Yanda Airlines was a small regional airline that served the
Hunter Region and north west
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
from 1988 until 2001. Following the company's demise, most of the communities Yanda served have been left without scheduled air services.
History
The family owned business was established by Paul Rees who purchased Singleton Air Services operating
Cessna 402
The Cessna 401 and 402 are a series of 6 to 10 seat, light twin-piston engine aircraft. This line was manufactured by Cessna from 1966 to 1985 under the name Utiliner and Businessliner.Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: ''A Field Guide to Airplane ...
and the small
Singleton Airport in 1980, intending to franchise routes that would use Singleton as a regional hub and connect onward to Sydney. Services branded as Yanda Airlines commenced in 1988 as a milk run between
Scone
A scone is a baked good, usually made of either wheat or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often slightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. The scone is a basic component ...
and
Sydney with intermediate stops in Singleton and
Maitland
Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...
utilising a 9-seat
Piper PA-31 Chieftain.
The airline added a second route
Coonabarabran -
Gunnedah
Gunnedah is a town in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia and is the seat of the Gunnedah Shire local government area. In the the town recorded a population of 9,726. Gunnedah is situated within the Liverpool Plains, a fertile agricultu ...
- Sydney in 1991 following the withdrawal of
Hazelton Airlines
Hazelton Air Services Pty Limited, trading as Hazelton Airlines, was an Australian regional airline which operated until 2001. It was established as an independent airline but by the end of its existence had become a subsidiary of Ansett Australi ...
from these towns. By 1998, the Yanda's fleet comprised 3 Piper PA-31s and one EMB 820C (PA-31 Chieftain built under license by
Embraer in Brazil), and the company employed 12 staff. Aircraft and pilots were based in Scone and Coonabarabran, with maintenance contracted to a Scone-based company.
Yanda operated services as commuter flights in response to demand, often combining scheduled flights to increase passenger load factors. This operational flexibility allowed the company to remain profitable while operating very marginal routes.
Accidents and incidents
Yanda suffered no fatal accidents or injuries to pilots or passengers during its operational history.
The company's
Air operator's certificate
An air operator's certificate (AOC) is the approval granted by a civil aviation authority (CAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets, and system in plac ...
was controversially suspended by the
Civil Aviation Safety Authority
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is the Australian national authority for the regulation of civil aviation. Although distinct from the government, it reports to the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport.
CASA is responsibl ...
on 5 January 2001, following an incident after takeoff at Gunnedah. The pilot requested the assistance of passengers to assist in controlling the aircraft while an incorrect trim setting was rectified. CASA cited a 'history of operational problems' since 1997 and this incident as reasons for the grounding, despite acknowledging satisfactory compliance by the company regarding the previous safety issues. Yanda's management and local councils who relied on the airline for commuter service accused the regulator of inconsistency in the application of standards, as systematic problems had recently been identified in the maintenance practices of
Ansett Australia
Ansett Australia was a major Australian airline group, based in Melbourne, Australia. The airline flew domestically within Australia and from the 1990s to destinations in Asia. After operating for 65 years, the airline was placed into admini ...
, a major national carrier, and that airline had been permitted to continue operating by the regulator. CASA maintains their action in grounding the airline was justified in the interest of public safety, and that the nature of the incident if mis-handled could have caused the aircraft to crash. The airline did not apply to have the AOC renewed, with Mr Rees claiming his company had been made into a scapegoat and its reputation destroyed.
The subsequent report by the
Australian Transport Safety Bureau released in November 2001 attributed the incident to pilot error and uncovered no systematic problems with the airlines' training or maintenance routines.
See also
*
List of defunct airlines of Australia
This is a list of defunct airlines of Australia.
See also
* List of airlines of Australia
* List of airports in Australia
References
Further reading
*
{{List of defunct airlines
*
#Australia
Airlines
An airline is a compan ...
*
Aviation in Australia
Aviation in Australia began in the 1920s with the formation of Qantas, which became the flag carrier of Australia. The Australian National Airways (ANA) was the predominant domestic carrier from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s. After World War ...
References
External links
Yanda Airlines Timetables from 1988 and 2000
{{Airlines of Australia
Defunct airlines of Australia