A risky business !

The airline business in Australia has had a chancey history.  Elderly people will remember the days when Australian skies were ruled by two airlines. Qantas flew overseas routes and domestic travel was provided by Australian National Airlines ( ANA ), a firm started by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith.

ANA  failed financially and was taken over by a fledgling Ansett Airlines, and then the government stepped in and offered direct competition by starting TAA.   There have since been a number of new competitors for Australian domestic air business - and some notable failures - which include East-West, Compass -Impulse - and most recently - the Ansett withdrawal.

It seems that starting an airline is risky business, but on November 15  Air Australia will take to the skies - and offer seats in what has become a crowded airline market.

This new airline is one hundred percent Australian owned and will use the Boomerang motif.  It's colours will be green and gold, and it will be flying modern jet aircraft in the medium size range.  What has caught attention is the marketing plan.   It is not aiming to take passengers off Qantas and Jetstar on domestic routes, but instead intends to create new tourist destinations to the islands surrounding Australia - which are under serviced by existing air services.

It is a fact of life that customers who patronise cruise ships get to visit many destinations virtually ignored by the airline industry.   There are plenty of seats to places like Fiji and Bali, but both the South Pacific and Indian oceans have a host of other destinations which are fast emerging as tourist destinations.

What this new airline is offering - is flexibility.   It will work with island communities prepared to create the facilities for new tourist trades and offer a new experience for Australian travellers prepared to get off the beaten track.

It is certainly an innovative approach and it is coming at exactly the right time.   The recent Qantas interruption to services has soured some customers and if Air Australia plays it's cards right it can gain a new customer base.

It will certainly be welcomes by those island communities trying to reinvent themselves into the ever expanding tourist industry !