Alliance beefs up Darwin base
Scott McMillan and Lee Schofield of Alliance. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen
The Australian
Robyn Ironside
JUNE 7, 2019
The small airline that Qantas wants to take over is expanding its wings in Darwin, quadrupling the size of its fleet in response to expected growth in the market.
From next month, Alliance Airlines will add another three Fokker jets to its existing one Fokker 100 aircraft based in *Darwin.
At the same time, staff numbers will increase from seven to 34, with additional pilots, engineers and cabin crew needed.
CEO Lee Schofield said the expansion had been in the planning for some time, with Alliance predominantly interested in mining and inbound tourism work.
“Alliance has always been able to sense opportunity when it might not necessarily be obvious to everyone else,” Mr Schofield said. “The aircraft will be available for wet lease so that opportunity will exist as well.”
Just this week Regional Express (Rex) also indicated it was considering operations out of Darwin due to financial uncertainty surrounding Air North’s US owner, Bristow.
Alliance managing director Scott McMillan said he believed the timing was perfect.
“People who know us know we always do things for a reason and we like to be ahead of the game,” Mr McMillan said.
“We’re setting up an operation in Rockhampton and that was before the election. So if Adani does happen, we are well positioned but we didn’t do it for that reason, we did it for a whole host of other reasons.”
He said Alliance had also been a step ahead of the pack on the resources boom with its fleet of Fokker 100 aircraft.
“When we started the (FIFO) business everyone said our aircraft were too big. Back then we had 91 seats in the F100s, now we have 100,” Mr McMillan said.
“As the FIFO industry grew, guess what? The F100 became the aircraft of choice.”
The airline is still awaiting a decision by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission on Qantas’s acquisition of a 19.9 per cent stake in Alliance.
In Seoul this week for the International Air Transport Association AGM, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce reiterated his desire to eventually take over Alliance.
“We like the management of Alliance, we think they’re well run and if we were to take them over, we would keep that management in place,” Mr Joyce said.
The three additional Fokkers to be based in Darwin were purchased by Alliance from Austrian Airlines four years ago and will be brought down under over the next six months.
The final Fokker 70 due to arrive in December will be painted with a special livery to mark the 100th anniversary of the first aerial flight from England on December 10, 1919.
Captain Ross Smith landed the “Vimy” at Port Darwin’s Fannie Bay airfield 27 days and 20 hours after departing Hounslow in London.