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Boeing 767-300ER in July 2004 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Commenced operations | 27 October 2002 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 30 June 2006 | ||||||
| Hubs | Cairns | ||||||
| Secondary hubs | Sydney | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Qantas Frequent Flyer | ||||||
| Fleet size | 5 | ||||||
| Destinations | 15 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||
Australian Airlines was an Australian airline that commenced operations in October 2002 serving Australian and Asian destinations. An all-economy, full-service international leisure carrier, it was a subsidiary of Qantas. Its main hub was at Cairns Airport, with a secondary hub at Sydney Airport. It ceased in June 2006 when the brand retired.


In August 2001, Qantas announced it would establish a low cost airline with a cost base 25-30% lower to operate on routes that were unprofitable.[1] The name was a revival of the Australian Airlines brand that Qantas had acquired in September 1992 when it merged with Australian Airlines.[2][3][4]
It commenced operations on 27 October 2002 with four former Qantas Boeing 767-300ERs that were reconfigured with 271 economy seats on flights from Cairns to Fukuoka, Hong Kong, Nagoya, Singapore and Taipei.[5] In 2003, a further two 767-300ERs were added for the commencement of flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Denpasar.[6][7]
In June 2006 the Australian Airlines brand was retired.[8][9] The airline's aircraft were refitted with business class seating and repainted back into Qantas livery.[10][11]
Australian Airlines operated scheduled services to the following destinations:
Note 1 Suspended prior to ceasing operations
When operations ceased in June 2006, Australian Airlines operated five Boeing 767-300ERs.[11]
Template:Airlines of Australia Template:Qantas