Author Description

The writing of a book on regional airlines in Australia is a subject that historians have avoided in the past. What they have done is to instead concentrate on national airlines such as TAA, Australian, Qantas, Ansett and Virgin and the glamour associated with them.Regional airlines gave passengers a choice to go to a capital city and return to their home on the same day and hence provided an important service to country communities.In the early days of regional airlines many of these enterprises were family owned and operated. The aircraft types that were popular were the Cessna 402 the Piper PA31, each with around nine seats and flown by one pilot who was often the owner.From those humble beginnings successful operators upgraded to larger aircraft such as the Short SD330, Short SD360, SAAB 340, GAF Nomad and Beech 1900C, just to name a few. As these aircraft carried more than ten passengers, two pilots and a cabin attendant were required. Most of these aircraft were pressurised, so they flew higher which added more comfort for the passengers.The aim of this book is to tell the story of these South Australian regional airlines many of whom existed for just short periods and have rarely been documented.