O'Connor Airlines

O'Connor Airlines
IATA UQ	ICAO OCM	Callsign OCONNOR
Founded		1973
Hubs		Formerly: Mount Gambier Airport
Focus cities		Formarly: Adelaide Airport
Frequent flyer program		Formerly: Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member lounge		Formerly: Qantas Club
Alliance		Formerly: Oneworld
Fleet size		defunct
Destinations		defunct
Headquarters		Mount Gambier, South Australia
Key people
Website: www.oconnorairlines.com.au

O'Connor Airlines was an airline based at Mount Gambier, South Australia, Australia. It operated scheduled services from Mount Gambier to destinations in South Australia and Victoria. Its main base was Mount Gambier Airport, with a hub at Adelaide Airport, which serviced Mildura Airport and Port Augusta Airport. The airline also serviced Whyalla Airport until September 2007 ^[1]

History

The airline was established and started operations in 1973. Beginning as a one-aeroplane flight school in South Australia, O'Connor Airlines developed, over some years, into a freight and passenger service flying to 18 regional and country centres across the state. This was to change when it lost the freight contact. It subsequently relaunched itself, rebasing in Mount Gambier, and began services from that city to Adelaide and Melbourne. The IATA Code OL was used up to 1990). It then started flying to Whyalla. It began to service the Victorian city of Mildura in 1998, purchasing a QantasLink route. In 2006, after the cessation of Airlines of South Australia it began flying from Adelaide to Port Augusta. The airline used Qantas facilities at the Adelaide airport. Originally, it used those of Australian Airlines. It was reported in the Advertiser Newspaper, November 22nd 2007 that O'Connor Airline has been placed into voluntary administration with debts of between $4-5m AUD. Administrators McGrath Nicol are looking for a buyer of the service. O'Connor Airlines ceased operations on the 14th of December 2007 as its administrators were unable to find a buyer willing to purchase the airline as a going concern.^[2][3]

Destinations

Domestic scheduled destinations as of July 2007:

• South Australia
  • Adelaide Airport
  • Port Augusta Airport
  • Mount Gambier Airport
• Victoria
  • Mildura Airport
• They flew to Renmark for a brief period in 2001.
• During 2000 they carried 41,732 passengers.
• Melbourne services ceased 1st July 2007 and Whyalla Services ceased 3rd September 2007

Fleet

The O'Connor Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft ( at March 2007)^[1] :

• 2 BAe Jetstream 32

External links

• O'Connor Airlines
• Press Release of Melbourne Cessation

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Directory: World Airlines", Flight International, 2007-04-10, p. 58. 
2. ^ http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/13/2118325.htm?section=australia
3. ^ O'Connor Airlines Press Release on Closure of Airline

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