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| Founded | 2002 | |||
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| Operating bases | Brisbane Airport Melbourne Airport Cairns Airport Townsville Airport Perth Airport Adelaide Airport |
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| Fleet size | 25 | |||
| Destinations | 31(5 scheduled) | |||
| Parent company | Alliance Aviation Services Limited | |||
| Headquarters | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | |||
| Key people | Steve Padgett (Chairman) Scott McMillan (Managing Director) |
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| Website | http://www.allianceairlines.com.au/ | |||
Alliance is a leading mining services company providing fly-in fly-out (“FIFO”) transportation to the mining and energy sector. The Company owns and operates a fleet of 18 Fokker 100, two Fokker 70LR and five Fokker 50 aircraft out of Brisbane, Adelaide, Townsville, Cairns, Melbourne and Perth. Alliance also provides ad hoc charter and ACMI lease services to a range of corporate and Government customers.[1]
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Alliance was established in 2002 when Brisbane-based Queensland Airline Holdings acquired the assets of the dormant Flight West Airlines,[2] which had been established in May 1987 and was liquidated in 2001. Recognising the growing demand from the domestic mining and energy sector for a provider of safe and reliable air transportation services to and from remote site locations, Alliance commenced operations with two Fokker 100 aircraft servicing two FIFO contracts, both of which are still serviced today.[1]
Alliance has since expanded its fleet and operational capabilities to service the growing demand from the mining and energy sector. The Company is now a leading provider of FIFO services to Australia’s mining and energy industry, serving a predominantly blue-chip customer base. The airline is wholly owned by Alliance Aviation Services Limited and has 372 employees.[1]
Ongoing demand for resources is expected to continue to fuel Australian economic growth. Given the shortage of skilled labour and the remote nature of mining and energy projects, FIFO services are expected to increase throughout the construction and operational phases of existing and newly developed projects.
The FIFO industry is expected to continue to benefit from growth in Australian mining and energy labour requirements and a greater requirement to draw labour from a much broader geography.
Given most Australian mining and energy activity is undertaken in remote areas, a major consideration for mining and energy companies is the location and retention of their workforce. Accordingly, many mining and energy projects now operate a FIFO model whereby workers live and work at the mine site for a period of time and then return to their homes in between rosters. The transport component of this model is provided by companies such as Alliance.
Alliance differentiates itself from its competitors by being a dedicated FIFO operator. This means that it can tailor its operations for customers without the disruption of supporting a Regular Public Transport (“RPT”) network[1]. This has allowed Alliance to achieve industry leading on-time performance (relative to operators offering both FIFO and RPT operations). Alliance also benefits from its national presence and the fact that its fleet is suited to the delivery of services to remote locations.
Alliance currently operates services from five key airports (Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville, Adelaide and Perth) across Australia under its FIFO contracts, connecting employees and remote mining and energy projects. Alliance will also commence operations from Melbourne in late 2011. [1]
Alliance’s fleet provides it with the capability to access the majority of current remote airports in each of Australia’s key mining and energy regions. The introduction of the two Fokker 70LR aircraft to Alliance’s fleet has further enhanced its capability to access remote sites directly from all major urban centres in Australia.[1]
Alliance Airlines currently flies workers to some of the largest mining projects in Australia including Telfer, Lawn Hill, Phosphate Hill, Olympic Dam, Prominent Hill, Nickel West and Cannington. Alliance’s customers are predominantly blue-chip major mining and energy companies including BHP Billiton, Newcrest Mining, Citic Pacific, Incitec Pivot, MMG, Santos and OZ Minerals. [1]
As of December 2011 Alliance Airlines operates the following services[3]:
From Brisbane, Queensland to:
From Cairns, Queensland to:
From Townsville, Queensland to:
From Adelaide, South Australia to:
From Perth, Western Australia to:
As of October 2011, the Alliance Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:
| Aircraft | In Fleet | Passengers (Business/Economy) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fokker 50 |
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| Fokker 70 |
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| Fokker 100 |
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2 from Avianca |
| Total | 25 |
Alliance owns a fleet of 25 aircraft comprising 18 Fokker 100, two Fokker 70LR and five Fokker 50. [1]
Alliance’s aircraft have a current certified life of 90,000 cycles. The average cycles of Alliance’s Fokker 100, Fokker 70LR and Fokker 50 are currently around 29,500, 22,600 and 35,400 cycles respectively. [1]
Aircraft in Alliance’s fleet typically operate less than 1,000 cycles per annum compared to a scheduled RPT operator’s fleet, which can operate in excess of 2,500 cycles per annum for a comparable aircraft. Therefore, due to the low cycle operation of Alliance’s fleet, the time to reach certified life is considerably longer relative to an RPT operator. [1]
Alliance benefits from operating a fleet that can access the smaller airstrips typical of most remote mine site air facilities, which are unable to accommodate larger narrow-bodied aircraft. The Alliance fleet is particularly well suited to FIFO and charter, in that Fokker aircraft have a reputation for being robust and reliable and have a long history in Australia for operating in remote and hot regions.
Alliance currently operates a pre-flight lounge at Perth Airport, in domestic Terminal 3, for its BHP Billiton Nickel West Mining contract.[4]