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Compass Airlines

*** Shopping-Tip: Compass Airlines
Image:Compasairlineslogo.gif right|Compass logo. '''Compass Airlines''' operated in Australia for two brief periods in the early 1990s. The two incarnations of the airline were quite separate with different management and aircraft. Compass I was Australia's first low cost airline. It was established following deregulation of the Australian airline industry in 1990. Previously Ansett and the government owned Trans Australia Airlines Australian Airlines had operated under the 'Two Airline agreement', which was in fact a legal barrier to new entrants to the Australian aviation market. It restricted intercapital sevices to the two majors. This anti-competitive arrangement ensured that they carried approximately the same number of passengers, charged the same fares and had similar fleet sizes and equipment. Compass I, as it became known, was established by Bryan Grey, who had previously run regional airline East-West Airlines (Australia) East-West Airlines. East-West had earlier attempted to break the duopoly of Ansett and Australian Airlines by offering cheap fares but in the regulated environment of the time was not allowed to operate directly between major cities so was forced to detour via regional centres. East-West was ultimately acquired by Ansett. At its peak Compass Mark I operated six leased Airbus A300 and Airbus A310 A310 aircraft. It collapsed little more than a year after its first flight. The collapse was caused by undercapitalisation and sustained fare discounting by the three airlines. Compass II was conceived as Southern Cross Airlines originally but chose to trade under the Compass brand, which seemed to have popular support. It commenced operations in 1992 with Douglas DC-9 McDonnell Douglas MD82 aircraft. It collapsed less than a year later in 1993. Southern Cross chairman Douglas Reid was convicted in 1997 of theft and false accounting amounting to $10 million in relation to the collapse. He received a record 10 year jail sentence. Category:Defunct airlines of Australia {{airlistbox}}