Alliance Airlines was established in 2002 when Brisbane based Queensland Airline Holdings acquired the assets of the dormant Flight West Airlines, which had been established in May 1987 and ceased scheduled services in 2001. Alliance commenced operations with two Fokker 100 aircraft and has since expanded its fleet and operational capabilities to service the growing demand from the mining and energy sector. It is a subsidiary of Alliance Aviation Services that was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2011 and now has over 590 employees. In November 2015, Alliance announced the purchase of 6 Fokker 70 and 15 Fokker 100 aircraft from Austrian Airlines. In November 2018, Alliance was awarded CAPA Asia Pacific Regional Airline of the Year. In February 2019, Qantas acquired a 19.9% shareholding.
Safety standards
Alliance was recognised as the first aircraft operator in Australia to attain Flight Safety Foundation Basic Aviation Risk Standard Gold Status in 2013 and in 2016, was recognised as the first regional aircraft operator in Australia to attain IATA Operational Safety Audit certification. Alliance undergoes regular safety and compliance audits including:
Flight Safety Foundation Basic Aviation Risk Standard Gold Status
Wyvern Wingman
Services
Fly-in-fly-out
Alliance Airlines operates fly-in fly-out air services to over 20 mine sites and services mining projects in Australia including Ballera, Cannington, Cloncurry, Groote Eylandt, Leinster, Mount Keith, Olympic Dam, Phosphate Hill, Telfer, Barimunya, Coondewanna, Newman, Leonora, Century Mine and The Granites.
Aircraft charters
Alliance Airlines provides aircraft charters throughout Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and South East Asia
Scheduled services
From June 2020 Alliance Airlines offers regular passenger transport on some Queensland intrastate routes including:
Brisbane and Whitsunday Coast
Sunshine Coast and Cairns
From 17 July 2017 Alliance started flying to the following destinations in partnership with Virgin Australia
Destinations such as Brisbane to Cloncurry, Mount Isa, Rockhampton Cairns, Port Moresby, Newcastle, Emerald, Alice Springs are in a wet lease agreement with Virgin Australia but have since been suspended due to Virgin Australia's entry into voluntary administration.
Fleet
As of October 2019, the Alliance Airlines fleet consists of an all Fokker fleet of the following aircraft:
