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| Founded | May 2001 | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | 27 October 2002 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | 30 June 2006[1] | ||||||
| Hubs | Cairns | ||||||
| Secondary hubs | Sydney | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Qantas Frequent Flyer | ||||||
| Fleet size | 1 | ||||||
| Destinations | 6 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (Qantas Group headquarters) | ||||||
Australian Airlines was a full-service airline based in Australia, serving Australian and Asian destinations between 2002 and 2006. It was an all-economy, full-service international leisure carrier, and was a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas (although run independently of the mainline carrier). Its main hub was at Cairns Airport, with a secondary hub at Sydney Airport.
The airline ceased operations under its own livery on 30 June 2006,[1] but continued to operate flights for Qantas under a wet lease agreement. This means Australian Airlines operated flights for Qantas using its own crew/cost base, but under the Qantas brand. Qantas decided to discontinue the public use of the Australian Airlines brand in favour of having Jetstar as its leisure, now low-cost carrier. Qantas and Jetstar are operating services to replace Australian Airlines' routes, with Jetstar International introduced in late 2006 to help expand the Qantas Group's international presence.