WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN

The enigmatic Jetair Australia Limited came into being in May 1969 with the stated objective of creating a new airline in Australia. The prevailing "Two Airline Policy" prevented the new airline from importing suitable aircraft so the company proceeded to assemble an eclectic fleet of aircraft from those already available within Australia. Ironically, the backbone of the Jetair fleet was to be the venerable (and decidedly non-jet) DC-3 but the fleet also included Bristol Freighters, Viscounts and an assortment of light twins. Beagle 206 VH-UNL became entangled in the Jetair empire in September 1969 when Airfast sold all their shares in Westernair to the Jetair holding company Air Sales & Parts. VH-UNL continued to operate Westernair services out of Brisbane in Westernair livery until it was replaced in April 1970 by the Jetair DC-3 VH-TAI. On 27 November 1970, the short-lived Jetair empire crumbled with little warning when all services were suddenly suspended. Most of the Jetair fleet, including VH-UNL, were placed in open storage at Sydney Airport awaiting sale. A political scandal erupted when the DC-3s were purchased, at allegedly inflated prices, by the Australian Government for subsequent gifting to several south east Asian countries as foreign aid. Fortunately, VH-UNL escaped this imbroglio for a useful career with several private operators within Australia.

It must be noted that VH-UNL never carried the Jetair livery depicted in this artist's impression. With an attractive livery being one of the few legacies of an airline which promised so much and delivered so little, many must have wondered what the Jetair livery would have looked like on a handsome aeroplane like the Beagle.

QUEENSLAND AIR MUSEUM www.qam.com.au