The airline was established and started operations in 1973. Beginning as a one-aeroplane flight school in South Australia, O'Connor Airlines developed, over some years, into a freight and passenger service flying to 18 regional and country centres across the state. This was to change when it lost the freight contact. It subsequently relaunched itself, rebasing in Mount Gambier, and began services from that city to Adelaide and Melbourne. The IATA Code OL was used up to 1990. It then started flying to Whyalla. It began to service Mildura in 1998, purchasing a QantasLink route. In 2006, after Airlines of South Australia ceased operations, it began flying from Adelaide to Port Augusta.
The airline used Qantas facilities at both Adelaide and Melbourne airports. Originally, it used those of Australian Airlines.
In November 2007 O'Connor Airline was placed into voluntary administration with debts of between $4–5m AUD. This was largely blamed on high maintenance costs and high competition. Administrators McGrath Nicol was at the time looking for a buyer of the service.[2]
O'Connor Airlines ceased operations on 14 December 2007 after its administrators were unable to find a buyer willing to purchase the airline as a going concern. On 21 February 2008, the airline's creditors voted for a pooled Deed of Company Arrangement (DoCA) for the airline group to be broken up and then commence trading again under new ownership. Many of the assets were subsequently purchased by Mount Gambier businessman Adrian de Bruin, including the Air Operator's Certificate, and used to establish de Bruin Air.[3][4]
^Maria, Craig (22 November 2007). "Airline owes 5 million dollars Airline owes 5 million dollars". ABC News. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
^"De Bruin leaves door open on new airline". ABC News. 28 February 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
^"DeBruin opens new Mt Gambier headquarters". ABC News. 12 May 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
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Press Release of Melbourne Cessation
December 15, 2023
connor, airlines, airline, based, mount, gambier, south, australia, operated, scheduled, services, from, mount, gambier, destinations, south, australia, victoria, main, base, mount, gambier, airport, with, adelaide, airport, which, serviced, mildura, airport, . O Connor Airlines was an airline based in Mount Gambier South Australia It operated scheduled services from Mount Gambier to destinations in South Australia and Victoria Its main base was Mount Gambier Airport with a hub at Adelaide Airport which serviced Mildura Airport and Port Augusta Airport The airline also serviced Whyalla Airport until September 2007 1 O Connor AirlinesIATA ICAO CallsignUQ OCM OCONNORFounded1973Ceased operations14 December 2007HubsMount GambierFocus citiesAdelaideFrequent flyer programQantas Frequent FlyerAllianceOneworldFleet size2 March 2017 HeadquartersMount GambierWebsitewww oconnorairlines com au Contents 1 History 2 Destinations 3 Fleet 4 References 5 External linksHistory edit citation needed The airline was established and started operations in 1973 Beginning as a one aeroplane flight school in South Australia O Connor Airlines developed over some years into a freight and passenger service flying to 18 regional and country centres across the state This was to change when it lost the freight contact It subsequently relaunched itself rebasing in Mount Gambier and began services from that city to Adelaide and Melbourne The IATA Code OL was used up to 1990 It then started flying to Whyalla It began to service Mildura in 1998 purchasing a QantasLink route In 2006 after Airlines of South Australia ceased operations it began flying from Adelaide to Port Augusta The airline used Qantas facilities at both Adelaide and Melbourne airports Originally it used those of Australian Airlines In November 2007 O Connor Airline was placed into voluntary administration with debts of between 4 5m AUD This was largely blamed on high maintenance costs and high competition Administrators McGrath Nicol was at the time looking for a buyer of the service 2 O Connor Airlines ceased operations on 14 December 2007 after its administrators were unable to find a buyer willing to purchase the airline as a going concern On 21 February 2008 the airline s creditors voted for a pooled Deed of Company Arrangement DoCA for the airline group to be broken up and then commence trading again under new ownership Many of the assets were subsequently purchased by Mount Gambier businessman Adrian de Bruin including the Air Operator s Certificate and used to establish de Bruin Air 3 4 Destinations editSouth Australia Adelaide Airport Port Augusta Airport Mount Gambier Airport Whyalla Airport Victoria Mildura Airport Melbourne Airport O Connor flew to Renmark for a brief period in 2001 During 2000 the airline carried 41 732 passengers Melbourne services ceased 1 July 2007 and Whyalla services ceased 3 September 2007Fleet editThe O Connor Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft at March 2007 1 2 BAe Jetstream 32References edit a b Directory World Airlines Flight International 10 April 2007 p 58 Maria Craig 22 November 2007 Airline owes 5 million dollars Airline owes 5 million dollars ABC News Retrieved 13 December 2014 De Bruin leaves door open on new airline ABC News 28 February 2008 Retrieved 10 December 2009 DeBruin opens new Mt Gambier headquarters ABC News 12 May 2008 Retrieved 10 December 2009 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to O Connor Airlines O Connor Airlines Press Release of Melbourne Cessation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title O 27Connor Airlines amp oldid 1123626621, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
