SOUTHERN AIRLINES (PTY.), LTD.: Australia (1955-1958)

Southern is founded at Adelaide in the late fall of 1955. Equipped with de Havilland DH 104s and DH 114s, it undertakes services on December 12 to a variety of Victoria destinations, as well as several on Tasmania, King and Flinders Islands. Unable to maintain a level of traffic sufficient to turn a profit, the carrier ceases operations in October 1958.

SOUTHERN AIRLINES AND FREIGHTERS (PTY.), LTD.: Australia (1937-1938). Southern Airlines and Freighters is founded at Sydney on July 30, 1937 to take over the routes and assets of Intercity Airways (Pty.), Ltd. Employing the predecessor airline’s Gannet aircraft, it continues the twice-weekly Sydney-Broken Hill flights via Nyngan begun in November 1936. Broken Hill-Mildura service is undertaken on August 9, but lack of traffic forces suspension of the route on September 17.

Unable to continue operations due to significant traffic and financial downturns, Southern is forced into liquidation on February 9, 1938.

SOUTHERN AIRLINK: 12 Third Street, Bay Springs, Mississippi, 39422, United States; Phone (888) 835-9535; Fax (601) 764-2564; Year Founded 1996. SA is established at Thigpen Field at Bay Springs in 1996 to provide executive and small group passenger flights throughout the Southern U. S. and to the Caribbean. Chief Pilot Paul Daughtrey begins flights with a single Cessna 500 Citation I bizjet.

SOUTHERN AIRWAYS (1): United States (1936-1979). Frank W. Hulse, the Delta Air Service (later Delta Air Lines) Augusta station manager, and his business partner Ike Jones purchase control of the FBO/flight school Southern Airways of Georgia in June 1936.

Through 1939, Hulse and Jones expand their business (which will eventually be reorganized into one of the world’s largest FBOs, Hanger One, Inc.) to airfields at the Georgia cities of Atlanta and Savannah, as well as Orangeburg, Anderson, and Greenville, South Carolina, and Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Having resigned from Delta, Hulse establishes additional FBO sites at Camden, South Carolina, and Decatur, Alabama in 1940, the year he enlists in the U. S. Army Air Corps.

Hulse is released from the AAC in 1941 and is requested to establish pilot training centers at his FBO. During World War II, a total of 25,000 flyers will earn their wings under his sponsorship in the Civilian Pilot Training program.

Looking to the future, on July 7, 1943, Southern Airways is incorporated by Hulse under the laws of the state of Delaware. Six months later, on January 6, 1944, Hulse files an application with the CAB for the establishment of a local service carrier to provide scheduled and certified air transport service in eight southeastern states.

A Douglas C-47B is purchased from the Reclamation Finance Corporation on March 14, 1946. After conversion to DC-3 civil standard and during the next two years, it will be leased to Piedmont Aviation and also make several charter flights on behalf of SA.

A public stock offering is made late in 1948 and executive headquarters are established at Atlanta on January 1, 1949. A temporary CAB operating certificate is received in February and an inaugural flight is made on June 10 from Atlanta to Memphis via Gadsden and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Columbus, Mississippi.

The DC-3, piloted by Capt. George Bradford, introduces Southern’s new livery, which will be worn by all of the airline’s aircraft through September 1961. This consists of a bare metal finish, a broad yellow fuselage stripe trimmed with small blue stripes, the titles “Fly Southern” over the windowline and on the tail, and a company logo aft the passenger door.

Fifteen days later, on June 25, southbound flights commence from Atlanta to Jacksonville via LaGrange, Columbus, Albany, Moultrie, and Valdosta. On August 5, Atlanta to Charlotte, North Carolina, frequencies commence via Athens, Georgia, and Greenwood, Greenville, and Spartanburg, South Carolina. Flights from Columbus, Georgia, to Charleston, South Carolina, begin on September 15 via Macon and Augusta.

Memphis to Jackson, Mississippi, twice-daily roundtrips commence on October 25, 1950; aboard Flight 401 on inauguration day are stewardesses from American Airlines, Capital Air Lines, Chicago & Southern Air Lines, Delta Air Lines, Eastern Air Lines, and Braniff International Airways, all promoting their carriers’ Memphis connection. Jackson to Mobile flights begin on December 9 via Laurel and Hattiesburg and by year’s end, the fleet includes 10 DC-3s, known as “Southern’s Belles.”

