Australia’s flag-carrier Qantas has acquired a 19.9 per cent shareholding in charter operator Alliance Airlines for a total cost of $60 million.
Further, Qantas said in a statement that it eventually plans to seek regulatory approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for a majority position in Alliance Airlines in the future.
The regional airline currently operates charter services for several airlines in Australia, including flights on behalf of national carrier Qantas and Virgin Australia under wet-lease contracts. Alliance Airlines also provides air services to the mining and energy industry for transportation of its employees and contractors to and from remote locations. Additionally, the company conducts short and long term leasing of aircraft.
The airline has operational bases in Auckland, Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne, Perth and Townsville, and operates an all-Fokker fleet of Fokker 50 turboprop, Fokker 70 and Fokker 100 airplanes.
In 2015, Alliance Airlines announced that it will buy 15 Fokker 100 and 6 Fokker 70 aircraft from European carrier Austrian Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lufthansa Group, for a total consideration of $15 million.
Nick Wenzel founded International Flight Network in 2016. He is the Social Media Manager and an Editor for IFN.news.
