History
The airline was founded in 1967 as Premiair Aviation by aviation enthusiast Don Kendell and partners, originally serving as an air charter provider and flying school, based in Wagga Wagga. In 1971, the name of the company was changed to Kendell Airlines, which coincided with the launch of scheduled services using Piper PA-31 Navajo aircraft between Wagga Wagga and Melbourne, a route which had previously been operated by Ansett Airlines (later called Ansett Australia). Shortly afterwards, the route network was expanded with flights to Sydney and Canberra.
Flight operations saw a further increase when de Havilland Heron and Swearingen Metro II aircraft were added to the fleet, the latter in May 1979 following the Second Oil Crisis. On 25 February 1985 the airline introduced the 34-seat Saab 340, a more modern regional airliner; Kendell was the first airline in the southern hemisphere to operate the Saab 340, with further aircraft of that type being added over the following years. The route network was nearly doubled in early 1986 when the South Australian routes of Airlines of South Australia (which was owned by Ansett) were taken over as a consequence of the deregulation of the Australian airline market. During the 1990s, Kendell established further operating bases to add to its original one at Wagga Wagga Airport, namely at Devonport Airport, Albury Airport and Sydney Airport, which was due to the airline becoming a subsidiary of Ansett.
From March 1996, Kendell Airlines offered the Capital Shuttle – a high-frequency (up to 13 daily return flights) service between Sydney and Canberra – on behalf of Ansett, which was followed by scheduled flights to Coffs Harbour and Ballina, which also had previously been operated by Ansett. The Saab 340s that were acquired by Kendell Airlines during that period were painted in Ansett colors. In 1999, Kendell became a regional affiliate of the Star Alliance, of which Ansett Australia had become a member.
Between 1999 and 2001, Kendell Airlines took delivery of 18 Bombardier CRJ100s, the first jet aircraft to be operated by the airline. On 14 September 2001, shortly after the last CRJ had joined the fleet, Ansett Australia collapsed, also grounding the fleet of Kendell Airlines. Kendell Airlines was placed into administration, but continued to operate a limited schedule, and also filled a temporary void left by Ansett Australia by flying on the Sydney-Canberra-Melbourne and Melbourne-Mount Gambier-Adelaide routes. In 2002, Kendell, and fellow Ansett subsidiary, Hazelton Airlines, were sold to a consortium known as Australiawide Airlines, from which Regional Express Airlines (known as Rex) was formed. Most of the turboprop aircraft operated by Kendell Airlines at that time were taken over by Rex.
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