Australian airExpress was a

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

company based in Melbourne, Australia. It operated freight-only services within Australia using aircraft operated by Express Freighters Australia (a subsidiary of

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founde ...

), National Jet Systems and

Pel-Air Pel-Air Aviation Pty Ltd (trading as Pel-Air) is an airline based in Mascot, Sydney, Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Regional Express Holdings, which also owns Australian airline Regional Express Airlines (Rex). Pel-Air speci ...

; and a fleet of land vehicles. Its main base was

Melbourne Airport Melbourne Airport , colloquially known as Tullamarine Airport, is the primary airport serving the city of Melbourne, and the second busiest airport in Australia. It opened in 1970 to replace the nearby Essendon Airport. Melbourne Airport is ...

. Australian airExpress was absorbed into

Qantas Freight Qantas Freight is a subsidiary company of Australia's largest airline Qantas, responsible for the air cargo operations of the Qantas group. It is the owner of freight airline Express Freighters Australia, freight forwarder Qantas Courier and tru ...

during February 2013.

History

Australian airExpress was established in early 1992 as a domestic air freight company with the ability of pick-up and delivery services using both vans and trucks. AaE started operations on 1 August 1992. It was established as a joint venture between Australia's largest airline Qantas (50%), and government-owned postal provider Australia Post (50%) as a main competitor to the then

Ansett Australia Ansett Australia was a major Australian airline group, based in Melbourne, Australia. The airline flew domestically within Australia and from the 1990s to destinations in Asia. After operating for 65 years, the airline was placed into admini ...

. AaE operated more than 50 nightly inter-capital freighter services. AaE used freight capacity on Qantas domestic flights and also dedicated cargo services operated on its behalf by several different companies, principally using

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...

aircraft. Australian airExpress began the phasing out of the 727s in September 2006 and they were replaced by specially converted Boeing 737 aircraft that were formerly part of the Qantas fleet, operated by Qantas subsidiary Express Freighters Australia. The first Boeing 737 entered service on 24 October 2006.Reid, Gordon. "Freighter Farewell", ''Australian Aviation'' magazine No. 239, June 2007, p70-71. Phantom Media Pty. Ltd., Fyshwick ACT. ISSN 0813-0876 On 2 October 2012,

announced it would acquire Australia Post's 50% interest in AaE, in return for Australia Post acquiring Qantas' 50% interest in Star Track Express. Australian airExpress was absorbed into

during February 2013. As a result, its own website ceased to exist but some of its operations are still continuing as the air division of Star Track Express.

Operations

AaE flight operations were somewhat complex and varied. "Next Flight" services used space on the next available scheduled Qantas passenger flights. Items carried for Overnight, 2 Day Economy and Off-Peak deliveries were flown on both Qantas and Australian airExpress aircraft operated by Express Freighters Australia, National Jet Systems subsidiary National Jet Express, and Pel-Air. The company did not service the Northern Territory 'overnight' from Sydney. Due to the three different service providers, AaE flights operated using different flight numbers and callsigns. The Express Freighters Australia Boeing 737s used Qantas flight numbers and callsigns as the ground handling was done by Qantas/Express Freighters, while National Jet Express used the aircraft registration as their callsign and used the IATA designator XM for its flight numbers (and used the ICAO designator XME). Pel-Air flights also used XM flight numbers but had no specific callsigns. AaE also had an international Division called Australian airExpress International.

Destinations

In February 2008 Australian airExpress operated freight services to the following domestic scheduled destinations: ;Australian Capital Territory *

Canberra Airport Canberra Airport is an international airport situated in the District of Majura, Australian Capital Territory serving Australia's capital city, Canberra, as well as the nearby city of Queanbeyan and regional areas of the Australian Capital Te ...

;New South Wales * Newcastle Airport * Sydney Airport ;Northern Territory * Ayers Rock Airport *

Darwin International Airport Darwin International Airport is the busiest airport serving the Northern Territory and the tenth busiest airport in Australia. It is the only airport serving Darwin. The airport is located in Darwin's northern suburbs, from Darwin cit ...

Gove Airport Gove Airport (also known as Gove-Nhulunbuy Airport) is on the Gove Peninsula in the Northern Territory of Australia. It services the mining town of Nhulunbuy and several Aboriginal communities including Yirrkala. The airport is located sou ...

;Queensland * Brisbane Airport *

Cairns Airport Cairns Airport is an international airport in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Formerly operated by the Cairns Port Authority, the airport was sold by the Queensland Government in December 2008 to a private consortium. It is the seventh busiest ...

Gold Coast Airport Gold Coast Airport (formerly known as Coolangatta Airport) is an international Australian airport located at the southern end of the Gold Coast and approximately south of centre of Brisbane, within South East Queensland agglomeration. Th ...

* Mackay Airport *

Rockhampton Airport Rockhampton Airport (''Connor Park'') is a major Australian regional airport in West Rockhampton that services the city of Rockhampton, with direct flights to the cities of Brisbane, and Mackay. Flights have previously operated to Sydney and Mel ...

Townsville Airport Townsville Airport is a major Australian regional airport that services the city of Townsville, Queensland. The airport is also known as Townsville International Airport, and Garbutt Airport, a reference to its location in the Townsville sub ...

;South Australia *

Adelaide Airport Adelaide Airport , also known as Adelaide International Airport, is the principal airport of Adelaide, South Australia and the fifth-busiest airport in Australia, servicing 8.5 million passengers in the financial year ending 30 June 201 ...

;Tasmania *

Hobart Airport Hobart Airport is an international airport located in Cambridge, north-east of Hobart. It is the major and fastest growing passenger airport in Tasmania. The Federal government owned airport is operated by the Tasmanian Gateway Consortium ...

Launceston Airport Launceston Airport is a regional airport on the outskirts of Launceston, Tasmania. The airport is located in the industrial area of Western Junction from Launceston city centre. It is Tasmania's second busiest after Hobart Airport; it can als ...

;Victoria *

Main Hub ;Western Australia *

Perth Airport Perth Airport is an international, domestic and general aviation airport serving Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. It is the fourth busiest airport in Australia measured by passenger movements and falls within the boundaries of ...

Fleet

The following aircraft were operating on behalf of Australian airExpress in December 2011:National Jet Express AOC
retrieved 6 September 2008.Australian civil aircraft register search, using "National Jet Express" as the search parameter.
Search conducted 6 September 2008.

References

External links

Australian airExpressQantasAustralia Post
{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Air Express Airlines established in 1992 Airlines disestablished in 2013 Qantas Cargo airlines of Australia Australian companies established in 1992 Australian companies disestablished in 2013 Defunct airlines of Australia Companies based in Melbourne