The great-great-granddaughter of Confederate general, Pierre G. T. Beauregard, christens a new DC-3 General Beauregard on January 15, 1951, and following the ceremony, it is employed to launch service from New Orleans to Columbus, Mississippi, via Jackson, Natchez, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The route network now stands at 2,113 unduplicated miles and is expanded again on June 20, when a new market is opened at Tupelo, Mississippi. Frequencies commence to Gulfport-Biloxi on March 21, 1952.

The second—and last-named DC-3 is acquired in January 1953, the Gen. Stephen D. Lee. Delta Air Lines’s headquarters city of Monroe, Louisiana, is initially visited on June 13 and on July 1 the CAB’s temporary operating certificate is renewed through the remainder of the year. Less profitable cities, such as Augusta and Macon, Georgia, Charleston, South Carolina, and Hattiesburg, are suspended in the fall. The company’s 500,000th passenger is boarded at Columbus in November, but during the month, flights end to Clarksdale, Mississippi, and LaGrange, Georgia.

Operations continue apace in 1954 and permanent local-service certification is received from the CAB on December 9, 1955. Traffic continues to grow through 1956 and on June 29 flights begin to Panama City, Florida. Mrs. Robert Coleman, the airline’s one millionth passenger (cumulative) is boarded at Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 12, 1957.

When Delta Air Lines drops its Memphis to Greenwood, Mississippi, route, Southern takes it over on October 1, adding an extension to Jackson. Atlanta to Memphis via Anniston and Gadsden service begins on December 1. The route network now totals 2,780 unduplicated miles.

As late as 1958, the carrier’s fleet is still comprised entirely of Douglas transports, 13 to be exact. Airline employment stands at 700 in 1959 and 7 additional DC-3s are acquired. The tenth anniversary is celebrated throughout the year with the slogan “Going Places with the South for Ten Great Years.” On July 1, the airline begins flying to University/ Oxford, Mississippi, Bogalusa, Louisiana, and Huntsville, Alabama. With service to the latter city’s Redstone Arsenal, Southern now serves more military installations than any other airline in the world.

As the result of the CAB’s decision in the Southeastern Area Local Service Case, as announced on July 21, Southern receives operating authority to 17 cities—the largest award of service rights in company history.

One stop service is inaugurated on January 11, 1960 from New Orleans to Panama City, Florida. At the end of February, Southern begins flying from New Orleans to Nashville via Muscle Shoals. Meridian, Mississippi, together with Decatur and Selma, Alabama, join the route network on April 1.

Labor unrest among members of the local chapter of ALPA results in a job action by company pilots on June 5. When negotiations break down and the strike continues, Southern hires nonunion flyers. On August 1, service is expanded within Tennessee when a Nashville to Memphis via Jackson route is opened. Superior Airlines is established by the striking pilots, but is unsuccessful, leading to a court hearing on unfair labor practices. Southern and ALPA will settle and under political pressure, the airline will rehire most of the strikers.

While attempting to maneuver in a congested area, a DC-3 with 12 aboard rams a parked Douglas at Atlanta on September 10. Back in Tennessee on November 1, service is initiated from Nashville to Tri-Cities (Bristol, Kingsport, and Johnson City) via Knoxville. Three more DC-3s are acquired during the month, allowing a December launch of frequencies from Chattanooga to Shelbyville/Tullahoma and Huntsville.

Airline employment approaches 1,000 in 1961 and the fleet includes 24 DC-3s. During the first quarter, the entire Tennessee intrastate route network of failed Southeast Airlines (1) is acquired.

Southern’s two millionth passenger (cumulative) is boarded at Knoxville on June 18. The following month, five Martin 4-0-4s are purchased from Eastern Air Lines. During the summer, service is inaugurated to Corinth and Pascagoula, Mississippi, and the Tennessee route system is finished by the addition of the former Southeast Airlines (1) stations at Clarksville, Paris, Morristown, and Union City.

The five Martins arrive on October 29 and launch Aristocrat service in November. They display a new livery, which will soon be applied to all company aircraft: grey belly to the windowline, thin yellow line and wide blue line over the windowline and white upper fuselage with the title “Southern” above the wing. The yellow and blue lines appear at the tail root and a stylish “S” is visible on the tail.

