Airlines of South Australia (Pty.), Ltd.
World History
