Australian Charter Operator Gets Opportunistic About Tourism Surge
Photo Credit: CEO Lee Schofield with the latest addition to the Alliance fleet, a Fokker F100 in special livery to mark the 90th anniversary of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith’s first trans-Pacific flight. Alliance
Skift Take
Brisbane-based Alliance Airlines continues to see opportunities where others fear to fly. It has done extremely well in Australia’s mining boom, and now aims to grow its tourism activities to shield it from the ups and downs of the resources sector.
Alliance Airlines has clinched a major aviation charter contract with giant Japanese tourism operator JTB as the carrier continues to diversify and look for niches in a market dominated by the Qantas-Virgin duopoly.
Alliance, based in Brisbane, has signed a three-year service contract with JTB to provide air charters for inbound Japanese tour groups.
The services will start in April, providing day trips from entry hubs including Cairns, the Gold Coast or Brisbane, allowing tourists to spend up to eight hours visiting Uluru (Ayer’s Rock) and returning back to their originating port the same evening.
“This unique charter will maximise tourist opportunities on the ground and also minimize their travelling time overall,” said Lee Schofield, the airline’s CEO.
The JTB charters follow on from a similar arrangement with U.S. tour operator Tauck, which uses Alliance as a key part of its package tours to Australia and New Zealand. Tauck runs around 60 tours a year, and these