A DC-3 collides with a Cessna 172 on the ground at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on November 1; no one aboard the Douglas is hurt.

The first Southern Aristocrat awards are made to local dignitaries in 1962 as a marketing tool and a new corporate headquarters is occupied at Atlanta. Meanwhile, eight additional 4-0-4s and a DC-3 are placed on company routes, which include new frequencies from Columbus, Georgia, to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, via Charleston and from Atlanta to New Orleans via Columbus, Decatur, and Fort Walton Beach. The accident-free 500 millionth passenger mile is completed, giving cause for celebration.

A Martin 4-0-4 with 19 aboard fails to recover from a bounced landing at Baton Rouge on June 17, 1963 and crashes; there are no injuries reported. A new 49,000-sq.-ft. maintenance hangar is opened at Atlanta and the three millionth passenger (cumulative) is boarded on July 10. Late in November, service is dropped to two small cities in Mississippi and five in Tennessee.

Enplanements for the year total 626,128 and a net profit of $328,210 is earned.

Airline employment in 1964 stands at 1,159 and the fleet now includes 36 aircraft. On February 12, one of these, a DC-3 with 29 aboard, encounters clear-air turbulence near Huntsville, Alabama; one passenger is badly hurt. Another Douglas with five aboard fails its takeoff from Tupelo, Mississippi, on March 4, but no injuries are reported.

During the year, six additional Martin 4-0-4s are acquired, replacing six Douglas transports. As the result of a CAB award, the company is able to inaugurate a Panama City to Memphis route via Montgomery, Birmingham, and Muscle Shoals, on July 1.

In addition, Southern takes over the former Eastern Air Lines services to Albany, Macon, Rome, and Waycross in Georgia and to the Florida cities of Ocala and Gainesville.

Passenger boardings at President Frank Hulse’s carrier accelerate 23% to an all-time high (thus far) of 735,231. Revenues jump 18.5% to $10,213,754 and a record net profit of $675,628 is banked.

The workforce grows to 1,352 in 1965. Orders are placed for three DC-9-10s.

Passenger bookings climb 18.2% to 851,762. Revenues grow to $19,887,647. Operating expenses are $18,012,193. The operating profit is $1,875,454 and the net profit is $937,975. Since 1962, the carrier has been the most profitable in its classification. Much of the credit for this fiscal achievement goes to Vice President-Finance Marion Lamar Muse, a master of rate formulas, who now departs to head Central Airlines and will one day found Southwest Airlines (2).

The five millionth passenger (cumulative) is boarded in February 1966. Alone among local service carriers, Southern never operates a turboprop airliner. Instead, it moves directly from the piston era to the jet age in August when an order is placed with Douglas for three DC-9-15s. Never much in the news except for an occasional airliner accident, this carrier achieves a reputation as a “quiet airline.”

Revenue passenger miles flown are 203 million and freight ton-miles are 1.1 million. Revenues climb to $22 million and an $859,743 net profit is posted.

The employee population in 1967 numbers 1,498 and the fleet includes 28 aircraft: 3 DC-3s and 25 Martin 4-0-4s. Orders are placed for 6 DC-9-31s. The first DC-9-15 arrives in Atlanta at the beginning of June and on June 15 it is placed into service. When DC-3 Flight 240 from Dothan, Alabama, to Memphis is completed on July 31, the final piston-engine Douglas transport is withdrawn; in a ceremony, President Hulse and Capt. Bradford hang a large “For Sale” sign on the airliner.

Southern introduces the first jetliner service from Memphis to the Carolinas on August 1 when the third, newly delivered, DC-9-15 begins flying from the Mississippi River community to North Carolina via Jackson, Nashville, Knoxville, and Tri Cities.

A total of 1,183,000 passengers are originated and 1,377,000 freight ton miles are flown. Total revenues advance to $24.25 million; however, expenses lead to a loss of $158,715.

The workforce in 1968 numbers 1,521 and the fleet includes 30 aircraft.

On January 1, while on a ferry flight, a Martin 4-0-4 with three crew overshoots the runway while landing at Oxford, Mississippi, and suffers the collapse of its landing gear; there are no fatalities.

As the result of the Southern New York Route award and entry into Washington, D. C., the carrier receives its first long-haul passenger markets, which increase its total number of revenue passenger miles by a quarter. The fleet is bolstered by the arrival of three more DC-9-15s.

