AIR LINEs: Airnorth

Who is Airnorth?

Airnorth is the major regional aviation operator in Northern Australia. Headquartered in Darwin the company operates 152 scheduled departures weekly, servicing 8 destinations including, Maningrida, Gove, Groote Eylandt, Kununurra WA, Broome WA, Dili East Timor and Bali Indonesia (6 domestic, 2 international) and uplifting 132,250 passengers annually.

In addition to these scheduled departures Airnorth operates a large number of charter services for a wide variety of companies undertaking mining, defence and government activity.

Airnorth directly employs 180 staff in Darwin and provides indirect employment through the contracting of ground service operations across all its destinations.

In recent years Airnorth has experienced significant change through their reaction to both internal and external pressures. The demise of Ansett in 2001 saw Airnorth develop a crisis management plan which enabled the company to recover from a massive disruption in operations and restore air services to a majority of Airnorth's destinations in a matter of days, at the same time enduring net financial losses of $1.6M.

Since then Airnorth has formed a corporate alliance with Qantas Airways which includes the hosting of all flights in the Amadeus system, inclusion in the Qantas Frequent Flyer Program, thru-fares & thru-check, joint marketing activities and participation in a joint training program for Qantas aircrew. This arrangement will soon include E-Ticket facilities which will vastly improve Airnorth's service to clients.

Airnorth were the first airline to establish services to Dili, East Timor during the political uprising in 1999 and are currently conducting 10 scheduled services per week. We also provide support to humanitarian organisations providing aid in East Timor through special fares and waivers to excess luggage charges.

In May of 2004 Airnorth signed contracts to commence services between Darwin and Kupang, Indonesia under a joint venture arrangement with Merpati Nusantara Airlines. This ceremony was hosted by NT Minister for Asian Trade & Relations, Mr Paul Henderson.

Airnorth and RegionalLink

RegionalLink is a newly formed division of NT aviation services company Capiteq Limited, whose other airline subsidiary is Airnorth. RegionalLink Airlines Pty Ltd will become the lead franchiser to a group of carriers, which will operate under a single brand and share core functions including reservations, purchasing, yield management, airport services and information technology - the first example of franchising in the Australian air transport industry.

All aircraft in the RegionalLink Group will be painted in the new blue-and-silver colour scheme of the group, which features Australia's Southern Cross, with a large central star representing regional Australia, and a vertical swirl to unite north, south, east and west. But while all members of the group will share a single brand, individual carriers will continue to trade in their own name in their home markets - eg: Airnorth, a member of RegionalLink Airlines.

All aircraft will feature the logo of each participating partner. RegionalLink would provide a single flight designation code, to be used by all member airlines, and would negotiate the procurement of supplies and services for members, obtaining discounted pricing for items including fuel, insurance and common spare parts.

Airnorth and Regional Communities

The Capiteq group has a strong commitment to regional communities. Relationships have been established through structured sponsorship programs, corporate attendance and input at various meetings and forums along with other initiatives.

We receive many requests for sponsorship from organizations both within our network of operations and from further afar. All requests are considered in accordance to sponsorship guidelines and all requests are responded to in writing.

Successful applicants are selected on their ability to provide recognition and awareness of the sponsoring carrier's brand and also for their specific focus or regional perspective ie. sporting, indigenous, youth, community or region.

Major sponsorships for 2004 include, but are not limited to Airnorth Ord Valley Muster, Darwin Symphony Orchestra, Northern Territory Rugby, Artback Indigenous Performing Arts, Young Achiever Awards, and NT Duke of Edinburgh's Awards. These sponsorships can range from offering a flight to be raffled or auctioned for fundraising, to providing discounted travel for judges, coaches, award nominees. Many other sponsorships are issued on a one off and/or ad hoc basis.

Airnorth also supports ongoing humanitarian aid in East Timor by offering discounted fares to approved non-government organizations and granting substantial waivers for excess luggage charges on charity items such as clothing, linens, toiletries, books and toys. We also extend this waiver to medical teams traveling with large amounts of medical supplies and equipment to conduct clinics in this region.

Airnorth has recently signed with Angel Flight Australia who co-ordinate free of charge air travel for medically and financially needy patients. Airnorth's very first Angel Flight was conducted on 25 July 2004 to reunite a 12 year old boy with his family for a short time prior to receiving extensive treatment for a rare neurological degenerative disorder.

Airnorth also support the promotion and development of our regional destinations by providing discounted travel for various trade media and special interest journalists and travel writers.