ARTICLE ABC 10/02/04 (2)

[Caroline]

Aboriginal Air Services begins new route

Tennant Creek residents will once again be connected to other regional centres when Aboriginal Air Services launches its first flight to the town today.

The airline took over the Tennant Creek to Alice Springs route when regional carrier Air North announced it could not run the service at a profit.

Aboriginal Air Services general manager Anthony Sandford says the inaugural flight and several scheduled in coming weeks are booked out.

He says unlike Air North, his airline will make the route viable.

"We have a smaller-capacity aircraft, they were operating a bigger aircraft," he said.

"We're looking at a different market to them.

"We already have a core business in servicing remote communities throughout central Australia, so this is an extension to that type of business."

The Aboriginal Air Service's flights will run twice a week and are likely to increase to four times a week next month.