Passenger boardings leap up by 23.5% to 1,308,000 and cargo traffic rises by 12.7%. Income is a record $29,390,278.

In 1969, the company takes delivery of a seventh DC-9-15 and during May and June, three DC-9-31s. Beginning on September 1, twice-daily jetliner flights connect Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Dothan, Alabama, and Columbus, Georgia, with Washington, D. C. and New York City. Simultaneously, operations to Chicago also begin.

Enplanements total 1,344,381. Revenues for the year are $37.83 million. Although a $427,000 operating profit is earned, a net loss of $822,000 must be absorbed.

Airline employment in 1970 grows 1.4% to 1,769. The fleet grows to include 30 aircraft: 15 DC-9s and 15 Martin 4-0-4s. When the airline in-

Augurates service to Chicago (MDW) on April 1, an alligator “ambassador” from the Okefenokee Swamp escapes into the crowd during welcoming ceremonies, causing a disturbance well covered by local media.

The most publicized event in company history is negative occurs on November 14. Chartered Flight 932 is approaching Tri-State Airport at Huntington, West Virginia, from Kinston, North Carolina, with 4 crew and 71 passengers, including 43 players and coaches from the Marshall University football team. The DC-9-31 strikes the top of trees on a 922ft. ridge and explodes about 1 1/2 miles from the end of the runway; there are no survivors.

Despite the tragedy, overall passenger boardings for the year increase 15.4% to 1,589,102 and freight traffic is up by 49%. Fiscally, losses continue to mount. Having posted revenues of $49.7 million, Southern’s costs climb to $51.2 million, leaving an operating loss of $1.5 million and a net loss of $3.3 million.

In 1971, stewardesses uniforms include “hot pants” and plastic boots while yellow smiling “Have a Nice Day” faces are painted on the radomes of the jetliners.

Enplanements for the year are 1,965,096.

The workforce in 1972 is 2,084. During the summer, the company’s DC-9s are given new livery, highlighted by a new white Flightmark “S” applied to a royal blue field on the tail; the “S” is soon nicknamed “spaghetti stripes,” after their three wavy lines. Southern suffers the industry’s most spectacular skyjacking during the year, involving a 30 hour ordeal and 2 trips to Cuba, beginning on November 11.

L. D. Moore and H. D. Jackson, wanted by Detroit police as suspected rapists, and M. Cole, an escapee from prison at Nashville, brandish guns and hand grenades and take over Flight 49, a DC-9-15 with 31 other passengers aboard en route from Birmingham to Memphis. They force the Douglas to land in Jackson, Mississippi, Cleveland, Ohio, Toronto, Ontario, Lexington, Kentucky, and Knoxville, Tennessee. At the last destination, they demand bullet-proof vests, helmets, parachutes, stimulants for the crew, food for the passengers, and $10 million in ransom. As negotiations drag, the pirates shoot the copilot and threaten to takeoff and crash the airplane into the Atomic Energy Commission’s research facility at nearby Oak Ridge if their demands are not quickly met.

After their requests are granted and ransom is paid in the amount of $2 million, the plane is ordered to Havana, where the hijackers insist on speaking with Premier Castro himself. Oddly, the plane now returns to Key West for refueling, where the tires are shot out by FBI agents. Still, the DC-9-15 is able to leave for Cuba and lands on a foam-covered runway at Jose Marti Airport, where the three pirates are taken into custody by Cuban police and the money is confiscated. The passengers and Douglas jetliner return to Miami the next day.

Efforts are made to recover a $2 million ransom paid in the process. The incident is relived by Ed Blair and William R. Haas in their Odyssey of Terror (Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman Press, 1977).

During the fall, 13 DC-9-14s are purchased from Delta Air Lines. Passenger boardings jump 11.8% to 2,228,000 and cargo does even better, rising by 23.7%. Income is $68.63 million and expenses are $65.74 million. Consequently, profits are made: $2.89 million (operating) and $1.6 million (net).

A total of 409 new employees join the airline in 1973 as do the first of the DC-9-14s. On December 1, officials report that its federal subsidy will be increased by $400,000 per year for the next five years to cover the $2 million seized by the Cuban government after the DC-9 hijacking of the previous November.

Customer bookings jump 18% to 2,628,000 and freight traffic is up by 9.3%. Expenses of $82.28 million are charged off against $83.77 million total revenues and result in an operating profit of $1.48 million and a net gain of $417,000.

