Donald Moreton Kendell AM (19 January 1930 – 14 October 2001) was the founder and chairman of

Kendell Airlines Kendell Airlines was a regional airline in Australia, in the 1990s the largest in the country. It served major regional centres in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania from Melbourne, Adelaide, and Sydney. Many of its servi ...

, which, in the 1990s, was Australia's largest regional airline.

Personal life

Don Kendall grew up on his parents' wheat and sheep property in south western New South Wales, where he became fascinated by aviation. He recalled that as a seven-year-old he ran barefoot for nearly a mile through paddocks full of Saffron Thistle just to watch a

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

take off. He attended

Geelong College , motto_translation = Thus one goes to the stars , established = , type = Independent, co-educational, day and boarding, Christian school , denomination = in association with the Uniting ...

after a period at Osborne Bush School but returned to his parents' property near Lockhart, New South Wales, to help during a drought in 1946. But the flying bug was strong and in 1949 at the age of 19, Kendall took flying lessons in Wagga Wagga and soon obtained his licence. After a period in the Citizens Air Force, successful barnstorming trips around western Victoria flying

Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...

s and a round Australia odyssey looking for flying work, he set off for England in 1955. There he obtained a commercial pilot's licence and started working for British European Airways flying Herons, DC3s and later turboprop Viscounts. While in the United Kingdom he met and married Eilish Burke. He returned to Australia and farming in 1959 but the aviation bug soon took hold again and in 1965 he and Eilish moved to Wagga Wagga to become partners in a small flying business. After buying out their partners, they set up Premiair Aviation with two Piper Cherokee aircraft. The company was incorporated in 1967 and the name changed to Kendell Airlines in 1971. In a business notorious for a very high failure rate, Kendell Airlines prospered and grew while many other companies came and went. Kendell's individual style and integrity earned him enormous respect throughout the airline industry. He remained firmly committed to regional Australia and resisted attempts to move the airlines head office from Wagga Wagga. He had a simple philosophy: Offer a reliable, frequent service at the best possible price. He believed that there is no room for sentiment in the airline businessif a route does not pay then you cease to operate it. It was a yardstick that stood him in good stead. In 1992, Don Kendell was made a member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen's Birthday Honours for his services to aviation. In 2001, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Business from Charles Sturt University. In June 1997, he retired as Kendell Airline's managing director but remained as the non-executive chairman for the airline including Ansett's two other subsidiaries,

Aeropelican Aeropelican Air Services Pty Ltd was a regional airline based in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Its main base was Newcastle Airport, with a hub at Sydney Airport. History The airline was established on 23 October 1968 and started ...

and

Skywest Airlines SkyWest Airlines is an American regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah, United States. SkyWest is paid to staff, operate and maintain aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by a partner mainline airline. The ...

, until 31 December 2000.

Death

Don Kendell died of cancer on 14 October 2001, in Wagga Wagga, at the age of 71. He was survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters, and grandchildren.

References

External links

History of Kendell Airlines
Spirit of Ansett {{DEFAULTSORT:Kendell, Don 1930 births 2001 deaths People from Wagga Wagga Members of the Order of Australia People educated at Geelong College 20th-century Australian businesspeople