Sharp to take over Airlines of Tasmania's routes

[fritzandsauce]

Sharp Airlines will take over flight services of Airlines of Tasmania from the 1st September 2010

[AIREHEAD]

So what does that mean for the AOT staff? Have they been taken over as well?

[Dog One]

Does this mean "Pumpkin Head" returns?

[Corkey McFuz]

Wo where did you hear that ?? Reasons ??

I did note the dornier for sale recently

[fanning]

http://sharpairlines.com.au/upload/Sharp_Airlines_to_provide_Tasmanian_Services_14_July_2010.pd f

[Baldnfat]

Finally, a rumour on pprune that I hope is true.

With any luck the state government will gift the other southern Tasmanian operators routes,aircraft and facilities to Mr Sharp and his professional team.

A sound financial decision by that donkey that sits in the premiers chair and his noddies is long overdue.

(My apologies to four legged donkeys everywhere as they are mostly friendly and quite useful.)

[fanning]

With any luck the state government will gift the other southern Tasmanian operators routes,aircraft and facilities to Mr Sharp and his professional team.

Thanks to the $1.6 Million, the state government virtually owns the other Tasmanian operator anyway ... perhaps that's not as silly as it sounds.

[GAFA]

What about AoT's Dornier 228?

[Corkey McFuz]

What about AoT's Dornier 228?

has been on the market for the last few months. I wonder if thats a clue...

[Wally Mk2]

Well good luck to Sharpy & the gang:ok: One has to wonder whether we shall be back here amongst these pages in the not too distant future talking about their intro with a Saab or two..............Metro's are great machines (well to some anyway) but seeing as they started out with PA31's then to go on too bigger machines the next stop will be a 30+ seater, Saab most likely I'd say. Crystal ball stuff? Well nufin' surprises me in aviation anymore!:)
I hope the Tassy boys/gals pilots/staff can tag along with Sharpys crew:ok:

Maybe back to metros' hey Baz?..who'd had thought!:E

Wmk2

[CharlieLimaX-Ray]

Get rid of the dinky toy Metro's and bring back the mighty DH114 Heron, nothing like doing IP250/1 limited panel with the old master happily reading the newspaper.

With a bit of luck Robert Redford of the airwaves will get Sharps to introduce the good old Flinders Island Flyaway weekends?

Is Noel Bowland still Aot agent on Flinders?

[cficare]

Noel is still there!

[Stationair8]

Gees Wally, next you will be telling us they have B737's on order!!!!

Who is the "old master"?

[PA39]

Good on you Sharps.

[AIRTAM]

Tread cautiously Sharp, the last time a mainland operator took over Tasmanian routes on behalf of another operator, (this being the earlier Airlines of Tasmania) they went broke very quickly. This company being Tamair who also operated Metro aircraft. Tamair's lucrative mainland routes could not withstand the cash drain Tasmania caused them.

[pump up]

And of course,look what happened to Aus Air. Also don't worry with the Herons, lets get the Shorts back.

[ymlt2]

Good riddance to the Dornier, its a bucket of ........! By the sounds of it some pilots have been offered job & others have not. I should know more next week. May explain why little has been done to CCN since its nose wheel collapse.

However the refueller will not be happy, he is not a Metro fan.:}

[tasdevil.f27]

No more Don, what a shame...

Good luck to all the LST crew at AOT, great bunch to deal with.

[Stationair8]

Will Sharps be leasing another Metro, or just adjust the flight schedule to make better use of the existing fleet?

[AIREHEAD]

I think one of the main problems with both Tamair and Ausair's experiences in Tasmania were all the marginal routes they were doing. eg Tamair HBA-LST, HBA-DPO-BWT, HBA-SRN. And Ausair MBW-DPO-BWT , MBW-LST. If they had just stuck to the main routes,eg KNS and FLS, they probably would have survived. Anyway good luck to the Sharp guys.

[Stationair8]

Why doesn't the YMLT refueller like Metro's?

