| |||||||
Founded | 1978 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hubs | Darwin International Airport | ||||||
Frequent-flyer program | None [1] | ||||||
Fleet size | 12 | ||||||
Destinations | 21 | ||||||
Parent company | Bristow Helicopters Australia | ||||||
Headquarters | Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia | ||||||
Key people | Daniel Bowden (CEO) | ||||||
Website | airnorth |
Capiteq Pty Limited, [2] trading as Airnorth, is a regional airline [3] based at Darwin International Airport in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. [4] It operates scheduled and charter services in the Northern Territory, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, and East Timor. [5]
Airnorth carries over 300,000 passengers per year. [6]
Aircraft Logistics is a subsidiary company and the Part 145 Engineering division of Airnorth. Aircrew Logistics is a subsidiary company that employs the pilots and cabin crew for Airnorth.
Airnorth is a member of the Regional Aviation Association of Australia (RAAA).
Airnorth was established in 1978 and started operations on 4 July that year as Air North International; it was the result of the merger of Airnorth, Rossair and Tillair. [7]
It operated charter flights only until scheduled services were introduced in 1981. At this time, the airline's fleet included the first turbine powered aircraft in the Northern Territory, a Beechcraft Super King Air as well as a Douglas DC-3. [8] In 1992 the Skyport Group became a major shareholder and in 1993 was sold to Capiteq Ltd and renamed to Airnorth Regional. [7] During the 1990s, Airnorth had a well established regional network and by 1997 had introduced both Fairchild Metro 23 and Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia turboprop aircraft to the fleet. [8]
Beginning in September 1999, Airnorth operated charters from Darwin to Dili, East Timor, on behalf of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor. In 2000, this became a scheduled service, Airnorth's first international route.
In 2007, Airnorth introduced the Embraer ERJ-170 to its fleet, the first jet aircraft operated by the airline. In 2012, it announced a direct service between Darwin and Townsville, the first Australian airline to offer a non-stop connection between these cities.
On 5 February 2015, it was announced that Bristow Helicopters Australia Ltd., a division of the US-based Bristow Group, had acquired an 85 percent controlling interest in Airnorth. [9] Bristow stated that Airnorth would retain its name and brand identity. [10] Later in 2015 Bristow Helicopters Australia purchased the remaining shares to obtain full ownership. [6]
Under Bristow's ownership, Airnorth responded to a downturn in the mining industry, restructuring the route network by withdrawing services to Karratha, Port Hedland [11] and the Gold Coast. [12] A fifth ERJ-170 joined the fleet in 2016. [13] The increased availability of the jets allowed expansion into South East Queensland and Victoria, commencing operations between Wellcamp Airport near Toowoomba to Melbourne and Cairns from March 2016. [14] Within months the airline added further flights from Wellcamp to Townsville with all three new routes codesharing with Qantas. [15]
Bristow Group announced ongoing concerns regarding its financial position and its ability for future operations over the subsequent 12 months. In April 2019 a major shareholder was pushing for the board to be replaced and underperforming Airnorth and Eastern Airlines to be sold. [16]
The airline operates over 300 scheduled and contract charter departures weekly, serving 21 domestic and international destinations including:
In addition to scheduled flights, Airnorth operates charter services for a wide variety of companies including mining & resources, defence and government clients. [17] [18]
Airnorth previously flew to Melbourne, Victoria before terminating the service in early 2022.
As of October 2019 [update] , the Airnorth fleet consists of the following aircraft: [19] [20] [21]
Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
J | Y | Total | ||||
Embraer EMB-120 | 5 | — | — | 30 | 30 | |
Embraer ERJ-170 | 3 | — | — | 76 | 76 | |
Total | 8 | 0 |
Airnorth also has a dry lease agreement of 3 Embraer ERJ-190 from Alliance Airlines to complement it's existing E170 Fleet [22]
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Media related to Airnorth at Wikimedia Commons