Skytrans Airlines boss Alan Milne confident about travel industry’s future despite Covid

The aviation industry is facing troubled times but all hope is not lost if communities work together to ensure the future of airline travel in the Far North, writes Skytrans CEO Alan Milne.

THE one thing I like to tell people about the aviation industry is, rest assured you will never get bored.

Whether it’s battling a global pandemic, severe weather events, volcanic eruptions, political or military unrest or a whole range of other issues that can affect an airlines operation, you will always find a dedicated team behind the scenes delivering what they do best and making sure the travelling public remain safe and comfortable as they wing their way to their destination.

Be it the highly trained and skilled pilots and flight attendants, the engineer that ensures the safety of the aircraft each and every flight, the dedicated and friendly airport staff or the behind-the-scenes team ensuring the smooth flow of the operation on a 24/7 basis.

I have spent close to 40 years in this industry and love being part of the aviation industry family.

Alan Milne is the CEO of Cairns airline Skytrans, based at Cairns Airport. Picture: Brendan Radke

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We can be a funny lot. Highly competitive on one hand and hugely empathetic on the other. Who cannot be affected by the large number of lay-offs, redundancies and stand downs in our industry over the last two years?

I personally have been impacted with the Covid-19 pandemic resulting in me leaving my last position as CEO of Air Niugini in PNG.

With a young family in Australia, the necessary travel restrictions imposed by the federal government last year resulted in me finishing my contract early and returning to Australia. My oldest son was also impacted.

As a Qantas pilot based in Melbourne, he too was stood down early last year and contemplated a career change at the ripe old age of 26.

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He was one of the lucky ones though, being recalled shortly after to resume his Qantas career in Perth.

However. there are still many aviation people not so fortunate.

Four of my great mates from my Qantas days are driving buses in Sydney. From captaining an Airbus A380 across the Pacific Ocean, to driving a Mercedes bus around the northern suburbs of Sydney. Yep, you will never get bored in this industry.

This does present a huge problem though. Many of those highly skilled people will never return to the industry. Those in my age bracket will be considering early retirement or a possible or permanent career change.

Those of my son’s age bracket (mid-20s) will find work in a new industry altogether, maybe even start their own business.

Maybe 50 per cent of those will return to the industry, however more of a concern are the other 50 per cent that won’t.

It is so important that the Australian aviation family works together to nurture our people, talent and skills, ensuring the health and the future of airline travel in our region.

And needless to say, Skytrans has not been immune or protected from this downturn either. We see our sales drop off as people decide not to fly.

We see all the large Australian airlines announcing more staff stand downs as a result of the current lockdowns.

At Skytrans we have been working hard to ensure our cost base allows for an operation that is at least break even and making sure we do all we can to protect the jobs of all Skytrans family members.

Keeping jobs in Queensland and more importantly, contributing to the Queensland and Australian economies.

Skytrans first officer Apara Brewster O'Brien in the cockpit of a Dash-8. Picture: Brendan Radke

As a wholly Queensland owned airline, we are extremely proud to be serving our community.

Whether it’s making sure the wonderful people from Queensland Health can continue to provide for the remote communities they service, or the resource sector workers rotating in and out for their shifts, or family members and friends travelling to reunite.

And now, Skytrans is also providing opportunities to leisure destinations such as the Whitsunday Coast or the beautiful and unique Torres Strait Islands.

So yes, tough times indeed for our industry, however with the support of our communities that we serve, I am very confident Skytrans will be around the Australian skies for many years to come.

Alan Milne is the chief executive officer at Skytrans Airlines

Originally published as Skytrans Airlines boss Alan Milne confident about travel industry’s future despite Covid