[BULLDOG 248]

Well done MS and staff on the move into Tassie...Things sure have grown from starting with a X-hired PA-28 then a PN68 some 20 years ago:D

I could be wrong but the demise of AOT/Tamair metro's service was the last nail in the coffin given by CASA on compliance issues.

Once they were shut down, every man and his dog started flying between the mainland through both Flinders and King Is to and throughout Tassie and that was the end of AusAir!!!

Do Rex and King Is Airlines still operate ML-KII???? If not King could be on the cards aswell??

Good luck Sharpy.

[CharlieLimaX-Ray]

Do Airlines of Tasmania still do the paper run out of Launceston to Hobart every weekday morning at 3am?

Hope the Sharp boys and girls are up to speed on crosswind landings, springtime on Flinders Island with it gusting up to 60 knots is always challenging!!!

Things have changed over the years, in the late 80's Airlines of Tasmania, Promair, Ausair, Paravion etc all serviced Flinders Island. The grand poohbar was even talking of Shorts 360 to replace the Herons.

[ditzyboy]

I remember seeing a photo of an Airlines of Tasmania SH6 in an aviation magazine many years ago. Was it painted up and never delivered?

[Warm Ballast]

It came into Aust about 1989-90 (?) and operated for maybe a couple of years in Tas and was moved on.

[tasdevil.f27]

Do Airlines of Tasmania still do the paper run out of Launceston to Hobart every weekday morning at 3am?

Tas-Air does that run. Essendon (i think) to HBA via LST.

The Shorts was operated under the old Airlines of Tas, not the current version.

[UnderneathTheRadar]

Tas-air

The TasAir flight is bank books only with drop-off at LST only - there is no paper run that I know of....

(Tas-Air is HBA-DPO-EN/EN-LST-HBA - out at 6.30pm, back at 6am or so)

UTR

[Ang737]

Good Luck Mal.....

AB

[tasdevil.f27]

Sorry, yes the bank plane! Very "lovely" pilot flying it some nights as well :ok:

[noknead]

Rex still does ML-KII. KIA still does MB-KII, and I think you'll find the paper run is covered by the Qantas cargo flight that finishes up in HB at 5:30ish am each weekday.

[fritzandsauce]

Have the services started? Not taking bookings on their website.

[fanning]

on the news the other night, I think I heard October ?

[CharlieLimaX-Ray]

Must be about time for the Flinders Island show?

[tasdevil.f27]

Sharp takes over from the 1st of Oct. The metro is due in tomorrow unless it arrived today. Airlines of Tas Dornier VH - ATZ has been sold and left LST on the weekend. It is heading to Nepal.

[PaulDamian]

I saw the Donrier 228 at MB last weekend. Must have been on its way for the ferry trip. Nice looking aircraft, sorry to see it go.

[tasdevil.f27]

I saw the Donrier 228 at MB last weekend. Must have been on its way for the ferry trip. Nice looking aircraft, sorry to see it go.

You'd be about the only one sorry to see it go.....:rolleyes:

[fritzandsauce]

Finally a confrmed date Mon 4th October!!!!

[Rotor Work]

From Sharp Airlines Media Page
Sharp Airlines' King Island Services

Sharp Airlines has been investigating the feasibility of extending its Tasmania services to include King Island.
In Tasmania Sharp Airlines currently provides the only regular airline service between Launceston to Flinders Island and Melbourne (Essendon) to Flinders Island which continues to grow with passenger numbers every week.
“We commenced services to Flinders Island 18 months ago from Launceston, and we have grown these services to include additional flights, more seats, and as a result tourism numbers to Flinders Island have grown by 6% over the past year” Managing Director of Sharp Airlines, Mr Malcolm Sharp said.
Mr Sharp said “We are currently holding discussions with Airlines of Tasmania and assessing the feasibility of expanding our airline passenger services to include King Island, as we see this as a logical extension to our current Tasmanian network”.

I had heard that the service was to start on the 1st of July. Does anyone have further information?
Regards R W

[Ice2011]

Started on Monday. Sharp now operating out of the former QF Hangar @ LST.

