Farewell Ansett Engineering! 1972-2007
Today, the last chapter in the closure of Ansett took place, with the wrap up of Ansett Engineering Heavy Maintenance Base at Melbourne Airport, (which some may be unaware), continued to trade even after the demise of Ansett Australia (the airline) from 2001 through to this year. Rather than shut it down like the rest of the airline back in 2002, the Ansett administrators chose to keep it running in the hope that someone would buy the business, thus saving it and ensuring that at least part of Ansett would survive in some form. In the iterim, it would provide a place to store and service the remaining Ansett aircraft, keeping them airworthy, and once they were all gone, continue to trade by offering heavy maintenance to other airlines, like Jetstar, and Ozjet. After Ansett's final flight in March of 2002, the base was reduced down to 150 Ansett staff, with all the others saying goodbye at that time.
The idea worked, and despite the remaining Ansett workers coming to work each day to a depressing, bankrupt facility with only a trickle of funds from the Ansett money pool to keep the lights running, they survived five and a half years to make it work. Eventually a buyer began talks with Ansett on the possibility of purchasing the place. That buyer was John Holland Ltd. The deal was finalised last month, with settlement to occur on Monday, 4 June 2007.
Today, the transfer of ownership took place, and the stained, sad Ansett signs came down off the hangar for the last time, along with the remaining Ansett memorabilia, uniforms, signage and other items that remained at the base. It was the end of an era for the Engineering base and for Ansett Australia as a company.
From the sadness however, comes a new owner, and the birth of John Holland Aviation Services - who will now re-build the business and launch a whole new Engineering venture, offering Engineering to Jetstar, Virgin, and whoever else would like to use it, at competitive rates. With the deal, the remaining Ansett staff have come across to now work for John Holland - guaranteeing jobs to those guys who thought this was going to be it.
Certainly a day of mixed feelings for me, as the last remanants of Ansett have now pased into oblivion, but on the other hand I'm so damn happy that it's been a happy ending at least for the Engineering Base. It will not ignore the past, but expand and now build a future.
Goodbye AAES - and good luck to John Holland and the new owners!