Administrators for former Ansett subsidiaries Hazelton Airlines and Kendell Airlines are trying to salvage a deal to sell the regional carriers to a group known as Australiawide. This company, a group composed of local businessmen and former staff of failed Ansett, made a A$500,000 ($280,000) deposit late in June and agreed to pay an undisclosed sum for the two airlines. The company failed to meet a 24 July deadline for the deal to be finalised, although a new offer is being considered by creditors.
Purchase talks have run past several deadlines, centring on the issue of government support to keep essential links to rural communities. Flying a combined fleet of 27 Saab 340s and Fairchild Metro 23s, the two carriers feed traffic into Melbourne and Sydney on 38 rural routes. Twenty-two of them are not flown by any other carrier.
Australiawide intends to merge the two airlines and integrate their schedules by August or September. Kendell's routes cover South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales. Hazelton also flies within New South Wales, but does not overlap Kendell's routes.
Australiawide chief executive Michael Jones promises to keep 600-650 staff in a merged airline, down from the current 950.ÊThe new airline will have its headquarters in Sydney, with its operational base in Wagga Wagga. Canberra has promised A$6 million in aid, plus a three-year exemption from en routenavigation fees.
Source: Airline Business
