Category: Airlines Of Australasia

Kangaroos & Marlins: Air Pacific Goes Long-Haul

6/6/2023

Air Pacific's first foray into long-haul flights was an expensive failure, however the airline wasn't to be denied and tried another tack. Although upgrading capacity to 747s may at first glance have seemed unwise the new arrangement was a big success in no small part to its new partnership with Australia's national carrier Qantas.

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The Career of DC-10-30 CN 47848 / LN 136: From New Zealand to the US via Fiji

5/6/2023

3 Comments

When I investigate the histories of models in my collection it is always an interesting moment when I realise that I have the same airframe in my collection wearing different liveries. This is the case for one of my DC-10-30s, which started its life in the South Pacific and would alternate during its career between that region and the USA. It was also unique in being the only DC-10 to wear the wonderful scheme of Air Pacific of Fiji and would be the aircraft that launched that airline's ill-fated first steps into long-haul travel.

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Skystars: Australian A320s in the 1990s

20/12/2019

2 Comments

The A320 recently became the most produced family of jet airliners in history, however the type had a slightly rocky start in Australia. Initially it looked like both TAA and Ansett would purchase the new Airbus but in the end Ansett were the only one of the two big domestics to take the plunge.

2 Comments

Talofa: The Rise, Fall & Rise of Polynesian Airlines

16/11/2019

7 Comments

The Pacific islands have a proud history of colourful flag carriers, however the majority of the region’s airlines have struggled with their remoteness, the limited investment capability of their home nations and competition from Australia and New Zealand. Polynesian Airlines’ history illustrates all three aspects during its history.

7 Comments

Persistence over Performance: Qantas Comet IVs

22/9/2019

2 Comments

Qantas had always been a well-run flag carrier and as such had shown little interest in Britain’s reborn Comet 4. Instead, despite some political pressure, it pragmatically turned towards the United States when it came to looking at its first jet equipment. Even so despite the acquisition of Boeing 707s Qantas would operate the British Comet albeit as part of a lease agreement with the British flag carrier BOAC.

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High Country: Chinese 757s in the Himalayas

27/7/2019

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The Boeing 757 is renowned for having some grunt, which is one of the reasons it has gained a second life on transatlantic duties. It also makes it ideal for operating in hot and high destinations where the thin air makes thrust important. The Western regions of China include the foothills of the Himalayas right up to the Tibetan plateau and the 757 proved its worth in these challenging conditions.

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Stretching Australia’s Wings: Compass Mk1

12/6/2018

2 Comments

November 1990 marked the date that the Australian domestic airline market was finally fully deregulated, however unlike in other markets this did not signal a rollercoaster of new entrant airlines. The Australian market had always been hyper-regulated and even with deregulation the grandfathered airlines, Australian and Ansett, had major advantages. So much so in fact that only a single challenger appeared to compete with them. This was Compass Airlines.

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Shooting Star Pt2: Ansett New Zealand's 90s

18/10/2017

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Competing in the New Zealand domestic market had proved as tough as expected for the young comptitor, which had gone through 3 rebrands within 6 years, but with the strong backing of Ansett and a new young fleet the 90s would prove competition was possible, even if profitability was always on a knife edge.

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Shooting Star Pt1: Newmans - Ansett NZ

6/10/2017

1 Comment

The New Zealand domestic market had long been the realm of National Airways Corporation (NAC) and later, post-merger, Air New Zealand. There had been attempts to compete but none had been successful or resulted in co-operation rather than competition. It wasn't until the mid-1980s that true competition was possible and out of that Ansett acquired a foothold in the New Zealand market, which it was to hold onto for 13 years.

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Flying the 580 Pt2: Inflight AKL-WAG

28/6/2017

4 Comments

In part 1 we looked at the airline, the aircraft and the setup for the flight. So with that out of the way part 2 takes us into the cockpit and along for the ride, operating the scheduled service to Whanganui from Auckland and back again. Fasten your seat belts and keep tray tables in an upright position for a look at flying the Convair 580. If you want yourself to get a chance to fly the 580 with Air Chathams time is limited. Get down to New Zealand before it's too late!

4 Comments

Flying the 580 Pt1: Air Chatman's CIF

27/6/2017

12 Comments

It is increasingly difficult to catch a ride on anything vaguely classic nowadays in real airline service, let alone an airframe from the immediate postwar decades of air travel. However in New Zealand there is still the possibility to fly real classics - aircraft that shared the ramp with Boeing Stratocruisers and Lockheed Constellations. So it was that a few days ago I had the opportunity to sample the Convair 580 'muscle machine' in scheduled service with Air Chathams.

12 Comments

Ansett's Last Props: The F50 Euroglider

28/5/2017

2 Comments

The Fokker F27 had a long and distinguished career in Australia with the government airline, Trans Australia Airlines, and its private competitor Ansett. With the F27s reaching the end of their lives in the mid-1980s Ansett was casting around for a replacement and not surprisingly its modernised sister the Fokker 50 fitted the bill. Unfortunately the F50s were overtaken by events at Ansett and it wouldn't really be until they went out west that they found their raison d’être.

2 Comments

Pacific Rockets: Fijian One-Elevens

12/4/2017

6 Comments

Air Pacific was one of only two customers in the Oceania region to equip itself with Britain's BAC One-Eleven. Though the One-Eleven was a middling success for a declining British civil aviation industry, by the late-1960s, despite heavy pressure from the British government, it could not compete effectively with the new Douglas DC-9 and Boeing 737-200 on a level playing field. Even so Fiji's One-Elevens were some of the last built and being specialist series 475s helped Air Pacific reach its often primitively equipped island destinations.

6 Comments

Kiwi Budgies Pt1: Mount Cook HS 748s

22/3/2017

2 Comments

Mount Cook Airlines was started by Henry "Harry" Rodolph Wigley, a former RNZAF WW2 fighter pilot and Wing Commander, who postwar built up his father's Mount Cook Group and began ski-plane operations in 1955 in the South Island of New Zealand. Little did they expect that their venture would grow into New Zealand's 3rd airline and continue its pioneering services into the 2010s. The aircraft that really put Mount Cook on the map, however was the sturdy HS 748.

2 Comments

Godwits to Korus: 737-200s in New Zealand

30/12/2016

8 Comments

The Boeing 737 has had a long and fruitful service in New Zealand especially in the guise of the series 200, which New Zealand became a very early home for. Operations stretched from the late 1960s into the early 2000s; first with National Airways Corporation and subsequently with Air New Zealand. The Fat Albert was the first pure jet on the NZ domestic scene and whether wearing a Godwit or the Koru proved its value to generations of kiwis.

8 Comments

<<Previous

Kangaroos & Marlins: Air Pacific Goes Long-Haul

The Career of DC-10-30 CN 47848 / LN 136: From New Zealand to the US via Fiji

Skystars: Australian A320s in the 1990s

Talofa: The Rise, Fall & Rise of Polynesian Airlines

Persistence over Performance: Qantas Comet IVs

High Country: Chinese 757s in the Himalayas

Stretching Australia’s Wings: Compass Mk1

Shooting Star Pt2: Ansett New Zealand's 90s

Shooting Star Pt1: Newmans - Ansett NZ

Flying the 580 Pt2: Inflight AKL-WAG

Flying the 580 Pt1: Air Chatman's CIF

Ansett's Last Props: The F50 Euroglider

Pacific Rockets: Fijian One-Elevens

Kiwi Budgies Pt1: Mount Cook HS 748s

Godwits to Korus: 737-200s in New Zealand

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