Ansair
Ansair was an Australian bus bodybuilder owned by Ansett Transport Industries and later the Clifford Corporation.
Industry | Bus manufacturing |
---|---|
Founded | 1945 |
Founder | Reg Ansett |
Defunct | November 1998 |
Headquarters | |
Number of locations | Kingston Tamworth |
Parent | Clifford Corporation |
History
Ansair was founded by Reg Ansett in 1945 at Tullamarine, to make bodies for his Ansett Pioneer coaches, as well as manufacture aircraft components for Ansett Airways.[1] It also provided bus bodies for other operators.
In 1987 a plant opened in Kingston, Tasmania, to make bodies for Scania buses used by Metro Tasmania, and in January 1993 a plant opened at East-West Airlines' former Tamworth Airport maintenance facility to make bodies for Scanias used by Sydney Buses.[2][3]
In August 1995 Ansett Transport Industries sold Ansair to the Clifford Corporation.[4] In September 1995 the Kingston plant closed, followed in 1997 by Tullamarine.[5][6] Ansair ceased trading in November 1998 when the Clifford Corporation collapsed.[7]
The Tamworth plant was reopened by Jakab Industries to complete an order of Volvo B10BLEs for Sydney Buses, under the Phoenix Bus brand.[8][9][10]
References
- "New Owners for Ansair" Australian Bus Panorama October 1995 issue 11/3 page 20
- "Airline Quits as Buses Move In" Sydney Morning Herald 18 September 1991
- "Bodybuilders" Fleetline July 1994 page 128
- "Bodybuilders" Fleetline September 1995 page 159
- "Bodybuilders" Fleetline January 1996 page 20
- "New Buses" Fleetline November 1997 page 203
- "The Austral Pacific Collapse" Australian Bus Panorama April 1999 issue 14/5 page 17
- "Austral Pacific Group" Fleetline May 1999 page 76
- "The Austral Pacific Collapse" Australian Bus Panorama issue 14/5 page 17
- "State Transit Authority - Sydney Buses & Newcastle Buses - Volvo B10BLE/Phoenix "Orana"". Australian Bus Fleet Lists. Bus Australia. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
External links
- Media related to Ansair at Wikimedia Commons
- Bus Australia gallery