| |||||||
Founded | 1977 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Operating bases | Cambridge Aerodrome | ||||||
Fleet size | 14 | ||||||
Destinations | 3 (scheduled) | ||||||
Headquarters | Hobart, Tasmania, Australia | ||||||
Employees | 40 | ||||||
Website | www |
Airlines of Tasmania, commercially known by the name Par Avion [1] is a regional airline based in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It operates scheduled services across a number of locations in Tasmania. Par Avion also operates a wide variety of charter services ranging from business, scenic flights into Tasmania's South West, group charter and leisure. Par Avion owns and operates Cambridge Aerodrome, a flying training school which is affiliated with the University of Tasmania and a tourism business into the Southwest National Park of Tasmania, including day and overnight trips in Bathurst Harbour.
Airlines of Tasmania was established as a regular public transport operator (previously it had been an airwork operator) in 1977, [2] along with Par-Avion, a different branding used for chartered and sightseeing flights. [3] During its early years, the company had regular services to the West Coast from Queenstown and Strahan. [4] [5] In the 2004–2005 year there was a service between Hobart and Strahan, but this service was closed due to marginal traffic. Early in 2008, the airline moved its Melbourne operations from Moorabbin Airport to Essendon Airport, due to the airline upgrading its fleet by introducing the Dornier 228.
During October 2010, Sharp Airlines took over all scheduled operations to Flinders Island.
During July 2012, Sharp Airlines took over all scheduled operations to King Island.
In December 2013, the airline announced a partnership with the University of Tasmania, for flying training study as part of a Tertiary Qualification and is a Registered Training Organisation [6]
In February 2014, the airline announced it was intending to expand into the mainland and commence regular services from Essendon to Griffith. [7] Following approval by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the airline announced the first services would begin on 17 March, under the Par Avion brand. [8] The airline will use Cessna 404 Titan aircraft on the new route. The airline has since dropped the route.
In September 2015 [9] the airline announced they would introduce a new service from Hobart (Cambridge Aerodrome) to King Island via Wynyard and in partnership with Sharp Airlines. Flights commenced in November using 6-9 passenger seating Piper Navajo and the occasional service using Cessna 404 weeks before the route was dropped. Airlines of Tasmania / Par Avion Airlines would fly from Cambridge Aerodrome to Wynyard, passengers could then board a Sharp Airlines flight to connect with King Island. Flights operated twice daily on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. However flights were suspended in late 2015 due to poor passenger numbers.
Par Avion entered the Tasmanian Tourism Hall of Fame in 1999 (Tour and Transport Operator - Significant) and again in 2016 [10] (Major Tour and Transport Operator) and won the 2014, [11] Australian Tourism Award for Major Tour and Transport Operator (receiving Silver in 2016) [12] for its tourism operations around Tasmania [13]
In May 2019, Par Avion commenced airline services to Strahan from Hobart / Cambridge, with assistance of a Tasmanian state government grant, [14] with services three times a week using a Cessna Titan, this service was again terminated at the end of the grant due to unsustainable passenger numbers.
The sightseeing flights under the Par Avion branding are conducted from the Cambridge Aerodrome base near Hobart. In May 2019, the company commenced services to Strahan three times a week, and Hobart to Launceston twice a week [15] Par Avion provides chartered flights and as of November 2019, provides scheduled passenger services to the following locations:
Par Avion has previously operated to King Island, Flinders Island, Strahan, Burnie, Melbourne/Essendon and Griffith
As of 2024, the Airlines of Tasmania fleet consists of the following aircraft: [16]
Aircraft | In Service | Notes |
---|---|---|
Britten-Norman Islander | 1 | VH-ZOU |
Cessna 172S | 6 | VH-EOK VH-EOX VH-PRJ VH-TSP VH-TSR VH-USQ |
Cessna 206H | 1 | VH-IDF (Leased) |
Cessna U206G | 2 | VH-MRK VH-MYS |
Cessna 404 Titan | 1 | VH-WZM |
PAC CT/4 Airtrainer | 1 | VH-YCX |
Piper PA-31 Navajo | 1 | VH-BTI |
Piper PA-44 Seminole | 1 | VH-NLO (Leased) |
Total | 14 |
The company has been involved in two separate fatal accidents.
Flinders Island, the largest island in the Furneaux Group, is a 1,367-square-kilometre (528 sq mi) island in the Bass Strait, northeast of the island of Tasmania. Today Flinders Island is part of the state of Tasmania, Australia. It is 54 kilometres (34 mi) from Cape Portland and is located on 40° south, a zone known as the Roaring Forties.
Hobart Airport is an airport located in Cambridge, 17 km (11 mi) north-east of the Hobart CBD. It is the principal airport of Tasmania.
Launceston Airport is a regional airport on the outskirts of Launceston, Tasmania. The airport is located in the industrial area of Western Junction 15 km (9.3 mi) from Launceston city centre. It is Tasmania's second busiest after Hobart Airport; it can also run as a curfew free airport.
Cambridge Aerodrome, also known as Cambridge Airport, is a minor airport located in Cambridge, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is located only a few kilometres from the primary airport, Hobart Airport.