[noknead]

Sharps are using 2 metros now.
First one's day looks a bit like this: LT-FLI, FLI-LT. Then LT-FLI, FLI-EN, EN-FLI, FLI-LT, LT-FLI, FLI-LT.
The second does LT-WYY, WYY-KII, KII-WYY, WYY-LT. Once in the am then again in the pm.
Of course there a few minor variations on these schedules, eg chuck in the occasional leg to YPOD/YPAD, or sometimes they may ditch the stopover at YWYY on the way back to LMLT.
The service seems to be going well it would appear..... If you changed the types back to Herons and the regos to VH-CLV/CLM or whatever they were (I'm old now) you would think you were in the past 20 to 30 years. :)

History repeats...... sort of......

REX does YKII from YMML but it only seems to be a once daily midday service.

[falconx]

Sharp are slowly taking over the regional market, not bad 6 metro's at fully utilsation, 2 LST, 2 AD, 2 EN/POD, im hearing rumours of a fleet upgrade...

[Stationair8]

Looks like tough times on King Island, ABC landline reporting meatworks to be closed down with the loss of 100 jobs.

Rex droping Tuesday flights over the last few months.

[Waghi Warrior]

Fleet upgrade, any idea on what new type? Saab or Dash 8 100/200 would work well down there, even a 1900D might do ok. In any case a fleet upgrade to a larger type will be a big project. Tasmania certainly needs a good long term well equipped regional airline and Sharp Airlines, especially since the demise of Airlines of TAS (the old one) has gone a long way to restore this in a tough economic and legislative environment.

[fanning]

to Flinders? population of 897, c'mon let's be serious

maybe if REX pull out of King Island, a larger plane would be ok for Melbourne - King Island, but these aren't big population centers, I think anything above a Metro is pushing it.

[hiwaytohell]

Some family friends at KI mentioned that King Island Airlines has been sold to new owners with "big plans" anyone know more?

[fanning]

interesting!

great things happening at Sharps if it's true :ok:

[Waghi Warrior]

fanning,

Populations got nothing to do with my last post, I was talking about fleet replacement. can't see the flying pencils be a viable option long term. Maybe a Dash 8 might be an overkill on a daily service, I don't know, but a 1900D would be a good replacement. I note from Sharp's website that they also do FIFO for resource companies, wouldn't be that hard to integrate a larger type into low yield routes and routine FIFO charter/RPT operations especially with more than one aircraft.

WW

[falconx]

If you have 9 pax on a metro RPT Flying why would you go and get a Dash 8 for those 36 pax on a weekly charter??

[Toruk Macto]

Islanders are nortories for lobbying for a world class service and when they get a good operator with some modern equipment they winge the airfares are to high and fly with some dodgy pvt operator in a clapped out single . I would be very weary of investing big money that depended on local support to survive , they will walk away if it saves them $10 .

[PLovett]

Some family friends at KI mentioned that King Island Airlines has been sold to new owners with "big plans" anyone know more?

My information was that King Island Airlines had not done anything to ensure maintenance for an RPT AOC under the new regulations which are due to be introduced very soon. In fact, so little it is very doubtful that there is sufficient time to comply so selling the RPT side of the business makes sense. Perhaps Vortex who were jumping up and down a year or so ago with plans for there?

I did notice when I was on the island for a few days a couple of weeks ago that the "Bandit" was making daily freight trips but that may have been a one-off as the sea service was suspended I think due to wharf damage at Grassy.

[Ramboflyer 1]

Maybe the government will build a bullet train between TAS and the mainland , via the Islands.

[gaunty]

And why pray tell are we still operating Metro types along with the B1900 on so called airline ops that are proscribed, for certification issues, from doing so in the US.

But of course we are a third world country in terms aviation.

[Mach E Avelli]

......but thankfully not as densely populated as most third world countries. There is the rub - with not enough people to move around, how do operators generate enough revenue to afford the good gear? Without gouging the poor mugs who need to fly regardless of the service and equipment on offer.

