Talair
Encyclopedia
Company history
Talair had its origins as Territory Airlines, founded in 1952 as a charter company. It operated to towns throughout the country where the only means of communication was by air. Its bases of operations were LaeLae
Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...
and Madang
Madang
Madang is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century....
. The aircraft used were small Cessna
Cessna
The Cessna Aircraft Company is an airplane manufacturing corporation headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, USA. Their main products are general aviation aircraft. Although they are the most well known for their small, piston-powered aircraft, they also produce business jets. The company is a subsidiary...
and Beechcraft
Beechcraft
Beechcraft is an American manufacturer of general aviation and military aircraft, ranging from light single engine aircraft to business jets and light military transports. Previously a division of Raytheon, it has been a brand of Hawker Beechcraft since 2006....
types.
Territory Airlines was granted scheduled flight rights in 1968 from Goroka
Goroka
Goroka is the capital of the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. It is a town of approximately 19,000 people , 1600m above sea level. It has an airport and is on the "Highlands Highway", about 285 km from Lae in Morobe province and 90 km from the nearby town of Kainantu also...
. Soon it was serving over 50 destinations in the territory. In 1971 it took over Sepik Air Charters and in 1975 took over MAC Air Charter and now the destinations grew to over 100.
The need to fly to all types of destinations forced Territory Airlines to have a very varied fleet, but the mainstay of the fleet were the Britten-Norman Islander
Britten-Norman Islander
The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a 1960s British light utility aircraft, regional airliner and cargo aircraft designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. The Islander is one of the best-selling commercial aircraft types produced in Europe. Although designed in...
and the DHC-6 Twin Otter
De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
The DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian 19-passenger STOL utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada and currently produced by Viking Air. The aircraft's fixed tricycle undercarriage, STOL abilities and high rate of climb have made it a successful cargo, regional passenger airliner and MEDEVAC...
.
In 1975 the name was changed to Talair Tourist Airlines of Niugini and soon it took over Panda Air and the network grew to over 150 destinations. In 1986 the DHC-8 was added and soon after the Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia
Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia
-Accidents:*Brazilian Air Force on July 8, 1988 an Embraer EMB 120RT Brasília registration FAB-2001 crashed during and engine-out landing at São José dos Campos. Five of the 9 occupants died....
came into service. By 1990 the fleet had grown to over 50 aircraft but the operating costs of keeping such a varied fleet flying resulted in a reduction of flights. With financial difficulties mounting, on May 25, 1993 TALAIR ceased all flights and the aircraft were transferred to Flight West Airlines of Australia.
Fleet details
TALAIR operated many different types of aircraft many of which are not listed here.- Pilatus Porter
- Britten-Norman IslanderBritten-Norman IslanderThe Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a 1960s British light utility aircraft, regional airliner and cargo aircraft designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. The Islander is one of the best-selling commercial aircraft types produced in Europe. Although designed in...
- DHC-6 Twin OtterDe Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin OtterThe DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian 19-passenger STOL utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada and currently produced by Viking Air. The aircraft's fixed tricycle undercarriage, STOL abilities and high rate of climb have made it a successful cargo, regional passenger airliner and MEDEVAC...
- Embraer EMB 110 BandeiranteEmbraer EMB 110 BandeiranteThe Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante is a general purpose 15-21 passenger twin-turboprop light transport aircraft suitable for military and civil duties...
- DHC-8
- Embraer EMB 120 BrasiliaEmbraer EMB 120 Brasilia-Accidents:*Brazilian Air Force on July 8, 1988 an Embraer EMB 120RT Brasília registration FAB-2001 crashed during and engine-out landing at São José dos Campos. Five of the 9 occupants died....