Cape Barren Island, officially truwana / Cape Barren Island, is a 478-square-kilometre (185 sq mi) island in Bass Strait, off the north-east coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is the second-largest island of the Furneaux Group, with the larger Flinders Island to the north, and the smaller Clarke Island to the south. The highest point on the island is Mount Munro at 715 metres (2,346 ft). Mount Munro is named after James Munro, a former convict turned sealer who, from the 1820s, lived for more than 20 years with various indigenous women on nearby Preservation Island.
Essendon Fields Airport, colloquially known by its former name Essendon Airport, is a 305 ha public airport serving scheduled commercial, corporate-jet, charter and general aviation flights. It is located next to the intersection of the Tullamarine and Calder Freeways, in the north western suburb of Essendon Fields of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The airport is the closest to Melbourne's City Centre, approximately an 11 km (6.8 mi) drive north-west from it and 8 km (5.0 mi) south-east from Melbourne–Tullamarine Airport. In 1970, Tullamarine Airport replaced Essendon as Melbourne's main airport.
Air Link Pty Ltd is an airline and air charter company based in Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia. It operates air charter services and recommenced regular passenger services in November 2019. As of 2024, Aviation Logistics Holdings (ALH) who owns Air Link, Air Med and Chart Air, employs nearly 300 staff and owns and operates 70 aircraft across its 7 bases in 4 states. Aviation Logistics Group operates one of Australia's largest fleet of general aviation aircraft across its subsidiaries and associated companies. Air Link has bases in Dubbo, Brisbane (Archerfield), Sydney (Bankstown) and Melbourne (Essendon).
Tasair was an airline based in Hobart and Devonport, Australia. It operated a regional network across Tasmania until it was placed in voluntary liquidation on 3 February 2012.
Mackay Airport located in South Mackay, Queensland, Australia is a major Australian regional airport that services the city of Mackay, with flights to the cities of Brisbane, Rockhampton, Townsville, Hamilton Island, Cairns, Sunshine Coast and Melbourne. In the year ending 30 June 2012, the airport handled 969,900 passengers making it the 14th busiest airport in Australia.
Strahan Airport is an airport located 2 nautical miles west of Strahan, Tasmania, Australia. It is the main airport for the West Coast of Tasmania, and is owned and maintained by the West Coast Council. The need for an airport in the area was suggested in the 1950s, and suggestions for upgrades have occurred over time.
The Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR) was the former operator of the mainline railways in Tasmania, Australia. Formed in 1872, the railway company was managed by the Government of Tasmania, and existed until absorption into the Australian National Railways Commission in 1978.
Burnie Airport, also called Burnie Wynyard Airport or Wynyard Airport, is a regional airport located adjacent to the town of Wynyard, about 17 kilometres (11 mi) west of Burnie, Tasmania, Australia. Formally named the Wynyard Aerodrome, the first official opening occurred on 26 February 1934. The Burnie Airport is majority owned by the Burnie City Council.
Mount Gambier Regional Airport is an airport in the Limestone Coast, South Australia.
Sharp Airlines is a regional airline founded in Hamilton, Victoria, Australia in 1990. Sharp operates scheduled airline services in the southern states of Australia. Its main bases are Essendon Airport, Adelaide Airport, Launceston Airport and Brisbane Airport. The airline also provides charter operations to Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia. The parent company, Sharp Aviation, has its main maintenance base at Launceston Airport. Sharp Airlines has no registered ICAO code.
The city of Hobart, Tasmania is served by a wide variety of transport. While the city's main form of transport is private transport on the road network, transport is also available by bus, ferry and aircraft. A suburban train service operated between Hobart and Brighton from the 1870s until 31 December 1974. There has been, however, talk in recent years of reinstating a train service in the northern suburbs.
Salt Air is a New Zealand charter airline based at Paihia in the Bay of Islands, in the Northland Region of the North Island.
Air Safaris is a New Zealand scenic flight and air charter company based at the Lake Tekapo Airport located 2.8 km west of the town of Lake Tekapo, off State Highway 8 in the Mackenzie District of New Zealand. The airline operates from 5 bases: Tekapo, Franz Josef, Glentanner, Twizel and Mt Cook airports. The company logo is a stylised chamois; these are wild goat-like antelope which inhabits the region of the South Island High Country.
Queenstown Airport is an aerodrome located at Howard's Plains west of Queenstown, Tasmania, Australia. Formerly a commercial airport, the aerodrome no longer receives regular passenger services, but is maintained by the West Coast Council for a variety of aviation and non-aviation related uses.
Free Spirit Airlines is a Melbourne-based airline that was founded in 2012 and commenced operations on 30 April 2015. The company is headquartered in Essendon Fields, Melbourne, Australia.
Vee H Aviation Pty Ltd, operating as Link Airways, formerly known as Fly Corporate, is an Australian regional airline based at Brisbane Airport, Queensland. The airline operates scheduled regional passenger services in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory. Link Airways operates a fleet of Saab 340B Plus and Fairchild Metro 23 turboprop aircraft.
Media related to Airlines of Tasmania at Wikimedia Commons