Trans Australia Airlines (TAA), renamed Australian Airlines in 1986, was one of the two major Australian domestic airlines between its inception in 1946 and its merger with Qantas in September 1992. As a result of the "COBRA" project, the entire airline was rebranded Qantas about a year later with tickets stating in small print "Australian Airlines Limited trading as Qantas Airways Limited" until the adoption of a single Air Operator Certificate a few years later. At that point, the entire airline was officially renamed "Qantas Airways Limited" continuing the name and livery of the parent company with the only change being the change of by-line from "The Spirit of Australia" to "The Australian Airline" under the window line with the existing "Qantas" title appearing above.
Archerfield Airport is a leased federal airport located in Archerfield, 11–12 km (6.8–7.5 mi) to the south of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. For some time, it was the primary airport in Brisbane, but it is now the secondary airport. During World War II, it was used as a Royal Australian Air Force station. Airport traffic peaked in the 1980s. In December 2010, a development plan was released for public comment and included a new parallel runway.
Daly Waters is a town and locality in the Northern Territory of Australia, located about 620 kilometres (390 mi) south of the territory capital of Darwin at the intersection of the Carpentaria Highway and the Stuart Highway. In the 2021 census, the locality of Daly Waters had a population of 55 people.
Darwin International Airport is the busiest airport serving the Northern Territory and the tenth busiest airport in Australia. It is the only airport serving Darwin.
Townsville Airport is a major Australian regional airport that services the city of Townsville, Queensland. The airport is also known as Townsville International Airport, and Garbutt Airport, a reference to its location in the Townsville suburb of Garbutt. Townsville Airport is serviced by major Australian domestic and regional airlines, and in 2011/12 handled 1.7 million passengers making it the 11th busiest airport in Australia.
RAAF Base Tindal is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base and civil aviation airfield located 8 nautical miles east southeast of the town of Katherine, Northern Territory in Australia. The base is currently home to No. 75 Squadron and a number of non-flying units, and also hosts the civilian Katherine Tindal Airport. First constructed in 1942, it was refurbished in the late 1960s as a bare base capable of being utilised when required. It was opened as a permanently manned RAAF base in 1989.
No. 33 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) strategic transport and air-to-air refuelling squadron. It operates Airbus KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transports from RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland. The squadron was formed in February 1942 for service during World War II, operating Short Empire flying boats and a variety of smaller aircraft. By 1944 it had completely re-equipped with Douglas C-47 Dakota transports, which it flew in New Guinea prior to disbanding in May 1946.
No. 34 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) VIP transport squadron. It operates Boeing 737 Business Jets and Dassault Falcon 7Xs from Defence Establishment Fairbairn in Canberra. The squadron was formed in February 1942 for standard transport duties during World War II, initially flying de Havilland DH.84 Dragons in Northern Australia. In 1943 it re-equipped with Douglas C-47 Dakotas, which it operated in New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies prior to disbanding in June 1946.
RAAF Base Learmonth, also known as Learmonth Airport, is a joint use Royal Australian Air Force base and civil airport. It is located near the town of Exmouth on the north-west coast of Western Australia. RAAF Base Learmonth is one of the RAAF's three bare bases. No RAAF units are currently based at Learmonth and it is maintained by a small caretaker staff during peacetime.
Mungalalu Truscott Airbase or Truscott-Mungalalu Airport, which during World War II was known as Truscott Airfield is today a commercial airport in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Frans Kaisiepo International Airport, is an airport in Biak, Papua, Indonesia. It is also known as Mokmer Airport. The airport is named after Frans Kaisiepo (1921–1979), the fourth Governor of Papua. The airport has seven aircraft parking slots, of which two are capable of handling wide-body aircraft, and a small terminal without jet bridges. The airport's only runway is 3,571m long, designated as 11/29.
Cloncurry Airport is an airport in Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia.
Parap Airfield was the civilian aerodrome of Darwin, Northern Territory, in Australia between 1919 and 1946. Located in the coastal suburb of Parap, it was also known as Darwin Aerodrome and Ross Smith Aerodrome.
Fenton Airfield was a World War II military airfield in the Northern Territory of Australia located at Tipperary Station in what is now the locality of Douglas-Daly and named after flight lieutenant Clyde Fenton.
Katherine Airfield was an airfield in the town of Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia that closed in 1978 when civil operations moved to RAAF Base Tindal, 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Katherine. The site of the airfield is now home to the Katherine Museum.
Eagle Farm Airport(IATA: BNE, ICAO: YBBN) was a small airport located 6 km (3.7 mi) north-east of Brisbane in the suburb of Eagle Farm, Queensland, Australia.
Lester Joseph Brain, AO, AFC was a pioneer Australian aviator and airline executive. Born in New South Wales, he trained with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) before joining Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (Qantas) as a pilot in 1924. He was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1929, after locating the lost aircraft Kookaburra in northern Australia. Having risen to Chief Pilot at Qantas by 1930, he was appointed Flying Operations Manager in 1938. As a member of the RAAF reserve, Brain coordinated his airline's support for the Australian military during World War II. He earned a King's Commendation for his rescue efforts during an air raid on Broome, Western Australia, in 1942, and was promoted to wing commander in 1944.
Albert Aubrey (Aub) Koch, MBE was a pioneering Australian military and civil pilot. He trained at Point Cook in 1926, and following graduation accepted a Short Service Commission in the Royal Air Force (RAF) as there were no places available in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) at the time. After four years service in Egypt and Palestine, he returned to Australia and was commissioned into the Citizen Air Force, flying with No. 1 Squadron at Laverton, where he gained flying instructor qualifications. Soon after, he was employed by Guinea Airways as an aircraft captain, and spent five years in Papua and New Guinea (PNG), gaining fame as the rescuer of the Archbold expedition. Koch was transferred to the RAAF Active Reserve upon going to PNG. He joined Qantas a year before World War II broke out, employed predominantly on the Singapore route. He was unfortunate to be the captain of the only Qantas aircraft known to be shot down during that war, when the Short Empire flying boat Corio was lost off Timor. Post war he was recruited by Lester Brain at the formation of Trans Australia Airlines (TAA), specifically to be Senior Pilot DC4 Skymaster. At 45, he retired from active flying to become Inspector of Safety and Accidents, TAA.
Aviation in Australia began in 1920 with the formation of Qantas, which became the flag carrier of Australia. The Australian National Airways (ANA) was the predominant domestic carrier from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s. After World War II, Qantas was nationalised and its domestic operations were transferred to Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) in 1946. The Two Airlines Policy was formally established in 1952 to ensure the viability of both airlines. However, ANA's leadership was quickly eroded by TAA, and it was acquired by Ansett Transport Industries in 1957. The duopoly continued for the next four decades. In the mid-1990s TAA was merged with Qantas and later privatised. Ansett collapsed in September 2001. In the following years, Virgin Australia became a challenger to Qantas. Both companies launched low-cost subsidiaries Jetstar and Tigerair Australia, respectively.
Royal Australian Air Force 
