The reason for the question, I was looking at a book on the DC-9 in a secondhand bookshop in Melbourne, and the book went through the development of the aircraft and then listed operators of the type. In the Australasian section it showed some photos of both Ansett and TAA aircraft including the one painted as Coralislander. In the text it mentioned that TAA had retained some DC-9's up until 1989, and planned to use them as apart of a low cost airline when derugulation started the following year on certain routes including Australia most popular tourist route.
Were Australian Airlines planning something similar to the Airlink operation that they started with National Jet, to run on the Gold Coast route out of Sydney and Melbourne?
Keep in mind that Australian Airlines also had an operation in Cairns called Australian Regional Link that operated DC-3, Fokker Friendships and Twin Otters in the late 1980's.