Airline employment in 1974 is 2,657 and the fleet now owns 24 DC-9s. Construction is begun on a new $25-million jet maintenance base at Atlanta and on December 9, daily nonstop roundtrip service is inaugurated from Miami to Grand Cayman Island. The first television ads, “Nobody is Second-Class on Southern,” begin to appear.

Further success comes to Southern as enplanements accelerate 17.4% to 3,084,000. Cargo is off, however, by a slight 2.4%. Income rises 28% $108.56 million while expenses are held to $101.67 million. The operating profit is $6.88 million and net income skyrockets to $3.48 million.

The workforce in 1975 is 2,539. At an August 10 news conference, Alabama Senator John Sparkman and President Hulse display a check for $2,609,789.83 in Canadian dollars, disclosing that it has been received from Premier Castro as payback of the $2 million ransom paid to hijackers in 1972. The hijackers themselves will return to the U. S. during the 1980 Cuban boatlift; found out during processing, they will receive prison sentences of from 20 to 25 years.

CEO since founding, Hulse now moves up to the board room to become chairman/CEO. He is succeeded as president by Graydon Hall, as George M. Gross becomes executive vice president/general manager.

Minor growth of 0.7% is experienced in passenger bookings (3,104,000). Although expenses are $114.75 million, they disappear into the company’s total income of $118.07 million. The year’s operating profit is $3.31 million and net income, though down, is still $2.74 million.

The number of employees is increased by 9.8% in 1976 to 2,787. A new “Your Travel Agent is Free” marketing campaign is undertaken and a $27-million maintenance hangar and facility is completed. Late in the year, authority is granted for services to the Cayman Islands.

Customer boardings jump 10.6% to 3,245,387 while freight does better, up 16.1% to 8.7 million FTKs. Operating income is $140.16 million and expenses are $137.67 million. This happy imbalance results in an operating profit of $2.49 million and net gain of $405,000.

As flights from Memphis increase to 83 per day to 42 cities in 14 states in 1977, the river town now becomes the airline’s long-haul hub.

En route from Huntsville to Atlanta on April 4, Flight 242, a DC-9-31 with 4 crew and 81 passengers, encounters a severe thunderstorm near New Hope, Georgia, (some 40 mi. from Atlanta). Both engines fail and cannot be restarted, forcing the flight crew to attempt an emergency landing on State Spur Highway 92. The gambit is unsuccessful and the jetliner crashes, killing 63 people on the aircraft and 9 in an automobile on the road.

Surviving flight attendant Sandy Purl, with Gregg Lewis, recalls the accident and her troubled life thereafter in Am I Alive?: A Surviving Flight Attendant's Struggle and Inspiring Triumph over Tragedy (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1986).

Survivors of this disaster, families of victims, and rescue workers will hold a reunion at New Hope on April 14, 1997. To replace the Martin 40-4s being gradually withdrawn, the company, between June and November, takes delivery of a fleet of eight Fairchild-Swearingen Metro IIs.

Meanwhile, new general offices are occupied at Atlanta along with a new computer reservations center as merger discussions begin with North Central Airlines. Acquired from Air Canada, Ltd., a DC-9-32F begins all-cargo service on October 1. Late in the year, orders are placed for four McDonnell Douglas MD-80s.

Enplanements total 3,534,000. On revenues of $159.51 million, a record net $8.25- million profit is gained, much of it based on a late payment for mail carriage of $500,000 and a $3.9-million insurance settlement.

Chairman Hulse and President Hall oversee a workforce of 3,216 in 1978, up 10.1%. The fleet comprises 5 DC-9-30s, 22 DC-9-15s, and 8 Fairchild-Swearingen Metro IIs. Service is provided to 67 cities in 13 states.

Flight 753, the final Martin 4-0-4 return service is operated as a “commemorative” flight on April 30 between Atlanta and Gadsden, Intribute to Southern’s last piston engine aircraft to make a scheduled flight, a group of 14 senior company staffer are invited to join passengers on the service. When the flight is completed, this last of 25 Southern Martins is retired.

During the second quarter, merger discussions are held with Allegheny Airlines (1), Ozark Air Lines, Piedmont Airlines (1), Texas International Airlines, and North Central Airlines.