Should the taxpayer fund unprofitable routes via subsidies? Maybe that would be a way for Mum & Pop Airlines to upgrade to Wunderjets, simultaneously allowing the Directors (Mum & Pop, of course) to have new boats and cars - but not with my taxes, thank you. A subject in itself.

At reasonably-affordable airfares, even a written-down Metro must be a marginal proposition unless it is nearly full on every sector. As for the 'toy airliner' B1900 - these things will be dead sooner than any Metro, so why would anyone invest in them, unless no Metros can be had? Besides, anything as ugly as that has to be high maintenance (do LAMEs perform cosmetic surgery?).

I will sit in the back of a well-maintained and professionally-flown Metro any day - if that is what it takes to get me where I need to go. Island communities better hope that there will still be Metros available in the used market with useful hours remaining on the airframes for many more years. If they whine about the lack of comfort, they need to ponder the fact that their only other affordable alternative has a cruise speed of about 20 knots.

Yeah yeah, I know all about certification and performance margins and accept that there is an elevated risk with the older standards. But not as bad a risk as a DC3, which - love it as I do - I most emphatically would NOT fly in as a pax. Yet many would.

[Toruk Macto]

Good post , build it and they will come . Islands need 10,000 population to deliver the type of service they want . Run that figure and they will howl the roof down with their protests of unsatanable and environment can't take it , we are seeing the last of the govt subsidiesed era .

[gaunty]

Unless something has changed the original Dash 8 had a break even load factor in the low thirty percents.

Mach E
You seem to have a chip on your shoulder about people making money out of aviation. Gouging, reasonably affordable fares whatever that means, directors new boats and cars paid for bt our taxes. Whatever are you smoking.

It s the the wannabes who have driven the price/revenue to where it is.

The dumb****s who bid for the previously subsidised routes by racing every one else to the bottom by convincing Govt, as if they need convimcing they can do it without subsidy. Once it's gone it's gone and ultimately usually the service as well. Then the bottom feeders scrape Zoe dollars together and buy an old heap of crap, put pay for job FOs :sad: in the RH seat and convince themselves they have a business. The only people asking money out of that scenario are the MROs.

[Mach E Avelli]

;)No chip at all. I have benefitted mucho (thank you guys) from being employed by profitable operators. But I have also experienced first hand spivs who use other people's money to build empires which come crashing back to earth because the Wunderjets don't earn enough to refuel the boats and big cars. It's funny how the staff in these situations get the shaft while the boats and cars often remain. And after a year or two holidaying in the Bahamas the same spivs return to start the ripoff process all over again.

Pay-to-fly F/Os in the RHS is neither a new nor necessarily exploitative concept. Eddie Connellan had a version of it way back in the 60's. Pilots learned to fly at his school in Alice. Then they got a seat in the Heron as bagsnatcher-cum-radio operator. If they scrubbed up OK they then had a go at driving a Cessna 180 or Beech Twin Bo and eventually back to the Heron - if the airlines hadn't by then snapped them up. Many a good career and lotsa motza was made from those humble beginnings.

An old Dash 8 is unlikely to offer any economic advantage over a Metro, given the lease and crewing costs. Unless, of course our Islanders travel in the numbers needed to rule out the Metro i.e. more than 18 per sector.
That should then attract the attention of Rex, Qlink or Skywest/Virgin - or would it not? If not, why not?

Perhaps the Government needs to come the heavy when awarding routes to the bigger guys and dictate that they have a social responsibility to serve unprofitable remote areas? I think that's how it once happened, but don't know if this is still the case. I am bewildered at how one can fly from Melbourne to Brisbane for less than from Melbourne to Flinders Island. Something to do with economy of scale, I believe.
Forcing the higher-end operators to run thin routes with flash new equipment at a loss would surely jack up airfares overall? Someone has to pay. Without taxpayer-funded subsidies there will probably always be a place for Gaunty's 'bottom feeder' operators, running single-pilot capable 19 seaters with token F/Os in the RHS. Sure, they will come and go, meantime giving the Islanders an alternative to the boat. For anyone that does survive, the problem they will ultimately face is the lack of viable 19 seaters still in production. Maybe the Chinese or Russians will help in that area.