Officials and stockholders approve a merger with North Central Airlines that will create a much larger carrier; the plan of amalgamation is sent to the CAB in July and because of the Caribbean routes, to the White House, for approval.

Meanwhile, passenger boardings pass the four million mark for the first time (4,232,000) while freight is up by 13.1% to 11.2 million FTKs. Although operating income rises 18.2% to $188.51 million, expenses are kept to $180.80 million and a $7.7-million operating profit is made. The net profit, despite receipt of $600,000 for four surplus jet engines, declines a not-unexpected 70.8% to $2.4 million.

Airline employment at the beginning of 1979 stands at 3,300. The CAB and President Carter both agree to the proposed marriage in February and final approval is announced in April. Southern officially merges with North Central Airlines on July 1 to form Republic Airlines. Integration of the two airlines is completed on October 1 when the new “RC” two-letter code takes effect.

SOUTHERN AIRWAYS (2): United States (1986-1987). Jackson, Mississippi-based Flight Line, a scheduled commuter airline sponsored by the FBO Miller-Wills, changes its name in 1986 in an effort to further highlight its geographical service area and to participate in a codesharing arrangement with American Airlines.

Daily roundtrips linking its base with New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Greenwood, Memphis, and Oxford-Tupelo are maintained with a fleet that includes 2 Cessna 402s, 1 Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante, 2 Piper T-1040s, and 1 Beech King Air 200.

A total of 2,228 passengers are flown on the year.

Operations cease in 1987.

SOUTHERN AIRWAYS, LTD.: United Kingdom (1938). On January 28, 1938, Bury St. Edmunds Airport, Ltd., owned by the Straight Corporation, is registered; the company name is changed to Southern Airways, Ltd. on May 30. On June 20, a Short Scion is employed to inaugurate air taxi service between Ipswich and Clacton, which is ended in September, the same month in which a Ramsgate-Ilford route, started on July 26, is also closed down.

SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA AIRLINES (PTY.), LTD.: Australia (1991-2001). Sunstate Airlines (Mildura) (Pty.), Ltd. becomes an affiliate of Australian Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. in 1991 and is renamed at year’s end. General Manager Tony Matthew’s airline continues to operate a Shorts 360 and two Cessna 404 Titans on routes linking Mildura with Adelaide, Renmark, Melbourne, and Broken Hill. The company also contracts with the Victoria government to operate an air ambulance service of six Titans from a base at Melbourne’s Essendon Airport.

Enplanements for the year total 27,004.

The fleet is increased in early 1992 to include 2 de Havilland Canada DHC-8-102s, 2 Embraer EMB-110P1 Bandeirantes, 2 Shorts 330s, and 3 Shorts 360s. Those services linking Melbourne with Devonport and Launceston are taken over from Eastern Australia Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. In November, Australian Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. is acquired by Qantas Airways (Pty.), Ltd.

Passenger boardings jump 55% to 60,008.

Now a subsidiary of the nation’s fabled pioneer, SAA continues operations apace in 1993, transporting a total of 118,135 passengers, but losing A$69,000 in the process.

The fleet in 1994 includes 2 Dash-8s and 2 Cessna 404 Titans. Customer bookings accelerate 8.7% to 129,392 and an A$1.2-million profit is reported.

A third DHC-8-102 is placed into service in 1995 as service is inaugurated to Burnie.

Passenger boardings during the 12 months climb 22.1% to 151,453.

Airline employment stands at 155 in 1996 and on December 6, two British Aerospace BAe 146-100s are added. The City of Launceston is the first to enter service and by Christmas, both are replacing a Qantas Airways (Pty.), Ltd. Boeing on nonstop daily routes from Sydney and Melbourne to Launceston and Hobart.

Enplanements this year leap ahead by 32% to 236,648.

The workforce is cut to 60 during 1997. Customer bookings skyrocket 79% to 346,355.

Service is maintained without fanfare in 1998. During the 12 months, passenger boardings accelerate 42% to 492,000. By the beginning of 1999, airline employment has been increased by 186.7% to 172. Passenger boardings rise 1.2% on the year to 498,000.

A third Bae 146-100 is acquired and beginning on March 28, 2000, the carrier inaugurates new daily roundtrips from Hobart to Melbourne. It simultaneously adds another return service between Hobart and Sydney. Southern Australia will be merged into Qantas Link during June 2001.