But as I freely admit, I don't study airline economics nowadays.

Bring back the Heron.....

[msharp]

Firstly I can confirm that Sharp Airlines is not the purchaser of KingIsland Airlines. But good luck to the new owners who are Sydney based or so therumour has it.
Secondly our FO's are not "pay to fly" FO's butundertake a cadet program that has been in existence for over 20 years. Theyare paid correctly under the award and all as we do is offer them a way inwhich to accelerate their careers. Its a great win/win as we get a well trained FO already aligned to company SOP's etc and they get a paid job for 12 months or more to get them started in aviation.
Most of these young men and women have gone on to fly withthe major airlines and GA outfits a fact we are very proud of and I know a fewof you reading this will have flown with 1 or 2 in your time. Whilst they arewith us we nurture them through their first 2-3 years in aviation. But I don’t wishto upset the moderators by pushing our case any further as I am happy to standby our reputation. If you want to come and see them in action Gaunty I would behappy for you to plug in any day…the tickets on me and the fishing in Flindersis great all year round!

On the other topic of supporting the Bass Strait Island’sthe Metroliner does the job very well. I to as a pilot would love to be flying aroundin a “flash Dash” or something similar but boys the economics do not stack uplet alone if you have looked at the purchase price even for an old -100 lately!

Our Metro 23 airframes are low time and believe it or notare still well supported for parts and technical assistance worldwide. So justto dispel the last remaining rumour….there is no plan for a fleet upgradeanytime soon. Sorry to disappoint you.

Have a good weekend and stay safe.

[Mach E Avelli]

Hey, not fair giving Gaunty a ticket for bagging you and yet none for me. He does not believe in Metros; I do.

[hiwaytohell]

Unless something has changed the original Dash 8 had a break even load factor in the low thirty percents.

Wouldn't even cover the fuel!

[CharlieLimaX-Ray]

When I worked for Airlines Of Tasmania in 1988, they survived because they had purchased the Herons at some bargain price from Northern Airlines in the early 80's. During that era Island population was a lot bigger, as the scheelite mine was still a going concern.

After I moved on in 1989 Airlines of Tas, replaced the Herons with the Shorts 360, which was the supposed to be the best option for them, but the costs of operating that and the downturn on the island mine closure sent them broke.

[Skystar320]

so a Metro would set you back US$20k a month, B1900D US$40k [Yes that's correct] and a Dash 8-100 US$50 - US$60k depending if you can find one.

So you can see why people still use the Metro 23's

[Mach E Avelli]

Interesting lea$e costs and quite believable. Supply and demand and all that. In today's market a B737 Classic could be had for not much more than that Dash 8 number. It certainly indicates that the B1900 is not a proposition for RPT. OK for corporate, I suppose.

Segue to Herons. Yep, great little ocean-crosser; much peace of mind with those 4 donks. It is a shame the Poms did not concede that the Lycoming engine was more efficient. They should have ditched the old Gypsy Queens, the Fairey Reed props, and changed the pneumatics for hydraulics.
Having said that, in 2000 hours I never had a problem with the old Gypsy engines, other than getting the poxy things started sometimes when they were hot.

There wasn't much else out there could move 17 or 18 pax at 150 knots on 45 gallons an hour over some decent distances. Its field performance was quite respectable, too.

It deserved to do better.

[neville_nobody]

Why is the 1900 so expensive? I know they cost a bit more per hour to run than the Metro but I thought with a bizillion of them parked in the desert when some of the US regionals ditch them you could get them cheaper as they have great pax appeal and a good machine.

[Mach E Avelli]

Dunno. Can only guess that it is because they are so much newer than the Metro, so still have a big bank debt on them. As for being a good machine, not from what the engineers tell me.

It's a crazy world when a reasonable late 80's B737 Classic is now the price of a not much newer King Air. But I guess the difference is whoever operated the Boeing already made their money and it's now written down on the books, while the King Air people are still living in hope.

[Skystar320]

Try and find a B1900D is the problem. Those that are found are quickly snapped up.